Valve: Portal 2 is Our Best Game Ever

[Funkysandwich]

Maybe this advertising hype is just a decoy for HL2: Episode 3.

 

[Jangles]

I don't like the shifting of focus away from further half-life projects. That is, unless we see some cross over other than portal being the product of Black Mesa's competitor Aperture Science.

Perhaps we get to make a boat disappear??

 

[Julianking93]

I didn't even know they were making another one, but I believe them since Portal is the only game I've ever liked by them

 

[Jangles]

I originally only ended up buying Portal because it was a part of Orange Box. What I really wanted Orange Box for was Half-Life 2: Episode 2, which I had originally planned to only buy but I was enticed by the low sale prices on the other games included, which is a lot like their current practices of great sales on their Steam service.

Think about that for a second, Half-Life 2: Episode 2 was the deciding factor for me in handing over a portion of what little currency I have for some entertainment, not the FPS puzzle that was Portal. Unless it turns out that Portal 2 has a direct tie in to Half-Life 2: Episode 3 or is just straight up another name for Half-Life 2: Episode 3, I have no interest in it or its hype.

Also, TF2 has proved to be a rather unique experience, the L4D1/2 have seemed to get no where near the official extra content or custom mod support that TF2 has. Because of people from Valve saying L4D/2 would see the level of effort into it that TF2 has received and appears to continue to receive, I have also re-evaluated my own level of hype in Valve products on top of the lack of a copy of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 being available for sale. Sure, take all the time you need but my patience and money are not infinite, even for one of the producers of entertainment that I consider to be the best of the best.

In conclusion, for those lazy, stupid incomprehensible SoBs who TL/DR:
WANTED: HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE 3

I am right with you brotha!

 

[niko80]

Half life 2 is all about taking notice.. You are not fed information here, you need to uncover it yourself. It puts you in the middle of a situation and you slowly figure out whats going on by observing your surroundings, human interaction, listening to radio transmissions and not to mention Dr. Breenes speeches on the various tv-screens. If you pay attention you will learn that there is alot going on (this universe is huge) and it should definately be enough to motivate you to fire your gun.

Breenes speeches on various tv screens? Oh, you mean EPISODE 1 again. I'm not talking episode 1 I'm talking half life 2. Again, I enjoyed the Episodes, because I actually knew what the story was. Half Life 2, not so much. I re-iterate again that's it completely pathetic that Gordon would do what he does in HL2 without knowing the whole story.

(EDIT - oh wait, nevermind. Wrong doctor. Anyway, Doctor Breen the bad guy doesn't say much. He says "our benefactors"). Half Life 2 to me is this. It's obvious that there has been some contanimation by aliens from the other universe, but it's not apparent that they're the power behind the current situation. Because in HL1 Gordon sealed the deal, as far as he knows. The only sentient aliens from HL1 are good guys in HL2. The only sentient enemies you fight in HL2 are humans. So why would one assume that I'm fighting the same bad guys from HL1? Why are the zap guys on the good guys side? Is that ever explained? Why are none of them working for the enemy?? If I'm Gordon, I'm guessing that the enemies are aliens, but the only aliens I see are good, and the only bad guys I see are human, so . . . wouldn't that be a good time to stop and ask some people what the hell's going on? Killing hundreds of people on an assumption is not believable.

And before anyone else brings this up, in the previous argument someone said "oh you need to talk to some zap guy in a boat, he'll tell you the story". Well, again, that's stupid. If I'm Gordon, and I'm hurrying to get to some rebel base, and I'm being chased by who knows what, I'm not going to stop and have coffee with everyone along the way. A good story is not only about substance but about pacing. If the pacing is such that my character is in a hurry to get somewhere, I shouldn't be expected to fart around talking to everyone I meet.

If you ever were interested though you would have read up on the backstory. But since you havent, your argumenting falls through and is based on something you know little about. I understand you are talking about half life 2 here, but I was in the same boat a you. Played 2 before 1 and I found sooo much delight in half life 2, both story and gameplay wise without ever knowing what happened in the first game. It helps to be a bit patient though, gotta admit that.

You're missing the point. I shouldn't NEED to read backstory. Backstory is not within the game. I don't care about any information online, hell I don't even care what's in the manual. I've played Half Life 1 and the two expansions, I know what the original story was. My point is that within Half Life 2 the player doesn't know what's going on, not exactly. Yet he does extraordinary things with little to no information. It's NOT believable. If I don't care what's going on why should Gordon?

