Where is Half Life 2 Episode 3!?

[mrF00bar]

Every week some obnoxious Valve fanboy makes that thread convinced it will make Valve release it tomorrow or something. I however have figured out what is taking them so long, hopefully this will put an end to that thread topic.

I recently played through the entirety of Half Life 2 and it's episodes in the interest of backing up my opinions because one my friends insisted that 2 hours of gameplay was not enough to label the entire game as "Meh" (Turns out he was wrong.)

Those of you who want episode 3: They would be done with the series if 90% of Half Life 2 weren't padding. Think aboot it: You are aboot to teleport to the next part of the story? Nope, headcrab screws it up and you need to go through that annoying hovercarft part. You are aboot to kick some Combine ass with the Shoehorned in physics gun? ("We made a physics engine, and we are going to make you care!") Rubble blocks your way and you need to run through Ravenholm. I forget the reason you needed to use that dune buggy that steered like gremlins were wrestling over the wheel but I am fairly certain that was filler as well. Those are the most noticeable instances in the first part.

Episode one has the least filler with the only part that distinctly stood out as filler being the underground zombie part.
Episode 2 is basically filler until you get to that obnoxious sticky bomb part. *Train gets de-railed* Looks like you have to walk. Alyx is mauled and now you need to save her for some reason despite the much more likeable generic soldiers (Because they don't make stupid puns like "Zombines", and don't get in your way on narrow pathways as much.) being killed off left and right, so you have to go to this base located in the middle of an antlion nest(What idiot thought that would be a good spot for a base?). Whats that? You need to journey to the heart of an antlion nest to find a macguffin needed to save that unlikeable sidekick. Now you need to find a car. (This is the least noticeable instance of filler, because if not for that train wreck at the beginning you wouldn't need the car in the first place) Then you actually start advancing the plot again.

If Valve weren't so dedicated to their filler, they could have finished the Half Life series, noticed that the only thing they excel at is puzzles, and turned their focus to puzzle games.

What are your thoughts?

Edit: Also, it has only been 2 years since episode 2. There is a longer wait for Mario games.

Thats your opinion. "Every week some obnoxious Valve fanboy." I don't really see the point in this? Is this a review or a rant on how you forced yourself to play a game?

 

[Dommyboy]

People still care about Episode 3?

 

[drunkirishman]

Mario games aren't an hour long...

 

[Ryuk2]

Who cares about the story in a Valve game? I'm there just to shoot stuff and look at zombies.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

I actually kind of agree on this one. Playing through the little episodes really gives the feeling that Valve doesn't really want to play with their actual story any more, and in truth, I occasionally find myself not caring about the wanton rampant fanboyism that forces practically everyone who plays it to scream for more. Valve is exceptional at two things--shooting, and puzzles. While they dabble in story, and those dabbles are pretty damn good, they're not exactly the best at continuity from game to game. Most of their titles have very little story, and frankly I get the feeling that they like it that way. So I say let Valve do what they do best, and leave the stories to those who actually like being dedicated to them.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Episode one has the least filler with the only part that distinctly stood out as filler being the underground zombie part.

Bullcrap. Episode 1 was basically entirely filler (as you would seem to describe it). For the entire game there is one simple goal: escape from City 17. There are no plot twists, no new characters, not even much dialogue concerning anything else but how to get out of the city.

And BehattedWanderer: The fact that Valve keeps their story simple and based around only a few characters doesn't mean that there is little story to their game. If you want "lots" of story, play Metal Gear. Go ahead, be happy with your 8 hours of passive cutscenes. Game stories have to be simple, or so constructed that they don't get too confusing but still staying deep á la Bioshock. And even Ken Levine said that he basically axed the script at one point which removed at least 10 scientists from the story.

 

[shonk]

i just hope their not waiting for natal and the other thing that sony are doing and making it so forcing you to move more than your thumbs and a couple of fingers, if i want to get active i'll go outside and play sport, i play games when i cant be bothered to move

 

[SnipErlite]

Hey I didn't mind saving Alyx. The redshirts are exactly that, generic. Alyx is far more likeable.

But then it is a video game, there's bound to be filler. I think it's a law

 

[Communist partisan]

I don't even like half life... well the first one was ok the rest is boooooooooring (no offence)

 

[slowpoke999]

Both L4D series were some of the most fun FPS I've ever played, so I can't complain. Valve in my mind makes some of the best FPS games ever. As long as they don't make mediocre FPS or branch out to casual games i don't care.

 

[Sven und EIN HUND]

Half life 2 is bad and shit because you have to do a whole bunch of shit i.e you can't walk down a road straightforwardly, you have to take a few detours. This is filler according to me.

Every.Fucking.Game.Ever.Is.Like.That

You tried though.

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

Well how would you like a half life game were you spent the time riding a train to a generic base?
Complications are what make it a game, it would not be exciting to ply a game with no obstaces and nothing happens out of plan.

Yes, but there is a difference between complications and filler.
Complications: Events that create tension and action.
Filler: Complications that take you away from the plot.
For example, the combine attacking a missile silo is a complication. Needed to spend an hour doing something unrelated to the main plot is filler.

But there needs to be filler, if they just kept to you moving from base to base, fighting off combine or attacking them, because that is the main story i belive is the Combine and them, then it gets repetitive and boring, and that's just grind.
And if you did not have fun in Ravenholm or the Antlion Tunnels then I do belive you should re-think your games. :3

Ravenholm was fun until it got to the parts where the zombies were infinitely respawning. The antlion tunnels were not fun because it is not fun to fight antlions. At all.

I agree. Totally, infact. The first time I played through the Half Life games, I noticed no fillers, because I wasn't paying attention. Then me and my buddy played it together, and he and I (Whenever one of us wasn't playing) would notice that it was always "This inconvienent thing happened, spend 1 hours fixing it" would happen all the time.


Although the car part was fun to just go into the random houses. It really is a scary game at 2 in the morning with a friend of yours screaming randomly.

 

[Optimus Hagrid]

Oh, it's simple really, they're busy optimising the Team Fortress 2 updates for the 360.

 

[IanBrazen]

What are your thoughts?

Ive just given up all hope of ever seeing the damn thing.
They had a good idea with episodic gaming: shorter games, for cheaper price, released more frequently.
Instead I get Big bundles of small games at full price while I still own 2 of those 5 in the bundle, released whenever they feel like it.
Valve is so kind and yet so cruel to their fans at the same time.
I have actually lost interest in the entire franchise, and even if it does manage to get released I am not going to buy it.
Hey valve maybe now that you have alienated your Half-life fans you can re skin L4D again, add a flamethrower and make LFD3.
"Cha-Ching"

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'll tell you where its not...on my "must buy" list.

Fuck you Valve. Other developers make good games that don't take 15 years to make. Episode 3 is going to end up like Duke Nukem Forever at this point.