Has the Gravity Gun replaced the Crowbar as Half Life's signature weapon?

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Your first weapon in both episodes is the Gravity Gun - in Episode 1, you don't get another weapon until the third chapter. So many physics puzzles revolve around it, and Valve has done an excellent job of making it an effective combat tool in tense battle scenes by leaving logs, gas tanks, rocks, etc. around for you to use.

If I was asked this question after just playing Half Life 2, I would have said no, but the episodes have so far shown that the gravity gun is the new image of the Half Life franchise.
 
It was really the first weapon to effectively break out of the usual FPS weapon line up. I'd say it deserves it.
 
Well...I have to say yes. I almost never used the crowbar....but you know...
 
Signature? Yes. But I don't feel it's as iconic as the crowbar was. I don't know that any weapon will ever reach that status ;)
 
I still prefer to use the crowbar for killing headcrabs and breaking boxes. /shrug

But I think the gravity gun is sort of sharing that spotlight because it is so unique. I don't think it completely replaces the crowbar at all. It doesn't have the same feel to it. Although if the game didn't have things up close to hit then it could easily replace the crowbar (gameplay wise).
 
ehh, i rarely ever use the crowbar anymore
unless its for headcrabs and those little red flying things. (not sure what their name is)
 
Manhacks? Gravity gun works awesome on those suckers.
 
to be honest, ive never tried.
although i dont remember seeing any in episode 2
 
Yeah, crowbar is still good against manhacks.

Another thing to add to the list of MIA enemies. What happened to them?
 
Manhacks are too easy when you have the gravity gun. You can easily pluck them out of the air, then break them in one shot simply by ejecting them into the floor or a nearby wall.

The crowbar's best use in my opinion is to break supply crates in high places where it would be too easy for the contents to fall down if you were to lift and smash the crate with the gravity gun.

In all other cases though, I smash supply crates by plucking them with the gravity gun and then smashing them on the ground.

I think that the gravity gun would be more iconic if it weren't for the fact that the gun is so ugly looking. I know that it's ugly because it is a prototype made by rebels, but still.

The one thing I don't like about the gravity gun is the fact that most objects I fire with it tend to veer off-target and miss enemies, making it unnecessarily frustrating to fight with. For this reason, it sees mostly utilitarian use in my hands.
 
yeah, crowbar for wood...

sometimes busting crates. It might be interesting if valve made using the crowbar something particularly interesting to do instead of just bashing boxes open.

I did like how in episode 2 they paced the ammo enough so that you had to switch through your weapons more often. If they were to combine that trend with some new function(s), animations or effects for that familiar red iron bar, then it might see more use.

Maybe if it behaved like it had weight to it, or if meleeing with it felt like something more akin to Condemned Criminal Origins or Chronicles of riddick's melee styles where they felt more personal and weighty.

Perhaps, even simply having the crowbar be used for actual prying work.
 
I'd just like a secondary attack for it, like in OP4. It would make sneak attacks from behind much more effective. That guy on Highway 17 looking through his binoculars is just begging for it...
 
The Crowbar is a thing of legend. Never soil it's name, or one will fly at you down a steel corridor.

Honestly, I have the exact crowbar in my garage, and I do use it to crack open crates at work. I also crack anyone in a white lab coat or Harvard sweatshirt. Fun stuff, only two weeks in jail, it's worth it.
 
My only regret is that we couldn't use the crowbar in compliance with the gravity gun to create some sort of super crowbar gun.
 
Manhacks in Silo 2.
Maybe the crowbar needs something to compete, a laser sight?
The Grav gun is much more useful in most cases and takes out manhacks with ease.
 
Daggett said:
to be honest, ive never tried.
although i dont remember seeing any in episode 2
Click to expand...
There are a bunch.

But for those, you just grab the little buggers out of the air and shoot them into the wall!


Also, I still use the crowbar at any given chance. Ammo saver + Gordon's real signature weapon = Best weapon ever.

As much as I'd love to see pictures of Gordon holding a gravity gun, I'd rather him holding the crowbar since it is the most iconic/notable weapon in the HL universe.
 
But Valve do seem to be trying to replace the Crowbar with the Grav gun, they deprive you of the crowbar for a while in both Ep1 and 2 don't they?
I still want my crowbar even though I don't use it much, I don't use grens a huge amount either but I wouldn't want them taken off me!
 
