HL2 ending.

[impgrinder]

WARNING : THREAD MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!


So while I was making a bitch out of Breen blowing the teleporter to pieces, I was thinking "this is too easy, I bet theres more after this. Maybe I travel to Combine territory and open a can of ownage on em...maybe something else happens after I take Breen down...."

I was surprised that foiling Breens plans turned out to be the end of the game. And the ending sequence was kind of a let down IMO as well. At least they could have revealed a little more before skipping to the G-man scene.

What a bummer.

 

[ríomhaire]

What is there to reveal? I thought it was one of the greatest, most atmospheric and fun endings to a game ever. But that's just my opinion

 

[bigburpco]

It was fine with me. It ended on a climax and that was awesome.

 

[Jintor]

WARNING : THREAD MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!


So while I was making a bitch out of Breen blowing the teleporter to pieces, I was thinking "this is too easy, I bet theres more after this. Maybe I travel to Combine territory and open a can of ownage on em...maybe something else happens after I take Breen down...."

I was surprised that foiling Breens plans turned out to be the end of the game. And the ending sequence was kind of a let down IMO as well. At least they could have revealed a little more before skipping to the G-man scene.

What a bummer.

This is the age of the 6-hour game. Better value than movies, worse value than 1999.

 

[bigburpco]

But HL2 was longer than that!

hatehatehate

 

[Operational]

I was blown away by the ending.

As for it being easy, that's a semi-regular comment on HL2 in general. Episode One was going to ship with a ultra-hard mode or some such that would be retroactively applied to HL2. They ran out of time and are hoping to get it out in Episode Two.

 

[Asknoone]

I loved the final chapter. Difficulty was a bit lax, and it was fairly simple, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. The ending blew me away - firmly brought me back to Half-life at its core.

 

[Hurlxy]

Yea, and Episode one picks up right where Hl2 let off. Have you played Ep1 yet?

 

[Shift]

At first the Half-Life 2 ending was a little vague for me but after I analysed I realized it was very clever and one of the best endings to a game, ever. The best ending to game has to be Episode 1, just seeing the Citadel going critical and seeing the message being blasted out the top was just jaw dropping.

 

[Langolier]

I loved the ending to Half-Life 2. Infact the only thing I don't like about Episode One is that it kind of retcons that ending. The original ending for HL2 was the perfect place to end Gordon's current adventure.

 

[WeeViL]

I thought the ending was fantastic, loved it! It delivered so very well what it set out to do, which was end on a dramatic cliffhanger and have us all guessing what happens next.

On a side note I really liked the opening sequence in Episode One, it reminded me so much of recaps/flashbacks on decent TV series.

 

[Shift]

yeah the intro to EP1, with the Citadel going critical right above you with debri falling down and then conversation between Alyx and her father and Kliener, was just genious. No actor can top the acting of these NPCs ^^

 

[el Chi]

I loved the final chapter. Difficulty was a bit lax, and it was fairly simple, but the atmosphere more than made up for it.

Yeah, the levels in the Citadel were utterly superb (and even better in Ep1) in terms of atmosphere and design if nothing else.
The ending didn't blow me away, but I did love it - anything the G-Man has to say keeps me on tenterhooks so it gripped me in that sense. It did end at a logical stage though. Sure there was no boss character, but that wouldn't have worked.

 

[Black Mesa corp]

It was nothing more than a successful ending.

The fact I wanted more at the end of it. The fact the image of the explosion and the Gman walking out on me is stuck in my head.

Surely those points conclude how meaningful and successful the ending was for such an epic game. It may not have satisfied peoples story needs, or gameplay needs, but all in all, it didn't fail.

 

[Asknoone]

Yeah, the levels in the Citadel were utterly superb (and even better in Ep1) in terms of atmosphere and design if nothing else.
The ending didn't blow me away, but I did love it - anything the G-Man has to say keeps me on tenterhooks so it gripped me in that sense. It did end at a logical stage though. Sure there was no boss character, but that wouldn't have worked.

Mecha Breen lololol

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Mechabreenlololololol.

 

[ríomhaire]

I loved the final chapter. Difficulty was a bit lax, and it was fairly simple, but the atmosphere more than made up for it. The ending blew me away - firmly brought me back to Half-life at its core.

I think the last level and the hunter chopper fight, while not being the most difficult levels, where the most satisfing to complete.

 

[nutcrackr]

I never had a problem with the ending, it came at the right time in the story and in the gameplay. It wasn't a standard boss fight and I thought the last scene was very fitting to the series.

 

[Acepilotf14]

I hate bosses, they are just to.. obvious, I was playing Fable, when you (Maybe spoilers, but Dang, that game is freakin easy!) have to rescue your mother, and when I passed the place where I have to fight the sewer monster, I was all "Psh, This HAS to be a boss battle.." Turns out I was right.
But yeah, The ending was grrrrreat!

 

[Operational]

By popular demand - mechabreen

They are not the best quality since I've had to turn some settings down due to heat - its 34 degrees here.

