Revisiting HL2

[VIAN]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
I've never been challenged by a single game on "Normal". When I want challenge I bump the difficulty to Insane/Realistic/whatever is hardest for said game. Kind of a lame reason to knock a game. Personally I thought the AI was impressive compared to everything before it. The gravity gun was a lot of fun, the graphics were beautiful, and overall it was a really enjoyable game. My only complaint would be that it was a little short. No game ever delivers 100%, especially landmark games like HL2.

I guess one of two things. You are much better than I am or we have different definitions for challenging.

Usually I find that Normal is challenging enough by where the game is tough, but not tough enough to become a trial and error by death game. It's tough enough to stretch me thin, thereby creating suspense, but then allow me to come back. Although I do expect to die a few times during the game.

Trial and error death challenging is really annoying to me. It's so boring. Even then, HL2 had no difficulty that actually caused that. On Hard, the game isn't too difficult, except in some areas. The weapons just hit harder and were more accurate, which means I had to be a little bit more careful, but it wasn't any more fun cause the AI still sucked. It just stands there shooting.

That reminds me, HL2 has one of the most annoying enemies I've ever played against. Those stupid flying cutting things. They appear everywhere and they're just a chore to take out; no satisfaction in killing them.

 

[swaytech]

I enjoyed HL2, I really got into the story, and thats hard for me.

 

[apoppin]

*story* ?!?
:Q

not 'bad' for a Sat Am cartoon 😛

😀

and *no different* than *any* other cookie-cutter FPS
:roll:

 

[sodcha0s]

I loved HL2, particularly the story. I'd imagine most of the people that thought the story "sucked" were really into D3 and Q4 though....

 

[KeithTalent]

HL2 is one of the greatest games of all time IMHO. One of the few games where I actually felt fully immersed in the world.

KT

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: TheYak
If I had to say any part of the game was inferior (especially after comparing to other FPS games), it would be the vehicle portions... way too damned long for very little reward in terms of enjoyment. Then again, I like adventures, RPGs and other games typically thought of as boring, so I'm a bit biased towards dialogue and narrative.

I like dialogue and adventure games too, but HL2 had very little of that. There was that part at the beginning and another bit at the Black Mesa area, but those were only a few minutes long and couldn't make up for all the mind-numbing levels in between, until the last few parts. The handful of good scripted battles also all came near the end.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
I loved HL2, particularly the story. I'd imagine most of the people that thought the story "sucked" were really into D3 and Q4 though....

What *story*?


Q4 and D2 had no *story* either


Thief has a *story* ... DE has a story ... oblivion has a story ... as does Gothic and NWN

al these *shooters* have is the thinnest of *plots* so you can keep on SHOOTING things. 😛

EDIT: i imagine you guys that like the HL *story* dont "read" novels or like ANY other type of game - besides shooters
:Q

 

[pontifex]

i played hl2 for the 1st time a few months ago. i kept asking myself why people rated this game so highly.

 

[StopSign]

I played HL (for the first time) after HL2 and still thought it was better, despite the drop off in graphics.

 

[VIAN]

I tried playing it again on my own computer, and it was still boring. This time I got halfway through the air-boat and... it actually was mind-numbing. Uninstalled it.

 

[Maximilian]

I liked both of them and have played them both through a couple of times. I even liked xen, dont understand what made people hate "that crappy alien bit at the end" i liked it....

It does have a good story, theres characters (in hl2/ep1 anyways) that talk with you and talk with eachother, they even come along on some of the missions, never happens in doom and happens to a limited extent in quake 4 i think. Half life 2 has a much more interesting story though, theres tons of questions to be answered, whats the g-mans deal? Who are these combine chumps and where did they come from? What do they want earth for? Earths probably a sh*thole compared to their high tech planet.

I found this to be an awsome theoretical explanation of whats going on in the half life universe.

 

[CP5670]

I thought the Combine guys were just your standard security force that provided something to shoot at. There was little in the game to suggest otherwise. I only found out after I had played the game that they were supposed to be aliens.

DE has a story

This one is the best example out of FPSs. The amount of detail they put into the plot was incredible. You could have written a small novel with just the content from the game. Freespace 2 is another such game that comes to mind. Things like HL2 don't even compare.

 

[mundane]

I just replayed through HL2 again (new hardware, wanted to see how it looked). It's not much in the 'instant gratification' category. There are significant lulls between action, and although Valve put a lot of effort towards establishing an immersive story, the player ends up with far more questions at the end than answers.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: sodcha0s
I loved HL2, particularly the story. I'd imagine most of the people that thought the story "sucked" were really into D3 and Q4 though....

