Poll: Half-Life 2

[Theron Julius]

You're complaining about being hit by the enemies that broadcast their attacks and are easily dodged? I haven't heard very many people complain about the game being too hard, and in fact the specific instances you mentioned are fairly straightforward enemies. I don't see why the engineering of the striders has anything to do with his health limit; would you be less frustrated if it was just shaped differently? It's the time of the game where you get into boss fights, so a challenge is sort of expected.

The plot doesn't ever need to be "explained" because what you need to know is very apparent. Aliens have taken over from another world and turned the place into a 1984-esque dystopia. People have high expectations of you being able to help, and your antagonist is Dr. Breen. You can read a bit more into EXACTLY what's happening if you like by paying a bit more attention during "plot sequences" like Kleiner's lab, but no BS story about experiments and portals is stuffed down your throat because they realize, not everyone really cares. Instead there's more a focus on the individual characters, and what's important right now. (ie, finding Eli, helping the rebels, etc)

I would also like to note to you that headcrabs were in fact invented BEFORE the Flood. Thus, you can only call the Flood "headcrabs on prozac"

I really don't see how a waypoint system would help. I in fact absolutely hate it when a game grants me a very obvious pattern of "Go Here Then Here"; it's much more interesting when they guide you into where to go using subtle hints, so you more or less "figure it out" on your own. Otherwise you're just going through the motions as it instructs you. I worry that you're perhaps just a bit too used to games that focus on the linear sequences of enemies rather than the exploration/problemsolving systems.

Obviously, I can't affect your opinion as you play; if it's not your kind of game, that's fine. Games have certainly changed more than we realize since 2004, so that could be part of it.

Took the words out of my mouth. You, sir, get a prize.

Spoiler: Enjoy!

http://www.kevinholik.com/Comics/images/ninjas-adarts.jpg

Ninja kicking you in the face! Damn you for stealing my post!

 

[oktalist]

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!

Neither Alex nor Barney can die, AFAIK.

I agree with you about everything else. HL2 seems so overhyped. I played it for the first time quite recently. At time of release, it was groundbreaking, but I do not think it has aged well. It was too heavily reliant on gimmicks like the gravity gun, which had never been done before, and the graphics which were so much better than anything else out there at the time (and to be fair, still look very good). I wasn't too bothered by the monsters, but then I had played the first Half-Life. The striders, though, those were annoying. And many of the physics puzzles broke immersion.

The level design, God, yes, that was BAD. It was mostly excellent, but then so is a three-layer chocolate gateau topped with a steaming turd, and I wouldn't eat that, even if you subsequently removed the turd.

Hiding a switch on the wrong side of a pipe so you can't ever find it is not a puzzle! It's just being a dick. Same goes for making the next point on the player's path be a completely camouflaged little opening that you keep running past for HOURS without noticing it, while being shot at by multiple striders, without providing ANY CLUE about what you might be supposed to do. Those kinds of things happened A LOT. It's acceptable in non-linear shooters to have the "obvious" route and the "cunning, semi-secret" route, but not in a linear shooter when you don't give the player even the most subtle of hints about where to try, and expect him to search for it while shooting him with miniguns.

But, have you completed the game yet? For me, the final level made it all worthwhile. It was too short and ended too abruptly, though.

 

[Samus Aaron]

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

OT: I like it.

It's probably because everyone is pissed at Valve for not delivering episode 3 yet, ironically

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

I'll sum up the plot relatively quickly for you:

HL1:
1.GMan creates a Resonance Cascade under the guise of the experiment that you (freeman) take part in, which appears to be a freak accident but is actually a calculated maneuver by GMan to bring in the residents of Xen to Earth for reasons unknown.
2.The government attempts to keep the situation under wraps by killing everything in and around Black Mesa facilities (both freeman, scientists, and aliens alike) but fails.
3.Freeman escapes and impresses G-Man, who puts freeman into stasis for future use for several years

Opposing Force/ Blue Shift: Negligible; basically shows how barney calhoun and others escape the facility. Also, a nuclear bomb is implied to go off at the end of OF, destroying the facility.

in between HL1 and 2 (a couple decades):
1. The Combine, which has been waiting for the situation to die down, invades Earth via the Cascade and subverts most humans in the 7 hour war, in which Dr.Breen steps up to surrender for the survivors of the war, basically serving as a puppet for the Combine to subvert all remaining people under the Combine.
2. Typical tyrannical subversion occurs. The Combine overwatch is established (those police guys with weird masks) to control the humans in set up cities like City 17.
3. (this is probably the part that puzzles gamers most, but it actually makes sense) Since Freeman was so heroic in HL1, the scientists who saw him escape told the story of him to people everywhere, making him appear to be some some of Messianic figure in the minds of the oppressed. Black Mesa (which in reality was only a Hazardous Material Laboratory or whatever) also becomes famous as a symbol of rebellion despite the fact that it had nothing to do with rebellion initially. This is how Black Mesa becomes a resistance group and Freeman becomes so well-known. Also no one tells you what is going on because they assume that you, like everyone else, already knows what is going on.