 

[smwScott]

I loved the ending to Half-Life 2. Infact the only thing I don't like about Episode One is that it kind of retcons that ending. The original ending for HL2 was the perfect place to end Gordon's current adventure.

I agree 100%. Although I don't like cliffhanger endings, HL2 set up the next game in the series perfectly. Then Episode 1 was basically a big "Nevermind, we realized we can milk some more cash out of re-using current assets rather than starting to produce a sequel." It would have been fine if they had created the HL2 ending with that in mind, but they didn't.

Seriously, it was so goddamn pointless too. They could have left the primary story arc untouched and focused the episodes on other characters. As it stands it's really, really makes it obvious that they're just making shit up as they go.

 

[impgrinder]

The HL2 ending looked like it was only setting us up for the next title in the series. They could have finished off HL2 properly and then cooked up something else for the next one.

I agree, its a very clever marketing ploy but "what happens next?" type endings for a long epic game such as HL2 are really annoying and it kinda screws the player over. Especially when they stayed up playing it night after night faithfully following the games storyline, eagerly expecting an ending that goes along with the awesomeness of the game that was declared "game of the year" 35 + times.

5 bazillion rounds and half as many combine corpses later and all I got was what... G-man playing party pooper? Honestly, It was pretty disappointing. I had my expectations of a game I really got into. And I am not going to simply accept what the game designers threw at the fans, just because its "Half Life".

:hmph:

 

[Danimal]

Would you prefer the G-Man to leave you there and die in the explosion? Thus, ending the HL series for good?

 

[bigburpco]

Most endings to games suck anyway. Like for example, RtCW. It was a nice game but the ending was pretty bad (like its storyline). Oh great, you defeated a funny (supposedly) immortal boss who can't even deal proper damage to you... with bullets. Woo yay! That's nice.

Then blah blah blah, the fat guy at OSA makes some comments (must have been munching donuts when you were blasting the crap out of that last boss) and then cut to shooting German dudes. WTF man. That sucked. And I haven't even started talking about the level BEFORE that. You had to wander around in a huge fog. Meh. Is that supposed to be the climax of the game? I thought it was the worst part.

 

[impgrinder]

Would you prefer the G-Man to leave you there and die in the explosion? Thus, ending the HL series for good?

If Freemans death meant a better ending sequence, then yes. It would have been a noble way to end his quest. They could have always taken the HL series forward with new characters and new twists, as they did so from HL1 to HL2.

However, Freemans death would not be the only alternate way to end the game. Im sure they could have thought of something more creative instead of merely using HL2s ending to ensure sales of future releases. It was all in the game designers hands to keep Freeman alive and reward the player with a more satisfactory ending, without G-man hogging up all of the ending.

 

[bigburpco]

No seriously, that would be LAME. Especially for the storyline.

 

[Max35]

If Freemans death meant a better ending sequence, then yes. It would have been a noble way to end his quest. They could have always taken the HL series forward with new characters and new twists, as they did so from HL1 to HL2.

However, Freemans death would not be the only alternate way to end the game. Im sure they could have thought of something more creative instead of merely using HL2s ending to ensure sales of future releases. It was all in the game designers hands to keep Freeman alive and reward the player with a more satisfactory ending, without G-man hogging up all of the ending.

I've always found that HL's strength lies in it's introductions rather than the endings. Take HL 1 for example.

But anyway, I can't think of a more atmospheric ending chapter in all of gaming than "Dark Energy", and the actual ending was so kickass, especially the "time, Dr. Freeman" line set it over the top. And why should Gordon die?, it wouldn't have made the ending more satisfying, on the contrary, actually. Admittedly, I wanted a little more out of the ending, but it didn't stop me from enjoying it immensely.

 

[Operational]

I remember a thread I came across while googling one day, in it a guy was complaining about Half-Life 2's ending. He basically wanted Freeman to destroy the citadel, get the girl and go home (think typical Hollywood blockbuster ending). Got boring? I like that HL2 is trying to break the mold a bit with its story telling.

I remember an interview with Marc Laidlaw where he said if a person quoted A Hero with a Thousand Faces to him something would be thrown at that person. I think it makes for amazing story telling.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

They are not the best quality since I've had to turn some settings down due to heat - its 34 degrees here.

We DO go back in time to the Citadel intact where Breen has changed time and made himself a demigod with help from machinery. These screeny's prove it.

 

[586FAC75]

I enjoyed HL2's ending as it was unique. Most game endings are boring and predictable (Doom 3) or rushed and ****ed up (System Shock 2).

 

[Jintor]

In the meantime... this is where I get off.



MECHABREEN!!!!! (IMA FIRING MA LAZER/SHOOPDAWHOOP)

 

[Asknoone]

I agree 100%. Although I don't like cliffhanger endings, HL2 set up the next game in the series perfectly. Then Episode 1 was basically a big "Nevermind, we realized we can milk some more cash out of re-using current assets rather than starting to produce a sequel." It would have been fine if they had created the HL2 ending with that in mind, but they didn't.

