Analysis so far...

[Dario D.]

I'm about halfway through the game I guess. Just some thoughts; what I feel about the game so far.

1: Extremely polished gunplay and gameplay. Very thoroughly programmed actions/reactions/interactions with AIs and creatures. Perfect attention to detail in the way story-characters talk and move around / do stuff.

2: Good graphics indoors - great textures until you get too close to them... they seem to have quite lossy compression. Average/poor graphics in outdoor terrains and wide-open areas, but of course good-looking map-objects and buildings.

3: Excellent water, except where the ocean is concerned. The oceanside/beach areas really fall apart with bland, polygonal, unfinished looking terrains and skies (the horizon).

4: Good, simple level navigation. Halfway linear, halfway free, but often you have to find a very certain window/door/crack to get through, and it can take a long time looking for it.

5: Many areas seem more like a "tour" than a game. "And on your right is a hut with a bunch of combine troopers. Why don't we stop and shoot them before moving on?"..."And here's out fifth and final stop. As in all the other stops, please exit the vehicle and kill everything that moves before progressing."

6: Extremely and *frequently* coincidental, the way objects are aranged just perfectly for you to use them to get through. Ramps exactly where you need them on the boat, a single hole in the wall that you MUST find to progress; an embarassment to storytelling, especially when the game's progression is all about finding cioncidental objects arranged *just perfectly* that are the only way to leave or enter an area.

7: More of a physics playground than a game early-on, where, as stated above, you must use physics on objects that just so happen to be arranged perfectly for you to stack things on them to allow you to get up on something so you can progress.

- In the game Deus Ex, there's stuff like that, but it's only a *helper*, and there's NEVER a time when you're forced to progress by means of a coincidental arrangement of blocks.

"Gordon Freeman would like to thank whoever placed the numerous objects and physics simulations along his way to saving the world. Without their help, he would still be in the first level trying to reach the ladder above the dumpster."

8: There's nothing to read; no diaries, no audio recordings, no depth on the thoughts of the people you're killing... which brings us to 9:

9: What' the story? Early on, I simply had no idea what I was doing. They said to meet up with somebody... why? I was fighting the police. Why? Who are they? And now, halfway through the game, all I know is that I'm supposed to be helping the resistance fight off the Comine. And why? Just because the Combine shoots at me and the resistance doesn't? The story is not really helping me through the game at all, and I try to ignore the cloud of confusion about not knowing why I'm doing anything.

10: The combat, especially the explosives and the gravity gun, make combat extremely interesting and enjoyable. The game is *plenty* fun with the weapons alone, and the combat possibilities alone can mame HL2 one of the best, if not the best shooter ever. The story is a major setback, and removes the physical crown from HL2's head, but it can still take the #1 spot by how fun it is to play, rather than how complete and compelling of an experience it is, like Deus Ex...

...which in my book falls slightly behind HL2 for it's *un*interesting combat in comparison, and lack of life-filled worlds in comparison.

11: You don't have objectives, nor do you have any side-quests. People don't give you objectives if you talk to them. There's no money, or way to buy anything. It's not a drawback to HL2, but it's no Rolls Royce either. Could easily have used objectives and secondary objectives to make the game richer.

12: Another thought; why can't you throw corpses with the gravity gun? That absolutely sucks.

13: more soon if I think of some...

my rating so far:

Versus other games, 5 out of 5.

Versus the bar that it raises on itself: 3 out of 5, for completely neglecting the story and the possibilties of a simple Deus Ex-style character-interaction/objective system.

Level design: 4.5 out of 5 for visuals - 3 out of 5 for gameplay efficiency - 2 out of 5 outdoor terrains.

Sound: 4 out of 5 - extremely good, but you hear the same sounds ALLL the time.

Replayability so far: average. Some areas I wouldn't want to do again... some would be fun again... the game is too linear for you to have "missed" much, unless you're simply playing to enjoy the combat.

- As an example, I played Deus Ex *five* times, and it was never the same twice. I found things on my *5th* playthrough that I had never found before, and did objectives in completely different ways. HL2 replaying for me would just be too boring since there is no "depth" in what you can do. Drive, kill, drive, kill, walk, kill, walk, kill, kill, kill, kill... repeat. Fun killing, but paper-thin possibilties nonetheless. No matter HOW you play, you'll either be killing or killing. Ghosting doesn't really work.

Dig?

 

[Kapitan Helion]

The water looks... .. What?.... What is you're settings man....

