Half Life 2 15 to 20 hours...? What?

[Idsertian]

A couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to play through HL2 without stopping. I started early evening, played through the night and finished at about 9 in the morning if I remember rightly. Took me about 14 hours, inclusive of food and toilet breaks.

My point? Play time varies. If you want a longer game, stop playing on easy.

 

[negimafan587]

On my first playthrough, I finished it in 10 - 11 hours.

...Maybe everyone got stuck on the puzzles?

Id agree same time and maybe one or two puzzles slowed me down cuz of not seeing a switch or something but that's still like 8-10 more hrs of inflation...well maybe turtles were playing it?!?!

 

[Hyper-space]

It took me about 6-7 or so hours, counting the time I was not quite sure where to go, seeing as the game keeps giving you 5 different paths, of which 4 are dead-ends. Not only dead-ends, but really obvious dead-ends, like jarring brick-walls that do not look as if they should be there.

So yeah, dunno what kept people.

 

[Korten12]

A couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to play through HL2 without stopping. I started early evening, played through the night and finished at about 9 in the morning if I remember rightly. Took me about 14 hours, inclusive of food and toilet breaks.

My point? Play time varies. If you want a longer game, stop playing on easy.

I didn't play on Easy.

Bragging about how quickly you finished HL2, i'd compare that to bragging about how quickly you finished having sex.

I would give you an internet cookie or something, but that is over-rated and rather bland, so I'll just say that there is no better way I could have worded this sentiment.

Half Life 2 is a bit of an experience. While it may not say it out of the gate like Amnesia or something, a lot of it comes from letting you get into the atmosphere, and appreciating the little details. If you're speeding through from one section to the next, just blazing to the end to finish it, you may as well go watch the LOTR or something but at twice the normal speed.

People seem to be misunderstanding. I DID NOT RUSH THORUGH THE GAME. In fact during sections like the driving and the start, I actually explored quite a bit and there were parts I died on a bit but I still beat it in 9 hours.

 

[UltraXan]

I once saw a guy breeze through it in a little under 3 hours... watched the whole video, too...

 

[Raddra]

Normal non-rush games where you take the time to properly experience all the game, search out things and stay about to listen to dialogue etc would be 15-20+ hours long.

*checks steam*

took me about 18-19 hours.

 

[DaSpoony]

Honestly if it took you 9 hours you really missed out on a lot. I recommend you replay it.

How can I miss out on content in a completely linear game?

That's a pretty narrow minded way of looking at it.

Just because it's linear doesn't mean there's not plenty to miss out on. With a game like half life you'll find loads of additional dialogue, hidden areas and you may even just want to take a minute to appreciate whatever awesome scene lays before you.

Not to mention spending longer than necessary to pull off something cool!

Surely you must have had a moment in Ravenholm where you waited until about 5 zombies were in a row and you could slice all their heads off in one go with the gravity gun & saw blade?

I'm not having a go at you or anything, but I can say for certain that if your completion time for Half Life 2 was <10 then you missed out.

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

I beat it in one sitting. A long sitting but I'm sure it didn't take 15-20 hours. On Orange Box for Xbox 360 if it matters.

Imagine an Orange Box 2....you imagined it yet?....yeah I know right? Awesome.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

According to my Steam it took me 15 hours but I played it on the hardest setting first time through and I'm notorious for wandering off and leaving my PC on.

It didn't seem that long of a game if I'm honest.

 

[Sarge034]

It took me near 7 years to complete HL2, actually saw the end credits only a month or so ago.
I got bored around the beach/road section.

(Bracing for the incoming hate/rage)

Spoiler

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/firehm.jpg/]

OMGZ! Are you Superman or something? Come to think of it I don't believe even Superman could withstand a volley from the hardcore Valve fanboys / fangirls (not trying to be sexist or anything)... You, sir or madam, are a very brave soul.

Spoiler: Challenge Acceppted

This challenge.... I have accepted it.

OT- I think I took about 7 or 8 hours, but I didn't get all of the collectibles or achievements so I could see another 7-8 hour play through to get them. The question becomes what do you feel it takes to "beat" a game? If beat means to finish the story then it looks like the consensus is about 7 hours. If beat means to 100% the game then I could see it being 15-20 hours.

 

[quiet_samurai]

I have to say...does it matter?

Is it really that important?

Agree.


If we are going to have a wang measuring contest, lets at least make it interesting.

 

[DaSpoony]

Honestly if it took you 9 hours you really missed out on a lot. I recommend you replay it.

How can I miss out on content in a completely linear game?

That's a pretty narrow minded way of looking at it.

Just because it's linear doesn't mean there's not plenty to miss out on. With a game like half life you'll find loads of additional dialogue, hidden areas and you may even just want to take a minute to appreciate whatever awesome scene lays before you.

Not to mention spending longer than necessary to pull off something cool!

Surely you must have had a moment in Ravenholm where you waited until about 5 zombies were in a row and you could slice all their heads off in one go with the gravity gun & saw blade?