Seriously, it was so goddamn pointless too. They could have left the primary story arc untouched and focused the episodes on other characters. As it stands it's really, really makes it obvious that they're just making shit up as they go.

Quite wrong. Nothing to do with milking at all. They are not making it up as they go along, so please, stop making stuff up Mr. Scott.

The HL2 ending looked like it was only setting us up for the next title in the series. They could have finished off HL2 properly and then cooked up something else for the next one.

I agree, its a very clever marketing ploy but "what happens next?" type endings for a long epic game such as HL2 are really annoying and it kinda screws the player over. Especially when they stayed up playing it night after night faithfully following the games storyline, eagerly expecting an ending that goes along with the awesomeness of the game that was declared "game of the year" 35 + times.

5 bazillion rounds and half as many combine corpses later and all I got was what... G-man playing party pooper? Honestly, It was pretty disappointing. I had my expectations of a game I really got into. And I am not going to simply accept what the game designers threw at the fans, just because its "Half Life".

:hmph:

It was finished. HL2 finished exactly where it needed to. It rounded off everything that was promised in the opening. Perhaps you just don't understand the presence of the Gman at the very end?
Please don't try and make bullshit up. I loved what they 'threw' at the fans and just because you don't doesn't mean you should speak for everyone else.

What were you expecting, a Cyberdemon or something? Ohwait.

They are not the best quality since I've had to turn some settings down due to heat - its 34 degrees here.

Awesome.

 

[smwScott]

Quite wrong. Nothing to do with milking at all. They are not making it up as they go along, so please, stop making stuff up Mr. Scott.

It had everything to do with wanting to test the waters of their new episodic business model and choosing to continue the main story arc so that people wouldn't just disregard it as a set of expansions.

Cinematicaly they were setting it up for the next epic battle. It seemed poised as those Freeman's next stop in the chronological order of things would be in a place as wildly different and important as the leap from Black Mesa to City 17. Watch the HL2 ending again and tell me if you truly, truly believe that they intended for the storyline to pick up about a minute and a half later with vortiguants chanting the G-Man into submission and you heading right back into the Citadel you just got out of?

It is obvious ... beyond obvious ... that they never intended the story to continue in the way it did in Ep1. So yes, in that sense they're just making shit up as they go ... although it does appear they have a set story arc for the upcoming episodes.

And if that's not enough ... if you want to say that Valve always had the beginning of Ep1 in mind as the next step in the HL storyline ... well then Valve are much worse storytellers than I originally thought. Face it, the episodes are an afterthought and the way they handled the transition into this format left a significant flaw on the series' storyline that will always be there.

 

[Asknoone]

I don't believe they intended to pick up straight after. Not in the least. HL2 ended where it ended because it was the logical place for HL2 to end. It was perfect; it tied up everything it needed to. Valve knew what was coming next, but I'm not naive enough to believe they were going to pick up just hours after.

The only thing they did know is that they wanted to get content to the customers sooner and faster. Episodic comes along, and as you said, we have Episode 1, 2 and 3. Now I'm not saying the transition was smooth - not at all. I've always been sketchy on the opening sequence to Episode 1 (the Citadel pan/Vortigaunt incursion), but Dog unearthing onwards I was satisfied with where the story was going. It could have been picked up better, but there you have it.

But however you look at it, the next HL game couldn't have picked up beyond Earth. There was just too much left over, and Valve obviously knew that this time around. They'd have brought us back to Earth no matter what business venture they chose to embark on, and you'd be experiencing the same storyline you are now.
Valve is the best in the business when it comes to storytelling. Dialogue, story, characters, and presentation - it all wraps up into a sublime package. Obviously the move episodic has left things sketchy, at least in my opinion. The transition could have been alot smoother.

But to say they are making things up as they go along is wrong.

 

[Shift]

The only thing they did know is that they wanted to get content to the customers sooner and faster

Yup and it looks like they have failed there also...

 

[bigburpco]

Failed my fabulous pink ass.

 

[Beerdude26]

Yup and it looks like they have failed there also...

I find that they're doing pretty good when it comes to time schemes and when you remind yourself that it's Valve.

 

[Asknoone]

Yup and it looks like they have failed there also...

I don't recall waiting 6 years for Episode 1?

 

[Shift]

Ok, they haven't failed as such, but it hasn't be too convincing either, yeah we aint waiting 6 years which was obvious, what I wanted was the end of their bullshit release dates, to just give the products ETA, and stick by it. Its so frustrating >.<

 

[Asknoone]

I really don't see how. It's pretty easy to assume you'll be finished by a set date, and it is all too easy to feel that the time gap is adequate. I know from experience how easy it is to make such a mistake.
Of course, the easiest thing for Valve to do would be to shut up and try not to give out any dates - because they suck at it.

But I really don't see the problems in delays.