What *story*?


Q4 and D2 had no *story* either


Thief has a *story* ... DE has a story ... oblivion has a story ... as does Gothic and NWN

al these *shooters* have is the thinnest of *plots* so you can keep on SHOOTING things. 😛

EDIT: i imagine you guys that like the HL *story* dont "read" novels or like ANY other type of game - besides shooters
:Q

I read waaayy more than I game and I enjoyed the story in HL2, but I also know when I game not to expect Tolstoy (if I want a great story I read a book, if I want a fun game I...well, I play a fun game). Yes, the HL2 story was pretty standard fare, but not every game can be Deus Ex.

KT

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
HL2 is one of the greatest games of all time IMHO. One of the few games where I actually felt fully immersed in the world.

KT

Same. I've played HL1 many times since 1998 and now that I think is an overrated game. It was cool at first but got crappy halfway through. The multiplayer mods is what kept its popularity (CS, DoD, TFC, many more). So you got people bitching that HL2 has slow dialogue but then the new in thing to do is bash shooters if they don't have a novel-like story and dialogue. The story and dialogue is decent IMO. Not excessive considering it is a shooter, but adds to the atmosphere and immersion.

The Source engine was superb and still very good. Sharp, clean graphics, runs on a huge range of systems and still looks decent, has gotten upgrades (albeit minor) etc. The netcode is damn good. Physics and AI are still decent, and way ahead in 2004.

Sure it's not a flawless game, but one of the best ever. I can't justify spending the $20 on EP1 for the short time it takes to complete, but I'd like to give that a run once at least. Hopefully I can get EP1, EP2, Portal, and TF2 (omfg this better be good, cause TF was amazing) as a cheap package when its released.

I DO think however, that for as long as it takes to make episodes, that making 3 isn't the best idea considering the Source engine is showing its age and people seem to have a real problem with that. Even though most 2006 games don't look much better and run like complete crap unless you have a high-end system. But multiplayer games like TF2 are what make a game last, so I'm waiting most for that.

 

[clamum]

I bought Half-Life 2 back when it came out in 2004 and played through normal and hard difficulties. Then got DoD: S when that came out and played quite a bit of it. Also played the Lost Coast a couple times through, additionally with the commentary on. Not too long ago I purchased Episode 1 and played through it on normal mode.

Now I'm in the middle of Half-Life 2 again on hard mode and I plan to play through to the end and then start Episode 1 on hard mode also. I guess the game is boring for some but I think it's fantastic. I think if you acknowledge it's a game and let yourself get involved in it and have a good time with it that you'll come away from the game with a positive experience. For a first person shooter, it doesn't have much competition in terms of a combination of graphics, gameplay, physics, AI, storyline, level design, weapons, and characters.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: VIAN
There is very slow paced in the beginning, with practically no action, that is made worse by all the long and often loading times therein.

I thought the beginning was very atmospheric and an essential part of the game. In fact I think all first person games should have some story and 'immersion' stuff, perhaps even more than HL2 did, or they seriously risk becoming identical. Sure, there could have been more non-shooting challenges in these bits, maybe some dialog options, but it's a step in the right direction.

 

[CP5670]

level design

I think this is by far the biggest problem with the game, at least until the last few levels. To put it simply, it's crap. Not only is it extremely linear, but it often feels linear in a very artificial way. For example, there are far too many cases where some rubble happens to be in just the right position for you to climb over, and that path is the only one you can take. Also, aside from the short cutscene-style levels (which I'll admit were a lot better), there is almost no overall variation and very few small objects or other such details. Every rundown building you enter looks just like the previous one, with hardly anything in it apart from an enemy or two. Valve's map designers need to take a look at the nonlinear design in Deus Ex, the environment variety in Unreal 2 or the meticulous small details in any of the Splinter Cell games. I would have been willing to overlook its other flaws if the levels were simply interesting to explore, which is the case in many other games.

 

[beemercer]

Originally posted by: gorcorps
Download the HL2 substance mod. It makes things a lot faster paced and funner. I started playing HL2 again recently and found it really boring playing again. The Substance mod makes it almost an entirely different game.

Agreed :thumbsup:.