HL2: Too lazy to elaborate. Just play it I guess

There's actually an amazing story guide at thewebsite below. I really recommend going to it:

http://www.members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm

So that's the gist of it. Not everyone plays it for the story though; the combat itself is hardly that outdated. You can choose to ignore the story or not I suppose, but I think it makes the game even more immersive. It's like being the hero of one of those 1984-ish dystopian books, which I think is actually pretty cool lol.

 

[Katana314]

It doesn't have to be a waypoint system like literally an arrow where you need to go, but look how Portal did it. Once you finished the experiment rooms, you would often see graffiti on the wall pointing you in the right direction.
I'll tell you, at the friggin' section where you fight the Striders for the first time, it took me AGES to find the rocket crate (Because it was hidden, and the game made me think I couldn't get over to the overhand) and then it still took me a while to find the staircase after it because the staircase was tucked away in the corner of the level. They could have had an NPC lead you there, or have graffiti telling you to go that way, or hell, someone could TELL you to go there, but when the way forward is hidden, you need to tell the player where it is!

(Yes, a lot of other people are annoyed at headcrabs, so I guess I won't fight that point)

But what the heck? There IS an NPC who tells you where the rocket crate is when you first come out of the fire escape. And Barney pointed out the gate to you a while back when you were first sneaking in. And in case you had forgotten about it then (understandable after all that comes between), Combine start shooting at you from over there to get you to notice it. I'm really not sure how you could get lost there.

They would have done something like Portal's arrows, but it wouldn't have made sense. Obviously, just random rebel scrawlings suggesting "If an adventurer ever happens to come this way with a specific goal in mind, this is the way they should be going." wouldn't make sense. Instead they use some techniques they mention in the L4D commentary. Target areas are normally well-lit and made visually interesting compared to the surrounding landscape, and often individual scripted events or enemies will lead you in the correct direction. (ie, the soldiers shooting like I mentioned) If that doesn't work, then they're a bit limited, but they don't consider it too much of a failure to spend a minute or so exploring to find the exit. That's what they call downtime between action, and it is very necessary in action games.

 

[Rarhnor]

...but the title "best FPS evar" is for TimeSplitters: FP

It's time to split! Cortez has some of the best one liners i've ever heard.

OT: i didn't think it was that great. It wasn't bad, fair difficulty curve and basic enjoyable FPS, but it isn't on my awesome top 10.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

It is one of my favorite games, mostly because I've played it over and over again without getting bored of it...

 

[KiruTheMant]

Yeah, so I just borrowed The Orange Box from a friend, and decided to play Half-Life 2.

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

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 crabs that seem like the Infection form Flood from Halo on a permanent sugar high, to the Head Crab thing that THROWS crabs at you that reduce your health to 1 hit point, 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. 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!

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

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! I end up walking around for up to 20 minutes before I find an inconspicuous vent, or a little staircase tucked away in the corner. This is not good game design. If the places you are supposed to go are not easy to find, you put WAYPOINTS in the game, or objectives, or something to help me figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.

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!

So, I suppose the point of this rant of mine is, am I missing something? People rave about Half-Life 2 as one of the best Single Player FPS games ever, and while it can be fun at times, I've certainly played better FPS games before. If the design was less sloppy so I wouldn't get lost all the time, I might amend that statement, but really, am I missing something here?

HEV suit makes him godlike,a hard game is a fungame,NO ONE is immortal,ect.

 

[jacobschndr]

Oh shit here we go. First it was "Why Halo?, it sucks", Then its, "Why Modern Warfare and MEWTWO they both blow" Now its time to be asking why Half-life two is so good.

Look, it just is. Simple, yet classic FPS gameplay with some nice puzzles, great physics (for its time anyway) great characters, and my personal favorite, an awesome atomsphere. Sure the story is hard to follow, but your playing the sequal "first" what do you expect to happen if you jump in the middle of a story line? That only worked for star wars.

To be honest, it probably helped set the standard for many FPS's today. I still like playing it from time to time. So there..

 

[Nerdfury]

Edit: Removed magical double post.

 

[laryri]

It is the most average game I have ever played. I wouldn't hate it for that, if Valve Fanboys didn't proclaim it to be the 2nd going of Souplex. It is full of bad ideas. When ideas are popular, they are mimicked by other games, spreading. When bad ideas are popular it's like a cancer. Half Life 2 is game cancer.

