If a HL2 remake was ever done, should combat change?

[Skyace65]

first let me get one thing clear. I am in no way suggesting that HL2 needs a remake, it's a great game with a good graphical style that still looks very good today.

One of the things thats always bugged me about HL2 is it doesn't feel like a complete successor to HL1. more like an equal. HL1 had fantastic combat and a good narrative, HL2 had a fantastic narrative and good combat. Basically a 1 step forward 1 step back really. The first game had fantastic combat and great weapons. The seconds combat while enjoyable, had very badly balanced weapons compared to the first, not so great AI and little meaningful enemy variety.

so, if a remake was ever done should these problems be fixed?

 

[Aizawa]

in my opinion HL2 has better combat. It is more "optimized", less is sometimes more. In HL1 some weapons I rarely use (the alien weapon) and also the Gauss gun or whatever it is called and that Laser gun use the same ammo, so I only use the lazer gun (They are not the same I know, but its not really worth it switchtig between those two all the time).

About enemys hmm, I think HL2 would be better with maybe 1 or 2 more stronger mini-boss like enemys like combine soliders with very heavy armor (and weak spots or so, no bullet sponges) or something like that.

What I like more about HL1 is the balance of pickups of ammo and health, in HL2 there is too much.
Oh and HL2 has the gravity gun which is a huge plus

Also with episode 2 we had 1 new antlion type, 1 new zombie and the hunters, so with episode 2 HL2 has a very good amount of different enemy types.

Also combat is not only about weapons and enemys but also about level design which is also better in HL2 imo, but only for combat, for exploration I like HL1 level design a little more.

What they should improve in a remake is only make the levels bigger, more exploration, more "sandbox" combat like in episode 2.

edit: one more thing! I think they could make some interesting fights were you fight a gunship but at the same time other enemy types attack you. Make the helicopter and gunship more like stronger normal enemys and not mini-bosses.

 

[Mr. Sir Shpee]

in my opinion HL2 has better combat. It is more "optimized", less is sometimes more. In HL1 some weapons I rarely use (the alien weapon) and also the Gauss gun or whatever it is called and that Laser gun use the same ammo, so I only use the lazer gun (They are not the same I know, but its not really worth it switchtig between those two all the time).

About enemys hmm, I think HL2 would be better with maybe 1 or 2 more stronger mini-boss like enemys like combine soliders with very heavy armor (and weak spots or so, no bullet sponges) or something like that.

What I like more about HL1 is the balance of pickups of ammo and health, in HL2 there is too much.
Oh and HL2 has the gravity gun which is a huge plus

Also with episode 2 we had 1 new antlion type, 1 new zombie and the hunters, so with episode 2 HL2 has a very good amount of different enemy types.

Also combat is not only about weapons and enemys but also about level design which is also better in HL2 imo, but only for combat, for exploration I like HL1 level design a little more.

What they should improve in a remake is only make the levels bigger, more exploration, more "sandbox" combat like in episode 2.

edit: one more thing! I think they could make some interesting fights were you fight a gunship but at the same time other enemy types attack you. Make the helicopter and gunship more like stronger normal enemys and not mini-bosses.

I agree with this. I'd love Valve to announce a tenth anniversary remake on Source 2 or something, but that's wishful thinking.

Also, there were no new zombies in Episode 2. The new enemies were the Combine Hunters and Antlion Workers. Or are you thinking of Episode 1's Zombines?

I would love more open levels, though. *crosses fingers for open-world Half-Life 3*

 

[Skyace65]

in my opinion HL2 has better combat. It is more "optimized", less is sometimes more. In HL1 some weapons I rarely use (the alien weapon) and also the Gauss gun or whatever it is called and that Laser gun use the same ammo, so I only use the lazer gun (They are not the same I know, but its not really worth it switchtig between those two all the time).

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with that. HL1 is something where i use all the weapons because they all have their place. I'm not going to use a shotgun instead of a SMG for some enemies if they are farther away. The alien gun while originally feeling clumsy after a while i started to use where i could to save ammo. The only thing i didn't use was the snarks because they are annoying to deal with when they attack you.

But HL2 doesn't have that kind of balance, as soon as i get an AR2 I'm going to keep using it instead of the SMG and only use the SMG if I'm low on ammo. Same with the shotgun which is way too precise, I'll use that over the SMG any day. I might switch between the guns for their secondary mode ,but most times i won't and that isn't good balance. The pistol also becomes useless once enemies stop using it

 

[Aizawa]

I agree with this. I'd love Valve to announce a tenth anniversary remake on Source 2 or something, but that's wishful thinking.

Also, there were no new zombies in Episode 2. The new enemies were the Combine Hunters and Antlion Workers. Or are you thinking of Episode 1's Zombines?

I would love more open levels, though. *crosses fingers for open-world Half-Life 3*

pls not open world

 

[Mr. Sir Shpee]

pls not open world

Lol, wasn't entirely serious. I'd be totally fine with a linear HL3. I more meant it'd be an interesting concept, as opposed to seriously wanting it.

 

[Mr. Sir Shpee]

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with that. HL1 is something where i use all the weapons because they all have their place. I'm not going to use a shotgun instead of a SMG for some enemies if they are farther away. The alien gun while originally feeling clumsy after a while i started to use where i could to save ammo. The only thing i didn't use was the snarks because they are annoying to deal with when they attack you.

