HL2 - Missed the Bar...

[JiMbOb]

In my opinion, the Water Hazard level dragged on way way too long, and virtually made me to never want to play the game again. Anyone agree?

i agree it was too long but it doesnt make me not want to play it again :thumbs:

 

[.ñµkËz]

Water Hazard wasn't that long at all...

 

[EVIL]

the water hazard chapter was long, but it was fun enough and proved enough challenge to keep me going.

Anyway, If anyone played everything WAY to fast minus 6 hours and is complaining about the lack of story, I suggest you replay it and look around , look at the grafiti, posters, pieces of paper on the floor, the scrapboard in kleiners and eli's lab. just look around, explore and stuff like that.

If you still have questions then I suggest you look at this
http://members.shaw.ca/storage_4/hl2story/

 

[XBORGZORZ]

Deus Ex was a good story actually Xborg. And there's plenty of examples out there.
It's good in a very different way to the Half Life story though. Which is good really because we get some nice variety. But either way, this is all a bit irrelevant really.
Writing a better story isn't what this discussion depends on. It depends on whether, as a whole, Half Life 2 raised the bar.

And it did

Actually, perhaps most interstingly, even if Half Life 2 is the failure that many view it as, because of all the attention it has received, it can't help but raise the bar; the programmers out there at the moment will be going through it and making a list of what they can do to beat it. So it will raise the bar.

And I think a lot of people are forgetting that this is a discussion about whether or not the game has "raised the bar" so let's stick to that yeah?

Yeah you are right DE had a great story but was an RPG FPS hybrid(sp?).
Truth is everything is subjective. For me HL2 raised the bar in so many ways I can't even count them. For someone else it could be the worst game ever. What I hate is the fact that some people try to shove their oppinions down others throats when in fact they have really nothing to say...
And in order to have an argument you have to make comparisons. I can say I liked FC more than doom 3 for these reasons. If I say D3 sucked would you take my oppinion seriously? I know I wouldnt...

Anyway there are many things HL2 could have done better IMO. But that wouldnt be raising the bar, it would be ripping it off!

 

[SFLUFAN]

By this i assume you mean me?Someone playing a game on my computer would be piracy?And your the one throwing the Idiot word around...lol.No sir, it is not piracy.thats like saying someone going onto my computer to check their e-mail is pirating my OS.






By both i mean pro's and con's. By these forums alone without buying the game i could assume that the graphics and physics are good,both sides agree with this. i've heard enough people say that DOOM3 has decent graphics but shitty gameplay, therefore i didn't get it.i'll wait until it's in the bargain bin.



Who better to get the opinion of a game than the people who play it? You throw this "idiot" word around because someone doesn't see it your way. HL fans are gonna have a tilted opinion,noted. Some people are into graphics and some into physics, if that was my interest, i would take them into account.I,oddly enough, am into gameplay.I know it's a stretch, being a GAME and all, but if it has a sucky gameplay, it's no good to me. This game was simple, it lacked a challenge. Others like me might find this useful. Some, who look down on those who don't marvel at the trollying through the citadel in a cage scene, would probably find your comments useful.

Here we go, another "idiot" (there I used the word just for you!) who comes into the most popular HL2 fansite on the net to complain about how Half-Life 2 didn't make him breakfast and improve his social life in order to show off his supposed "gaming superiority".

Like Spartan and Odyesseus, he's going on the Ignore list.

Idiot.

 

[Absinthe]

The storyline is what made Half Life 1 the best game ever. So maybe a good storyline adds something to the game, don't you think?

Half-Life was not one of the best games ever because of the story.

Synopsis:
An experiment screws up in a science facility and shit goes awry. You are one of the few survivors and you need to escape.

Feel free to point out how this is at all revolutionary.

Let's be honest here. There was relatively little story in Half-Life. There was a twist with the military presence, but there wasn't a lot of intricate depth and detail. Top this all with the fact that the game wrapped up with a direct confrontation of the alien menace in an attempt to save the world. It was full of cliches.
However, it's presentation and its storytelling techinques are what was impressive. This was made exceptional with its environments, it's impressive use of scripted sequences, and your interaction with other characters. The actual content of the story was generic, but you can make an excellent story so long as you craft and present that content in an interesting and engaging way.