 

[Yellonet]

You are quite right. Unfortunately.

 

[Alix Mcdean]

Nice review! I must say I agree with 5, 6 and 7. Very true and the first thing I did actualy notice.

Though I disagree with 12, since the gun was indeed made for only heavy NON organics.
Finish the game first and then come back and tell me whatcha think about the Grav Gun. *hint hint hint hint*

Good stuff here
-Alix

 

[Spartan]

5: Many areas seem more like a "tour" than a game. "And on your right is a hut with a bunch of combine troopers. Why don't we stop and shoot them before moving on?"..."And here's out fifth and final stop. As in all the other stops, please exit the vehicle and kill everything that moves before progressing."

"Gordon Freeman would like to thank whoever placed the numerous objects and physics simulations along his way to saving the world. Without their help, he would still be in the first level trying to reach the ladder above the dumpster."

Hahahahahahaa. True.

 

[rose 1138]

must agree, the game is a polished and enjoyable experience, big up to valve though could we have HL3 a little sooner than we had to wait for HL2.

Still ace game

 

[Kapitan Helion]

What i think is annoying is the sounds... Are much better sounding in windows then the game... MUCH better etc the pistol.... Argh =P
But hl3 WILL be better... They used plenty of time on the source engine.... And the constant pressure... Open the cfg and check out the sounds... You will see what i mean

 

[cjborton]

I thought the sounds were fantastic. Best I've heard in any game.

 

[Alix Mcdean]

The water looks... .. What?.... What is you're settings man....

I was under the impression he ment the geometry of the actual beach, not the water. He jsut forgot the seperate the thought into 2 different numbers

-Alix

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Nice review, although I hate having objectives in games unless they fit in, which they certainly wouldn't in Half-life 2. Walk up to a character and press E and he gives you a mission? Boooooring...
Gordon can't take up sidequests, he ain't no assassin, he's a physicist, he's only got one pimp, da g-man!
About things being arranged together? Yeah... Pretty usual in fps, the trick is to not bring it up :E
"Oh no, a tiger tank! What do we do now sarge?"
"I don't know, I don... oh look, someone left a whole case of bazooka rounds in this big box here, huh, what a coincidence!"
I wouldn't say story was lacks to start with, more the goal. The Ravenholm part for example, which I loved, but why was I there? (apart from getting the hell outta there!) Kinda confusing. At the end of the game though I had a very distinct goal

Spoiler

I was gonna save Alyx & Eli!!!

 

[Kapitan Helion]

Yeah unlike Half-Life 1... You were forced to kill the gunships...

 

[rose 1138]

and lest not forget the greates weapon available to us as Gordon, "Run like fun if you wanna see your next B,day" hee hee. although a well placed rocket hmmm decisions

 

[Raz]

No side quests? No diaries and stuff to read? This is an FPS, not an RPG. Name one FPS that has side quests.

As for the story? Theres a link to a summary of the HL storyline on the front page.

 

[CriYam]

No side quests? No diaries and stuff to read? This is an FPS, not an RPG. Name one FPS that has side quests.

Anachronox

Anything else I can get you?

 

[Raz]

Yeah. One glass of coffee, no milk.

Anachronox isn't an FPS.

 

[CriYam]

Yeah. One glass of coffee, no milk.

Anachronox isn't an FPS.

here's your coffee.

Is KoTOR a FPS?

 

[Raz]

Of course not. And neither is Morrowind, for that matter.

 

[CriYam]

Of course not. And neither is Morrowind, for that matter.

I've played the Deus Ex series, I'm pretty sure they weren't sidescrollers either.

 

[Brian Damage]

The developers of Deus Ex claimed that it was some sort of new genre at one point, IIRC. I've personally always lumped it with the RPGs. It's not too hot, combat-wise.

 

[CriYam]

The developers of Deus Ex claimed that it was some sort of new genre at one point, IIRC. I've personally always lumped it with the RPGs. It's not too hot, combat-wise.

I agree, but I love RPG's and I love FPS's; I demand satisfaction!

 

[miked4o7]

The developers of Deus Ex claimed that it was some sort of new genre at one point, IIRC. I've personally always lumped it with the RPGs. It's not too hot, combat-wise.

True, wonderful game overall, but the action aspect of it is pretty sub-par compared to most fps.

As to the original post, that seems like a pretty fair analysis for somebody's who's about halfway through the game. Personally, the last 3 or 4 chapters of the game were by far my favorites... so I'd be interested to see what you think after you beat it.