Im not gonna try and convince you much further, but it is you who are missing the entire point. The formula behind half life 2 is unfamiliarity. That you wake up and being introduced to a familiar world that has apparently changed dramatically. New place, new time, new story. What the F is going on??? This is the formula Valve used and it worked brilliantly. Why? Because it is the mystery that is the driving force in the entire game. The beauty of Half Life is that the story is ongoing, and unfolds as you play. Since there are no cut scenes it is entirely up to you to figure it out as you go along. This is all intended, not a game breaking flaw.

If you think this is a flaw then that is just you, not bad storytelling. There are many ways of presenting a story, HL2's approach was great and created a curiosity that I managed to take with me throughout the entire game. Loved every minute of.

 

[niko80]

HL2 was just awarded the best game of the decade by IGN. It got over 70 industry awards the year it came out.

I prefer cold, hard facts rather than citations when proving someone wrong.

Yeah, I know. I actually edited it away while you were quoting. Relying on awards is usually a poor defense anyway.

 

[Ben Legend]

I refuse to buy the second game until I get the cake I was promised in the first game.

 

[niko80]

I refuse to buy the second game until I get the cake I was promised in the first game.

The cake was there, it was you that didnt show up to the party.. Even the companion cube was there waiting for you.

 

[Retardinator]

HL2 was just awarded the best game of the decade by IGN. It got over 70 industry awards the year it came out.

I prefer cold, hard facts rather than citations when proving someone wrong.

Yeah, I know. I actually edited it away while you were quoting. Relying on awards is usually a poor defense anyway.

Then let's act like nothing happened.
In the meantime, I realized I find it very puzzling about Valve that they don't really respond to any Ep3 criticism. Nor do they give any word about it. Or about anything even remotely related in general. Either they're just acting stupid because they don't feel like writing mile-long statements about something that hasn't even started.(or has, but even they don't know where it's going) Or they're cooking up something big. A new Orange Box would be nice .

The cake was there, it was you that didnt show up to the party.. Even the companion cube was there waiting for you.

I thought he couldn't be there because you murdered him. And now you have no friends...

 

[kotorfan04]

Wow, I actually jizzed in my pants, I was sitting in the computer lab, I read this and then I started screaming in ecstacy and I jizzed in my pants. People are looking at me funny now.

 

[niko80]

HL2 was just awarded the best game of the decade by IGN. It got over 70 industry awards the year it came out.

I prefer cold, hard facts rather than citations when proving someone wrong.

Yeah, I know. I actually edited it away while you were quoting. Relying on awards is usually a poor defense anyway.

Then let's act like nothing happened.
In the meantime, I realized I find it very puzzling about Valve that they don't really respond to any Ep3 criticism. Nor do they give any word about it. Or about anything even remotely related in general. Either they're just acting stupid because they don't feel like writing mile-long statements about something that hasn't even started.(or has, but even they don't know where it's going) Or they're cooking up something big. A new Orange Box would be nice .

Lets face it, there is alot riding on EP3. I think Valve is painfully aware that the concluding chapter of Half Life 2 needs to deliver on every account. With this in mind, I have no problems understanding the wait. And I also accept it as I trust valve to decide whats best for it. Another orange box is too much to hope for I guess..? But man, it would be sweet.

The cake was there, it was you that didnt show up to the party.. Even the companion cube was there waiting for you.

I thought he couldn't be there because you murdered him. And now you have no friends...

Spoiler

I think that was GLaDOS just messing with you. At the end after defeating GLaDOS there is a cutscene where you see the cake and the companion cube waiting. Then the spheres that will appear in portal 2 starts waking up.
Also, when you slide into the fire, GLaDOS mentions that all Aperture apparatuses can withstand high temperatures and tells you not to worry about them being destroyed (something like that). This leads me to believe that the companion cube survived the incinerator and will be back with a vengence in Portal 2.

 

[Retardinator]

Lets face it, there is alot riding on EP3. I think Valve is painfully aware that the concluding chapter of Half Life 2 needs to deliver on every account. With this in mind, I have no problems understanding the wait. And I also accept it as I trust valve to decide whats best for it. Another orange box is too much to hope for I guess..? But man, it would be sweet.

