Half-Life

[BolognaBaloney]

Call me crazy, but I don't care for the Half-Life series.
I just didn't care for it's brand of gun-play. I loved the physics, that was my favorite part of the game, but I just didn't like the story or the characters. It felt very repetitive to me, and I put it down half-way through half-life 2 episode 2. Any thoughts?

 

[BonsaiK]

I thought HL2 episode 2 was a bit dull compared to the previous ones. I hope they do something more interesting for Ep.3. I do like the storytelling style but I wish they'd do a little more with it. I think there's a lot of untapped storytelling potential in FPS generally, especially these days.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

I know what you mean, but were probably in the wrong genre if were looking for good stories.
I just hope for more shooters that can delve into a theme like Bio-shock

 

[Zydrate]

Somehow HL made me feel extremely epic. Throughout a lot of the game like the chase scenes, running to and from nearly-invincible helicopters... it was very immersive for me.

I loved it.

Still haven't been able to beat the end strider battle in episode 2 :/

 

[Smurfy 0151]

Bioshocks theme and storyline were both excellent. It's a shame that most new gamers have never heard of it

 

[tk1989]

Call me crazy

Your crazy.

Ok, i loved Half-Life 2! Imo it is one of the best games ever made. However, i havent really been feeling the love throughout the Episodes; the game seems to have lost a certain something that drew me in beforehand. I havent completed Episode 1 yet, and 2 for that matter, which is a shame as i loved Half Life 2

 

[sirdanrhodes]

This exact same thread was done a few days ago.

 

[Zydrate]

Bioshocks theme and storyline were both excellent. It's a shame that most new gamers have never heard of it

Wrong thread, homie.

 

[BonsaiK]

Bioshocks theme and storyline were both excellent. It's a shame that most new gamers have never heard of it

I liked Bioshock's story, even though annoyingly cliched and lacking a certain believability (especially the way the main character just starts injecting himself with strange blue crap because a disembodied voice tells him to... I'd tell him to get stuffed personally) it was pretty good as far as game stories go. Although since I'd played System Shock 2 beforehand I pretty much knew what was going to happen in Bioshock for the most part, as both games go through very similar plot twists and turns.

Bioshock isn't that old... most people have heard of it here, right?

 

[Clashero]

Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea. I personally loved it, but there's nothing wrong with not liking it. I hate Final Fantasy, although 90% of gamers (to say the least) love it.
I see you didn't care the the story because it was repetitive. May I suggest you try either game from the series The Longest Journey? That story has never been bested in comics, movies or games. Ever. Only some books have a better, more immersive story with more likeable characters than The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall.

 

[Zydrate]

Sigh. Thread derailment but Yes, I not only have heard of it. I own it.

 

[kawligia]

I HATED Half Life 1.

But I loved HL2 and I think the episodes are every bit as good.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

I know what you mean, but were probably in the wrong genre if were looking for good stories.
I just hope for more shooters that can delve into a theme like Bio-shock

Ken Levine once made an excellent point that most game designers/writers have only ever read one book and seen one movie, usually Lord of the Rings and Star Wars/Aliens. He proves that the medium can be expanded far beyond those (frankly) simplistic series, and dive into far deeper storylines using other literature and films (he proves this with his use of Ayn Rand and Objectivism in Bioshock). Really, all we need to do is get more cultured game designers.

There is so much truth to that statement.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea. I personally loved it, but there's nothing wrong with not liking it. I hate Final Fantasy, although 90% of gamers (to say the least) love it.
I see you didn't care the the story because it was repetitive. May I suggest you try either game from the series The Longest Journey? That story has never been bested in comics, movies or games. Ever. Only some books have a better, more immersive story with more likeable characters than The Longest Journey and its sequel, Dreamfall.

I can't stand final fantasy either mate

 

[Anarchemitis]

Somehow HL made me feel extremely epic. Throughout a lot of the game like the chase scenes, running to and from nearly-invincible helicopters... it was very immersive for me.

I loved it.

Still haven't been able to beat the end strider battle in episode 2 :/

sv_cheats 0
sk_strider_nummissles_1 1
sk_hunterhealth 10
sk_plr_num_shotgun_pellets 60
sk_plr_dmg_buckshot 30
Or something along those lines.
Go in the console and type "sk_str", "sk_hu" or "sk_plr_nu" to get the real commands.

All of Half Life 2 games have been highly get-in-to-it-itive for me, feeling highly immersed. Gordon Freeman in my mind is like a walking and untalking crowning moment of awesome.
While I can sympathize that one could see Half Life 2 as repetitive if you think repetitive means "Must walk to Shoot, must shoot to proceed, must walk to proceed, proceeding results in more targets."

Ken Levine once made an excellent point that most game designers/writers have only ever read one book and seen one movie, usually Lord of the Rings and Star Wars/Aliens. He proves that the medium can be expanded far beyond those (frankly) simplistic series, and dive into far deeper storylines using other literature and films (he proves this with his use of Ayn Rand and Objectivism in Bioshock). Really, all we need to do is get more cultured game designers.

There is so much truth to that statement.

Yet Half Life I would claim has pulled off the Dystopian theme and the idea of a truly foreign Extraterrestrial creature for an enemy better than any other game I've ever heard of.

