What if Gearbox did Half Life 2's Sequels?

[Soviet Heavy]

Gearbox Software got started as a company making the expansion packs Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and the Dreamcast game Decay, which I have been told is also on the PS2. I should look for it. They also have a reputation for making solid products, with the very well received Brothers in Arms series, and the very good Borderlands.

They also managed to haul Duke Nukem Forever from the grave, though whether or not it should have been resurrected is debatable. The point is that they managed to get the game released.

So what would the gaming community be like today, if Gearbox had done the episodes, and managed to complete Episode 3? Would we be on the cusp of a new game by Valve? What would the Episodes end up being like?

The archbishops use tactical omnoms?

 

[Zhukov]

Dear God please no.

Their HL1 expansions may have been alright back in the day, but getting the creators of Borderlands and Duke Nukem Forever to follow up HL2 sounds like a bad joke.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Dear God please no.

Their HL1 expansions may have been alright back in the day, but getting the creators of Borderlands and Duke Nukem Forever to follow up HL2 sounds like a bad joke.

They also did the PC port of Halo 1, and the first three Brothers in Arms games are still excellent examples of their newer work.

 

[Freechoice]

I say yes just so all the fanboys can stop bitching about Valve not caring enough to finish the damn thing.

 

[oZode]

Hell no.

Imagine how bad shit would be if they did half life 3. They would give gordon freeman regenerating health and 2 guns while flanderizing every character and making constant jokes about gordon freeman's muteness.

And god knows how bad the story would be.

Besides, don't they have borderlands 2 to work on?

 

[Nouw]

Hell no.

Imagine how bad shit would be if they did half life 3. They would give gordon freeman regenerating health and 2 guns while flanderizing every character and making constant jokes about gordon freeman's muteness.

And god knows how bad the story would be.

Besides, don't they have borderlands 2 to work on?

I'm curious to know why you assume they would Duke-ify Gordon Freeman. They are different franchises and Gearbox wouldn't let them meet. Just because they finished DNF doesn't mean they think of him as the ultimate protagonist. Also, wasn't the regenerating health and weapon limit included by 3D Realms? They also have Aliens:Colonial Marine to do . If they ever stop delaying it which I admit I do not mind.

 

[ResonanceGames]

Please no.

There was a very noticeable drop in quality between Half-Life and Gearbox's add-ons. Not that they were bad, but I do not understand all the love they get, especially Opposing Force.

Now, if Gearbox worked something out with Valve so they were developing Opposing Force 2 (similarly named mods aside), I would be totally fine with that. I'm actually kind of surprised that never happened, it seems like it would be a good deal for both companies, and Gearbox is still independent so there wouldn't be any publishing issues.

 

[daveman247]

Why do so many blame gearbox for duke nukem :/ Their involve was minimum.

Also brothers in arms were excellant.

Decay was also on ps2.

I think at this point its a little too late for further episodes. So no.

 

[isometry]

I'm looking forward to Borderlands 2. Gearbox is too good for Half-Life

 

[chaosyoshimage]

No.

Gearbox might have got started this way, but at some point they lost that touch. Now they can't make a game without it feeling like Borderlands.

Good thing I love the hell out of Borderlands, but I've never played any of them Half-Life games, so I wouldn't know if they'd be a good fit. I'd love to see them do Left 4 Dead 3, though...

 

[VladG]

No

Either Valve does it, or nobody does it.

 

[GoaThief]

No.

I'm not going to buy a Gearbox title for as long as they continue to actively hobble mod support. This is compounded by providing inadequate in-game options, if I get a chance to speak to Randy Pitchford again he won't be getting off so lightly...

=))

 

[Dandark]

I would like them to make continue the storyline of opposing force but I think Valva should be the ones who constantly make the actal series, that way nobody can say it wasn't Valves fault when episode 3 never lives up to all the hype since we have all been waiting for it for so long.

 

[Arkley]

I don't think Gearbox should make it. Not because I don't think they'd make a great game - they would - but simply because fanboys would hate it before they saw a single screen.

Half Life (2 Episode) 3 has been hyped into oblivion and it hasn't even been announced yet. Hell, no one has even confirmed that it might possibly someday enter consideration for potentially existing eventually. If Valve, a company only slightly less popular among "core gamers" than self-diagnoses of asperger's syndrome, releases info on a Half Life 3 that isn't quite to everyone's liking, gamers might give them the benefit of the doubt. If Gearbox releases images of a Half Life 3 in which Gordon Freeman has two strands of hair out of place and a slightly longer beard, people would be screaming, crying, calling for boycotts and setting fire to copies of Borderlands within the hour.

I like Gearbox, I think they do great work. But Valve could release a "great" Half Life 3 and it would be declared the second coming of Christ in digital form before the dust settled at GameStop. Gearbox, on the other hand, could release an actual digital second coming of Christ under the name Half Life 3, and people would be declaring it Duke Nukem Forever 2 before the GameStop servers recovered from the mass exodus of pre-order money.

 

[Mr Pantomime]

Im just thinking about my PS2 copy of decay, which you didnt mention, and therefore doesnt exist.

I also like how noone actually answered your question.

In the scenario that Gearbox did make the episodes, I wonder if Valve would make a Half Life 3, or continue with another project, or do nothing at all.

 

[endtherapture]

I personally think Opposing Force was better than HL1. It was great, the underwater section was horribly atmospheric. And hardly any Xen sections. And the Bioome section. God it was so ogod.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Then I imagine the anti Half Life movement would be non existent, because the games would hardly be remembered.

Gearbox makes good games, but they never seem able to push it that extra mile where it really makes you sit up and take note.