True, we don't want the 'Leak of 2003' to happen again... I don't really care that much about it. I'm content with getting the items to craft in TF2 all the time, but what frustrates me a bit is that there's this story going on and it stopped. And it won't move on until someone writes it, puts it in and we play it. It feels like there's something missing. But it's a double-bladed sword. If you do it too fast, it won't come out nearly as epic as it should. I'm hoping for the story to be something beyond my comprehension and imagination itself.(like the rest of Valve's stuff) Something so hard to think up, something that you need to break every boundary of storytelling to show. Something that Duke Nukem Forever, for example, never was. But most of all, it should follow and raise Valve's standards wherever it can. That's also exactly the reason why I don't think Portal 2 will be such a great experience as the first one.

You should use spoiler tags:

The cake was there, it was you that didnt show up to the party.. Even the companion cube was there waiting for you.

Spoiler

I think that was GLaDOS just messing with you. At the end after defeating GLaDOS there is a cutscene where you see the cake and the companion cube waiting. Then the spheres that will appear in portal 2 starts waking up.
Also, when you slide into the fire, GLaDOS mentions that all Aperture apparatuses can withstand high temperatures and tells you not to worry about them being destroyed (something like that). This leads me to believe that the companion cube survived the incinerator and will be back with a vengence in Portal 2.

The cube does come out of a regular dispenser, so it could be another one with the cake. And you're subject #whatever to go through the test. Surely, there are more cubes than the one you got. The 4k Kelvin is good thinking, though.

 

[Triforceformer]

After beating the "Still Alive" version last night, I have 1 thing to say. YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I am pleased.

 

[niko80]

True, we don't want the 'Leak of 2003' to happen again... I don't really care that much about it. I'm content with getting the items to craft in TF2 all the time, but what frustrates me a bit is that there's this story going on and it stopped. And it won't move on until someone writes it, puts it in and we play it. It feels like there's something missing. But it's a double-bladed sword. If you do it too fast, it won't come out nearly as epic as it should. I'm hoping for the story to be something beyond my comprehension and imagination itself.(like the rest of Valve's stuff) Something so hard to think up, something that you need to break every boundary of storytelling to show. Something that Duke Nukem Forever, for example, never was. But most of all, it should follow and raise Valve's standards wherever it can. That's also exactly the reason why I don't think Portal 2 will be such a great experience as the first one.

Yeah thats the danger with letting too much time pass. With the time that passes, the expection boils higher. I am confident this ended up being Duke Nukem Forevers fate. In the end, there was just no way 3DRealms could deliver the game they 'had' to. The game was hyped too much and people almost compared it to the second coming of jesus. When that happens, you cannot win. Its own ambition stopped it.
Valve uses a different apprach with silence, but still the hype is brewing within the fanbase and they are starting to grow hungry. I think Valve really needs to share some info soon. Atleast let the fans know that the project is still in gear. Even a hint would be enough.

The cube does come out of a regular dispenser, so it could be another one with the cake. And you're subject #whatever to go through the test. Surely, there are more cubes than the one you got. The 4k Kelvin is good thinking, though.

Yeah, if we wont reunite with the old one I guess it doesnt hurt to meet a new one, even if we are led to believe it is the good old one

 

[Cameron Baxter]

i like this and if anyone other than valve had said it i would not believe them so i hope this game is ober awesome

 

[Weaver]

I wonder if they'll switch away from an extremely dated source engine yet.

What's wrong with the source engine? It's not like they haven't been constantly updating it since half life 2 came out.

I like it because it gets decent frame rates on virtually any computer, while still looking great. I don't think it looks dated at all. It may not be as great as MW2's graphics, but at least everyone who owns a PC can run it.

In reality, there was only one major update with HL2:episode 1 with the HDR lighting and other tweaks. It's been the same since then.

 

[RabidusUnus]

Everyone get on the hype train, mm'kay!

Tickets, please! Tickets! Last call to board the hype train before it leaves the station!

No, but seriously, damn ninjas.

I'm still a little apprehensive over this. If the hype train's starting this early, this may not bode well for the actual game...

*sprints to the train*
WAIT UP GUISE!

This is going to be epic. And JoCo is most certainly epic, so that will just make it more epic.

 

[Kazyan]

This makes me more nervous than excited. Portal is my favorite game ever, and it's going to be pretty hard to avoid a crippling case of Sequelitis.

If Valve pulls it off, though, the results will be spectacular. Portal as more than a lower-budget side project? PLZGIVENAO.