 

[GoldenShadow]

Call me crazy, but I don't care for the Half-Life series.
I just didn't care for it's brand of gun-play. I loved the physics, that was my favorite part of the game, but I just didn't like the story or the characters. It felt very repetitive to me, and I put it down half-way through half-life 2 episode 2. Any thoughts?

May I ask you how you played the game(PC or console?) Is this your first time playing the series?

If you are serious about it being repetitive, then you haven't played Halo. HL2 has some of the most diverse gameplay mechanisms in the genre.

Exploration and NPC interaction scenes
Shooter sequences
Airboat sequence
Buggy sequence
Gravity gun
Antlions in nova prospekt
Shooter sequence with NPC allies
Special GG


Half-Life 2 set raised the standards for the genre. The game is one of the most revered in recent history. It was highly anticipated and it did not let down. The story was intentionally not blatantly explained to you. It was up to the player to figure whats going on and pick up clues from the surrounding. Most people catch on pretty quickly as to whats going on when you play from the start of HL2. It wasn't nessesary to play HL1 to enjoy HL2, but it makes some backstory references make more sense.

In Episode 1 I was blown away by the first section in the citadel. The focus was on the partnership with Alyx. The game pulled it off pretty well. It had critism for being too short.
Episode 2, the focus was more about emotional attachment that valve tried to get the player to feel through a variety of events which I will not spoil here. The gameplay was top notch stuff. Some of the car driving bits were not quite as exciting when theres not a gunship chasing after you but luckily that does happen though. The puzzle design is clever and doesn't feel like a typical video game puzzle. For example, you have a cord with 2 plugs. And you have to use it to connect a powersource and an elevator, but the cord is too short. So you have to turn off a different machine and trade its longer powercord to progress.

I'm going to need some much better explanations as to why you don't like HL2 than what you have already said.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

Ok i'll address the mechanisms you mentioned

Exploration- It's a very linear game, the only exploration being due to poor level-design.

NPC Interaction- the interaction is seen as a real-time cut scene.

Shooter Sequences- Seemed very cliche and repetitive to me.

Airboat- Was fun. Very fun.

Buggy- Again very fun.

Gravity Gun- Was a great mechanism, like I said I love the physics of these games.

Antlions- Didn't impress me, it was a fun addition though.

Shooter sequences with npc allies- again, it felt very bland to me, there just wasn't anything outstanding about the shooting gameplay.

Overall I don't hate the game, it just wasn't anywhere as good as I had always heard.

 

[BolognaBaloney]

Call me crazy, but I don't care for the Half-Life series.
I just didn't care for it's brand of gun-play. I loved the physics, that was my favorite part of the game, but I just didn't like the story or the characters. It felt very repetitive to me, and I put it down half-way through half-life 2 episode 2. Any thoughts?

May I ask you how you played the game(PC or console?) Is this your first time playing the series?

If you are serious about it being repetitive, then you haven't played Halo. HL2 has some of the most diverse gameplay mechanisms in the genre.

Exploration and NPC interaction scenes
Shooter sequences
Airboat sequence
Buggy sequence
Gravity gun
Antlions in nova prospekt
Shooter sequence with NPC allies
Special GG


Half-Life 2 set raised the standards for the genre. The game is one of the most revered in recent history. It was highly anticipated and it did not let down. The story was intentionally not blatantly explained to you. It was up to the player to figure whats going on and pick up clues from the surrounding. Most people catch on pretty quickly as to whats going on when you play from the start of HL2. It wasn't nessesary to play HL1 to enjoy HL2, but it makes some backstory references make more sense.

In Episode 1 I was blown away by the first section in the citadel. The focus was on the partnership with Alyx. The game pulled it off pretty well. It had critism for being too short.
Episode 2, the focus was more about emotional attachment that valve tried to get the player to feel through a variety of events which I will not spoil here. The gameplay was top notch stuff. Some of the car driving bits were not quite as exciting when theres not a gunship chasing after you but luckily that does happen though. The puzzle design is clever and doesn't feel like a typical video game puzzle. For example, you have a cord with 2 plugs. And you have to use it to connect a powersource and an elevator, but the cord is too short. So you have to turn off a different machine and trade its longer powercord to progress.

I'm going to need some much better explanations as to why you don't like HL2 than what you have already said.

Ok i'll address the mechanisms you mentioned

Exploration- It's a very linear game, the only exploration being due to poor level-design.

NPC Interaction- the interaction is seen as a real-time cut scene.

Shooter Sequences- Seemed very cliche and repetitive to me.

Airboat- Was fun. Very fun.

Buggy- Again very fun.

Gravity Gun- Was a great mechanism, like I said I love the physics of these games.

Antlions- Didn't impress me, it was a fun addition though.

Shooter sequences with npc allies- again, it felt very bland to me, there just wasn't anything outstanding about the shooting gameplay.

Overall I don't hate the game, it just wasn't anywhere as good as I had always heard.

 

[elitecrewer]

Call me crazy, but I don't care for the Half-Life series.
I just didn't care for it's brand of gun-play. I loved the physics, that was my favorite part of the game, but I just didn't like the story or the characters. It felt very repetitive to me, and I put it down half-way through half-life 2 episode 2. Any thoughts?

No sympathy here. There simply aren't any better FPSs around. Perhaps it doesn't have enough of Tom Clancy's name on the box for you?