To answer your question directly, I do believe that a good story adds something to a game and is of importance. However, there are things of far greater importance, such as the gameplay. If I am not having fun when playing a title, I am not going to care about how exceptional and well thought out the story is. In this respect, HL2 succeeds IMO. And even if the story did have its shortcomings, I could easily forgive them because there wasn't a single moment in HL2 where I wasn't having fun.

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

There are always things that can be done better. That's not up for discussion here...

I can't believe this thread is still going on, it's getting a little dull now... 8o|

 

[SFLUFAN]

Sorry Mr.Wotsit- I should've let this thread die but I just felt the need to respond to that other guy. I won't let it happen again

I wish I had the power to lock these threads when they become pointless - like this one did about 12 pages ago.

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

So anyway, how about we change the subject...

Who believes in God then?!?!?!

 

[Draculas_Guest]

You know I'm a really big fan of HL2, but I'm really dissapointed at the attitude that some people have on here (The whole "u suk! HL2 rox!" mentality). I come to this board so I can discuss things, not listen to people calling each other idiots just because they have differing opinions.
While I enjoyed HL2 for the most part, there were a couple of points I was dissapointed in and I'm quite happy to listen to comments from people who flat out didnt like it. In fact sometimes those comments can be the most interesting to read as I've seen some very astute points made. (The nature of cliffhangers, gameplay techniques etc.)


Anyway, the stuff that I really enjoyed in HL2 (as in stuff that made me go completely ga-ga)

- Atmosphere.

Partly because of the lighting and the excellent level of detail in, but generally there was a rich atmosphere in HL2. Nova Prospekt was one of my favourites because it had a moody look to it. Ravenholm was dead creepy, and the war torn look of City 17 had me drooling.

- Great "moments" with the characters.

Things like "Oh by the way I think you dropped this in Black Mesa" (said by Barney as he holds up a crowbar). There were lots of great scripted moments that made me feel as if I was in a film or something. These were actually my favourite parts on the game because they were so well executed.

- Pacing

Yes I was rather happy with the pacing for the most part. There were some nice slower moments that cooled things down a bit after a ferocious action sequence. There were some great moments especially when the game would go from loud to quiet. Like when you finish up the airboat escape and find yourself snooping around Black Mesa East. The music would kick in and you'd chill for a bit with some of the characters.

- General sense of fun

Running around with the crowbar, speeding along with the buggy, shooting down troops. For me the game had FUN written all over it.

Some of the stuff I didnt like/dissapointed in.

- The cool E3 vids werent in the game.

Yes its been said before, but I was looking forward to playing those cool moments for myself, but alas they didnt come.

- The story needs a little more detailing.

Yeah I gather that the story is "out there", but I want to have fun while playing the game, not spend 3 hours in Nova Prospekt hunting for a coke can that has the answer to the G-mans existance hidden under it. People talk as if having a character giving you some information is somehow a bad thing. Remember that cool bit in Terminator 2 when Arnie details the future history of Skynet, and Dyson, the person who was credited with creating the revolutionary neural processor? That was one of the cool things about that sequel, it got deeper into the story and we found out a lot more about "what happened".
Black Mesa East would have been a good opportunity to find out more. Eli Vance was somewhat underused as a character as he would have been perfect to fill Gordon in on some of the blanks. Unfortunately there was nothing more than a few newspaper scraps. There needed to be something a little more substantial. The scientists in HL1 filled you in on what was happening, so its a pity that HL2 feels empty occasionally.
If anything there should have been some more time spent at BME allowing you to explore the area a bit and meet more of the people there. Instead, you turn up, play catch with a robot dog, and then its off for some more run and gun action. Apparently this form of storytelling makes HL2 "sophisticated".

- Lack of interaction with Barney and Alyx.

I miss being able to wrangle a comment out of Barney with the 'use' key. Barneys comments were one of the things that made him cool in the first place, but now he just stands there with a blank face.