I have to agree with Souplex here. The game itself is among the first to get average right, not exactly excelling at anything, but not really dropping the ball, either (except the driving. Halo has gotten driving far better. I'd argue the shooting as well but that's mostly my opinion).

What really annoys me is that the fans praise it to the same degree many claim Halo fans do, while claiming to be "above them", which will in my eyes make them the worse of the pair.

Half Life 2 has better shooting so long as you play on PC.

 

[Baby Eater]

It's a decent game if you expect it to be like Halo but it's even better if you've played Half-Life first so you know what to expect.

Headcrabs are rather annoying but they're easier to hit than Flood in my opinion.

Does the Stryder's design really ruin the boss fight? Would you approve if they had tree trunk legs?

I dislike waypoints but it may help. Maybe if they were an option I could agree.

I personally think the original Half-Life is better but Portal is my favourite FPS.

 

[The Paradigm]

I liked Half-Life 2 and it's episodes. I liked the simple shooting mechanics and character and even the vehicle sections, but the parts that i liked the best were some of the setpieces and the atmosphere. Places like Bridge Point, Ravenholm, and the Citadel, they just felt really awesome.

 

[CincoDeMayo]

Are you complaining about a bad game? Because to me it sounds more like you complain because you suck at it, no offense. I've never, ever heard anyone complain about the level design of HL2 or any of it's sequels, and if you get owned by a barnacle (the hanging pimples you referred to) you should probably play something easier. Also, immortal sidekicks make games too easy, do you want to finish the game or do you want a NPC to finish it for you?

Again, no offense, just throwing it out.

To me, HL2 revolutionized the FPS genre just as much as Halo did. Amazing story telling, amazing graphics, interesting story, really fun gameplay mechanics, large variety in scenery and enemies, what's not to digg?

And just to slip it in, ranting about anything at all related to fun and pleasure is not really productive, everyone has their own opinion on things, and claiming that someones favorite game, band, car or whatever doesn't quite float your boat is not their problem, it's your problem. If you can't deal with HL2 without finding it frustrating then fine, it's alright, but nobody else really gives a damn.

 

[theSovietConnection]

Half Life 2 has better shooting so long as you play on PC.

Eh, I have played both console and PC, and I still found it clunky. It's likely just me on that point.

 

[Whodat]

Good but not best. The best has a special place in my heart and that is STALKER SoC.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

It's a good game in my opinion. Not the best FPS but probably one of the best story based games as far as I've played.

It's my favorite game that I have played though so whatever i say will be a little biased towards it.

 

[oktalist]

I really don't see how a waypoint system would help. I in fact absolutely hate it when a game grants me a very obvious pattern of "Go Here Then Here"; it's much more interesting when they guide you into where to go using subtle hints, so you more or less "figure it out" on your own.

There were too many places where the budget for subtle hints seemed to run out and it turned into a mad search for a needle in a needlestack.

I worry that you're perhaps just a bit too used to games that focus on the linear sequences of enemies rather than the exploration/problemsolving systems.

My two favouritest games in the whole world evarr are Deus Ex, Stalker and Portal, and also many point-and-click adventures. I also enjoy well-done linear shooters like Quake and the first Half-Life. However, my opinion of HL2 is quite similar to the OP's, especially about the level design: mostly excellent, but there were too many places where it seemed to break down. Maybe those bits were designed by the one rubbish level designer, who everyone else at Valve hated but who had somehow managed to get a job there.

 

[Tsunimo]

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

Yeah it usually help if you want to know the story to have played a game that lays out what the entire story is, who the characters are, and why you are were you are, et cetera.

 

[dfcrackhead]

Yeah, so I just borrowed The Orange Box from a friend, and decided to play Half-Life 2.

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

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 crabs that seem like the Infection form Flood from Halo on a permanent sugar high, to the Head Crab thing that THROWS crabs at you that reduce your health to 1 hit point, 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. 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!

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

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! I end up walking around for up to 20 minutes before I find an inconspicuous vent, or a little staircase tucked away in the corner. This is not good game design. If the places you are supposed to go are not easy to find, you put WAYPOINTS in the game, or objectives, or something to help me figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing.

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!

So, I suppose the point of this rant of mine is, am I missing something? People rave about Half-Life 2 as one of the best Single Player FPS games ever, and while it can be fun at times, I've certainly played better FPS games before. If the design was less sloppy so I wouldn't get lost all the time, I might amend that statement, but really, am I missing something here?

I've played through HL2 twice and I've never once gotten lost or even had Alyx or any other NPC get killed and enemies are supposed to be aggravating, if they weren't hard to kill, the game would be too easy. Either way, in my opinion it is a fantastic game and is THE FPS that got me hooked on the genre.