Half-Life 2 - "the best graphics ever"?

[bartholen_v1legacy]

This came to my mind a while ago. Even before the recent automatic graphics update from Steam, Half-Life 2's graphics were still really good. Many of the indoor areas border on photorealism, and the facial animation is still top of the line. The physics are impressive to this day, and the level of interactivity the player has with the game world is still exceptional compared to many modern games.

I'm not talking about how many polygons one can stuff into a frame, or how realistic effects can be. I'm talking about how well a game immerses you into it and makes you believe in the world. In this sense, I haven't found many games that do it as well as Half-Life 2 and its episodes.

What are your opinions on this? I'm expecting some "LOL VALVE FANBOY FAG OMG PISS OFF" talk here, but if we could have more of a discussion and less of an insulthon.

 

[sephiroth1991]

I remember when it came out and i thought it looked great, you say their was update. No one has the best graphics.

 

[Chicaine]

Not sure if its because i was playing on the PS3 as opposed to PC with high settings but i felt although the graphics were good it didn't really immerse me as such, i just felt so out of place wherever i went

 

[Soulgaunt]

Half-Life 2 does do pretty well at immersing you into the game, but it's not just the graphics. The characters and the setting itself are what immerse you. Hell, I actually felt kinda sad after...

Spoiler: Massive spoiler

Eli died.

That kind of stuff in games doesn't usually work on me.

 

[Drauden]

When the game first came out, it blew my mind. The way they had implemented the physics to solve puzzles, and the gravity gun... loved that gun.
But apart from the gravity gun, I actually didn't find the combat all that fun. The combine were tough sons of bitches, but I didn't feel the satisfaction of killing them. Still though, the games world is huge if you think about it, and it takes many different elements and mashes them together. Horror in Ravenholm, sci-fi at the end (and most of the game I guess), puzzle solving, sun taning... great game.

However, I didn't care much for the story, so it failed to immerse me as much as other technical advanced games. Metal Gear Solid 2 for example, that's a game that let you do lots of crazy stuff and actually give you some feedback on what you just did. It didn't have as good physics as Half-Life 2, but what it brought was immersion.

 

[fix-the-spade]

Hmm...

Best graphics, no, I don't think so, not even on the immersion scale of things. I think games with better dynamic lighting (like Far Cry) do immersion better as it makes the world more instinctive.

But, I do think Source is one the of best game engines for scalability. Many many stupids moan about it's age and that it 'needs' to be replaced. Even though it's still one of the best for facial expression and works on a huge variety of hardware. I also think Valve's constant tweaking an re-writing of it keeps it reasonably up to date, Source now (L4D2) is effectively a new engine over Source in Half Life 2.

 

[mysterj]

Not really, I dunno what to say, source engine is outdated now and there's nothing other than the facial animation/lip syncing that's actually impressive anymore.

Nalstogia perhaps? It used to look great.

 

[King of the Sandbox]

I actually think RDR has the best graphics I've ever seen.

But I don't really put all that much stock into graphics. If I can tell it's a tree or a rock or someone's face, then it's good enough for me. Anything else is a bonus.

 

[rabidmidget]

Personally I say the best Graphics are stylized graphics rather than realistic graphics.

In that respect the graphics of Grim Fandango > Crysis

 

[KingTiger]

The new updates on the PC caused me to replay the whole thing, I still find the graphics great and immersive. I dont think its the best graphics though, that title goes to Crysis and Metro2033

Nothing like the revolver in HD 8D

This made me love valve even more, its a 6 year old game and it still gets massive graphical updates. I think I am becoming a fan boy ARGH THE HORROR >:C

 

[AlphaOmega]

It still looks good today, a 6 year old game.
Its a shame a lot of people want more and more out of the looks department because I think that the game still looks great.

 

[vallorn]

due to Valves constant updates the HL2 games keep getting better and better especialy if you play them one at a time and look at the details.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Yes, perhaps the thread should have been called something else, but I couldn't come up with a better name.

If you look at some other games from 2004 which were praised for their graphics, they look (in my opinion anyway) a lot more dated than HL2's. Say, Doom 3 and Far Cry. I've only played the Doom 3 demo, but in both games the characters look plasticy and not nearly as human as HL2's.

Sorry if I give the wrong impression here, but I'm not trying to yell "HL2 hases da best graffx evurr" but bring up how well they've stood the test of time.

 

[bassdrum]

due to Valves constant updates the HL2 games keep getting better and better especialy if you play them one at a time and look at the details.

Are you Father Grigori, by any chance?

OT: I can definitely see where you're coming from. I was actually replaying HL2 recently and was impressed to see how good all of the animations still look, this many years down the road. Sure, it's not photorealistic, and the textures can get a little bit repetitive, but I never found myself caring that I was playing a game that was half a decade old.

In this sense, I absolutely agree with you--Valve has done a really good job creating immersive and believable worlds.

 

[Flames66]

In terms of the overall experience, I think that Valve games are better put together than many others.

 

[vallorn]

due to Valves constant updates the HL2 games keep getting better and better especialy if you play them one at a time and look at the details.

Are you Father Grigori, by any chance?

Yes Brother! Now let me send this incredibly slow platform across to you while your face is eaten by Fast Zombies!!!

... BEHIND YOU BROTHER! *BANG* you may want to watch yourself better!