Enough with the constant praise of Half Life 2

[DioWallachia]

While I agree that it isn't really all it's cracked up to be... that's just my opinion.
Other people have different opinions.

Since you clearly haven't been to the internet before I'd like to personally welcome you and remind you that this is a place where opinions of all sorts (many of which you will disagree with) come and fly around.

And now, enjoy a complimentary opinion from me:
Tacos are delicious!

Have a nice evening.

I am the Milkman, my milk is delicious.
Tacos are delicious, therefore milk = Tacos
Special delivery today, Tacos with reinforced formula, what the world needs and deserves

I cant have an opinion on a game i havent played because the people just cannot stop recomending it like it is a life changing experience or best game of all time to the point that its anoying. I just work around the opinions here to reach a conclusion

 

[matrix3509]

Dude you want to know what people think of Half-Life 2 in comparison to other FPS' of its time? GO READ THE FUCKING REVIEWS ITS NOT LIKE THEY MAGICALLY DISAPPEARED. Half-Life 2 reviews from 2004 are still up so go fucking read them. Jesus Christ.

Also, in my opinion, Half-Life 2 was the last bastion of good game design. So it wasn't so much that Half-Life was perfect, far from it in fact.

Its just that quality of the pure FPS genre after Half-Life 2 nose-dived and is still nose-diving to this day 8 years later. The quality of of the pure First Person Shooter is somewhere near hell's basement bunker today and it shows no sign of getting better.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Noooonononononono. I need a REAL answer. Like a specific part that sets apart this game from the rest.

I hate to say it but There is no "REAL" answer.
Half Life isn't the kind of game that relies of set-pieces (Unless you like see-saw's)
The thing that people (Myself included) like about Half Life 2 is that it's just a really solid game with a really solid narrative. There's no cover, I guess that's one thing that sets it apart from everything else available today. I think you should play Half Life 2 because it's a very solidly designed game. And if that's not a good reason then play it because playing it is the only way you'll ever find out if it's nostalgia or quality that keep all the fanboys banging on about it.

By the way, the gravity and physics mechanics DO give free blowjobs.

Ok, but once again you and everyone else is using TODAY'S FPS games as comparation and i will like to know about when HL2 came out (The Citizen Kane reference wasnt just for show because people compare this movie to today's movies when we know that CK obviously is going to win to say.... Transformers films)

Solid is solid, there's no getting around it. It's not my fault that today's shooters suck.

And you did ask what set HL2 apart from other games.
Did you mean other games that came out in 2004?

To use the Citizen Kane reference. There's no specific part of Citizen Kane that makes it great. If someone asked you why that movie was so great what would you tell them? It has the "It factor" all the elements came together to make something better than the sum of its parts.

When Valve makes games they work as a unit. Every element of their games are integrated into all the other elements so the art direction and the level design, the writing, the voice acting, physics engine, AI, textures, music and a million other elements all mesh perfectly together to make a game that's more than the sum of it's parts and Half Life 2 is no exception. (but I'm sure someone's said that to you already)

You can probably get the Orange Box for around $20. Worst case scenario for you: you spent your money to prove that fanboys are blinded by nostalgia.

 

[DioWallachia]

It set a standard and therefore deserves its praise.

a standard for what? linearity (wow... that's actually a word...)? Limited weapons? HEALTH PACKS!??!?!?!?

Hardly anything used in HL2 is used in modern shooters. If there IS something that it helped out, it's the cinematic design of shooters, though arguably other games did this before HL2. Even then, modern shooters cinematics tend to be more the love child of RPGs and hollywood block busters than any influence HL2 had on the industry.

I think you're forgetting what games were like before half life and half life 2. Remember Quake? And why the fuck linearity a bad thing? COD is linear. Bioshock is linear.

Except that there is objectivity to game quality. HL2 fails these tests.

And it is funny. Many of the responses I got before were the same.

It's not about changing the OP's mind. It's about reasons. Reasons that withstand the test of time.

If anything, what I'm honestly getting is that HL2 IS NOT a good game compared to today's standards because NO BODY DEFENDS IT AS SUCH.

So why should you compare such an old game to today's games, you ask? Because this particular game gets so much praise. Fanboys jizz on it all fucking day long while passing over superior FPS. Why? That's what we want to know. Why's it given so much love!

What are you basing this on? Polygon count? Is Dr Strangelove an inferior film because it is in black and white? What other areas does Half life 2 actually not match up to modern games?