Thats pretty much it really. I think HL2 is *slightly* overrated, and I think I prefer the first game that little bit more, but generally I felt pretty happy with HL2 and the way it turned out. I mean Valve could have just thrown Gordon onto a spaceship and have some generic sci-fi shooter, but they didnt. City 17 was exciting, different, intriguing. It may have been ripped from Orwells 1984, but it was so well rendered that I cant fault it. HL2 may not be my favourite game of all time, but its one that I'm definitely not gonna forget.

 

[StaticFred]

I have to say HL2 is nothing more than a mediocre FPS at best, the only thing that will save this game are the thousands of mods.

Asides from all the eye candy and the grav gun, HL2 does not introduce anything revolutionary to the genre. In all honesty, HL2's lack of good story telling really cripples this game into being nothing more than "kill everything on the screen" FPS mayhem that's been done a thousand times before.

The ending is also so embarrassingly bad that i can't believe Valve would insult their fans that have waited years to play this sequel. The so called "ending" should not even be considered a form of "closure" to this game, it is more like a commercial break to tie HL2 into the expansion packs. Valve purposely left HL2's story as openly as possible for future development purposes...

Even the multiplayer aspect of the game was thrown together by
valve without much thought. Valve implements a complex physics
system into the game and the best they can do is copy CS into
the Havok Engine??? The physics in CS:Source is nothing more than eye candy and does not add anything to gameplay. Just think of what the multiplayer could of been, perhaps Valve could have implemented the "squad leader" aspect into MP, which would of been cool to lead around AI controlled team-mates in
a 8-16 people death match. Or what about the option to use objects in the maps to your benefit? What about the option to drag one of the team-mates back to a respawning area?

HL2 is weak, the only thing that will save this game are the numerous mods that are being created by all the dedicated fans.

 

[we11er]

Draculas_Guest - really good post, exactly how I feel. I too think people are going over the top with the "show don't tell" thing. Even a *tiny* bit of info/history from one character in one scene would have made things much better.

Then again, Valve may have done this so HL3 can really reveal some juicy stuff.

 

[NachoMan]

- The story needs a little more detailing.

Yeah I gather that the story is "out there", but I want to have fun while playing the game, not spend 3 hours in Nova Prospekt hunting for a coke can that has the answer to the G-mans existance hidden under it...
Black Mesa East would have been a good opportunity to find out more. Eli Vance was somewhat underused as a character as he would have been perfect to fill Gordon in on some of the blanks. Unfortunately there was nothing more than a few newspaper scraps. There needed to be something a little more substantial. The scientists in HL1 filled you in on what was happening, so its a pity that HL2 feels empty occasionally.
If anything there should have been some more time spent at BME allowing you to explore the area a bit and meet more of the people there. Instead, you turn up, play catch with a robot dog, and then its off for some more run and gun action. Apparently this form of storytelling makes HL2 "sophisticated".

- Lack of interaction with Barney and Alyx.

I miss being able to wrangle a comment out of Barney with the 'use' key. Barneys comments were one of the things that made him cool in the first place, but now he just stands there with a blank face.

I agree with these points in particular, though the whole post was good.

Some people seem to have the attitude that HL2 has a sophisticated storyline that forces you to think for yourself rather than force feeding it to you. Maybe they're right, or maybe they're just covering the fact that there isn't really much of a storyline. Fine, I can use my imagination, but that's hardly the point is it? that's not a storyline, that's speculation and theory. I can do that by sitting on a chair with my eyes closed.

What would have been really clever is to give you a few snippets of storyline as you go through the game, through optional character interaction and maybe even give you reports to read like in doom3, nolf, unreal etc. In that way you can piece together the story as things go on, rather than reflect on the game at the very end and try and speculate as to what the hell just happened for the past 20 hours

I was definately hoping for more character interaction though, but no-one really had much to say to me except for in the scripted scenes.

 

[Eon Blue]

Yeah, I think this is a love it or hate it deal. No middle ground here.

