Wow, Half Life 2 is really not that impressive

[fast]

To me, the first half of Nova Prospekt is the best part in the entire game. But you are very far from that.

The one thing that Valve really buggered up in Half Life 2 is the physics puzzles. I mean its great the first time, the by the third time the novelty wore off, and by the fifth I was already learning how to surf things.

If you havent played the first game alot of it wont make sense. The reason the Resistance fighters and Vorigants view Freeman as a savior like figure is because he was. He saved the Vorigants from the brain creature whos name escapes me, breaking the bonds of slavery. All this and he was just some scientist from MIT who took his powered suit and a crowbar and equivalently saved the world. Is it the most believable plot, no, but it makes for a great backdrop for the story and the world.

Is it for everyone, no, but like the others said, the base game is only so much. I will not even begin to think of how many hours I have wasted playing TFC, Science and Industry, Natural Selection, Sven Coop, and Half Life Deathmatch. Hell there use to be a Harvest Moon like farming sim for it and several racing games.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

OK, first, stop with the whole "Are you human? How can you not like this game???!!!!!!oneone" crap. We can disagree without being asses. I'm calling in moderator fiat on this one.

I really enjoyed Half Life 2. There were parts I didn't like, certainly. I found Ravenholm a little annoying, as well as the ant lions when I first got the buggy, but it sounds like you aren't that far in, yet. I think you need to push through Ravenholm and you'll find the later half of the game picks up a good bit. Keep in mind that when this game was released among its high profile competition was Doom 3, which is infinitely more generic.

Say and throw generic as you please but I feel Quake 4 and Doom 3 are both awesome games and they even still look pretty damn good.

[enderfall]

I have to agree with the OP to an extent. I absolutely hated the hovercraft and buggy sections of the game. So much so that it was wearing on me and I had to stop playing it. I ended up selling the game back to GS so that I had some money to get Smash Bros. Brawl, but down the line I expect to pick up a copy of Orange Box to play through from where I left off. Hopefully, as many said, it gets better!

[J T]

You complain that Gordon can't die within a few shots... this isn't Super Realistic, and THANK GOD IT ISN'T! When the hell have you played a game and enjoyed the fact that you die in one shot? Maybe you are the type of person who prefers Gran Turismo over Burnout, I dunno. I've always preferred fun over realism, and they're usually mutually exclusive.

hehe.



Oh, and one more thing, GRAVITY GUN FTW!

[Ack]

Being a big fan of horror, Ravenholm was my favorite level, but I liked how difficult it was to drop the fast zombies and how much ammunition I would waste trying to push through. Nova Prospekt was fun too, as are the city levels nearing the end of the game. I did feel the driving levels were a bit too long, but cruising for a while didn't bother me.

The gravity gun always made me laugh, partially because I liked launching doors at people(fire it sideways at waste level in multiplayer and watch people attempt to jump it. Absolutely hilarious), and partially because of how much it was ripped off immediately following the game. Doom 3's expansion even included a clone of it in an attempt to cash in on its success(at least I'm pretty sure it was Doom 3...might have been Quake 4. After a while, id's games start to blend together).

Oh well, either way, having guided Freeman through Black Mesa in the late 90s, in a game that literally revolutionized the first person shooter genre, I was glad he got a little respect. But I do think that it probably hinders the second, as you really need to play the first to understand what's going on and why everyone thinks so highly of him.

And then there's always the "to each his own" bit.

[BigTinz]

I'm beginning to think this is a troll thread.


I mean, people don't seriously not like half life? Do they?

[AwesomeMonstar]

I'm beginning to think this is a troll thread.


I mean, people don't seriously not like half life? Do they?

I dunno... I personally HATE the first half life. I really think it is simply the most overrated game of all time. I know the scripted events were revolutionary for its time but I don't care. It didn't make it fun. I think opposing forces was actually a crap ton better than hl1, the shooting was alot more fluid, the plot more interesting, and the new weapons were pretty swell. I really hoped that valve would extend that storyline. Instead we just get to see the guy from the crappy expansion pack over and over again. Neat.


