Whats The Big Deal About Valve?

[ejb626]

The thing about Valve is their absolutely great for PC Gamers and not so great for console gamers like me and I'm assuming you based on your gripe on TF2. Don't get me wrong L4D was pretty good on X-box and I have yet to play any of the HL games on consoles. But the PC versions of their games have much more active communities, get free updates, and have mods enabled, they also made Steam which I've heard is one of the most important things on the PC. Since this forum has a lot of PC Gamers, it naturally has a lot of Valve fans.

 

[AkJay]

Valve takes a long time to produce a game. yes. When the game is released, however, it's polished to almost perfection, runs smoothly, and is completely entertaining to play. I have never found one Valve game that I hated, so they must be doing something right.

Granted I haven't played Portal, and when I tried to play Team Fortress 2 no one was playing it (that usually means it's not that great)

Depends what you are playing it on. I have it for PC and It's difficult to find a game that isn't full.

While you may not enjoy their games (which is fine, there isn't a single game that EVERYONE enjoys), most people find them to be either master pieces (HL series) or find them to be just too darn fun (TF2, Portal).
Add to that the constant support they give to their community, never shying away from providing modding tools, and even advertizing some of the greatest ones, the constant updates to their love-child TF2 and all the humour surrounding them, the creation of arguably the best digital distribution system which has a roaring and loyal fanbase despite of it's flaws, and their openly admitted anti-DRM politic towards their games.

All this makes VALVe one of the most beloved game companies out there.

I couldn't have summed it up better.

This is a very valuable post, in that it states what is most important. Valve actually cares about it's game and the people who play them, as opposed to MANY companies (I'm looking at you, Activision) who just go ahead and say "Here is what we made, you will play it and like it, if you don't like it, then go fuck yourself". Valve is more of a "Oh, you didn't like it? Why didn't you like it? We can try to improve it for you, and if that doesn't work, we can always try and take that element out of our future products".

 

[Deadlock Radium]

While you may not enjoy their games (which is fine, there isn't a single game that EVERYONE enjoys), most people find them to be either master pieces (HL series) or find them to be just too darn fun (TF2, Portal).
Add to that the constant support they give to their community, never shying away from providing modding tools, and even advertizing some of the greatest ones, the constant updates to their love-child TF2 and all the humour surrounding them, the creation of arguably the best digital distribution system which has a roaring and loyal fanbase despite of it's flaws, and their openly admitted anti-DRM politic towards their games.

All this makes VALVe one of the most beloved game companies out there.

I couldn't have summed it up better.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

You criticised Valve on these forums? You, my friend, have behemoth sized balls of steel.

I've been criticizing Valve on these forums for years now, yet I don't get any commendation for my leviathan balls of tungsten!

I apologise profusely. I did a google image search for leviathan balls of tungsten, but I got nothing, and I'd rather not try it with safe search off. All I can say is congratulations on your gargantuan spheres of titanium.

There are an awful lot of ways of saying balls of steel.

 

[TheLefty]

I was actually about to make this topic. I really don't like them either, TF2 was their only good game in my opinion. HL2 has a mediocre story, medriocre gun play and just isn't a good game. That's my opinion at least.

 

[SextusMaximus]

You didn't like it? There's a word for that... um... OPINION! and because most others opinion of the games is good, majority rules.

 

[zombays]

I was actually about to make this topic. I really don't like them either, TF2 was their only good game in my opinion. HL2 has a mediocre story, medriocre gun play and just isn't a good game. That's my opinion at least.

Now that's a TRUE comment, it's a bloody opinion!

 

[SonicKoala]

You're entitled to your opinion, and therefore I'm going to give mine - Valve is one of my favourite game developers, simply because the games they release are of such a consistently high quality which is really rare with most developers

I'll also have to strongly disagree with your comment about Half-Life; I just started playing Half-Life recently, and I think it's fantastic. Even by today's standards, it still comes off as a very innovative, well-paced, and immersive gaming experience. Furthermore, games like CounterStrike, Left 4 Dead, and Team Fortress 2 are arguably my favourite online multiplayer shooters - CS is good, clean shooty shooty fun which, despite it's simplicity, is really unmatched by any other shooter out there. As for L4D and TF2, I love how well-designed the gameplay is, and how working as a team is actually essential to succeeding in the game itself.

And then there's Portal.... which is fucking awesome. Seriously, it just is. So there we go, I have never played a Valve game which I didn't enjoy immensely. That's the big deal about Valve. Yeah, they don't release many games, but quality>quantity.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Valve are currently pissing me off -.- i've joined the herds of people screaming for the release of half life 2 episode 3 and i didn't enjoy left 4 dead 2 as much as i enjoyed number 1.

Also i hate steam, i've voiced my opinion on why i hate steam many times and valve will get no love from me on that front.

 

[hazabaza1]

Eh, I think they're okay. I find Portal and HL2 to be highly overrated, but I cannot fault them on the L4D games. I guess the free DLC is nice too.

 

[zombays]

If you call Half-life's story mediocre, you're calling every other game's storyline bat-shit awful. Just saying, if you're going to compare a game's storyline compare it to VALVe games. Cause theirs is always the most unique, maybe not the best, but DEFINITELY the most unique. and it's one of the much better ones out there also.

