Poll: Half-Life 2

[DeathChairOfHell]

it certainly is a good game, i really enjoyed playing it/them, but the title "best FPS evar" is for TimeSplitters: FP

i hear ya. cuz IT'S TIME TO SPLIT!

 

[DeathChairOfHell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRsexrhbG8

i liked it. Holds up well against MW2 specially considering it was released in 2004 also good work on saying it copied the head crabs from halo...

Your problem is that you're a kid, and kids these days need everything handed to them. It honestly sounds like all your complaints are just whining because you're bad at the game.

P.S., flaming Half-Life II is so 2008.

you are COMPLETELY right. it's the same with many games actually.

 

[themilo504]

i like it because the story is told on anoter new way witout cutscenes which is cool the shooting can be a little bit simple but its fun with lot of ways to blow things up i liked the look and feel.the level designs are great i like the horor bits.and it seems im the only one on earth who likes the buggy and airboat parts.i call it the best fps ever but then again i only played like 4 fps.but what i did not like where are my alien guns the firsht half life had some awesome weapons and this one has removed so many why?.

 

[Counterwise]

Also the mute character does nothing for the game, he seems like an outlander in the game

Well...that's because he basically is an outlander - at the end of the first game, G-man recruited Gordon to become a sort of interdimensional hitman, and . When you confront Breen at the end of the first game, Breen mentions G-man and how Gordon's "contract is open to the highest bidder."

While Gordon's silence is occasionally conspicuous, it would be a lot worse to have rolled out Nolan North and given him a bland personality to serve as the lowest common denominator-protagonist. His silence leaves his unspoken relationships and interactions with the other characters to the imagination, which is always going to be better than anything Valve writes for him.

Half Life 2 in a nutshell:
Hi, I'm g-man.
Cool.
Go there.
We're the symbol of a police-state and corrupt law-enforcement
Go there.
Go there.
Irrelevant exposition.
Teleport.
Go there.
Go there.
Hello, I'm the bad guy.
Go there.
Gravity gun!
Go there.
***** betrayed the faction who worked for the benefit of... something.
Go there.
Hello to my quarters, I'm evil you know. Did I tell you I'm the bad guy?
Super gravity gun.
Gaah! And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling scientists with their unconventional weapons.
Congratulations, you beat the game

But stripping a game's plot down to its components doesn't prove anything. Halo is "Evil aliens want a killer macguffin, so you have to blow it up." Mass Effect, a game renowned for its story, is "You've got to find out what Evil Space James Bond is up to, by shooting stuff. Turns out he wants to feed the galaxy to some robots. Stop him." Just because they can be ultrasimplified indicates nothing about narrative depth, characterization, immersion, or any other aspect of the story.

There's enough hints dropped throughout the game to make the backstory and plot clear, and the fact that you need to make the final connections yourself is part of why its so satisfying. I can only think of two reasons you could think the plot was thin in HL2: 1) you weren't paying attention, or 2) you have a very limited imagination.



You know what, forget it. Think of it this way: everything you love will be scorned in five years as derivative, overrated garbage, too.

The hints aren't solid evidence, you just assume, this or that might have happened, but you can't know. The silence doesn't improve anything, and giving him a "a bland personality to serve as the lowest common denominator-protagonist" would be bad writing. A good story has identifiable characters with their unique personalities interacting with each-other through a series of events. This just doesn't have that. Calling those who do not see this game as a monolithic god-given game unimaginative or blind or whatever, is just a step up from going:"Nanana, you're stupid".

 

[Flamma Man]

I'm about 8 hours in, and it's easily one of the most frustrating games I've ever played in my life.

Go on...

Firstly, lots of the enemies are just plain annoying. From the pimples hanging from the ceiling that snag you and pull you up to the head...

Seriously, you got snagged by a Barnacle? Pfft, hahahahaha.

...crabs that seem like the Infection form Flood from Halo on a permanent sugar high

Headcrabs were in the original Half-Life in 1998, so the Flood are actually ripping off Headcrabs. Also, how are these annoying? They die with the touch of a feather and telegraph their attacks with a very noticeable screech.

...to the Head Crab thing that THROWS crabs at you that reduce your health to 1 hit point...

Seriously? You couldn't dodge the thing throwing a headcrab at you?

...and the guy who throws them can take an unnatural amount of damage, often ranging from an exploded barrel and a grenade to 10 shotgun blasts. It almost seems like Valve tried their hardest to make the most annoying enemies of all time.