Sorry to jump in but i will tell you that i have learned to not give a fuk about the graphics since i played Lok: Soul Reaver 2 and some old titles. But i find kind of weird that people keep using today's moderm FPS to compare them with HL2 when we all know that even games before HL2 can be compared to modern FPS and the old ones will win because they are more fun

 

[DioWallachia]

Noooonononononono. I need a REAL answer. Like a specific part that sets apart this game from the rest.

I hate to say it but There is no "REAL" answer.
Half Life isn't the kind of game that relies of set-pieces (Unless you like see-saw's)
The thing that people (Myself included) like about Half Life 2 is that it's just a really solid game with a really solid narrative. There's no cover, I guess that's one thing that sets it apart from everything else available today. I think you should play Half Life 2 because it's a very solidly designed game. And if that's not a good reason then play it because playing it is the only way you'll ever find out if it's nostalgia or quality that keep all the fanboys banging on about it.

By the way, the gravity and physics mechanics DO give free blowjobs.

Ok, but once again you and everyone else is using TODAY'S FPS games as comparation and i will like to know about when HL2 came out (The Citizen Kane reference wasnt just for show because people compare this movie to today's movies when we know that CK obviously is going to win to say.... Transformers films)

Solid is solid, there's no getting around it. It's not my fault that today's shooters suck.

And you did ask what set HL2 apart from other games.
Did you mean other games that came out in 2004?

To use the Citizen Kane reference. There's no specific part of Citizen Kane that makes it great. If someone asked you why that movie was so great what would you tell them? It has the "It factor" all the elements came together to make something better than the sum of its parts.

When Valve makes games they work as a unit. Every element of their games are integrated into all the other elements so the art direction and the level design, the writing, the voice acting, physics engine, AI, textures, music and a million other elements all mesh perfectly together to make a game that's more than the sum of it's parts and Half Life 2 is no exception. (but I'm sure someone's said that to you already)

You can probably get the Orange Box for around $20. Worst case scenario for you: you spent your money to prove that fanboys are blinded by nostalgia.

I wonder what is the formula to make a blinded fanboy?? i mean i love the Legacy of Kain series but yet i ripped appart its plot holes and the fact that its combat was boring to the point that the player character becomes just a puppet for you to move around point A to point B for the next cutscene (probably because the story was the strong selling point of the series but should be more of a movie)

 

[ACman]

snip

Ok but you people keep comparing this game with the modern ones that we know that arent fun. In fact under that logic i can file any FPS before HL2 and would be better than the ones now (except Requiem: The Avenging Angel that plain sucks but also had the "find the way around yourself and no cutscenes except in the very end)

I'm pretty sure people like COD but anyway.

Lets compare to the other modern greatest FPS on Metacritic.

Halo - I love Halo but I have never found the weapons kinesthetically pleasing to use. And the atmosphere in halo is pretty monotone. Plus the zombies in Halo suck compared to Half life zombies in that they are not scary and they are boring to fight.

Bioshock - the combat in Bioshock always felt a little off to me. And while its environment was cool half life changes up its environment ever couple of hours keeping things fresh.

Modern Warfare - The single player in call of duty games has always felt like a pop out shooting gallery to me. half life's combat may not be realistic but it feels tense and mobile.

Crysis 2 - Suffers from the "leading the player too much" that I discussed before and overuses exposition instead of environment to tell it's story. Plus the two weapon limit leads you to favour a standard rifle/sniper or rifle/rocket-launcher configuration while fun weapons fall by the wayside.

To sum up half life 2 tells it's story better, it has better atmosphere, it has fun (not realistic combat) and while individual games may beat it in one of these areas it doesn't really get surpassed by anything.

 

[ZeroMachine]

it was awesome, atmospheric, good puzzles, good level design

you just have no taste in games

hows that for an answer?

stop remaking old threads.

No taste?? Allow me:

(craking fingers Kenshiro style)

Sacrifice
IJI
MDK2
Dungeon Keeper 1 and 2
Populous 3 The Beginning
Syndicate
Legacy of Kain series minus Blood Omen 2
The Binding of Isaac
Tyrian
Minecraft
Bastion
Raptor Call of Shadows
Hexen 1 and 2
Hereric 1
Blood 1
Deus Ex 1 (played recently)
Hyper Princess Pitch
Batman Revenge of the Joker
Alien Soldier
Chakan The Forever Man
Frozen Synapse
Gunstar Heroes
Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow
Snow Brothers
Diablo 2
Heroes 3 of Might and Magic ( + its mod "Wake of the Gods")
Earthworm Jim
Vectorman
Megaturrican
No More Heroes
Killer7
Vynil Goddess From Mars

To name a few. And HL2 could get in the list if only people told me what its so innovative about it and why they keep comparing this game to the modern FPS when it should be evaluated under the standards of when it came out

It isn't innovative. Today. At all. If it came out today, it would be considered odd and would probably be laughed away.

