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

[Beryl77]

I've played through the game dozens of times, so I don't remember how long it took me on my first playthrough but definitely longer than 9 hours.
I don't see why it seems so impossible to you to beat the game longer than 9 hours. People play differently, even in a linear game like hl2. If you look at some "let's plays" on youtube, you'll realise that the playtime on a game like hl2 can vary a lot.
I remember when Portal 2 was released, some people finished the game in under 9 hours. There were others who played for 20 hours and Portal 2 is just as linear as hl2.

Unlike a movie, the playtime for a video game changes a lot. Mostly when people talk about the length of a game, they take the average and if I remember correctly, the average for hl2 is between 8 and 9 hours.

 

[Bobic]

Haha, what? I completed it in about 6 hours. Granted, I didnt go for ALL the collectibles but I found a fair few.

Those 6 hours include me running around a deserted level for half an hour trying to find the way to progress at least 3 times, by the way.

Took me 16 hours. I died a few times but definitely not enough to count for 7 hours worth.

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

Ok, I'm not pointing fingers but one of you has to be exaggerating. I seriously doubt it could take one of you 6 and the other 16.

I did go to steam to check out how long it took me. It says I've played it for 44 minutes. That's what I get for completing half life 2 multiple times before steam included that timer thing.

Oh well, you two fight it out to decide the proper length. I'll watch.

 

[TheFPSisDead]

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.

No offense, but the topic seems sort of irrelevant. For example, some people can beat Portal in 2 hours, it may take others 5 or 6. Just depends on how quick someone prefers to play a game. Another good example is, CoD Blops. Apparently that campaign is only 5 or 6 hours long. took me 12 to 14. Everyone plays at his or her own pace.

 

[Rad Party God]

INB4 this thread devolves into "meh, HL2 sux ballz"

The first time I finished it, I clocked 12 hours, even less each time I finish the game, but it's definitively longer than many modern games.

 

[Lukeje]

Just by the way, how are people measuring the time taken? 'Cos just using the `hours played' given by the steam software is notoriously unreliable.

As far as I remember I think it took me about 15 hours to beat...

 

[Anthony Wells]

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/]

you think you got it bad for hate/rage?

i got bored around 3 hours in... never played it again..didnt find it fun... of course MY perceptions might be a bit corrupted since my friend got me in an winnable spot and all my autosaves were in that spot and my last manual save was the beginning of the game so i wont be putting any money back into the game for a long..long time

 

[wottabout]

I don't remember how long it took me, but I assume that it took longer than twenty hours. I try to spend as much time as possible on a game, exploring the entire map and stacking random irrelevant objects and killing myself in interesting ways etc.

 

[Tupolev]

Ok, I'm not pointing fingers but one of you has to be exaggerating. I seriously doubt it could take one of you 6 and the other 16.

Pfft. Even ignoring differences in player skill, playstyle and approach can easily account for differences that large.

When I play Two Betrayals on Legendary in Halo 1, it can be anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, depending on how much I stop and smell the roses, whether I feel like wraith-shotgunning for funsies, and a whole bunch of other factors. I never rush that level, and sometimes I take my non-rushing to vastly greater extremes than other times.

In Half-Life 2's case, 6 hours is a pretty good clip, but I would guess not unmanageable. But 15-20 hours is totally reasonable if you're taking things more slowly, and Half-Life 2 is extremely enjoyable (at least to some people) like that. It'll probably take far longer if you're the sort that really messes around.

 

[ElPatron]

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

I think OP's point is that HL2 is usually overrated in some aspects, such as it's length.

FYI: I remember a lot of reviewers saying that Call of Duty games were usually good for 9-10 hours. I don't buy gaming magazines any more, so I don't know what they say about MW3.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

It probably took me 15 hours or so... I'm a thorough player of games though. Surely when they put the time of these games on the box or reveiws they are refering to players who are pretty standard... know how to hold a controller, but havent neccesarily played many games.

They probably arn't going to try and sell there game saying... 'hey you can speed run this game in 6 hours', as that would probably turn people away! I imagine the 15 hour mark is for a 100% completion by a standard gamer.

Thats how they can clock games like Skyrim to be so high.. It's not just talking about the main quest!

The game times work best on games like JRPG's as these are the easiest to clock, but they will also account for every NPC to be spoken to, and all text to be read, and cutscenes watched!

 

[Weaver]

Gotta get all the lambdas

 

[Soviet Heavy]

They might be counting in the other episodes.

(either way they are idiots)

They're idiots for liking Half Life 2?

First run took me about twelve hours.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

With or without episodes? Former, I miiight believe, but latter seems more likely /shrug

 

[WhatHityou]

I think my first run had to be longer than that, Probably because I actualy stood around and listened to the in game conversations of the npc's. The story's good so I like listening in.