There are such things as mini-bosses and it's not like these things show up all the time.

Hell, you only encounter three in the whole game.

Plus, those giant crawler things take a ton of damage to. For something that seems like a grape held up by three toothpicks, it can take an upwards of 8 rockets. I bet I could cut through that thing's leg with a butter knife, and it takes 8 rockets? Get out of here!

Yeah, this is what's considered a "Boss battle", have fun having a challenge.

The plot is also nonsensical. Maybe it's because I never played Half-Life 1...

You'd be partly right on that one.

...but all I can gather is that Gorden Freeman is a very famous Scientist that is better trained in combat then any soldier on the planet. Other than that, I know there's a rebellion going on, and very little else.

Here, there's no hope for you, some people see things differently or, you know, pay attention.

Also, you spelled Gordon wrong.

Often, I just walk along, praying that I'll hit a safe zone for long enough to collect a little ammo before being kicked out on my own.

Um...they do this multiple times for the player, which is also where you'd get some story, if you were paying attention, but whatever.

The level design is what kills it for me. To its credit, there are some pretty cool puzzles, but so often I can never find where I need to go!

Sorry, I had to laugh for a second there considering this game is used a lot as an example for very LINEAR game.

Kinda hard to get lost at all or know what your objective is.

Oh, and why is it that whenever you have a plot-important ally around, they can die? That makes me groan whenever Alex or someone else rears their ugly head, because suddenly things turn into an escort mission!

They aren't, and do you have any idea how HARD it is for them to die?

In short you seem to be terrible at this game or have poor reflexes, have no sense of direction, and don't pay any attention to anything around you.

Good day to you sir.

 

[SwitchUK]

There is a reason this game was game of the year. It is the single most awesome game combining puzzles with shooty wizz bang fun killy death and an epically immersive story that in the last 10 years has gone unrivaled.

I think this thread appears to be searching for trolls...

 

[Mariakitten]

I like it but I'm not crazy about it, oh and also when Alex shows up its not really a escort mission because she cant be killed.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

It was sort of good but not great. There wasn't much wrong with it, although I dislike mute protagonists. however, it's not the jewel-encrusted piece of solid awesome that Valve fanboys make it out to be.

For me, CoD4 for far more enjoyable overall, although generally a 'dumber' game. A little above average, but to me it doesn't meet the benchmark of the modern FPS (which is to say, CoD4. Although flawed certaintly, it's the shooter that all FPSs are compared to, with good reason)

 

[Altaries]

I like it, I agree with everything you stated, But I still like it. o3o

 

[Elonas]

Personally... I think it is an amazing game... But not because it's an FPS, per say. Simply because of the atmosphere and story. The shooting controls are fairly bland, and constant recycling of guns is sorta boring. But the best shooter mechanics aren't what I expected. Just the story and atmosphere. I mean, come on. Ravenholdt was scary, real scary.

 

[johnman]

I dont have a problem with any of those things, I first played the game when I was about 13 and didn't find the levels confusing or the combat frustrating, I loved the game.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

I checked 'OMFG BEST FPS EVAR' etc etc I just think it's one of the best games ever. One of the best I've played at least.

/fanboy

 

[ICanBreakTheseCuffs]

What's with all the "I dislike Half-Life 2" threads lately?

OT: I like it.

and all the "Fuck Modern Warfare 2, it sucks" threads

OP:it's fun but not the best but it's up there

 

[imaloony]

The game isn't for everyone to like lots I guess.
So what do you think of Team Fortress 2?

I haven't played it. For various unimportant reasons I don't have LIVE, so I really can't play it.

 

[imaloony]

Seriously, you got snagged by a Barnacle? Pfft, hahahahaha.

In all of Half-Life 2 and Episode one, about three or four times. Once to get to a place I needed to complete the story, once to get to some health packs, and once or twice by accident. But the reason these guys are so annoying is because often I have to keep looking up at the ceiling, and if I don't have an ally with me, I have to waste precious ammo on them. When, in places like the beginning of Episode 1, I can't really afford to waste. Thank god Alex was there at least.

Headcrabs were in the original Half-Life in 1998, so the Flood are actually ripping off Headcrabs. Also, how are these annoying? They die with the touch of a feather and telegraph their attacks with a very noticeable screech.

Oh, cry me a river. If you really want to be that technical, the Head Crabs ripped off the Face Huggers from Alien. And no, they don't die with the touch of a feather. Assuming you don't have the crowbar, like the beginning of episode 1, I've seen some take up to 4-5 bullets. For a small, fast moving target, that's a lot.