Hl2 though was what i though hl1 should have been, probably one of the most immersive games I have ever played. The landscapes, the puzzles, man, when you first got to control the ant lions... that was fucking awesome. I do understand how one could say the the game isnt as amazing as everybody says. The gravity gun was overplayed, the those hover boat sequences were bland, and lets face it, episode one was terrible. Episode two was much much better though, my favorite part of the whole series. Finish HL2 before you blast it, chances are you'll find something pretty awesome.

[Gamerforlife]

Well, I'm a bit farther. I just got through some bridge sequence where I had to take down one of those air ships. I'll give the game credit for a few things. It does have some cool characters. The atmosphere is good and there are also some interesting scripted moments.

Beyond that though, it just feels like a generic shooter to me. I feel like I'm going through the same motions I've gone through in other shooters. The gravity gun was fun for all of like five minutes, then it got old. It doesn't seem that useful beyond Ravenholm either. Also, there's too much vehicle based stuff. Halo did this, but it at least had an interesting mix of vehicles to use and having marines onboard some of them made things more interesting. The air boat and buggy in Half Life 2 are, in comparison, rather bland. I feel like they are overused as well. Too much driving around for a shooter. After spending what seemed like too much time in the air boat, I wasn't enthused when the game threw that buggy at me. I thought, great, here we go again. Repetition, thy name is Half Life 2.

I hear people talk about mods. Shouldn't the game be fun WITHOUT mods?

Also, the puzzles are a bit tiresome. Stacking boxes on top of things and using a crane to move your vehicle aren't exactly exciting. I do occasionally get the sense that the designers were far too impressed by their physics system and felt the need to throw in lots of useless puzzles just to show it off.

I don't know, the game just seems okay to me. Nothing special. Sorry if I ruffled some feathers, judging by some of the posts in this thread. I sort of expected that though. I'm well aware of how sacred this game is to some people. In all fairness through it, I'm pushing through it. Perhaps, it'll win me over at some point. I feel like I am also getting a bit jaded these days too, so take that for what it's worth.

[RadarScope1]

Love, love HL2.

G4L, you keep saying you're not doing anything you haven't done in other shooters. Which ones are you thinking of? Is there a chance they took at least some ideas from HL or HL2? Just something to consider.

While I dig the game, I can see where you're coming from. I think it might come down to whether you place more value on intricate gameplay or atmosphere and level design. I feel like HL2 has the latter in spades, but the gunplay itself isn't necessarily tops in the genre, especially in 2009. However, I like that about it. I'm not really a shooter guy. I have hardly ever touched a Halo, SOCOM, Gears, Team Fortress, Quake, Time Splitters, Killzone, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, or Far Cry game. Maybe that disqualifies me from this discussion, but I just feel like HL is very easy to get into and enjoy.

I've yet to play Ep 1 & 2. I hear they top HL2 in many ways.

[Mozgus]

I hear people talk about mods. Shouldn't the game be fun WITHOUT mods?

The game is good without mods. With mods, it's pretty much the greatest deal of any FPS on PC.

You say it's generic. We say it's not. You aren't providing an argument for your claims. You're just listing aspects of HL2, and saying you don't like them. We can list those same aspects, and say that we do like them.

You think the gravity gun is dull. I think smashing a toilet over someone's face is not dull.
You think the vehicle segments are dull. I think driving through the hillsides, canals, and beaches are breathtaking sights, and I love how you can skip much of the additional content to be had in those areas if you want.
You don't care for physics puzzles. I think in 2004, they were very innovative, and they surely beat out the tired typical shit with turning clock hands, and shifting 3x3 square tiles that other games did all the time.
You don't like a mute protagonist. I say a mute is the only character type you can have in an FPS, lest you lose immersion when the character says something you wouldn't have said.

I could do this all day. Just stop playing the fucking thing, and get some mods already. Start here:

http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View. ... elect_id=1