It was innovative nearly a decade ago when it was first released for the following:

A seamless FPS with a story told through gameplay instead of cutscenes. Relatively well written characters and overall great voice acting also helped.

An at-the-time phenomenal physics and lighting engine that is only getting old within the past couple of years (though if you put the right people to it it can still make games that reach today's standards). Their facial animations are also fantastic even by most of today's standards (just compare HL2 with Kingdom's of Amalur. Holy fuck.)

Somewhat involved with the previous point, the Gravity Gun. From a technical standpoint, it was very innovative.

And that's it. And I'm sure people have stated this to you.

The game is good. For it's time. I enjoy it for nostalgia. Fully admit it. But, I know a lot of people that went through it recently and still loved it.

Try it for yourself. Don't listen to the exorbitant hype. Don't listen to people who compare it to games today to say it's shit.

Just fucking play it and decide for yourself instead of coming here and bitching about how people don't shut up about it (even though I only ever see people talk about it on here when people make threads asking why it's so popular, which I see more of on here than all of the Skyrim and MLP threads... COMBINED. Way to add to that number). If you really let a silly thing like other people praising something push you away from a game, then you need to really rethink how you judge things, because that's just ridiculous.

 

[Anthony Wells]

I played HL2 for the first time in early 2010. Fucking loved it.

I can beat that. I played HL1 for the first time in mid 2010, and enjoyed it more than Bioshock, which I played a couple months later and had to force myself to finish.

i can sort of beat you..i played it for the first time early 2011...but i didnt like it...but thats not because it was bad it was because the autosave system and health packs screwed me up when my friend went reckless on MY account took all the health packs took a shitload of damge used most of my ammo and got all the auto saves in the area...i was left with 5 hours in and no way to continue... gave up and never looked back because it was bull.. thats the ONE thing i like regenerative health over health pack system you cant end up completely stuck like that.. anyways i did enjoy it for awhile and will get it again to try it out again


OT: it gets its praise...well i dont know why..i find it a competent shooter but not one of the best ever... better than halo but i just never likes halo so..

 

[kabooz18]

I need a REAL answer. Like a specific part that sets appart this game from the rest.

Thank you for your time.

it was just innovative for it's time one of the first games with a physics engine big enough to make puzzles and at the same time it has a very unique weapon roster some of which use physics as a weapon

it has the best character expressions and very good voice acting for it's time

a decent story which is today still hard to come by for shooter


BUT that was a long time ago by today's standards the game is mediocre and I think most people have just a borderline creepy crush on valve for whatever reason *shrugs*

I recommend you wait till episode 3 or ,however the sequel is named, comes out and finishes the story and then play through it once with the HL2 Cinematic Mod which strives to use the latest engine for all HL2 games and highres textures

hope I could help^^

 

[AncientSpark]

I jumped onto the Half Life 2 train relatively late, as I entered gaming fairly late, didn't have much money to afford games until late, and was relatively uninterested in FPSes even after gaming until late. But I enjoyed my time with Half Life 2. I'm not going to say that it was the best experience ever, but I could see why it was something relatively interesting and innovative for the time.

But the thing is, as other people have mentioned, their experiences are different from yours. We can go on, explaining about set structure, level design, enemy design, etc. etc. (In fact, the Spoiler Warning crew's occasional Let's Play of Half-Life 2 is a pretty good way to see this: go to Shamus Young's blog or search SpoilerWarningShow on Youtube and you'll find them). The number of recommendations can be of note, but it's kind of silly to ask for reasoning of these recommendations, then throw them out and say "give me better recommendations, because this and this does it better". If those reasons happen to be biased due to nostalgia, why should you care? THEY liked it for a particular reason and it's not like games have some kind of holy scale of what's good and what's not. Popular opinion is only popular opinion and you're not only welcome to your own opinions, but are pretty much ENCOURAGED to your own opinion. If other lambast you for that, that's on their head.

But attempting to create a thread to force a "Give me some real reasons this is good and all your previous opinions are invalid" is putting you in the same category as those who yelled at you for having a dissenting opinion. It's counterproductive and only leading to silly results.

 

[DioWallachia]

It isn't innovative. Today. At all. If it came out today, it would be considered odd and would probably be laughed away.

It was innovative nearly a decade ago when it was first released for the following:

A seamless FPS with a story told through gameplay instead of cutscenes. Relatively well written characters and overall great voice acting also helped.

