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ITT: (Some of us) Worship HL2
JellyMeetsJam
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I played Half Life 2 when it came out. It drew me into its world and blew me away. It was and still is my favorite video game of all time. I didn't buy Episode One when it came out, but I recently bought the Orange Box. I just beat Episode One, and in my mind it continues the greatest game of all time (if you look at the extra episodes and the first game as one game). I've never cared as much for any character in a game or even movie as much as Alyx. I'm going to try and wait a little bit before having a crack at Episode Two so that I don't burn through them too fast, but suffice to say I'm exited.
I'm interested to hear everyone else's thoughts on the series so far. Am I stupid for thinking this is the greatest game of all time? Agree? Well I guess this thread should have some images so here it goes:
I'm interested to hear everyone else's thoughts on the series so far. Am I stupid for thinking this is the greatest game of all time? Agree? Well I guess this thread should have some images so here it goes:
JellyMeetsJam on
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I melted...
Is this ever gonna come to PCs? I know Valve loooong ago dismissed any hope saying it would be like a 6gig download but now its out there and actually been produced any chance? maybe?
You know, I'm starting to feel really awkward about having posted that pic for you. :P
I've always been a dissenting opinion on this one though.
and it has no story. no protagonist, no drive behind the narrative, no meaning. it's a firmly held gun or a floating crowbar hovering between outposts in a standard sci-fi dystopia. i don't know who i am, what i'm doing or why i should be doing it
i've been spoiled lately i know but i find it hard to see where all the hype and critical praise came from
Uh...
The level design is pretty good though.
EDIT: Also, I hate the voice acting for most of the characters. It just seems so forced. The only good voices in the half life universe are barney and glados
HL2 didn't impact me quite like, say, experiencing the original's tram ride for the first time, but some of the scripted sequences near the end were pretty damn breathtaking.
Edit: And Alyx isn't a good character.
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Pharezon...
Don't... Don't say that...
Ever... AGAIN!
I even talk to myself as if I were actually there commenting on the scenarios. It's a little weird cause I don't typically do that too much when playing games.
But yes, it's pretty awesome. And so is Alyx.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
I'm not really a fan of Half-life 2... but I agree with Reg. Alyx was, and is, awesome.
What part? The AI isn't very good? The Combat wasn't tight? The vehicle sections sucked? Oh you mean Alyx is a horrible character and I was sad that she came back in Episode 2?
Also the part in episode 2 where
I re-purchased the Half-Life 1 Collection, and I eagerly await the release of Black Mesa Source (which, let's be honest, is going to take a hojillion years). I feel like such a tool for passing up HL2 when it first came out. It's a landmark title, and although the physics do feel dated it doesn't bother me at all. Such a fantastic game.
EDIT: And Alyx is a kick ass character, but her cheeriness gets on my nerves. Do you really have to smile all the time and give me a hearty "Good job, Gordon!" after every bloody thing I do? I'd like her more if she gave a subtle nod and a "let's go".
Exactly.
edit: If Alyx annoys you, the problem is there is a gaping vortex where your heart should be.
nope I have a heart. I just hate her with an extreme passion.
I dunno bad combat and AI seem like pretty big flaws even for the time it was released. There is no denying it was a good story experience though.
As for friendlies? Their game is simply off because they are in the presence of the mighty Gordon Freeman.
Oh, and I vote DOG as the coolest robot in anything evar.
Not true. Half-life 2 did some great things, but the core gameplay does not hold up, even by 2004 standards. At least in my (and apparently, others) opinion. Notice how everyone who didn't like Half-life 2 (except maybe Pharezon) wasn't being a cock about it?
I do believe I shouted "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" at my screen a la Vader.
Edit: and has been fixed. good show
i don't 'hate it because it's trendy', i find it boring because of the poor narrative and tiring, unexciting gameplay
It was intentional :P
Damn internet moves too damn fast I tell you.
