Because the endings were awesome?the spud said:
Sure they didnt have a GIANT cutscene showing everything that happened, but you got the general idea. Merging with an AI, joining a secret group or just shutting down the world. All were awesome.
That Was Half-Life 2?
- Thread starter Thaius
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Sure they didnt have a GIANT cutscene showing everything that happened, but you got the general idea. Merging with an AI, joining a secret group or just shutting down the world. All were awesome.
I saw the thread title and thought, "Welp. Guess we're back to 'normal' again. Time for the weekly 'Valve/Half-Life suck(s)' threads to commence."
Which also reminded me of the kinds of posts to expect.
Yeah. The Valve fans are the annoying ones... -___-
O.T.
Which also reminded me of the kinds of posts to expect.
1 - "Complains about how 'bad' the games are and that they deserve no praise at all. Yet most of them haven't even played the games."
2 - "Implies that anyone who does like these games is a tasteless twat or a mindless fan-boy."
3 - "Essentially insults the fans and then themselves act all 'offended' when anyone dares to respond back or offer a retort or differing opinion."
4 - "Makes some off-hand comment about 'Don't speak ill of Valve around these parts lest you risk being burned at the stake.' or some such thing."
5 - "Hypocritically implies that the forum is full of overly vocal Valve defenders when in fact you're more likely to see detractors being more vocal."
6 - "Complains, rather ironically, about people always talking about Half-Life; when in fact the ones always bringing it up are those that hate the series."
2 - "Implies that anyone who does like these games is a tasteless twat or a mindless fan-boy."
3 - "Essentially insults the fans and then themselves act all 'offended' when anyone dares to respond back or offer a retort or differing opinion."
4 - "Makes some off-hand comment about 'Don't speak ill of Valve around these parts lest you risk being burned at the stake.' or some such thing."
5 - "Hypocritically implies that the forum is full of overly vocal Valve defenders when in fact you're more likely to see detractors being more vocal."
6 - "Complains, rather ironically, about people always talking about Half-Life; when in fact the ones always bringing it up are those that hate the series."
wintercoat said:
SajuukKhar said:
Yeah. The Valve fans are the annoying ones... -___-
O.T.
Indeed. Think I'll join you. Mind sharin' some o' that popcorn?distortedreality said:
huh, i liked the ending thats whyThaius said:
The frozen explosion looked damn cool and the G-man picking you up AS SOON as your job was done was great. Yes it was a cliffhanger, but its kind of obvious why when you consider what came after...
If you don't like that kind of ending, you better get used to it. Every single Half Life game ends like to some degree.
People give it slack because it's a cliffhanger. You know there's something after it, whereas a certain Bioware game was the ending of the entire series.
But yeah, Half Life 2 is maybe my favorite game of all time. I always make a point of going back to play it at least once a year.
People give it slack because it's a cliffhanger. You know there's something after it, whereas a certain Bioware game was the ending of the entire series.
But yeah, Half Life 2 is maybe my favorite game of all time. I always make a point of going back to play it at least once a year.
I was going to say the same thing, it seems to fit with the HL universe.Dryk said:
Maybe it was just me but I liked the ending, you defeated the evil boss and just when you thought it was all over you get picked up by the Gman and you understand just how little power you actually had. I'm not sure if you played the first game but that theme has been a mainstay in the series, also valve loves plot twists so yeah.
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Me too, but I think he played it on the Xbox 360, because the controls for the vehicles on the Xbox are a little awkward since you only use the stick, so yeah they suck on Xbox, they are good on PC though.Zeckt said:
As for the ending I kinda liked it, it fit the plot well and I actually would have preferred if it ended there, in my opinion that would have been more conclusive than episode 2, seriously episode 2's cliffhanger has been killing me for quite a while.
It won't be lost on me. In fact, I'm going to respond to it and offer some counter-points:AverageJoe said:
Extremely valid points. Ones I would whole-heartedly agree with it if weren't for two things.Zeh Don said:
First, the fact that the basis of the entire series story is built solely around what the player (Gordon) sees; directly. And second, the existence of the G-man.
No aspect of the tale is revealed to the player unless he/she is directly involved in that specific event as it occurs, he/she has it explained to them by another character, or he/she works out part of the tale from clues left in the environment or hidden in the ancillary dialog.