 

[clamum]

Originally posted by: CP5670

level design

I think this is by far the biggest problem with the game, at least until the last few levels. To put it simply, it's crap. Not only is it extremely linear, but it often feels linear in a very artificial way. For example, there are far too many cases where some rubble happens to be in just the right position for you to climb over, and that path is the only one you can take. Also, aside from the short cutscene-style levels (which I'll admit were a lot better), there is almost no overall variation and very few small objects or other such details. Every rundown building you enter looks just like the previous one, with hardly anything in it apart from an enemy or two. Valve's map designers need to take a look at the nonlinear design in Deus Ex, the environment variety in Unreal 2 or the meticulous small details in any of the Splinter Cell games. I would have been willing to overlook its other flaws if the levels were simply interesting to explore, which is the case in many other games.

I'd agree the level design isn't quite perfect but I was including it in a list of qualities that when taken together make the game good. Not every game is going to have huge non-linear levels with meticulous details. I think the levels functioned nicely within the game and looked quite well.

 

[CP5670]

I'd agree the level design isn't quite perfect but I was including it in a list of qualities that when taken together make the game good. Not every game is going to have huge non-linear levels with meticulous details.

Most games from the last few years still have far better levels than this. I wouldn't even call most of the HL2 levels halfway decent, leaving aside the few exceptions I brought up earlier. They're strictly bottom tier considering when the game was released.

 

[AbAbber2k]

HL2 wouldn't work as a non-linear game. You're in a city that's TIGHTLY controlled by some kind of military force. You have very little freedom... something the environment, scripting... everything... really conveyed well. And I'd say if you really enjoyed HL2, then Episode 1 is definitely worth the $20.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
I've never been challenged by a single game on "Normal". When I want challenge I bump the difficulty to Insane/Realistic/whatever is hardest for said game. Kind of a lame reason to knock a game. Personally I thought the AI was impressive compared to everything before it. The gravity gun was a lot of fun, the graphics were beautiful, and overall it was a really enjoyable game. My only complaint would be that it was a little short. No game ever delivers 100%, especially landmark games like HL2.

I enjoyed the game, but it wasn't anything amazing. The story was good and I liked the characters. The gravity gun was fun sometimes, but I felt like they intentionally gave me no ammo all the time to force me to use what amounted to a rather clunky weapon. Which brings me to another point, the guns were all nerfed way to much. You had to shoot guys with the pistol 1000 times to kill them, which I am sure was for balance reasons but still made it a weapon that may as well not have existed in the game. In fact, all of the weapons felt really weak.

And the AI, I totally disagree. Picture this "Watch out Freeman! A grenade! Quick guys! Run towards the grenade while I block the only exist from the room its in! I'll say I'm sorry when freeman comes but not before we all get wasted!" The AI wasn't really anything special. I don't know how, but I felt like the soldier and assassin AI in HL1 was more impressive. Maybe its nostalgia but I remember being genuinely afraid when I heard those soldier rolling in.

Its not a bad game, and I didn't regret buying it. Hell, I'd say its even a decent follow up. But its nothing remarkable to me.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: DonVito
I liked HL much better than HL2, but I still think the latter is a quality product, just nothing groundbreaking. Actually, when it comes to 2004-era shooters, I thought Doom 3 was highly underrated, and HL2 just the opposite.

Ummmmm, no.
Even if Doom 3 were a good game, it was NOT underrated at all.
It got more hype and advertising than many movies.
And for those of us who thought it wasnt a great game (many of us actually) it was one of the most overrated video games of all times.

As for the original issue, I think they were trying to hard to make it like Half Life 1. The opening sequence especially made me feel that.
They were trying to recreate the same experience as the first one and they forgot that we already played that game. Its not special when we've seen it before.
We needed a new experience to be entertained and we didnt get it, hence the major disappointment by fans everywhere.
As was already pointed out, the cool sequences took too long to get to and werent long enough or good enough when we got there.
The big street battles were saved untlil the very end and most people didnt make it that far. They got tired and either gave up or enabled god-mode and just blasted through quickly.

Doom3 was overrated, but also received more flack then it deserved (or maybe the fact it was so hyped is why it deserved it) The atmosphere was great, and for the first 10 levels or so I was getting the crap scared out of me all the time. But after I'd returned to the labs for the 400th time the monster in a closet theme had become stale, and the scares became less clever as well. I played the game to completion, but it was honestly way to fvcking long. They really should have cut out a lot of those crummy uninspired lab levels that were just like the first set.

Doom3's gameplay was most directly ripped off from system shock II, minus the character RPG elements. An individual...all alone, communicated with through audio logs and emails in a dark destroyed space station...sound familiar? Not a bad decision, but a lot of the other gameplay was pretty stale and oldhat.

 

[hans030390]

I really liked Half-Life 2. Would I play it again? Probably not. Mods? Yes.

For some reason though, playing the game gave me really bad headaches...