Immersion-Breakers

[G(ordon)-man]

Oh Jesus, worst one for me was when i walk into a tavern. Some peasant walks up onto a table and begins doing the eat animation, everyone in the tavern started screaming "THIEF!" and a guard runs in, the peasnant stands up and starts punching the guard and then gets slashed about 2 times by the guard and dies, the guard then exits and everything is back to normal.

Yeah, its like when you to that missing painter quest and they say you are welcome in their home and when you close dialog then they start yelling get out!

 

[FoxDie]

This is not a popular opinion, so I don't expect it to be well received, but I think Alyx is a huge immersion breaker.

I hate waiting for her, I hate relying on her, I hate her dialog, I hate her role in the Half-Life series. She feels so goddamn "obligatory tomboy tag along." I went into the HL2 games expecting the same mysterious unspoken puzzle solving I had in Half-Life. But most of all, I just like to set the pace. I loved the feeling of abandonment and desolation that Half-Life perfected.

I totally agree with you. I felt Alyx ruined what I loved about Half-Life.

I mean come on, the first game wouldn't have been nearly as good if you had someone palling around with you throughout the game. The isolation of the first game is what made it so great. Feeling lost and alone in the chaos of Black Mesa and being forced to find your way out was great. When I play HL2 I feel like I have a whole support network cheering me on and treating me like a god for what happened at Black Mesa. Sure, HL2 has areas where you are alone, but just when I start to forget about my cheer squad, Alyx comes charging in with Dog.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

No way, i think that Alyx is great. Every time i get tired of just killing enemies Alyx was there to make jokes and cover me when i needed to find something.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

No way, i think that Alyx is great. Every time i get tired of just killing enemies Alyx was there to make jokes and cover me when i needed to find something. Maybe in the ep2 it got boring but i am sure that Valve takes care of it. Edit'oh! i double posted

 

[Warbie]

Alyx is the best sidekick i've seen in a video game, but still found her an immersion breaker. AI helping always feels odd - you can't communicate with them and they do silly things.

 

[G(ordon)-man]

In ep3 they should make her co-op playable.

 

[Warbie]

That'd be cool.

 

[knut]

Alyx didn't do anything for me in any of the Episodes. There was never a time when I was glad Alyx was around to help because there was never anything thrown at me that I couldn't already handle. Yeah, it was nice to have her around but because she added nothing to the gameplay I exerienced, it hasn't really managed to mean anything to me.

If Alyx was to be removed from following me around in EpOne and Two, I wouldn't even notice. It would just be a little quieter.

 

[Paulaner]

I mean come on, the first game wouldn't have been nearly as good if you had someone palling around with you throughout the game.

Totally agreed. I want my lonely HL back. More atmosphere. More chills. HL should not be a guerrilla, but a survival game (imo).

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

It's just an entirely different type of game, and not something I'm compelled to play through over and over like I was with Half-Life. Hopefully Valve returns to it's desolate, gritty, survival roots at some point, I'll be the first in line.

 

[Krynn72]

So much Alyx hate. I think she brought a lot to the game and makes it more immersive because it feels as if there are other people fighting back, rather than lone ranger gordon freeman being the only one capable of saving the world like it is with most games.

 

[Paulaner]

It's just an entirely different type of game

Yes, you nailed it. You know, a long time ago when a friend asked me "what is Half-Life?" I told him it was a survival-adventure game. Don't get me wrong, I *love* HL2, but now I will describe it as a FPS with a good storyline.
I don't like first person shooters too much, so in my eyes it's a step back in terms of gameplay, but this is personal opinion.

 

[Au-heppa]

Unfortunately I feel the same about NPC companions like Alyx. If I have no companion I don't think about it; I'm just immersed in the game world. With Alyx around, I'm frequently having thoughts like 'ooh, the devs did a good job with the facial expressions.'

Brilliant.

 

[Jintor]

In all honesty I don't remember much of the original Half-Life other than it was a blast to play. I was about... oh, 8 then. Too young to critically analyse stuff.

 

[venturon]

Screensavers coming on while I'm loading a game.

It makes me want to toe murder people.

And I do.

If it takes half an hour to generate a world map, how does your computer actually handle DF? It's a very CPU-intensive game. I'm also fairly sure it's actually possible to kill people with toes in DF.

 

[Jintor]

It is, the same way it's possible to kill people with vomit.

I generate a world map in at least 10 minutes though, even on insanely huge.

 

[el Chi]

I totally agree with you. I felt Alyx ruined what I loved about Half-Life.

I mean come on, the first game wouldn't have been nearly as good if you had someone palling around with you throughout the game. The isolation of the first game is what made it so great. Feeling lost and alone in the chaos of Black Mesa and being forced to find your way out was great. When I play HL2 I feel like I have a whole support network cheering me on and treating me like a god for what happened at Black Mesa. Sure, HL2 has areas where you are alone, but just when I start to forget about my cheer squad, Alyx comes charging in with Dog.

It's true, HL1 wouldn't have been as good with an NPC always there, but then HL1 and HL2 are different games. It's right that the tone should shift somewhat for the sequel, otherwise you run the risk of merely pumping out the same thing, game after game.

HL2 had a different tone to HL1 (without wanting to sound like I'm having a pop at HL1, personally I'd argue a somewhat more sophisticated); Ep1 had a slightly different tone to HL2 and Ep2 a different tone to Ep1.
The Half-Life series has done a good job by not letting the games melt into one another too much. You couldn't truly recreate the claustrophobic isolation of Black Mesa in City 17 without undermining the new setting.

As for Alyx, I think she was a major part of this transition. She, more than all the other characters, emphasised how the game had matured and what it was about.

 

[Jintor]

On that note, I really want to play Black Mesa Source.

 

[Wanted Bob]

On that note, I really want to play Black Mesa Source.

Oh god yes, to relive Half Life with (almost) brand new tech...

 

[Naph]

Alyx is okay, just some of the lame dialogue brings you out of the game to think about 'What the hell we're they thinking?'

 

[ríomhaire]

Oh! Good point. I guess if you're loading the last level rather than playing up to it, it shows tips the first time you pull out your weaponry?

Indeed.

On that note, I really want to play Black Mesa Source.

Or you could just play HL1 again. I do every few months.

Also, HIDEO MOTHER****ING KOJIMA