An at-the-time phenomenal physics and lighting engine that is only getting old within the past couple of years (though if you put the right people to it it can still make games that reach today's standards). Their facial animations are also fantastic even by most of today's standards (just compare HL2 with Kingdom's of Amalur. Holy fuck.)

Somewhat involved with the previous point, the Gravity Gun. From a technical standpoint, it was very innovative.

And that's it. And I'm sure people have stated this to you.

The game is good. For it's time. I enjoy it for nostalgia. Fully admit it. But, I know a lot of people that went through it recently and still loved it.

Try it for yourself. Don't listen to the exorbitant hype. Don't listen to people who compare it to games today to say it's shit.

Just fucking play it and decide for yourself instead of coming here and bitching about how people don't shut up about it (even though I only ever see people talk about it on here when people make threads asking why it's so popular, which I see more of on here than all of the Skyrim and MLP threads... COMBINED. Way to add to that number). If you really let a silly thing like other people praising something push you away from a game, then you need to really rethink how you judge things, because that's just ridiculous.

But wait, i thought it was HL1 the innovative one and not HL2, you know, the one that keep getting the praises rather than the first one?

It may not help that having played Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2; A game that was made before HL2 (you know, the game that EVERYONE keeps mentioning rather than HL1 that was before Soul Reaver 2) may have made a big influence on me. Since SR2 has Shakespearean voice actors and the graphics were just good enough to see every detail in the body language to make them fell alive. It isnt, however, a FPS so i guess i have to judge it with another similar FPS like Requiem The Avenging Angel from the year 1999. Tons of weapons and powers of all flavors and also no cutscene interruption, all was during gameplay but had the fatal flaw of being bugged up the ass on the very first minutes of the game. Charlie Brooker gave a good review of it and for some bloody reason it didnt destroy it appart after finishing with it. Besides, Cyclone Studios closed after making this game and 3DO, the publisher, followed.

That is the closest FPS i played to compare. How about any suggestions FPS around 1999 and the year of HL2 to have a comparation??

 

[Bealzibob]

I've been playing through HL2 over the last year (gaps because of changing computers) and it's great fun till it tries to do a big boys pace and then all it's seams come apart. HL2 is great at it's slow pace style but overall it is a really shit FPS and should be considered something else like a strange puzzle/platformer/horror combination (because the 2-3 enemy pace of horror is what it usually maintains).

The bigger battles in it is what stopped me recently from finally completing it because they suffer so badly from it's lack of newer innovations. It's good though cause it really shows how regen hp/shield, cover combat and reliable 2 weapon system really do make a game more enjoyable.

PS: Typed this all one handed while eating, my internet lvl in increasing

 

[DioWallachia]

OT: it gets its praise...well i dont know why..i find it a competent shooter but not one of the best ever... better than halo but i just never likes halo so..

Found youuuuuuuuuu.

So maybe all this praise of HL2 could be something that i call "Yathzee Recomends This Because If People Pay For This The Devolopers Will Make More Games Like It And Hopefully Be Superior To This One, Otherwise More Shitty Brown Realistic Shooters Will Keep Coming Syndrome"

Also know as "YRTBIPPFTTDWMMGLIAHBSTTOOMSBRSWKCS"

My point is that Yathzee used this....thing to promote Ninja Gaiden 2 and Skyrim because:
1)He felt that NG2 is a dying breed of game
2)He recommended Skyrim even for its flaws because it will center the gaming industry in making more games like Skyrim rather than Brown Realistic Shooters

So when i saw your comment on Halo the same idea come to me. The fanboys think that if they praise HL2 regardless of its flaws enough, they may get more games like it rather than games like Halo

 

[DioWallachia]

I've been playing through HL2 over the last year (gaps because of changing computers) and it's great fun till it tries to do a big boys pace and then all it's seams come apart. HL2 is great at it's slow pace style but overall it is a really shit FPS and should be considered something else like a strange puzzle/platformer/horror combination (because the 2-3 enemy pace of horror is what it usually maintains).

The bigger battles in it is what stopped me recently from finally completing it because they suffer so badly from it's lack of newer innovations. It's good though cause it really shows how regen hp/shield, cover combat and reliable 2 weapon system really do make a game more enjoyable.

PS: Typed this all one handed while eating, my internet lvl in increasing

But wont free regen health make the game less tense?

Anyway, the point of all this is to know why HL2 is being praised as the better game when HL1 is the same but with less than stellar graphics and should get the praise instead for setting the stardart

 

[Fishyash]

Since I haven't played half life... ever...

