17 hours to complete...is that short?

[shaggy2039]

I just got the pc gamer (US) review and the reviewer apparently finished it in 17 hours...my question is, do you think this reviewer was so badass that he got thru it quickly, or do you think the game is truly only 17 hours long? I was under the impression that it was going to take double that...what was the length of HL1?
I can't even remember...

 

[monkeydust]

I think it is about the right length.

Surprisingly, it is much shorter than Vampire: Bloodlines though.

From an interview I just read (http://planetbloodlines.gamevision-network.de/bloodlines/intervieweng.php):

Leonard Boyarsky: Our testers are estimating it would take about 40 hours to play through the game the first time, or 60 if you're trying to do every quest.

 

[Ames]

He was trying to finish it quickly so he could write the review. If you look in every nook and crannie, it'll take much longer.

 

[frusion]

not really...most games dont reach that high...around 17 hours is a solid game

 

[Vegeta897]

2 words. Replay Value.


17 hours is actually pretty long. Consider that they don't count the time when you go get a snack, or take a little brake.

I estimate myself spending about 3 solid hours playing on school days, and about 6 on weekends.

 

[switch]

I think you could probably milk it a bit more if you took your time and explored,
anyway I dont think it would be that bad, there are much shorter games out there such as COD, May Payne ect

I cant remember what the play time for HL1 was either, but it took me a long time back then, would get stuck at all the simple puzzles (was a long time ago )

 

[Theman2k]

yes it's something like that ...

But i remember gaib said it would be like 30 hours long and even longer the HL1.

And i took me a week to beat HL1 on the first time .

 

[ShadowFox]

Sounds about the same as Far Cry, which in my opinion was the perfect length.

 

[Sparta]

Yeah Far Cry was pretty long, but not too long.

 

[joule]

The essence of Half-Life 2 is exploration and experimentation. It took me 17 hours to complete the game, but I could easily - easily - see that playtime creeping into 20-plus hours considering all the nooks and crannies there are to explore.

In other words, the reviewer didn't take his time. He basically rushed through it.
The game is not too long nor too short. 17 hours is quite long, in my opinion.
You've also got to imagine how much replay value this game must have.

 

[Necro]

2 words. Replay Value.

exactly, i've beat hl1 sp like 5 times now, not to mention the mods and other stuff that's possible :naughty:

 

[Thadius Dean]

personally i loved the fact that Half-Life seemed to never end. and i loved the fact that i was glad i finally got it over with.

i want half-life 2 to be so long it will have me wishing it was over half-way through

 

[f1r3b4ll]

thats means nothing shaggy - Just talking on other board about two games i recently enjoyed - Max payne 2 - Lasted me about 6 hours which is too damn short...
Call of duty on the other hand lasted me 2 weeks....

its not about how long it lasts its the experience you have......

 

[rrm]

what dissapoints me most is that they removed some of the most interesting levels... but yeah 15-20 hours is kinda short

 

[wayne white]

also remember that 17 hours its ok for a fps but not for an rpg thats why bloodlines is longer

 

[Weedums]

thats means nothing shaggy - Just talking on other board about two games i recently enjoyed - Max payne 2 - Lasted me about 6 hours which is too damn short...
Call of duty on the other hand lasted me 2 weeks....

its not about how long it lasts its the experience you have......

CoD lasted me a weekend.

 

[f1r3b4ll]

LOL CoD wasn't for me one of those "play until i complete then rest" games - just whenever i could be arsed with it

 

[shaggy2039]

replay value will be a big factor...the manipulator gun alone adds so much replay value to the game it's unbelievable...just to replay the game and use different tactics with this weapon is mindboggling...god damned I wish they'd go gold already...

 

[Baal]

I don't think 17 Hours is all that short personally.

Plus I'm an extremely slow player, so I'll probably play it over a week or so, depending on when it's released (whether it's Christmas Break or what have you)

Plus replay value.

Plus mods

Plus CS: Source.

I think I just used my year's worth supply of plus' in one post.

 

[KagePrototype]

I completed Max Payne 2 in about 6 hours, and it was some of the sweetest 6 hours of gameplay I'd ever played (best game of 2003 IMO). I couldn't give a damn how long HL2 is, if it's as consistently brilliant as Max Payne 2 was, I'll be very happy.

 

[Some_God]

Plus the single player addition levels.... well I guess those are mods too.

Oh ... and the expansion packs. :E

 

[MiccyNarc]

Yeah Far Cry was pretty long, but not too long.

As long as you know how to play...

The first time through, it just seemed like it was dragging out horribly long, but the second time I figured out what I was doing, and it went great.

17 hours is great...and he was playing on easy, from what I recall.

 

[SFLUFAN]

Most reviewers have finished it in about 20 hours or so which is fine for FPS standards otherwise you get repetition.

