is it just me......

[[46] pushit [2]]

It doesn't matter if it isn't totally original. The way it was thrown together is what matters and the atmosphere the game presents to you is remarkable. From the very moment you appear on the train you get the sense that someone is watching, that things are off... then you step outside for the first time witnessing the massive tower in the distance as Breen on the telecast rants and raves his propaganda. Incredible. No video game has ever been so immersive. The towns, the people, the citidel, all done with such careful scrutiny to make you believe that you and everyone else was being opressed by some alien empire. Valve gets an A+ for doing that. And IMHO you're a damn idiot if you don't think the same... in my opinion of course. :hmph:


[edit]:

Err... are you 5? Never read a book or seen a movie or watched TV? Not to sound like a dick but no, HL1 is not original. Aliens invading a super secret research facility while one nerdy scientist fights off trained marines and aliens isn't that uncommon. Not to mention the ideas for the aliens: Headcrabs = facehuggers, Zombies = zombies/puppet masters/pod people (a book/movie), aliens that shoot lightning = every ****ing 50s sci-fi movie, and government conspiracies/cover ups have been around forever. Laidlaw has even admitted that they didn't know where they were going with HL at the end so they made a character out of the G-Man. Look, I'm a huge ass fan of HL and HL2, but to be completely honest, they aren't original concepts. They are however finely crafted pieces of art and entertainment.

Hmmm...perhaps I should rephrase:

Half-Life 1 was a completely and utterly new and original experience for me. I had never played another game like it in my gaming years. Yes, DOOM(and plenty of other games) had aliens and whatnot, but the presentation of HL1 was original.

Now, if you throw in movies, books, blah blah blah then nothing is original. So, I said that keeping it in the context of games.

By the way, I'm 18.

 

[[46] pushit [2]]

...They are however finely crafted pieces of art and entertainment.

That statement right there was my entire point. I don't really even think of HL and HL2 as a game.

Perhaps I am crazy?

 

[ThrasherX9]

In that regard, yes HL1 was a completely new concept in the art of gaming. Didn't mean to sound like a dick

 

[Hyperion2010]

Despite what I think c17 could have been (a whole lot darker in character, i mean a WHOLE lot) I like it.

Do I think it should have been darker? Yes.

Why? Becuase it just doesnt feel right fight your opressors on a beautiful day and becuase goominess adds atmosphere and tension. Also, having looked at some of the Raising the Bar stuff I must say that I liked the more rundown version of earth, and more dark stormy clouds.

Do I think that Valve had their reasons for changing this? Yes. They cover why extensively in RtB and their reasons are sound. They want the game to be more ambiguous, keeping the truly "alien" to a minimum until approaching the citadel. They also wanted to combine to be in extreme control, and therefore things like propaganda and cremators were cut, because the combine simply didnt need them. While I think that having c17 be more Orwellian (bloody, gloomy, etc.) would have aroused more hatred for the combine, I think that this is exactly why Valve decided to do the opposite; we arent supposed to utterly hate the combine, it keeps things ambiguous.

no summary available, have fun!

 

[alehm]

I think the reason there are so many "one man against the world" type games is because it helps with the immersion of the player. Essencially the PC game experience is a single person one. One person sits down at a computer and immerses himself into the gaming experience. The most direct way of immersion is to have the player be in a situation they must get out of.

For an illustration take strategy games such as Starcraft or Civilization. Even though you command armies and technology and resources it is still One person (the gamer) verses the world (the computer). So the complaint against these type of games are mute, IMO.

Games are simplistic in nature. The trick is making them seem complex or original. Games are better seaming more realistic than actully being more realistic. Often times, too much realism takes out the fun (who wants to play a game when you get shot in the stomach you can only crawl on the ground really slow then spend weeks in the hospital recovering, or have to clean you gun between battles?) Even City 17, being depicted as a city, was an illusion. It was merely a handful of small maps with relativly enclosed spaces. But Valve did a good job fleshing out the city and making it seem more real than a couple off hallways.

 

[pvtbones]

for all those whining about the story being unorginal I'll let my good friend Picasso speak for me

"Bad artists copy. Good artists steal."

and Hl2 was a amazing game, not juet gameplay wise but atmosphere and characters aswell.

 

[[46] pushit [2]]

In that regard, yes HL1 was a completely new concept in the art of gaming. Didn't mean to sound like a dick

You didn't.

I just didn't want to sound like a noobtard

 

[OvA]

HL2 certainly was amazing. I loved the breencasts and I was actually touched by them,

good touching or bad touching?