Also, to the conveniently placed objects... there were only a couple times in the game when they really stuck out to me. For the most part, they were integrated into the world pretty well I thought. I guess that's just one of the dillemas you have with level design in any game though. realism vs. playability. I think hl2 struck a very nice balance.

 

[Dario D.]

I dunno... I guess I wrote that review with a certain feeling of let-down in the game. On one hand it's really fun... but on the other hand it's really quite confused with what it's supposed to be. I can't get over how much like a reality/physics simulator it is rather than a game... and for the worst.

I know it's still thoroughly enjoyable, but to me, it's like skydiving with blindfolds on. - The fun factor is REALLY there. But the depth, the story, and the mannerism of progression is REALLY disoriented, or not there.

Yeah, sure, I guess I'll write more when I beat it. Thanks miked4o7. Just moments ago I placed an order for a new GeForce 6600 128mb AGP, which should arrive in 2 weeks. Around that time I'll finish it, because right now I'm too busy working on a mod for UT2004... gotta get back to it .

 

[Booger2000]

Here's my analysis!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HA!!!!! I told you facks!

Gabe: Here's a Death Match add-on that will single handedly destroy your game, and a taste of my pleasure pole to go with it!

YOU ALL: Yes gabe, thank you gabe......SLURP..........SLURP ...........You're sooo big gabe



Bunch a sorry azzed LEMMINGS!!!! WHEN ARE YOU IDIOTS GONNA WAKE UP AND SMELL WHAT VALVE'S SHOVELIN!!!!!!

 

[Dario D.]

Nobody is perfect. Even moreso, nobody would ever try to ruin their own product if they knew something was gonna make it worse.

Hey, Gabe lead the team who made Half-Life 2. They got it right. You can't ask for too much, can you? Don't worry, anyway; sooner or later there are going to be some good multiplayer mods that fix everything.

 

[aeroripper]

I think you should e-mail valve and tell them to rename half-life² "Half Ex 3: We'll spoonfeed the story, you bleed your eyes out!"

 

[we11er]

nm - wrong thread

 

[Dario D.]

I'll clarify a little. My impressions and thoughts while playing were that the game was not very good in areas that Deus Ex masters.

I'm not saying HL2 should BE Deus Ex (even though it would be twice the game if it were), but that Deus Ex > Half-Life 2 in some areas, and that's what I was thinking while playing it;

"Gosh, that would be cool if there were different kinds of grenades and wierd little weapons you could find and wear on your inventory belt."

and

"That'd be cool if you could stop and talk to some AIs, and they'd tell you what's been going on with the local Combine, or tell you where you can load up on some explosives."

and

"That'd be cool if there were diaries in these old abandoned houses, telling of what was happening here about the time that Ravenholm was attacked, and how the people managed during that time."

I don't want HL2 to be a clone of DX. The objectives in DX are really good, and no game comes closer to the way you go about in real life than in DX, but HL2 is it's own game with it's own scenarios. It's not about making alliances with various factions in a war to stop people from seizing power over the world. It's more about running small-scale errands and missions, with the intent of just getting the job done; no need to have objectives - just finish the job. - but it's executed so clumsily; it's more like "Hey! Gordon! They've taken my father! You should spend 30% of the game shooting Antlions, then after a brief talk-scene, kill another thousand enemies until you reach the next talk-scene. Anything to juice it up for you? No. Just fun fighting."

Where was I going with this? Oh, yeah. My analysis was/is pointing out that I think HL2 is pretty dead in the "depth" department. So when I think of the cure, I think of Deus Ex; one of the deepest games ever made, that succeeds in every area that Half-Life 2 fails. HL2 doesn't need the AMOUNT of each element that DX has, but it does, to me, need *more* in order to raise itself out of the grave of brain-deadness.

Dig²?

Edit: I think my analysis is a little in vain. I just wish I could have told Valve this while they were still working on it. They were probably too amazed at themselves to be able to see clearly what exactly they were doing. Sometimes you make such a beautiful painting, that you forget it's in a cardboard frame.

 

[Spiffe]

I agree with most of yer points.
But when it comes to the physics stuff that you have to do, like put the barrels in a cage under water so that the ramp floats up and stuff like that. I think those things are awesome. It's like small little puzzles you gotta solve, and it's great and makes the game more funny.
IMO I hope there's more stuff like this in HL3

 

[Raz]

Edit: I think my analysis is a little in vain. I just wish I could have told Valve this while they were still working on it. They were probably too amazed at themselves to be able to see clearly what exactly they were doing. Sometimes you make such a beautiful painting, that you forget it's in a cardboard frame.

