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Silohph
Guest
just turn on the subtitles and it becomes very clear what he says
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michael_obrien
Guest
I really, really don't like that valve failed to satisfy you. They tried to do things in the same way that they did them in the first game, and yet everyone was happy with the first game. Perhaps some people expected too much? Where people played through the first game without critical focus on the plot, they really had a lot of fun with all the gameplay. But now that they expect a story with an incredible plot, now that they expect the engine to provide them with a new level of reality in every aspect, they focus on the missing clarity as a kind of broken promise which wasn't really made in the first place.
I know that while I was playing through, I was kinda angry that I couldn't see my hand pick up the objects, that I couldn't just swipe them aside with a whack from my gun or something, that when I pressed them against walls they jittered a bit unrealistically, that sometimes the shadows didn't look quite as real as real shadows, that a small error in mapping design broke up the flow of my exploration. I said "wow!" but i'd wanted something to make me say "WOW!" In the original half life there was so much more poorly done stuff when I think of it... but I didn't notice then because I had no expectations on that level. Good theory?
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Draculas_Guest
Guest
Possibly, though I'm not sure that I expected much from the story when I first started hearing about HL2. When I played through the opening though, it felt a much more ambitious story than the first game, so maybe that places a greater demand later on?
My feeling on the first Half Life was that it had a (slightly quirky) B-movie style story with zombie aliens and a twilight zone ending.
In the opening to HL2 however, it feels like I just stepped into George Orwell's 1984. Its sometime in the future in the aftermath of a war. There's a run down city with an oppressive presence controlling it (much like Big Brother), as well as the combine dressed in black (thought police). Civilians are dressed in blue overalls, and the name of the city you're in is 'City 17'. (If I remember correctly, in 1984, England is simply known as 'Airstrip 1').
The opening sets a much bigger agenda and there's a greater hunger for answers. I've read the newspaper snippets, the posters, listened to the speeches etc. and some elements of the story speak for themselves, but it still feels like I'm missing too much. I can understand Valve would want to hold back some of the answers for HL3, but this feels more like the basic groundwork that needs to be addressed, rather than a "Luke, I am your father" style plot twist.
I'm also wondering whether HL3 will jump ahead into the future yet again and have a whole new set of questions to be answered. If thats the case, then it'll be mystery piled on top of mystery with no resolution.
Why not? Obviously it depends on how well written that scene was (I havent read a transcript of it yet), but I was hungry for some more information by that point.
One of the things that I loved about Half Life was that there was a bit more to it than just shoot, shoot, shoot. Yes its an FPS and I want some butt-kicking action, but look at the opening to HL1. An MIT graduate turns up for a day at work in the test chamber. Not exactly "awesome" by itself. Even the opening train ride could be derided (A train ride where you sit inside watching the world go by? Gee, that has me on the edge of my seat already)
Of course those elements worked as they had a sense of wonder about them, but there's no reason why the slide show shouldn't as well. If it was well executed then Valve could have the player gripped in awe by what they're hearing.