Maybe you should at least play the demo and get a little bit more perspective?

 

[daveman247]

Ok doke. Here are what could be considered the "great" FPS games of 2004:

Painkiller / BOOH
Unreal Tournament 2004
Far Cry
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Doom 3
Halo 2
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Half Life 2

I will admit, it was a great year but:
- Painkiller was a great arcade game, but had little to no story and wasn't very varied in gameplay.
- Unreal Tournament was an online game so isnt comparable.
- Far cry probably came close to toppling half life, but it went a little weird when it introduced the Sci -fi stuff, got a bit repetative after a while also.
- Thief isnt really comparable because it isnt an FPS technically
- Doom 3: Also a brillient game but fell down in the story department and variety department. The "closet scares" also got tiresome after a while.
- Halo 2 will never be remembered for its single player, because it wasnt that great. Not to mention it had one of the most terrible cliff- hangers ever.
- Metroid i cannot comment on, never played it.

And we come to Half Life 2! ^_^
Theres not much that hasn't already been said. Its not just a single factor that made the game stand above the rest, Painkiller may have had funner weapons, Doom better graphics, Far cry for having the whole "free roam" thing and stealth. Half life 2 just got so many things right. Variety to stop things getting boring, a good mix of weapons, one for every situation and quite an interesting story and atmosphere for a FPS. Something which wasn't common at that time, the characters were believeable and likeable. Also the gravity gun, something that wasnt seen ever before: The ability to lift most objects and toss them at enemies. Plus the whole physics thing etc.
Does this answer your question?

 

[Mikeyfell]

I wonder what is the formula to make a blinded fanboy?? i mean i love the Legacy of Kain series but yet i ripped appart its plot holes and the fact that its combat was boring to the point that the player character becomes just a puppet for you to move around point A to point B for the next cutscene (probably because the story was the strong selling point of the series but should be more of a movie)

From what I can gather about Fanboys it's that they like something (Anything) in a way that won't change.

I like to think there's a line between fanboys and the idiot fanboys that ruin everything.
There are the people who can unconditionally love something, then there are the people who unconditionally love something then go out of their way to attack the people that don't love it as much as they do. (like the opposite of Haters).

Like I'm a fanboy for Mass Effect 2. I love that game and I've read every single article about why ME2 sucks, and every plot hole dug up, and what's up with the planet scanning and all that stuff. But I still love it. Nothing will ever make me love Mass Effect 2 any less, and I totally get how and why it sucks. I'm not going to rip your balls off if you don't like Mass Effect 2. But I know people who will, and they make me look bad for sharing an interest with them. (Same thing with Half Life 2)

Or maybe I'm wrong and that's the difference between a "fan" and a "fanboy"

Anyway I'm getting off topic here, It's always hard to explain why something is good. It's like that overused saying "If I do my job well no one will ever know I was here." Everyone involved with Half Life did their jobs well, so you can't point to one thing and say "That" is why you should play HL2. It's just a damn good game and if that's not doing it for you I don't know what will.


[sub]Well, there is one thing. Alyx is really pretty and you can stair at her ass during cutscenes if you want.[/sub]

 

[Flames66]

"it has a good story and gameplay mechanics and gives free blowjobs"

Noooonononononono. I need a REAL answer. Like a specific part that sets appart this game from the rest.

I enjoyed it because it has a good story and I enjoy the gameplay mechanics.

It was one of the early innovators with physics engines. It is linier, but doesn't feel like it. It has some of the best graphics I have seen (better than most games since).

 

[Bealzibob]

SNIP

But wont free regen health make the game less tense?

Anyway, the point of all this is to know why HL2 is being praised as the better game when HL1 is the same but with less than stellar graphics and should get the praise instead for setting the stardart

Can't really speak on the subject of HL1 vs HL2.

Not really no. Regen health would solve the problem I found with extended battles where slowly but sure the difficulty skyrockets as you are worn down and health packs become less available and you hover at or below 50%. The example I had was in HL2:esp 2 where there is an open field battle against enemies that don't passively drop ammo. As I slowly lost ammo caches and health I ended up stuck at a wave were I could not progress. I turned down the difficulty and still couldn't prevail. Ultimately I would of had to restart the entire event and protect more caches earlier on. By the time this came apparent couldn't be bothered.

This scenario is pretty much the entire point of regen health and because regenning hp will only take effect while not being hit it doesn't really effect how tense a fight is instead only stops the "tense due to fear of fustration" moments that appear when your low.

 

[Rad Party God]

I'm sorry, but I just can't take this thread seriously. I liked it's story and gameplay. /thread