 

[riles]

meh i think they should finish everything they had planned and release a patch with all the stuff they truely intended on having in the game...

why? so i dont have to listen to all this bitching

 

[NachoMan]

Are you sure? I think I love AND hate this game.

Love it for drawing me in and entertaining.
Hate it for not being all it could have been.

hm.

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

Nice Work Dracula's Ghost!

As for Static Ghost........ Lame...

And this isn't a hate it or love it deal. There are loads of levels of loving it and hating it.

It's strange actually, the people that hate it actually seem to make me like it more because I go back and play it to see if it's as good as I remember and, playing it again on hard, it's turned out better than I remember. It's excellent added value!

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Please tell me an other FPS you enjoyed that had great story besided HL1 the game with the best story EVAR!
Of course I cannot convince a troll like yourself that a story is subjective and some people may like it while others wont, Im just curious as to how BAD your taste is...

The Mechwarrior series, which is derived from battlemech.There's all types of betrayal and drama in that story. It was a story before it was a game. When the game came out, it kicked ass there too.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Soldcar, the way you said you were encouraging people to play Half Life 2 on your PC rather than buying it seemed to suggest you were doing it out of malice towards Valve. It's really a similar practice although with bad intentions and so, perhaps worse...

[\QUOTE]

Think of it as a challenge. I'll give my friends 2 weeks a piece to play this game. If after 2 weeks they crave HL2, they can go buy it. I'm betting this game wouldn't stand up to the challenge.As far as malice, they should have sold it for less and make it readily available to sell if the buyer wants to.It will be interesting to see the views of everyone here in a month.

 

[Bubak]

Hups my first post: What about new turn on the way - compare HL2 instead of HALO 2 with two years old game NOLF 2 (AI, story, chicks, etc... )

BTW: What about last HL2 chapter and TRON 2?

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Hups my first post: What about new turn on the way - compare HL2 instead of HALO 2 with two years old game NOLF 2 (AI, story, chicks, etc... )

BTW: What about last HL2 chapter and TRON 2?

I actually liked Nolf and Nolf2,contract jack sucked though. They had a lot of interaction and story but most of all,fun gameplay with Multiplayer.

 

[StAtiC]

Have I missed something...? Do you guys have some insider knowledge that I don't have access to...? But IMHO HL2 fails to even meet the bar let alone raise it! I purchased HL2 via Steam and eagerly awaited, like the rest of you, the release - which came and went like a damp firework.

I loaded it up and was expecting something special - no such luck! Nothing is this game is extraordinardy - kill some grunts, kill some headcrabs, solve really easy puzzles. And the ending is so ridiculous, it beggers belief...! The GMan sends you to sleep - AGAIN! Please Valve don't insult your audience. We deserve better.

Then today I forked out £20 for the book "Raising the Bar" - looks nice, contains some background material - but yet again it poses more questions than answers!

The game seems 'rushed' - not complete - and someone please tell me how RavensHolm fits into the game - what does it add to the story - it has no connection whatsoever to the HL or the Combine theme!

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the game for what it was - but not for what it should have been. I think Valve missed the bar - no doubt you fan boys will think different!

Bullz

First of all, I am not a hl2 fanboy. I was actually very against CS and HL for a long time. Then I sat down... played through all of HL and was observant. If you do not have any imagination or "filling-in-the-blanks" thinking, you do not want to play any of the half-life games. Don't worry, you are not alone, for a lot of people post similar concerns. HL2 is actually the most fun I have ever had with a fps in a long time. If you played this game on EASY, forget it. You did not get the whole experience. Play on NORMAL or HARD and take your time. Look around. You can pull lots of information about the story from Eli Vance, as you look around his lab he explains the 7 year war, his wife, and other technologies in the lab. :thumbs:

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

Soldcar, that's a completely stupid setup - having played half the game already, they aren't necessarily likely to go and buy it even if they love it because they'll have already played it... Two weeks is a very long time.
Sounds a bit stupid to me really...

And you shouldn't sell your games on - you're buying a license to play that game, second hand sales are bad for the games industry on the whole. And before you say that will mean games companies can take advantage of the consumer, that's not true at all. Once demand starts to fall, they can drop the price and experience an increase in quantity demanded.
So everyone wins...

