Half-life 2 = Halo 2

These endings are great. They leave a lot of room for speculation.

Only thing bad is an extremely long wait for the next game.
 
I loved the ending, and from the look of it, very few people hated it. Would you rather have an ending where the G-man appears and says: nice job, and by the way, i'm some super-cool time stopping ninja and my job is to...
That would totally kill the possibility of a third game.
Oh, and as for not getting answers at the end, ever played Half-Life 1?
 
I'm actually very surprised people can compare Halo\Halo2 to HL2. Listen to Breen's speeches.. the writing in HL2 is superb. It's intelligent and thought provoking. Halo's writing is more on par with action sci-fi cartoons. That's not to say they aren't enjoyable games, but they pale in comparison.
 
No plot development? My god whoever said that really missed the entire point of the Half-Life series...

This is not a story about Gordon Freeman himself! It's a story of conflict between massive alien races and humans getting caught in the middle, told from Gordon's perspective.

There has been HUGE amounts of plot development when you look at it like that. You got the ball rolling on the liberation of Earth just like you got the ball rolling on the liberation of Xen. At the start of HL2 we entered a city under martial law, and by the end of it the city had basically fought and won it's own freedom (as indicated by the resistance fighters managing to fight their way all the way to the citadel, and securing it). There have been entire war movies based on the defense or capture of a single bridge, and here in HL2 we took the enemy capital city and broke off all further reinforcements. If you missed this part of the story then you really are a lost cause, because this is EXACTLY what was told to us in all the various cutscenes by the major characters. While Gordon and you the player had questions, your questions were completely irrelevant to the story of HL2: The liberation of City 17.

And as for the overall storyline, we went from coming into contact with a subjacted alien race, to then being subjugated ourselves. We learnt that what happened to the aliens in HL1 isn't a one off thing, because the same thing just happened to us. Not only that, be we liberated both races from what had taken them all prisoner and formed an alliance. Pretty bloody major stuff if you ask me, and all of it quite painfully obvious if you have watched the ending sequences to both games and watched the minor plot characters who we were forced to view or interact with calling the vortigaunts "friend" and playing chess with them. While catching the end result of the overall plot arc may have been harder, this information was also placed right infront of you in plain sight without ANY need to explore or do anything other than rush through the games as quickly as you could.

Gordon's story is just one of a billion stories out there, and they could have quite happily made a "satisfying" ending if they had based the story from a resistance fighter's point of view and had gordon and freeman simply passing through as minor characters, because it really would have been a satisfying ending if we didn't have all these other questions that we brought in from an entirely different game...
 
Revenge said:
No plot development? My god whoever said that really missed the entire point of the Half-Life series...

well then I guess I missed it ... :hmph:

imo the hl1 story didn't really "demand" a sequel. Dispite the mysterious Gmen & the open end , I thought it was a nice closed story.

After a while valve anounced that hl2 would "continue" the story that started in hl1.
woow, nice ! although it seemed not entirly neccessary to start a saga , there was some good potential. When I saw the first screenshots of combine troops , the citadel & city 17 I became really excited & intruiged.
"Cool ! a postapocaliptic sequel ! nice ! But I wonder who those combine are ? and what is the purpose of that citadel ? why does it eat its way though that city ? and what is the link with the story from hl1 ? ... can't wait to play the game & discover the answers!" :)

Bummer :( Every single interesting question just doesnt get answerd during hl2. The only link with hl1 are (A) some old enemies (headcrabs , zombies , bernacles ,...) but they seem a bit misplaced in this new setting. And (B) some familiar faces (eli & co)

Ok , there are a few vague & fuzzy explenations that are supposed to tie these old characters to the new setting , but it all isnt very convincing. :hmph: (wtf are eli & co doing in a eastern europe city to start with ? :dork: )

The whole "story" just feels more like an excuse to make a sequel on a bestseller title .
It feels more like the result of a few brainstorm sessions , rather than that it seems the logical second part of a greater saga.
 
CAN WE PLEASE LOCK KILL AND BURN THIS F***ING THREAD!!! ITS A WASTE OF MY BRAIN POWER

now that that is said i can go back to debating HL3
 
The Question *I* want answered...

NateDogX said:
Answers are not provided for the important questions, yes we find out how long it has been and we see members of the mesa team and we learn what people are up to since mesa, but we still don't know what we really want to know.

