opinions on HL2

Where's the "average game, as expected" option? I didn't expect it to live up to the hype, I didn't even expect it to be an above average game and both seem to be true. It's the same tired old get-from-point-A-to-point-B gameplay that so many FPSes use. The genre needs a serious overhaul to get out of "meh land" and IMO no FPS can become "best game ever" before the genre gets its makeover. It doesn't give the feeling of "coolness" that the Best Game Ever TM requires. Playing it doesn't give near the kick (well, okay, no kick at all) that, say, Viewtiful Joe does. How can such game be proclaimed best game ever?

Well, I must say I was pleasently surprised while playing the game (though I am not fully through yet). Not once, but over and over again. And I noticed that while playing, not afterwards reflecting my experience. The game just gave me a good feeling constantly.

It's not the best game I've ever played, but it is most likely the best FPS game so far.

I don't know if any game can live up to that hype and 5 years of development. But, theres not doubt to me that its an awesome game. The physics based gameplay sequences were awesome, the story and gameplay reminded me of some great old fps's like duke nukem3d, and of course the first HL. It kicked Doom 3 as far as 'living up to the hype'

it lives up to the hype, as far as any hype i was really exposed to. though if you're talking Hype, like of the legendary quality that Romero was spewing during the development of Quake, no game can ever live up to that.

sure there were some parts i didn't like so much, but HL2 had me at such a complete enthrallment that i had to play it through in only 3 days, and i only do that for a select few games.

I say it lived up to its hype. Its a great game that was very engrossing. The ending dissapointed me though. It was somewhat anticlimatic. If nothing else it has set a new benchmark for environmental interactivity in a fps, and raised the bar on realism (textures and lighting) in gameing.

It will also provide a great starting point for the mod community for years to come.

After having reletively low expectations for d3 and it just barely meating them i was really pleasantly surprised with how good hl2 was, definately the best game i've played in a long long time.

I found NOLF funner [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Best single player FPS of 2004 I'd say, (with Far Cry a close second imho), but I'm realllly getting tired of this linear FPS formula, I know I'll be backhanded for saying this but I sure wished the storytelling was better and the levels less linear.

It disapointed me a lot... Maybe we all got used with great graphics after beeing flooded with screenshots of HL2 and Unreal3 before the release of HL2.. But I wasn't impressed of the graphics of halflife2.
The story was very weak in my opinion and I'm not a big fan of the suited guy who appeared at the weirdest places. What/Who is he? Your guardian angel in black? I found the ending of the game very cheap, but then again how to end a story which has no real storyline anyway.
hmm I missed the part from one of the preview movies where you blocked a door with a table, and killed a bunch of zombies by dropping a container on them. That was amazing to see.
I'm not even going to talk about how iritating the whole steam / online installing process of the game was. Almost as iritating as your AI controled crewmembers. The dvd-case front wasn't really great either imo.
Ofcourse the game isn't bad, it looks good, it plays well overall, but it didn't live up the hype. A big dissapointment.

Boskma: Never played the first HL? If you did you should know who the guy in the suit is...

I was blown away and immersed by this game. Doom II was a disappointment, whereas HL2 lived up to the limted hype I had of it. Installation was painful,m but only had to endure it once. Otherwise, other than a sound issue after aload, for a second or two, it ran flawlessly, which is m0ore than I can say of a lot of released product. Immersive, and I thought a good example of a new method of storytelling. Best Single Player experience for me, since the old days.

Scott

I wish it stood on its own more as far as the story. I never finished HL1, so the whole time I felt like Gordon knew a lot of things as a character about the plot that I didn't know as a player. Aside from that, I really enjoyed it. It wasn't too repetitious to be fun most of the time, and it had enough gameplay surprises to keep me excited through the whole thing. Just when I thought I'd seen what it had to offer, voila! Something new and fun. And that happened pretty consistently throughout the game. I couldn't honestly say that about any other recent games (especially in the FPS format).

Fly_soup: Not understanding things about the plot is largely by design. I read an article/interview with Gabe Newell about the entire history of the making of HL2.. and I can't find it now, or I would link it here, but he said that you were supposed to have a pretty deep sence of mystery about why you were in city 17 and just how long you had been gone, and that you could piece it together from the other characters and things. The why, I still don't fully get, but the how long I think I get.

Oh yeah, also one thing that irritates me to no end is the friendly squad AI. Enemies seem to know how to work in groups, and be at least fairly effective. Friendlys are just moronic. Example: Standing in a room with a hole in the middle leading to a lower room which is currently full of enemys. I toss a grenade down and wait for the satisfying boom. But before the boom happens my little squaddie jumps down there, right after I threw the grenade, like he was trying to fetch it or something. Needless to say one of the little "Squad following" icons turned red and faded out shortly after. I then hopped down a floor and picked up the residual ammo.

That and the squaddies just can't wait to follow me into a dead end or a room and block my way out, but when an enemy grenade lands nearby and I run away from it, they stand around and get blown up.

I picked it up 2 days ago and am loving it. What else can I say. Doom was a dissapointment, but I am constantly enthralled by HL2

Its a well designed game with a lot of neat touches and several sections that left me with a big grin on my face. Thats all I ask for.

With all the screenies, movies and buzzing going around I didn't really know what to expect from it anymore.
I just got it and I am really enjoying it both gameplay, visuals and story. The physics keep amazing me and the gravity gun stays loads of fun.
My favorite PC game for 2004.
I thought the whole release with Steam and such has some flaws but was still pretty impressive for such a large scale worldwide release.

Yes

Yes indeed.

and the imminent surprise from Valve is......


http://www.steampowered.com/forums/s...hreadid=193559

Woot!

Nice! Why does that pic look like it's been Photoshopped?

because it's an artist's depiction. that's clearly not in game.

valve are seriously fucked up, releasing the game then making it so you must have internet to activate it, then having the activation take a while, then not finishing the game and releasing it with multiplayer, i just dont like their practises at all my good sir.

Probably 'cos it has. Theres no way that rim light on the foreground char is possible in HL2, and theres all sorts of other glowy stuff going on and motion blur. They didnt claim it to be a screenshot I dont think. All I know is that I'll be able to throw toilets at people, and thats what counts here!

"Valve are seriously fucked up"

They just released a game that's better than anything else in its genre and others. Now they give us free multiplayer. Doesn't look very fucked up from where Im sat. Looks mighty fine good sir.

[ QUOTE ]
"Valve are seriously fucked up"

They just released a game that's better than anything else in its genre and others. Now they give us free multiplayer. Doesn't look very fucked up from where Im sat. Looks mighty fine good sir.

[/ QUOTE ]

i know that it's a mighty fine game, but free multiplayer should be pretty much standard. people with 56k will probably have a bunch of trouble with it, say they want to play it on lan. they'll have to sit through one of valve's big downloads to play with their roommate. the activation in and of itself i think is absolutely rediculous, i dont care if it's game of the century or not.