 

[PoeticRocker]

So, you didn't beat halo 2? Theres no playability in halo 2 due to it being boring and lifeless but it has the same AI as HL2, which you like?...pass between the tokes...

This is my opinion:

Halo 2=not sequel worthy, no imagination needed to enjoy this game.

Graphics-6/10 - Halo 1
Characters-4/10
Physics-6/10
Story-6/10 - (just like halo1, except this time you’re on earth) this is what kept me from not finishing it
Gameplay-8/10 - duel welding is nothing special
Atmosphere-5/10 - master chief here’s a gun go kill...
AI-7/10 - good enough
Replayabilty - I didn’t even want to finish it

Half-life 2=sequel worthy, the game gives you the freedom of your imagination.

Graphics-9/10 - hl1>hl2 - like a painting and so realistic
Characters-9/10 – liked them all, they seem so lifelike
Physics-10/10 - amazing coherent puzzles along the game
Story-10/10 - where have you seen a towering citadel eating up buildings in its path? I felt significant in freeing the citizens from combines oppression. The sequence of events till the end just kept getting better and better. The ending was great, leaves you wanting more.
Gameplay-10/10 - So fun taking out enemies with manipulator gun
Atmosphere-10/10 - felt like Gordon and my surroundings came alive
AI-7/10 - good enough
Replayabilty - already 3x, specific levels are fun, and plan to continue to play over the following years.

 

[Edcrab]

Half-Life 2 "improved" over the original in several ways- but the fact is a lot of people seem to prefer the original's content.

Half-Life is also open to the "disjointed" criticism- you could argue, for example, that the rocket-priming area is just as arbitary as Ravenholm. Neither game had a brilliant storyline, it all lay in how it was portrayed...

And as much as I loved HL2 I hope Valve take note- it'd be nice to have more lengthy "quiet" periods in the next game. I'd have loved to spend a little longer in BME, or even the early City 17 areas, absorbing the atmosphere and characters. I mean, after the lovingly detailed trainstation full of atmosphere and nervous chatter-filled citizens, I expected the primary resistance stronghold to contain similar things...

 

[Narcolepsy]

Half-Life 2 "improved" over the original in several ways- but the fact is a lot of people seem to prefer the original's content.

Half-Life is also open to the "disjointed" criticism- you could argue, for example, that the rocket-priming area is just as arbitary as Ravenholm. Neither game had a brilliant storyline, it all lay in how it was portrayed...

And as much as I loved HL2 I hope Valve take note- it'd be nice to have more lengthy "quiet" periods in the next game. I'd have loved to spend a little longer in BME, or even the early City 17 areas, absorbing the atmosphere and characters. I mean, after the lovingly detailed trainstation full of atmosphere and nervous chatter-filled citizens, I expected the primary resistance stronghold to contain similar things...

I agree, all of that was awesome and I was sorry when I had to take out the old SMG again. But guess what? Countless people hated those sections, especially the "boring" introduction. You can never please everyone, but you can stand by what you have created and hope that those who have the disposition to enjoy it will.

 

[PsychoDeath]

agreed

i totally agree with the 1st topic, why couldnt HL2 be released a year ago after the code was supposidly stolen and there was 50 mods being made for hl2 at the time (all of which have been cancelled or modded into other games)

it seems HL2 the story is based on new weapons.... gordon meets a scientist goes through the first part of the story at the end he gets a crowbar (joy..)

he meets up with his old buddys one has a cute daughter he gets a gravity gun.

ravenhold he learns to use the gravity gun.....ALOT

bit later on he kills some guard for an SMG with is practically useless.

so on so fourth at the ending level he loses all his weapons and gains a new gravity gun.... which he has to use throughout the entire last level!!!????

you shoot those little balls at the planes destroy them (10 seconds) then you just shoot the balls into the portal (15 seconds) and boom games over....

took an entire 3 hours to beat on hard.... did i see anything extraordinary even witht he graphics on high? no..... did i see anything new? no...

it seems valve really went down the toilet and its somehow related to steam....

even CS source is the exact same shit... couldnt come up with a new game for a new source code?

seems like they are just trying to leech all the money out of us they possibly can.

yea well i downloaded half-life2 how do you like that!

i have more fun playing stronghold then i do HL

when they make a real game then i'll buy it..