Crash Happy said:
But Valve do seem to be trying to replace the Crowbar with the Grav gun, they deprive you of the crowbar for a while in both Ep1 and 2 don't they?
I still want my crowbar even though I don't use it much, I don't use grens a huge amount either but I wouldn't want them taken off me!
Click to expand...
Yeah. You get the crowbar about halfway through EP1 and EP2. As long as they keep bringing me back my crowbar, I will be happy.

Also, why haven't they made a crowbar plush? Hahaha. I would so buy one.
 
Glenn the Great said:
The crowbar's best use in my opinion is to break supply crates in high places where it would be too easy for the contents to fall down if you were to lift and smash the crate with the gravity gun.
Click to expand...

"Shooting" the supply crate witht he gravity gun (left mouse button) breaks the crates the same way that the crowbar does, just much quicker.

Why couldn't they keep making excuses to make the crowbar the same one as HL1, like they do in HL2?
 
Shamrock said:
Yeah. You get the crowbar about halfway through EP1 and EP2. As long as they keep bringing me back my crowbar, I will be happy.

Also, why haven't they made a crowbar plush? Hahaha. I would so buy one.
Click to expand...

Uh...I got the crowbar within 10 mins
 
Damn, I was gonna post this exact thread.

Anyway, it just struck me that one interesting thing about the grav gun vs. the crowbar is that the grav gun almost never finds its way into the concept art. Look through RTB. It's crowbar this and crowbar that and Gordy 'ow's your soul. I don't recall a single mention of the GG.

From a functional standpoint, the grav gun rules the world, the worlds around it, and worlds yet unseen. It's such a boon to gameplay and ass-kickery that, practically speaking, the crowbar couldn't hope to stand up to it. But lest we forget, the simple fact that there are crowbars in the real world makes the CB, in a way, a more enduring symbol. Where the GG is strictly sci-fi, the CB has a raw, primitiveness to it. That said, offing someone with a cinder block is still far more satisfying for me than crowbarring them to death.
 
The amazing thing is that I barely used anything but the GGun in Episode 2. I think the severe lack of ammo anywhere meant I had to be more productive. And I loved it. :E
 
I mainly use the crowbar during the dialogue areas, such as Black Mesa East and the end of Ep2. It seems more "fitting" to have the crowbar out on those occasions. The rest of the time I use the gravity gun, even for killing headcrabs.
 
The crowbar is a visceral visual image. The GG just doesn't have the appeal. Even the ASHPD has more visual appeal than the blocky GG.
 
Have you played EP1/EP2 with HDR? Believe me - the Gravity Gun has the appeal. Ohhh that orange glow. Ahem.
 
I killed a fast zombie with a crowbar in Ep2, that's it. I can't even list all the things I killed with gravity gun.

Yeah, gravity gun has replaced the thing. I guess Valve should pay a tribute to crowbar and make a part to Ep3 where you use crowbar as a gravgun projectile and achieve something great while losing the actual crowbar in the process.
 
Samon said:
Have you played EP1/EP2 with HDR? Believe me - the Gravity Gun has the appeal. Ohhh that orange glow. Ahem.
Click to expand...

Please... please... shut up...

My last playthrough of Episode One had the Core as a bouncy wireframe ball...
 
I didnt even touch the crowbar after un-jamming the lift with it. I had the gravity gun out most of the time, closely followed by my trusty SPAS-12.

p.s. HDR graphics > all.
 
While the Gravity Gun is by far the weapon with the most potential for further innovation, it's no excuse to get rid of the crowbar as the iconic melee weapon of HL. Both weapons have their uses; the crowbar is just more symbolically important now than it is gameplay-wise.
 
yes, the crowbar is rarely used now, but the thing is, i say crowbar, and the first thing you think of is gordon freeman. nothing would change that, even if the crowbar was taken out of the game entirely.
 
Black Op said:
While the Gravity Gun is by far the weapon with the most potential for further innovation, it's no excuse to get rid of the crowbar as the iconic melee weapon of HL. Both weapons have their uses; the crowbar is just more symbolically important now than it is gameplay-wise.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I don't think the grav gun will ever become the symbol of Half Life. The crowbar is simply too legendary.
 
I had fun with the crowbar killing zombies in the toxic area before the car. They can't touch me.
 
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