At the same time, it is slowly revealed to the player that he/she isn't actually in control. Everything they do, everything they see, everywhere they go is controlled, either directly or vicariously, by 'another hand'. This leads to a sense of exclusion. As if you're only allowed to know what 'they' want you to know; and 'they' is either the G-man or whom ever it is he works for. (which lends itself to even more questions like, "Is the G-man also being controlled?)
With this in mind, Half-Life is a tale of a man who, in the eyes of those around him, is essentially a Jesus-like character. A messiah to the masses. A savior. When, in fact, he is a slave. He is a tool. He only does what he is told and only experiences what he is 'allowed' to experience.
Taken in this context, the ending is both poignant and appropriate. You (gordon), your task complete, are plucked from your reality and placed back in your 'cage'. Your 'owners' never bothering to explain what happened, as they have no need to do so. You were simply removed; cut off from the rest of the world. In fact, if you think about it, the G-man only really bothers to say the few things he does afterward because he may feel some sense of obligation. As if he should say something simply to congratulate the player for doing the task so well.
It's at that point, at least for me, that the ending made the most sense. The abrupt ending and unanswered questions fit so well into the overall theme of the story that I honestly can't see how they could have ended it any other way. That is, any other way that would stand up to scrutiny. It demonstrates just how little control you had in the first place. It also makes the ending even more depressing.
That's partly why I still view the ending as not only one of my favorites but one of the best endings in video game history. (probably not the best, but among the upper echelons certainly)
Maybe Half Life fans decided not to throw a hissy fit like a bunch of little girls and just respected the developers damn decisions like adults.
Probably not though...
It was probably because people knew the episodes would be coming out shortly so it wasn't as big of a deal?
Probably not though...
It was probably because people knew the episodes would be coming out shortly so it wasn't as big of a deal?
Yea, the ending sucked, as did Half Life 1's. Some people complained about it during the two year gap between HL2 and EP1, but I guess when you compare it to say the uproar over the ending to Mass Effect 3... More people play Mass Effect for the story, so a shitty ending pisses them off... But most people played Half Life for what it was, shooting dudes, before moving to a different area and shooting more dudes (with cooler weapons), then climbing a huge tower to shoot the big asshole dude with the suped up Gravity Gun. So the ending hit home less than it does in a story heavy game.
What angered me more (being an avid HL fan myself), was the end boss rather than the ending itself, that boss fight sucked, worse than the first game even.
What angered me more (being an avid HL fan myself), was the end boss rather than the ending itself, that boss fight sucked, worse than the first game even.
Well I played it on the orange box so it didn't bother me back then because I could just move on to the next game. I didn't get mad because it was technically not an "end" to me as I would be playing the next episodes afterwards.
Very much agreed, I really enjoyed the ending to Half Life 2; there was a definite feeling of closure (Episode 2 ending isn't anywhere near as good, most likely as Valve planned an Episode 3).Vigormortis said:
Then again, I'm happy to not have every question directly answered. One of my favourite endings in recent years has been Enslaved: Odyssey to the West's, and there were plenty of people complaining about it which I found disheartening. I occasionally feel my intelligence is being insulted by the lengths some games go to explain every little detail of their shallow plots and/or characters. Maybe I'm in a minority here, or that the lowest common denominator is being catered for and the game compensates for this failing in other ways.
I complained about the ending awhile ago, even though I love the game. It's just that I find most game endings are pretty crap, either cliche' or boring, and HL2's ending I prefered over all of those so I didn't see as that much of big deal.
There were so many unanswered questions that I had no doubt in my mind that the ending was not the conclusion to the series, and thus wasn't bothered. Endings with closure would only hinder the flow of the series, well, that and a absurdly long wait for episode 3. I just can't wait to see if all this G-man speculation will payoff or fail miserably.
It's something that's kinda hard to explain in a mere forum post, really. It's only absolutely amazing if you've been reading into everything a tonne throughout the game. It's kind of summed up by the G-man speech at the end. The lack of free choice, the idea that you're being bid on by higher powers. Basically the idea that you have no fucking clue at what's going on, but you still seem to pull through regardless.
Hmm... I dunno if I can really express this in written format.
Hmm... I dunno if I can really express this in written format.
*Enters Vehicle, drives forward. Tries turning, falls over. Gets out to turn it back on its wheels. Gets his face eaten by antlions*Zeckt said:
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU VALVE!
reminds me of Ravenholm.
-Zombies- Guuuuaargh.
-Nik- You cant be serious.
-Headcrap- 'ello face.
-Nik- FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuu VALVE!