 

[Hayate_GT]

Glados ...Gordon Freeman..."son we just crossed the street...let's not throw a party until we're out of the city..."

you really need more convincing that this...

 

[Mordwyl]

Valve is one of the companies I intend to work with when I finish my studies. They're not just amiable with their clients but game developers as well.

 

[Cody211282]

I have played most the games Valve have come out with and personally the only one I would say was great was Portal, I just couldn't get into the rest and found them rather average. Now if you excuse me I'm going to run for the hills before the fanboys lynch me.

Edit: I would also say Bioware and Bethesda both care for their fan base as much as VALVe does, and that's a lot.

 

[Riven Armor]

Alright why do we all seem to love Valve so much? They take a long time to produce a single game and yet they are never really critizied if the game was not worth the wait. It seems that they owe most of their fanbase to the Half-Life series which I have tried, don't say HL1 is better than most games today because it isn't, it's a piece of shit by todays standards and take off your rose coloured glasses. As for HL2 played it didn't like it, gun play was bad, story wasn't great, no real characterization and an over used physics engine.

My main problem with Vavle is that they hold so much gaming prestige and only release maybe 1 game a year, most of the time (in my point of view anyway) it seems that it truely wasn't worth all the effort they put into it. Granted I haven't played Portal, and when I tried to play Team Fortress 2 no one was playing it (that usually means it's not that great), so maybe I should try Portal though that probably won't change my mind about Vavle being a mediocre game studio with a fanbase that is completly devoted to them if they release a certain game within the next 1000 years.

Now I realize this will probably earn me a ton of hate from the community here, but you know what? I really don't care if I do.

W0rd, sort of. I played HL2 again recently and didn't find it that entertaining. Valve may have been a pioneer, but most of their games shooters just aren't as good as the top in this day and age when it comes down to it. Counterstrike is a decent game that doesn't have as much depth as MW2, HL2 is completely out of place and apparently has jumped ship on any further development (episodes?), and LFD...well, LFD is actually more appealing than the other ones. Heh.

Anyway, I believe they're a very good game company, but they don't really deserve the fanboyism. I voted for BioWare. : /

 

[SomeBoredGuy]

Well, a couple things. The Half-Life series pretty much brought innovation and things that hadn't really been done or done well before which both instalments (the episodes not withstanding), had storytelling head and shoulders above what most shooters had and it's quite a few people's opinion that they make good games. I'm not saying you're wrong for not liking them, I'm just saying that a lot of people do.

Oh, and Steam. Because, y'know, the industry would be exactly the same as it is today without Steam, wouldn't it? Plus, let's not forget the way Valve wuvs its community and gives us modding tools a-plenty and listens to comments. Seriously, I don't know many other developers that give as much wuv.

 

[TheBritish]

I don't understand this fear that people are going to be lynched for not liking VALVe's games? It's an opinion and nearly everyone seems to accept that
Half-Life 1 didn't hold up amazingly, but it's still fun to me. It's not the timeless classic people say it is.
Half-Life 2's story is... pathetically misguided near the end of HL2 and fairly uninteresting throughout, but at the start, it's an amazing delivery. You're placed in the world and through watching the Police kicking down doors and seeing the hints of torture, you know everything about this world you need to know.
Portal has zero replayability. I thought I'd love to replay it, but it's just... not fun the second time.
Left 4 Dead... well, I didn't like it oh so much, but I could see there was a good game there.

But the point is that I have my opinions which are not a golden shower of love (gross-out intended), but more of a "they tend to produce games that are overall of a certain standard". Same as Bioware and Bethesda and unlike Ubi, Activision and Epic, who have produced some very poor quality games.
You're entitled to your opinions too. No lynching

 

[Artemicion]

VALVe and I aren't talking right now. She caught me cheating on her with CAPCOM. We got into a fight when she confronted me, asking me exactly how many cakes CAPCOM had made for me. I replied that the cakes she had made were all a lie, her Steam constantly needed updating and she still hadn't put out Episode Three like she'd promised she would years ago. She stormed out, and I called up CAPCOM, wherein we got together and had relations on 3D Realm's grave.

And that basically sums up how I feel about VALVe.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

You do know Valve exists outside the Half-Life franchise...

So, let me tell you my thoughts on the games:

Half-Life: You're right, shit by today's standards
Half-Life 2: A bit repetative, the story isn't told well, but I still think the hours leading to Ravenholm and after Follow Freeman were extremely fun. Innovative engine, nice puzzles. Also the extremely large modding community.
Episodes: Straight into the action, but not many new features
Counter Strike: Replayable, fun, worth the money. However, hard, frustrating, full of cheaters/exploiters, and the sniper rifle.
Day of Defeat: Never played it
Left 4 Dead: Sure the zombie franchise is overused, but there are many things taht made it unique: it's multiplayer, teamwork needs, franticness, and able to play as the infected. Gets repeitive after a playthrough or two.
Team Fortress: Haven't played Classic, but number 2 is in my opinion the best online First Person Shooter. Balanced, tons of free maps and updates, hilarious, and replayable. It's a bit complicated to understand and is hard.

Then again I'm a Valve fanboy...

But the main reason I love their games is that they're innovative, imaginative, atmospheric, immersive, etc.