The question I want answered is: What are those big lumps under the scientist lady's sweater???

I think if you can answer that, you are on the path to true enlightenment!
 
I'm one of those who really thought the ending was perfect. If they cleared up every answer, there would be nothing to be excited about HL3.

I could compare it to a suspenseful movie split into 3 sections. In a movie, if they give away the ending halfway through the film, theres no reason to watch the rest of the movie.
 
i have no idea what any of you all are talking about!!!!!!! Halo 2 was awesome! im currently stuck on HL2, but im sure it isnt as bad as you all are saying. so what if it doesnt answer every little question, or even the big ones? it is a great game that is enjoyable to play! i mean come on, yall make it to sound as if it was worse than doom 3! doom 3 was awesome too, but in the run and shoot no time to think oops i just crapped my pants fun kind of way. but doom 3, compared to HL2, has little to no stry and deserves to get ripped on more than what yall are doing to HL2...just my opinion that yall are tking it a little too far....
 
Well Supafly, here are my stabs at answering those questions and where I got my answers from

But I wonder who those combine are?
They are the race that enslaved the aliens on Xen (the vortiguants) and then created those big Alien Grunts (big dude with seeker hornets in HL1). Inbetween HL1 and HL2 they enslaved Earth in order to created the combine elite (combine soldiers in white). I gathered this by seeing the similarities in the alien factories in HL1 and the citadel in HL2, the alien slaves in HL1 and the stalkers in HL2, and by what roles the Nihilanth and Breen both played as liasons with the combine. This is probably the hardest plot point to work out, and I woudn't have realised this if it were not for playing Sven Co-op a long long time ago and so hearing about the Xen rebels and then debating here and hearing the rest of it. But once it's pointed out, it should be easy enough to see where all the clues and pointers were. Bear in mind that we don't really know what the combine are... Just what they did to us.

What is the purpose of that citadel?
It's a factory. It produces striders, gunships, elite combine troops, and a few other vehicles that we saw while on our little trolly ride but did not see out on the streets.

Why does it eat its way though that city?
In order to recycle all the buildings into the materials and power needed to build the above stuff.

What is the link with the story from hl1?
Xen got invaded, Gordon liberated it, the invaders then invaded earth, and so Gordon liberated it. Both stories involved entire races being freed from Combine rule. Source: see the first question

Wtf are eli & co doing in a eastern europe city to start with? :dork:
Um...... Good question...
 
NateDogX said:
Answers are not provided for the important questions, yes we find out how long it has been and we see members of the mesa team and we learn what people are up to since mesa, but we still don't know what we really want to know.

The story is: You agreed at the end of HL1 to work for the G-Man. He puts you on hold untill he needs you again.

HL2 begins.... time to wake up Mr. Freeman.
You complete the mission, G-Man puts you on hold again.

Hl3 pending...

What more do you want of a story?
I think it's pretty obvious that the combine used the creatures from Xen to force remaining earthlings to gather in cities.

Once the job done, they built one (maybe a lot) Citadel from where they convert humans to mutants/combines/whatever.

They use headcrab shells to turn rebels into zombies so they kill more rebels around them.

They send combine soldiers to fight the more organized resistance soldiers.

Breen managed to hand earth rendition after a 7 hour battle, he was awarded the role of ambassador ot something like this.

If you paid attention, you should know these. Now what else do you want to know?
 
Revenge said:
Wtf are eli & co doing in a eastern europe city to start with?
Um...... Good question...
As the population of Earth gets smaller (remember Breen's first speech? There is a supression field that prevents people from reproducing, and also presumably a LOT of casualties from conflict with the combine) the combine are relocating people and holding them in numbered cities, in order to maintain control over the population. City 17 is where most (surviving) people from the area surrounding Black Mesa were put. Presumably, a lot of cities, all over the world, have been occupied by the combine and used for this purpose.

As for a specific reason why Gordon and the black mesa crew just so happened to end up being relocated to the country, and city, that contains the citadel... well a coincidence does seem unlikely, I think it's probable that the G-man had a hand in ensuring that.
 
Show, don't tell. Show, don't tell. Show, don't tell.

All great art contains subtleties that require imaginative engagement from the reader or viewer. Hollywood trash does not. There's your answer.

As people have said, there is a lot of info buried in this game, but even with that, you'll still have to draw your own conclusions on a lot of points. This is a good thing-- it requires you to use your intelligence and imagination.