What makes you think that? What if this is exactly how they wanted it to be? They never claimed this game would be like Deus Ex, or like any RPG for that matter. It seems you want the game to be something it was never going to be or was supposed to be.

 

[Gordons_nan]

Dario D:

Very good review! I agree with 99% of your thoughts, although the sound for me was the best I've ever experienced in a game.

The biggest dissapointment for me were the outdoor beach levels..the graphics were awful, especially where the terrain met the sea. You could hear the waves breaking on the beach but the sea was almost static...not impressive after Farcry. Also what was with the Sky boxes? :S

I will say though that you've summed the game up far too early if you haven't completed it yet....it get's even better later in the game in terms of graphics/gameplay/sound, everything really....

 

[Dario D.]

The developers of Deus Ex claimed that it was some sort of new genre at one point, IIRC. I've personally always lumped it with the RPGs. It's not too hot, combat-wise.

I don't know why DX is being brought up so much, because that's not what I'm talking about when referring to HL2. Once again, "DX is just an example when naming features HL2 could've used." Going full-fledge DX would turn HL2 into a different game... and that's not the point.

Take a needle, fill it up with DX, and inject HL2 with about 30% of it. Wallah! An even better game.

 

[Acert93]

Nice analysis. I do not agree with everything, but you have thoughtful reasons and it is your opinion, so that is great

One thing I would like to give you a constrasting opinion on is the story. I think we have been brainwashed, as gamers, to be spoon fed plots.

Think about it--Gordon has been in some portal for ~10 years. Time has not passed for him. If it is anything like other sci fi portals, he is REALLY groggy coming out. The first thing he sees is this city with odd guards all over, clearly oppressing the human population. At the heart of the city is this huge building which seems to be creeping onto the remnants of the city. The first real voice you hear is Breen telling you WHY it is important we cannot reproduce. You yourself are quickly introduced to the harshness of the Combine (the can, the torture room, the general fear in the residents). It is clear the Combine are not the friends of humans. The imagery is very reminiscent of what the Nazi's did to the Jews in WWII. One thing still sticks out in my mind: When in the broken down play ground you find a doll that had been left. Little girls do not leave their cherished dolls to rott unless forced to. The oppression of the Combine clearly has been desruptive to the most basic elements of life.

The point? It is clear that after you accepted the G-Man's job a lot changed. Something happened, and whatever that something was has lead to the conquest of Earth. As you enter buildings you get the entire Big Brother atmosphere--nothing is sacred or private.

So part of the story is foggy because the story dictates that it should be. Other parts take paying attention. Valve is not force feeding a story, they are using the world they created to be the story driving device. No cut scenes, no intro movies, no speach from you--you speak by your actions alone.

This is all my opinion of course. But I really like how Valve told the story. They, in my mind, did a masterful job of achieving a lot of companies have tried to do--tell a story through the GAME experience. Yes, it is linear. Yes, sometimes you may want to do your own thing... but guess what? You are not there to do your own thing. The G-Man has a job for you to do.

And one of the neat things about how the story is told is it allows us, the community, to interpret it and build on it. It is not close ended, but allows our imagination to work on it. This will allow some great user created content, expansions, and leaves the doors open for a lot of new stuff in HL3.

HL2 is not an RPG. But it is not a traditional FPS either. It is not even a story about events, but a telling of the story of Gordon and the people he meets. History is meaningless without people and interaction--HL2 is one of the first games to really invite us into the created world without telling us about this world. We experience the world as anyone would who was dropped there. And in my opinion, that makes for a great story--a story about people and their hardships and the war they are fighting. Good stuff in my book!

Anyhow, that is why I disagree I think HL2 has an excellent story... but it is a story of experiences and not history and happenings.

 

[nutcrackr]

Yep adding side quests almost immediately makes it a rpg/fps

 

[Dario D.]

(what Acert said)

Yes, I agree with you that it's a good method of storytelling to 'NOT' tell the story, but rather let you experience it as it happens, and as you encounter it naturally.