I'm not having a go at you or anything, but I can say for certain that if your completion time for Half Life 2 was <10 then you missed out.

No you can't say shit for certain, you weren't there.

I hate when people assume because I don't take forever to beat a game it's because I didn't "appreciate it".

I've finished the game 2-3 times and have seen what there is to see.

Likewise you can't "say shit for certain" and assume that you've seen everything there is to see.

As I said, I'm not trying to have a go at you (why are you taking this personally?) but in my honest opinion, you have missed out.

 

[Deadyawn]

I think it took me around 10 hours first time through. It's kinda weird that a game like that could produce such a disparity in playtimes for people. So I don't know.

 

[Sylveria]

So I was in class and a student says that HL2 is 15 to 20 hours long. I told him no, it's not. As I have beaten the game in 9 hours.

So I go and google it and apparently many people say the game is 15 to 20 hours long. But I don't see how that's possible. I beat the game on normal, I died a bit, and yet I beat it supposly 6 hours earlier then everyone else.

I just can't see how a game as linear as HL2 is apparently 15 to 20 Hours long. Where did those 6+ hours I apparently missed are.

HL2 + Episodes is that long, but they specifically mention just HL2.

So for disscussion value, is the game that long? and what time did it take you to beat it.

I'd say it all depends on your difficulty level and familiarity with the game. I could blow through it in 8hrs easily cause I've played it a dozen times and know where it all is. But, for a first timer? Yeah I'd say 15-20 is pretty accurate.

 

[Conza]

So I was in class and a student says that HL2 is 15 to 20 hours long. I told him no, it's not. As I have beaten the game in 9 hours.

So I go and google it and apparently many people say the game is 15 to 20 hours long. But I don't see how that's possible. I beat the game on normal, I died a bit, and yet I beat it supposly 6 hours earlier then everyone else.

I just can't see how a game as linear as HL2 is apparently 15 to 20 Hours long. Where did those 6+ hours I apparently missed are.

HL2 + Episodes is that long, but they specifically mention just HL2.

So for disscussion value, is the game that long? and what time did it take you to beat it.

The Ravenholm enternity would be the difference, I've played HL2 through twice, and the first time I got quite lost in Ravenholm for ages, the second time I sort of knew my way around so it wasn't as long, and probably finished closer to your 9 hours than the ~15 it would've taken me the first time.

Granted, I did not spend 6 hours in Ravenholm, but I spent a couple there, plus everything else takes a little longer the first time, and there we are.

 

[DaSpoony]

Honestly if it took you 9 hours you really missed out on a lot. I recommend you replay it.

How can I miss out on content in a completely linear game?

That's a pretty narrow minded way of looking at it.

Just because it's linear doesn't mean there's not plenty to miss out on. With a game like half life you'll find loads of additional dialogue, hidden areas and you may even just want to take a minute to appreciate whatever awesome scene lays before you.

Not to mention spending longer than necessary to pull off something cool!

Surely you must have had a moment in Ravenholm where you waited until about 5 zombies were in a row and you could slice all their heads off in one go with the gravity gun & saw blade?

I'm not having a go at you or anything, but I can say for certain that if your completion time for Half Life 2 was <10 then you missed out.

No you can't say shit for certain, you weren't there.

I hate when people assume because I don't take forever to beat a game it's because I didn't "appreciate it".

I've finished the game 2-3 times and have seen what there is to see.

Likewise you can't "say shit for certain" and assume that you've seen everything there is to see.

As I said, I'm not trying to have a go at you (why are you taking this personally?) but in my honest opinion, you have missed out.

Considering I've had multiple playthroughs I would estimate I have seen 90% of things, hell I'm sure you haven't seen everything. For all I know there could be some easter egg you have you have to use noclip to see but the point is that I've seen most if not all notable things such a NPC conversations or Gman occurrences of notable value.

Just because I don't spend time licking virtual window panes doesn't mean I don't explore, quite the opposite.

If you wanted to keep "exploring" shit in a Valve game you could do it for years due to all the Episode 3 conspiracy nutjobs that find meaning in everything and by that point you are no longer enjoying the game.

Just deal with the fact that people don't have to go agonizingly slow to experience the game to it's fullest.

Honestly I feel like this is going round in circles. You don't seem to be listening.

1. I think you have missed out. Considering what I think to have qualified as 'missed out' is entirely up to me and therefore is entirely subjective, I am completely entitled to say that.

2. It does not worry me in the slightest that I believe you to have missed out. I'd be interested to hear why you'd disagree, rather than continually hearing you just saying no, as if to imply I'm the first person you've ever disagreed with about anything and you have no clue as to how a discussion works.

3. Experiencing a game to its fullest is not a requirement. I've nowhere implied that I think of you as a worse gamer or anything like that. Clearly you have taken some person offence to the fact that you may have not experienced Half Life 2 to it's fullest.

4. Have a nice day.