Gordon is a pawn-- he is being manipulated and used for a specific purpose in a greater, mysterious game that is being played out. He knows little, therefore you know little. It works brilliantly, in my opinion, particularly the ending. The game ends at the logical conclusion of the particular story being told in HL2. There will be more, but for now we have more than enough to be going on with.
 
The only reason that HL2 poses more questions is because that is the way Laidlaw wrote it. The rule of the writer is absolute. It also follows standard trilogy outline. Intro/Questions-Sequel/Questions/Cliffhanger-Climax/Answers
 
I think that I'll take my 16+ hours of HL2 gameplay over my 6- hours of Halo 2 gameplay.

Now for the story: As many others have said, HL2's story is told differently from what you're accustomed to. It forces the player to think, to imagine, to be observant, as opposed to Halo where either Cortana or a cutscene tells you almost everything you need to know. The Halo books are different, and that's why I consider the books far superior to the game. But I digress.

HL2 is a thinking man's shooter. I didn't get HL2 for my cousin's birthday specifically because he wouldn't understand the story. He'd want the story spoonfed to him with no extra thinking involved. To HL2's story, he would just say "HL2 story is teh sux" without thinking about it more deeply as the original poster has just done.

So in conclusion, you need to THINK about HL2's story and use your imagination. HL2's story is more akin to a complex yet completely satisfying mystery novel than to a typical video-game B grade "alienz invade!11" story as seen in halo.

HL2>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Halo 2
 
ok. i read alot of this forum (but not all so plz dont get angry atme if i repeat someone elses statements)

some peopel dont understand the character you play in this game. you are gordon freeman. he knows what you know. his mission is your mission. and basically you are trying to survive. these people see you and they think, "alright! he'll help us retake control from the combine" they arent gonna immediatly feed you the entire history and story of the combine. they are going to explain to you what you need to know in order to help them and help yourself survive. its not a book. there is no narrorater to fill in the background. so if you werent paying attention, that means gordon wasnt paying attention. if werent interested, gordon wasnt interested and didnt bother to look at all the posters. look at it realistically, the characters in the game to explain EVERYTHING that has happened because basically they are pressed for time. maybe if in the game you had a nice candle light dinner with alyx you would find out more. but you dont. you are constantly in danger so things have a panicy feel to them. there was no real 'safe house.' the characters are basically explaining the minimun. the WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW in order to survive. the 'what you need to know' in order to help them. whats important to the characters is whats important to you, as gordon freeman. if you dont like to think and consider possibilities and wonder... then dont get angry at the story. just have fun shooting barrels at people. this is good writing for a game where you play a specific character and im completely satisfied with it.

my basic point is: you play a role in this game; its not a novel.
 
okay no. halo is stupid cuz your some big whoop-dee-doo giant bad ass
saving the planet. there's an attempt to creat a depth to their storyline but it just dosen't work. the game had nothing near the feel of hl2. hl2 is good cuz your just an avarage human. and you can die. there's just more feer in that than halo.
 
lol
All this doesn't matter...
What only matters is this Question...
Which game ending will you still be discussing in 6 months Time?
 
Not this one thats for sure.
I'm only playing through Half-Life 2 ONCE.
No replay value IMO...
 
Gr3y said:
Not this one thats for sure.
I'm only playing through Half-Life 2 ONCE.
No replay value IMO...
Your loss.

I'll be playing Half-Life 2 for years to come, just as I'm still playing the original Half-Life.
 
Logic said:
As for a specific reason why Gordon and the black mesa crew just so happened to end up being relocated to the country, and city, that contains the citadel...

I thought that over, and then I realized the reason is actually deceptively simple.

Eli, Kliener and Barney are all key members of the resistance. City 17 is the combine's (and Breen's) main base.

So, Eli and the gang came to City 17 because that's where the resistance could do the most damage to the combine.
 
People are so biased.

I love both halo2 and half life2. Ok well maybe hl2 a bit more, but still, i've been on the halo forums a lot, and a lot of the kids there hate hl2 and stuff (probably because the story is a to "mature" for them) and are acting like all the people here.

Example: "hl2 > halo, HEHHEHEHE" and vice versa.

I think you shouldn't compare them because they are really different. Totaly different. Both are great, but differ in almost every way.