Seriously? You couldn't dodge the thing throwing a headcrab at you?

No, not when I was up on a building doing some platforming and a random-ass poison crab pelts me in the back of the head! Or, hell, when I'm surrounded by enemies, trying to hold them off, and the one poison crab hits me, followed by one hit to kill me. And for another thing, if they suit can heal you so damned easily from this poison, why doesn't it just heal you all the time? PLOT HOLE!

There are such things as mini-bosses and it's not like these things show up all the time.

Hell, you only encounter three in the whole game.

Maybe, but in Episode 1, a three hour game, I encountered three or four of them, and that's where I really drew the line. It was friggin ridiculous. Besides, there's no reason why they should take more damage. What, does having a poison crab on their head harden their skin into steel?

Yeah, this is what's considered a "Boss battle", have fun having a challenge.

A "Boss Battle" usually consists of one big enemy. Here, there was like six of these bastards, often pitting you against up to two at once, with blasters that could tear through your health bar before you could say "Poor Boss Fight". The final battle in Episode 1 is what I would consider a Boss Battle. Not this crap, especially when the designers have hidden the rocket crate and I'm suck searching for rocket launchers the NPCs dropped.

Here, there's no hope for you, some people see things differently or, you know, pay attention.

Also, you spelled Gordon wrong.

It's hard to pay attention when the game thinks that because you're turned away from the source of the sound you can hear it any worse. Last I checked, human hearing doesn't work that way. It makes it so that if you want to explore the parts of the environment (Like me) you're punished by not being able to hear anything. They could fix this by sticking a fucking radio in GordOn's ear.

Um...they do this multiple times for the player, which is also where you'd get some story, if you were paying attention, but whatever.

No, I wasn't paying attention. And I don't really give a damn about the story once I realized that I wouldn't understand it, so I might as well try to pick up some ammo. And honestly, why is it that any building Gordon enters is doomed to suffer from a fatal accident literally minutes after he has enter? Are the Combine just watching him from a Satellite saying
"Nah man, don't attack yet, give him a moment, we're totally going to fuck that building he's going into up. God I hate buildings."?

Sorry, I had to laugh for a second there considering this game is used a lot as an example for very LINEAR game.

Kinda hard to get lost at all or know what your objective is.

There was someone else in this thread who commented on that. Yes, it is a linear game, but I think hiding a valve on the wrong side of a pipe, or hiding a vent in complete darkness in the complete opposite direction you're looking is just plain cruel. I spend forever looking for this stupid vent, and when I find it I say "What, they couldn't put like a sparking light above this fucking thing or something?" This is not good linear game design. Let me give you example of a good linear game design: Call of Duty 4. Yeah, I sound like a douche bag for even bringing this game up, but everyone in this thread already thinks I'm a douche, so why not try a little harder to piss everyone off? Anyways, in CoD4, your path is always clear, often it being a flaming building, or a very large opening between buildings you need to go, or, if you have multiple objectives, them being marked on your map. The point is, if you have a linear game, make it plain obvious where to do. Hiding a staircase is not a puzzle, it's just being an ass.

They aren't, and do you have any idea how HARD it is for them to die?

The fact that they even can is a poor choice. Because when I turn a corner and six Combine soldiers are already unloading rounds into Alex, and then she dies, and I have to sit through Alex talking again for five minutes because of the poor checkpoint system, yeah, I kinda do wish they couldn't die. Fuck reality, I want to finish the game.

In short you seem to be terrible at this game or have poor reflexes, have no sense of direction, and don't pay any attention to anything around you.

Good day to you sir.

My, what a polite young gentleman.

I suppose I might be bad at the game compared to the Valve fanboys, but I like to think I'm somewhat good at games. I've beaten Devil May Cry 4 on Son of Sparda difficulty, I've gotten pretty far on the old Donkey Kong arcade game, so I don't think I'm bad at games, just bad at reading the minds of sadistic game designers.
I don't have poor reflexes, playing Guitar Hero 3 on Expert sharpens your reflexes to that of a cat.
I suppose I do have poor sense of direction, but I blame that on the game, because it's not even trying to help me figure out which way to go.
Now, I do pay attention to my surroundings. I can figure out the puzzles fairly quickly, but as I said, hiding a pipe valve, or hiding a staircase is not a puzzle. It's the game designers being assholes.