But... frankly... it wasn't working for me while I was playing the first few missions with ignorance to what I was doing. I wasn't clear on the Half-Life story as I started the game, and the little that can still be remembered of the old Half-Life (don't even get me started on the people who have never played Half-Life) wasn't helping in explaining what was going on. G-Man should have said something about the Combine, and what they were doing. See, I thought the combine were just the government. I didn't know until I looked up the Half-Life story online that they were actually aliens. Even more confusing, Barney is a human, so there's no WAY anyone can guess that they are humans and aliens mixed. Doesn't make sense. Invading aliens hire humans into being cops with them?

Half-Life veterans have a decent grip at least with what's going on. Anyone else? (and believe me, LOTS of people are coming to play Half-Life 2 as newbies and have never played HL before. HL2 is a big thing.) Anyone else can forget the story, because they'll get it wrong. I actually thought that the leader of the Combine would turn out to be a hidden individual who was under the control of the Xen, so that he'd lead the human race into extinction. How pathetic is that for trying to guess the story 5 missions into the game? I had to read the actual story last night to see that my take on the game was 150 degrees in the wrong direction.

So, yes, emergent story-telling is good... but if you ask me, it was more like emergent confusion, unless you just beat HL1 again yesterday.

I would have provided a conversation early on where two doctors explain to someone what's going on... someone who came in late through a teleporter and missed the action in between HL1 and HL2.

- And is it just me, or are there lots of rumors of a HL3 going around? Are they officially working on HL3 already?

 

[Acert93]

Dario, good points One thing that I think is overlooked is that all the NPCs assume you know what is going on. They do not know, necessarily, that you are clueless. Why would you be clueless?

Valve cut out a "slideshow" that Eli showed you. It is in the book. Personally I think it would have been great to have that in the game because it would have explained a lot to people who are confused by the, well, confusion As you go farther in the game things become clearer--but not everything. One thing I like about the game is you feel kind of toyed with, like you know whats going on, but then again you do not.

It seems that while everything around you may be confusing, the right thing to do and what is just is always clear. Gordon is not political, but idealogical in this respect. We all want more of the story Dario, so I can understand where you are coming from!! It gets better, but don't have too high of hopes. It almost feels like Valve wetted our mouths and right when you think the entire story is going to explode and branch off into this huge epic, well...

All I can say is, "Is it that time already". The timing, is, well, left for another time

 

[Dario D.]

:cheers: ...and what about HL3? Is it being worked on already?

 

[JCampbell]

:cheers: ...and what about HL3? Is it being worked on already?

I don't remember who was quoted in PCGamer, but I do know that it was a valve employee who confirmed that HL3 is indeed in the works.

After reading Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, I can't help but wonder if there will be another significant wait for the HL3. It was mentioned in the book that the second installment (HL2) was in the works within a year of the release of HL. Granted, I don't think that Valve will have the problem of a leaked code to deal with this time around. I have a feeling that if Valve knows what they're doing, it will be at least a couple of years before the 3rd installment is released.

I don't mind waiting that long just so Valve can do their homework. Raising the Bar gives so much insight into the creative processes and crucial eliminations when it comes to narrowing down story lines and geographical information. Let them take their time and do it right, instead of releasing a half-baked version early of what could have been a great game. To quote Gabe Newell:

There is a lot of value in refinement...They key thing is not which things we decide to focus on, but that we focus on them, and we've seen that over and over again with weapons and monsters and levels. One of our worst enemies is trying to do too much, rather than narrowing our focus, and whenever we narrow it, that set of interesting problems gets figured out and interesting ways of using that creation become obvious. Doing things halfway is the greatest enemy of creativity, both on the team and for the player

(bold for my emphasis)

Although I have no doubt that HL3 will please even the most discriminating HL 'fanboy,', I would love to see a return to Black Mesa. Nothing would make me smile more than to see the ruins of a once glorious research facility all laid bare in its chaotic splendor with the power of Source (or whatever other engine they decide to conjure up).

 

[Dario D.]

Thanks for the enlightenment, JCampbell

 

[JCampbell]

Thanks for the enlightenment, JCampbell

I can't really tell if that's new-member-directed sarcasm, but I'll take it as a compliment.

This book is full of botched storylines.

Examples:
-Underwater base reached via Borealis (Kraken I believe it was called)
-Air Exchange (substituted with Nova Prospekt as the turning point in the game)
-Manhacks originally intended to be City 17 citizens playing on gaming 'consoles' that they thought were 'simulations'
-Child labour plants

But I agree with Gabe on this one: focus is the key.

[/HIJACK}

 

[Dario D.]

Yes, it was a compliment, don't worry :upstare: - I asked, you answered.