Also, one thing i reall like better about hl2 than halo2 is the fans. You guy are a lot cooler than all the kids at halo forums. Stay cool.
 
This whole thread is pointless.

They're different games for different people.

I'm not sure how the halo 2 people have managed to turn on their computers and get to a HL2 forum, but stranger things have happened.
 
they arent that much different its just that people like to see their game as the better one in my case i love both.
 
I have both and I prefer Half Life 2. It's mostly a matter of personal taste though. Half life 2 just had a better "feel" for me.

And I really, really enjoyed HL2's sp over that of Halo 2's. I don't know how people can argue about that one but eh, whatever.

I haven't tried MP Halo 2 which is where the meat of the game's longevity is. Hopefully I can get some friends together sometime and give it a go!
 
I find it ironic that HL2 seems to have such a much more complex and thought-provoking story than Halo 2. Bungie, after all, was the first development team to come out with a first-person shooter that had a complex plot. And when I say complex, I mean complex. It's mind-boggling.

It was called Marathon. And no one has ever heard about it because it was released for Apple machines.

O, how far the great have fallen...
 
learn how to accept delayed gratification.... god, everything worth having in life is delayed gratification, even woment so for the last time shut up about it!
 
I don't remember who asked why all of the bblack mesa members were at the exact same city but it has been answered many times.
Everyone is being relocated to city-17...They are then to be transported to Nova Prospekt to be turned into those...things, which make up the combine work force. and another reason...the Citadel is there...why wouldn't a resistance make a stand at an enemies base of operations? The people who think that HL2 has no story need to think a bit before they speak. The HL series is supposed to be told through Gordons eyes, meaning you are supposed to find things out as Gordon does, and if you miss something, too bad, because so would Gordon, and this is what makes the HL series so realistic, if your character misses a vital peice of information, so do you. It happens to have a very good story, and just for the record, i liked Halo2, alot.... Stop putting down games and think about what people actually want to play, and not what you want to, because most of us here are extrmely biassed in our oppinions, so if you think your oppinion is unfair, then keep it to yourself...
 
and this is what makes the HL series so realistic, if your character misses a vital peice of information, so do you.
Why would Valve want their players to MISS the story?
Im sorry but that makes no sense.
And please, its not realistic that a single man takes down an army.

A "story" is per my definition something you are told, not something you have to run around looking in corners for.
I'm sorry if I didn't pay attention to what it said on some wall in chapter-whatever, but I kinda lost attention in chapter 7 or so, when the entire game up to that point had been "HEY FREEMAN, MOVE YOUR ASS IN THAT DIRECTION!".

I agree with Supahfly that it feels like a smoke screen...
I'm glad most people bought the whole deal though - less unsatisfied people.

Here is what Gamespot wrote:
Surprisingly, Half-Life 2's story is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. The first half of the game feels a bit unfocused, while the second half seems rushed. Even worse, the story leaves behind a mess of unanswered questions, and it doesn't touch on any of the lingering questions left over from the first game.

(Maybe Gamespot forgot to look at that wall in chapter 3?)
Seriously though, I couldn't have said it better myself.
Wierd it still gets a 9.2 though...

It takes more than pretty graphics to "Wow" me...

Ps. Im not a kid, and I have tried neither Halo nor Halo2 and probably never will.

Pps. New googlefight
 
I think the ending in theory works out pritty well. After the explosion there's no trace of Freeman, and the world moves on without him untill the next crisis comes about.

However I must say in practice this does come out as a mess. See in HL1 the story works. You're trying to get out, then you're fighting for your life, then you're trying to get to the Lambda complex, then you're Trying to shut down the portal.

HL2 I think started well. You're not sure where you are or why, but you're guided into a massive chase to the Eli's labs. After that I think the story starts to bomb into a string of (technically and atmosphericaly impressive) set pieces with very little plot progression.

The climax is fun but unfulfilling. After HL ending my feelings were 'Awsome' and I had a definite desire to play the sequel, seriously hampered by a long long wait for it to turn up. After HL2 ended I was left with a feeling of. Oh, okay then. And if HL3 was to be relased tomorrow I'd not rush out and get it like I did D3 and HL2 and RTW. So I guess thats the proof for me, the ending didn't inspire me to want to know more.
 
This "discussion" is too stupid.
How could you ever choose Halo 2 for HL2?

It's dazzling and rather pathetic.
 
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