I did precisely the same thing. I also agree with the sentiment that HL2 is more of a story experience than a pure gameplay experience, and I'm okay with that.
The ending of EP2 is kind of crazy and awesome from a gameplay standpoint, and really got me pumped up, but I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much without the story and everything that was at stake.
PSN ID : Xander51 Steam ID : Xander51
I can understand Steam's methods for plot-conveying, and it's something that is pulled right out of the original game. HL1 was kinda difficult to follow, especially after we had cut our teeth on so many games that were laden with cutscenes that told the story for us, but you could glean the facts out of the occasional NPCs. In HL1 you at worst had a vague idea of what you were trying to accomplish at any given point. It's one of HL2's bigger weak points that the plot isn't as well conveyed to the player. For one thing, the second game has an entirely different feeling. It's less like a sci-fi movie and more like 1984 with guns, so it can be confusing right off the bat. That, and the voices are usually much too quiet and blend in with environmental noises, so you lose the plot-related details unless you've got your speakers cranked.
Most of us, it seems, just didn't let that bother us. Half-Life is supposed to play like an action movie, so I at least thought it somewhat understandable if the plot was veiled. The game is just outright fun to play, provided it's on Hard, which allows for the biggest window of opportunity for AI stupidity and gloat-worthy stunts. It was even better in the original and its big mods (Blue Shift/Opposing Force). "Okay, I'm cornered in a room with little cover, limited ammo and low health and there's a fuckton of soldiers and aliens scouting me out - can I pick 'em all off with the pistol? While dodging grenades?" If you've done something like this, it's just that which is the fun of Half-Life.
I'm not sure trendy is the right word. The majority of this thread is positive.
The enemies are boring, repetitive and not diverse at all. Oh look, it's the zombie area. Oh look the combine are here. Oh look fucking ant lions. Seldom if ever do you see them together and I felt pretty much the same from the 1st combine I kill to when I dispatched my 1000th one. Vehicles are dull, rickety and difficult to control. The story and dialog is bland, unimaginative and left the same taste in my mouth as licking an ashtray. It essentially boils down to Seinfeld only with aliens, without the funny and a pinch of twilight zone elements. I have to admit, I am a little biased after Deus Ex set the bar higher for my expectations, then again, I was never big on single player fpses. Mostly because of what I just mentioned. In this day and age, to have a protagonist have no viable dialog whatsoever is inexcusable with the advent of optical media. Hell, most developers now a days can do with 1 game to tell a worthwhile story. Not deal with this evanescent episodic bullshit.
Fucking Jar Jar has more back story then Half Life 2.
Like... to all the people that dislike HL2:
Please give me an example of a game with gameplay that isn't boring. I want to see if there's a rational explanation for all this.
Come on, you people are telling me you didn't have fun cheating with the gravity gun? I skipped an entire area of Ravenholm by building me a staircase of exploding barrels. For a personal highlight, after rushing through ravenholm and the way out, and enjoying that fresh air and suddenly thinking, oh right, Alien cyborgs with guns.
I dunno, I guess i just roleplay more when i play games, I try to get in character and feel like that is me doing this shit, I am the guy with the MIT education (no that does not mean we get Will Smith in a movie version, although I Am Legend probably added more to that racket), I am the guy that just picked up a combine soldier and LAUNCHED him through a dozen of his buddies.
And the atmosphere of the beginning, if someone could come up with a game to capture that moment, with the silent antagonist with no guns and have him work through a larger area like that, *SQUIRT X 3*
(if it makes you feel better, I'd probably ask you to suck my dick even if you didn't like it)
That's how I derive most of my fun from these games. In that one part in Nova Prospekt with the sideways-H shaped room where you have to set up turrets to hold off the Combine until Alyx comes...well, I've related it once here already, but making a wall of crates to keep out the majority of invaders while watching your little death-machines plug the remnants is the most rewarding thing ever on Hard, especially when you struggled through it regularly on Normal.