The 17 hour guy must've been running through it on a tight deadline.

Also it took me about 22 hours to finish Far Cry but the game would have been MUCH shorter if there were a quicksave function.

 

[Homer]

17 hours is short. But dont fret, most of us will pay through it 3 or 4 times. I expect to get 60 hours out of single player.

 

[SFLUFAN]

I really don't think it would take 17 hours on "normal" mode and if you did a fair amount of exploration. Most of the reviewers who played it on normal said it took about 20 hours or so.

Playing it on hard? Easily 25 hours!

 

[SFLUFAN]

Sorry for the double post

 

[rrm]

you guys seem so nitpicky about things like shadows but are conformist with the game lenght

 

[SFLUFAN]

Because it's an FPS - we don't expect 40 hour gameplay from an FPS. I'd rather have 20 hours of sheer gaming bliss than 30 plus hours of mediocrity punctuated by a few moments of sheer brillaince.

As talented as Valve is, there is no way they could have sustained that type of gameplay and storytelling for much beyond 20 hours or so. That's just unreasonable to expect that from the FPS genre.

And don't bring the beta/map pack into it - those were largely conceptual and bound to change anyway

 

[Edcrab]

I really wish more games had a simple play timer to help with these matters. I know for example that I completed KotoR fairly thoroughly after 23 hours. But most games throw me off with a date/time slot which, of course, makes game time calculations needlessly difficult.

The only time I'm certain of game lengths is when I complete them in one sitting, but I'd say 17 hours sounds like a great length.

Heh, really makes me think sometimes- just how epic games can be compared to measly sub-3 hour movies. WHERE'S THE REPLAY VALUE? WHY IS IT SO LINEAR??

 

[McP485]

Yes, its true. We've all spent more time reading "OMFG! ITS GOLD!" posts than we will send playing the actual game.

 

[Zento]

It took me 8 hours to beat HL1...HL2 being longer than that is great in itself.

 

[FoxDie]

It took me 8 hours to beat HL1...HL2 being longer than that is great in itself.

Only 8 hours your first time through? I have a hard time believing that

 

[Homer]

I would like to point out something about the length of games like farcry vs halflife. In halflife your run speed is MUCH faster than in those other games, Gordon must have been on the cross country team, because he can MOVE. This makes the game a fair bit shorter just because you can run through the levels so fast. In farcry you run like a overweight elderly midget. This made you spend very long periods of time running slowly to your destination. Its tacked on time that shouldnt count twards the game.


And while I'm on the topic of farcry, who the HELL thinks its fun to fight 12 foot monsters that fire rockets out of their arms and can take 8 rounds from the most powerful weapon in the game? Doom had the same problem. I just dont get it. Why would that be fun?

ok, tangent over.

 

[Baal]

I completed Max Payne 2 in about 6 hours, and it was some of the sweetest 6 hours of gameplay I'd ever played (best game of 2003 IMO). I couldn't give a damn how long HL2 is, if it's as consistently brilliant as Max Payne 2 was, I'll be very happy.

Yea Max Payne 2 was a brilliant single player experience.

I'll definetly be coming back to that game sooner or later to play it again.

 

[Baal]

I would like to point out something about the length of games like farcry vs halflife. In halflife your run speed is MUCH faster than in those other games. In farcry you run like a overweight elderly midget. Gordon must have been on the cross country team, because he can MOVE. This makes the game a fair bit shorter just because you can run through the levels so fast.

Not to mention the buggy levels!

But the buggy parts are more or less kind of a bonus in a sense.

Also...I think 17 hours is if you explore quite a bit. Not just run through.

 

[SFLUFAN]

I think 17 hours is if you DON'T explore a bit personally and if you just try to complete the game as quickly as possible in order to make your review deadline.

But we'll find out soon enough, won't we?

 

[Interesting Ian]

yes it's something like that ...

But i remember gaib said it would be like 30 hours long and even longer the HL1.

And i took me a week to beat HL1 on the first time .

WOW! Took me months. Still playing Doom 3 which I started in June/July (when it first came out anyway).

 

[SFLUFAN]

Let's just say that Gabe was a bit overoptimistic (like ALL developers are) with his initial projections of gameplay length

 

[mrxskinny]

I think I spent over an hour just playing around in Office with the physics. When HL2 rolls around, there's gonna be so much more stuff you'll want to do different ways.

sv_cheats 1 <--the key to replay value

 

[Ames]

I would like to point out something about the length of games like farcry vs halflife. In halflife your run speed is MUCH faster than in those other games, Gordon must have been on the cross country team, because he can MOVE. This makes the game a fair bit shorter just because you can run through the levels so fast. In farcry you run like a overweight elderly midget. This made you spend very long periods of time running slowly to your destination. Its tacked on time that shouldnt count twards the game.

Maybe because you had that HEV suit...