But HL2 doesn't have that kind of balance, as soon as i get an AR2 I'm going to keep using it instead of the SMG and only use the SMG if I'm low on ammo. Same with the shotgun which is way too precise, I'll use that over the SMG any day. I might switch between the guns for their secondary mode ,but most times i won't and that isn't good balance. The pistol also becomes useless once enemies stop using it

I agree, HL2's weapons weren't as balanced. I used the shotgun almost exclusively, and at extended range the pulse rifle. If I needed to do some precise shooting or needed some quick one-shots, then I used the revolver and crossbow. I find the shotgun was generally amazing in HL2, and the SMG was obsolete as soon as I got the pulse rifle. I only ever used it when I was low on pulse in a big battle, which was not often.

 

[Aizawa]

Lol, wasn't entirely serious. I'd be totally fine with a linear HL3. I more meant it'd be an interesting concept, as opposed to seriously wanting it.

I meant it serious. Open world is a plague. They are VERY few games which do open world right.

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

I prefer the Half-Life 1 style combat, its faster and more fluid. It's weapon variety gave you choices on how to dispose of enemies.

Once the gravity gun starts to lose its novelty, the gameplay feels much simpler than its predecessor.

I meant it serious. Open world is a plague. They are VERY few games which do open world right.

Metal Gear Solid V and the Witcher 3 look like they will be master pieces, it can be done right but for the most linear level design is better. I think if someone were to remake Half-Life 2, it should be made to be less on-rails. Multiple pathways to the same checkpoint, the first half of Crysis 1 does it pretty well as does Tomb Raider 2013 and The Witcher 1.

 

[Xenian Phenocryst]

In speaking of Half-Life 2 remakes, I'd like to see a mod which tries to combine the best of Half-Life 1 and 2. We already have mods which are trying recreate what was intended in the beta, and improve the gameplay there, yet I'd like to see another one with some gameplay aspects in mind.

*NPCs you can control manually like in Half-Life 1
*Combine soldiers who act like they're improved versions of the HECU Marines
*The ability to bypass enemies or hide from them when they're chasing you, and taking them out stealthily.
*A bigger, altered version of the Strider, in which it has a single eye instead of a gun from which it would shoot from (like a walking Pit Worm). That version of the Strider would have to be defeated in a puzzle battle like the Tentacles, albeit in the city streets.
*The return of classic Xenian critters to inhabit the waterways and gutters.
*Levels in which you work with Alyx frequently and harmoniously together on special missions.
*A dirty Gonarch lurking at the end of the Ravenholm chapter to fight as a boss.
*Hub city maps, which you can explore like those in Kingpin, and solve sidequests in.
*Functioning Hydra enemies.
*The inclusion of Combine assassins and other Combine aliens.
*Dark Energy-based experimental weapons
*HECU soldiers and leather assassins living as bums in City 17.
*An Ant Lion queen or king boss fight which dwarfs Gonarch and the Tentacles
*A final boss fight with a Combine Advisor which dwarfs the Nihilinth boss fight.
*Fighting a mutated Dr. Breen, a la Resident Evil.

That's what I would want. It's just involves lots more work to get that kind of vision out, even with Source.

 

[Aizawa]

ehh, fighting a mutated Dr.Breen is stupid. I hate when developers do that. When the vilain is just a normal guy you could one-shot, just mutate him to a monster and have an ugly bossfight.

But some (not all) of your other ideas I like.

 

[Mr. Sir Shpee]

I meant it serious. Open world is a plague. They are VERY few games which do open world right.

I wasn't saying you weren't serious. I was saying that I wasn't serious.

 

[Mr. Sir Shpee]

I prefer the Half-Life 1 style combat, its faster and more fluid. It's weapon variety gave you choices on how to dispose of enemies.

Once the gravity gun starts to lose its novelty, the gameplay feels much simpler than its predecessor.



Metal Gear Solid V and the Witcher 3 look like they will be master pieces, it can be done right but for the most linear level design is better. I think if someone were to remake Half-Life 2, it should be made to be less on-rails. Multiple pathways to the same checkpoint, the first half of Crysis 1 does it pretty well as does Tomb Raider 2013 and The Witcher 1.

I agree, there are quite a few games that do (or will do) open-world correctly.

 

[Xenian Phenocryst]

ehh, fighting a mutated Dr.Breen is stupid. I hate when developers do that. When the vilain is just a normal guy you could one-shot, just mutate him to a monster and have an ugly bossfight.

But some (not all) of your other ideas I like.

I know, it's a cliche. It was nonetheless suggested at the end of Half-Life 2 that Dr. Breen would leave his body in an alien host body, so my idea's not too far gone. Perhaps they meant a host body in which he would look like one of the Combine Advisors. If he had been mutated, I'd imagine him as a giant cross between himself and Mr. Friendly. Again, I know it's a cliche, but it at times is a fun one when it is done right. Blood 2: The Chosen (which I think inspired the story for Half-Life 2) had Gideon, the CEO of Cabalco, transform into a spider beast when he entered the Beta Reality.

If I were to option for such a boss fight, I would have Breen fight you first with his Combine technology, and then after he is defeated, he lures you to the portal yo the Combine's dimension where he fights you in his host body.

Or you could just shoot him in the head while he's making an announcement, no boss fight required. Your choice.

 

[Omnomnick]

A remake of Half-Life 2 should never, ever happen.