 

[Spartan]

even CS source is the exact same shit... couldnt come up with a new game for a new source code?

Couldn't agree more.

 

[m00b]

IMHO it is better than HL1 and Unreal1. Basically it's the best game so far. :E

 

[PvtRyan]

You joined up for this nonsense? Let me get this straight, you hate HL2, you hate Valve, you hate Steam, and then you join a fansite, just to tell them that you hate it? Why don't you move on like ordinary people would, troll?

Oh yes, because you are expecting this and probably get a huge kick out of it, and probably the reason why you joined up: I hate you, and I wish you would die.

 

[Spartan]

I hate you, and I wish you would die.

Whatever you do, don't get children.

 

[SFLUFAN]

Whatever you do, don't get children.

Funny - I pretty much feel the same way about you :thumbs:

 

[Spartan]

Funny - I pretty much feel the same way about you :thumbs:

Is that right? At least I'm not wishing for people to die when they disagree.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Spartan, what is it you are trying to accomplish?

If you hate Valve, Steam, Half-life 2, and everything else so much, why are you spending so much time and effort on this website?

If there is a game you think is better, go to its fansite or do something constructive. You have absoulutely nothing to gain from being here, except making a lot of people think you're a jackass.

Clearly you enjoy HL2 enough that it has become a major force in your life. Only, for some reason, your fun comes from hating it.

 

[PvtRyan]

You're doing a great job in understanding basic English :thumbs:

Trolling (which he is obviously doing, but by observing your behaviour, I can see how trolling is the same as 'disagreeing' in your universe) is no fun without someone responding with flames, hate and contempt, I thought I'd do the poor guy a favor, he obviously gets a kick out of it (I mean, joining a fansite to say you hate it?).

 

[Chiefi]

Spartan...

What the hell are you doing here? You seem to hate everything related to Hl2 and take pride out of it. Just in case you haven't noticed, this is "halflife2.net". There's nothing wrong with you hating Hl2, but there's something wrong if you keep insisting on it in here. You seem like a smart guy... do the smart thing. :thumbs:

 

[miked4o7]

i totally agree with the 1st topic, why couldnt HL2 be released a year ago after the code was supposidly stolen and there was 50 mods being made for hl2 at the time (all of which have been cancelled or modded into other games)

it seems HL2 the story is based on new weapons.... gordon meets a scientist goes through the first part of the story at the end he gets a crowbar (joy..)

he meets up with his old buddys one has a cute daughter he gets a gravity gun.

ravenhold he learns to use the gravity gun.....ALOT

bit later on he kills some guard for an SMG with is practically useless.

so on so fourth at the ending level he loses all his weapons and gains a new gravity gun.... which he has to use throughout the entire last level!!!????

you shoot those little balls at the planes destroy them (10 seconds) then you just shoot the balls into the portal (15 seconds) and boom games over....

took an entire 3 hours to beat on hard.... did i see anything extraordinary even witht he graphics on high? no..... did i see anything new? no...

it seems valve really went down the toilet and its somehow related to steam....

even CS source is the exact same shit... couldnt come up with a new game for a new source code?

seems like they are just trying to leech all the money out of us they possibly can.

yea well i downloaded half-life2 how do you like that!

i have more fun playing stronghold then i do HL

when they make a real game then i'll buy it..

It's posts like this that reassure me that my love of hl2 is indeed justified.

 

[Big Fat Duck]

hl2 wasn't as fun as i thought it would be

 

[miked4o7]

hl2 wasn't as fun as i thought it would be

Different strokes for different folks. I think you're in the minority on this one though. I personally haven't ever had more fun playing a videogame.

 

[NB.]

Nothing wrong with being in the minority :thumbs:

I'm disappointed with the game as well, i still thinks its fun, but its nothing like as good as i'd hoped it was going to be.