Half life 2

[Onyx Oblivion]

I actually have an interesting story about the fate of my Orange Box. I bought it last week, and got all the way to the midpoint of episode 2. When what should happen but my wonderful 360 eats the disc. Somehow, I was able to get it started and play through the rest of the game, (unfortunately with a graphical problem) and just after I finished the game froze. So no more replay of Portal, but the time I had cemented my belief that Half Life 2 and its episodes are the greatest thing in gaming.

well, discs are high in fiber

What the hell would an Xbox need fiber for?

On second thought, maybe there would be less RRoDs if more Xbox's got their recommended amounts of fiber?

It needs fiber to do...stuff. Like patch games. And the RRoD is caused by a lack of fiber. I feed my 360 daily.

Daily? Wow, you must have a lot of discs to go through. I mean it's eating them like cake, providing it's not a lie...

Well, it doesn't eat them. Merely absorbs their slowly recharging energy and turns it into fiber. I just play a lot of games on it...Heck, finishing a game is a rarity now. I try a lot of games, and will not force myself to enjoy them if they don't peak my interest. I'm not rich, I just subscribe to Gamefly.
And boy...I've rented some stinkers...

 

[scotth266]

I didn't play the original, but I'm gonna wait to play the second one till this black mesa thing comes out.

 

[whyarecarrots]

Wait for Black Mesa. Its gonna be HL1 with the HL2 graphics and physics engine.

already have a HL1 source

I suggest to just go see Freeman's Mind Episodes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J80KD4BG7M
its funny , and you get a idea of what the story was +/-

I played HL2 before 1, its really no issue

Half Life: Source is not the same as Black Mesa. The only imrpovement is better water and improved Physics. Black Mesa is a total remake from scratch on the Source Engine.

As I stated before, no it's not. It's a fan made version that's moving farther and farther from it's source material the more it's developed. It doesn't have the original soundtrack. It doesn't have the original voice work. It has an altered arsenal. It's even started to have altered maps and entire sections of the story taken out. The dialogue has also begun to be rewritten with different characters. So, if you really want to know what Half-Life 1 was like, the last thing you want to do is play Black Mesa. Just get the original game or the slight remake Half-Life: Source. You'd be doing yourself a disservice otherwise.

There's nothing that states a remake has to be an identical copy of the original. Even if they are changing some aspects, overall, it's still a remake of the game on the source engine. And who's to say that some of their work may not be an improvement? Half Life, as excellent as it still is, is an old game by now, and mod-makers have proved by now that they're able to make games with good sounds, voice acting and map-design built from scratch (Age of Chivalry, Insurgency, etc), although there are still occasions when the voices go a bit wrong (Riot Act and Rock 24... *shuddrs*)

 

[Vigormortis]

There's nothing that states a remake has to be an identical copy of the original. Even if they are changing some aspects, overall, it's still a remake of the game on the source engine. And who's to say that some of their work may not be an improvement? Half Life, as excellent as it still is, is an old game by now, and mod-makers have proved by now that they're able to make games with good sounds, voice acting and map-design built from scratch (Age of Chivalry, Insurgency, etc), although there are still occasions when the voices go a bit wrong (Riot Act and Rock 24... *shuddrs*)

Quality aside, what were the major differences between Age of Chivalry and Insurgency as compared to Riot Act and Rock 24? Budget, team skill, team size, and levels of arrogance. The Rock 24 and Riot Act teams were small, had no cash, very little experience, and thought they were the hottest thing since sliced bread. They thought they could do no wrong, which led them to leaving in bad portions of the games. The Insurgency and AoC teams were larger, better funded, had experience, and didn't think they couldn't screw up. This led them to test, retest, and redesign aspects of the games that didn't work or playtest well. The guys behind Black Mesa are like the Rock 24 and Riot Act teams, except they actually have more people involved on their little project. However, they're still as arrogant as Cliffy B. and have taken it upon themselves to put their lack of talent into remaking the game in their own image. The OP asked about playing Half-Life 1 before 2 and the only way he can actually experience the original game is to play the actual, original game, not some mod. Just because the game's old doesn't mean it somehow magically loses it's fun gameplay, excellent design, and intriguing narrative. Black Mesa could (very strong emphasis on could) be a decent look at someone else's interpretation of Half-Life, but if you've never played the game before, it's a poor place to start.

 

[CertifiedWaffle]

Yea, I would play the first one since steam sells it cheap. I got mine for 99 cents because of a special. I played the second one without playing the first and didn't have any problems on trying to figure out the storyline. So you'll be fine without it.