Main objective missing ?

[Adrien C]

Does anyone feel like a main objective is missing ? I felt that I was runing blind in the game.

For example, in the first Half Life, you main objective was to get to the surfice and call for help, the rest were small objectives/problems preventing you to get to the top.

Here nothing, Gman calls you, but he never really gives you a mission. At the end, he says that Gordons objective was completed, but, what objective ??

 

[Kingreaper]

Does anyone feel like a main objective is missing ? I felt that I was runing blind in the game.

For example, in the first Half Life, you main objective was to get to the surfice and call for help, the rest were small objectives/problems preventing you to get to the top.

Not really, At the beginning it is, then it becomes trying to stay alive, and finally trying to kill Nihilanth



Here nothing, Gman calls you, but he never really gives you a mission. At the end, he says that Gordons objective was completed, but, what objective ?? [/QUOTE]
First= Keep away from the combine, make it to Alyx

Second= Find a way back to Alyx

etc.

HL1 had no objective that you kept all the way through (did going into an alien world with no way back REALLY help you get topside?)

 

[BRX]

HL1's main objective - Prevent Xen aliens from attacking earth.
HL2's main objective - Distroy the Combine's regin of Earth.

 

[kupocake]

Isn't it pretty obvious that destroying the Citadel is going to be your final objective? You see that thing as soon as you step outside and you can't help but think that if you're going to knock the head off the combine war-machine, it's best to go straight to the biggest most dominating thing on the skyline?

Destruction of the Citadel is clearly your ultimate objective. There are lots of objectives on the way there: escape from City 17, save Eli and start the uprising, but you know where it's all going to end up when you see that damned thing.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

In HL1, it was:
Escape to the surface, then get to the Lambda labs, and then kill Nihilly.

In HL2, it's:
Escape to Black Mesa East, then get to Nova Prospekt, and then kill Breen.

They're really surprisingly similar in structure.

 

[Sulkdodds]

More specifically:
Escape to Black Mesa East (ie get the hell out of City 17), then go rescue Eli, then go rescue Eli and ALyx and also fight against the evil oppressiors. For the revolution!

 

[Raz]

Even more specifically:

Escape to Black Mesa East, Escape Black Mesa East, Save Eli from Nova Prospekt, Fight your way to the Citadel and kill Breen.

 

[Is This Tea]

What’s so awesome is that your objective is always in flux… like real life.

 

[f|uke]

Adrian C, I hadnt thought of that, but you are right.

All the while during HL1 I was thinking "Gotta make it to the surface!",. I felt like I was going somewhere, and once I got there, things would be good (ha!).

In HL2, its more a sense of running away, or trying to get to Black Mesa East, etc, as just a stop on the way to ???. There was no overall objective to give meaning and purpose to the quest.

Still I think the two thinks HL2 lacked most was gore and freedom of character interaction.

 

[Adrien C]

Adrian C, I hadnt thought of that, but you are right.

All the while during HL1 I was thinking "Gotta make it to the surface!",. I felt like I was going somewhere, and once I got there, things would be good (ha!).

In HL2, its more a sense of running away, or trying to get to Black Mesa East, etc, as just a stop on the way to ???. There was no overall objective to give meaning and purpose to the quest.

Still I think the two thinks HL2 lacked most was gore and freedom of character interaction.

Yep the same, no main quest, and yeah, I was desapointed for the lack of character interaction, they would only say a few words.

 

[m00b]

Characters are amazing imo. I love listening rebels complain and other rebels telling them: "I'm not even gonna tell you to shut up!". Also the good thing with this game is not knowing what your mission really is and who you are really fighting for. It makes you think and wonder. You're thrown into the situations not knowing how you got there and why. You just live your life and try to get the best out of the situation. There is a mission but it becomes clear to you later on.

 

[KagePrototype]

At first, it's easy; get out of C-17 and to Black Mesa East. Ravenholm seemed like a bit too much of a distraction; you're supposed to be getting away from BME and to the coast (and not told why, frustratingly), but you lose sight of what you're trying to do, I think. From the coast, it's obvious; head for Nova Prospekt and save Eli. And from there, go to the citadel and save Eli, and then Eli and Alyx.

 

[chimpmunk]

Maybe it's just me, but it's true that in Half life 1, i felt i truly had goals.

 

[Kingreaper]

Maybe it's just me, but it's true that in Half life 1, i felt i truly had goals.

There were goals in HL2 too, its just that they never seemed quite as immediate as the goals in HL1

but HL1 had no overarching goal

bue shift did

Opforce did

but HL1 changed goals several times

 

[j1mmmy]

All the while during HL1 I was thinking "Gotta make it to the surface!",. I felt like I was going somewhere, and once I got there, things would be good (ha!).

Of course once you got to the surface....


Both games feature repeately changing goals rather than always knowing I have to do x or I'll probably have to do x.

I can't remember them all for Half Life but for Half Life 2 for me they were:

Spoiler

-Find out what's going on
(You meet Barney)
-Make it to Kliener's Lab
-Get to Eli's lab in the hope of a chance to coordinate attacks against the Combine
-Get back to City 17 via Ravenholm
-Get to Nova Prospekt to meet up with Alyx and free Eli
-Find teleporter room so we can teleport Eli home
-Fight through City 17 to find Barney and Alyx
-Get to the citadel
-Find and Rescue Eli and Alyx
-Stop Doctor Breen from escaping

I never felt goal-less in either Half Life although sometimes confused. The objective in Half Life quickly changed from making it to the surface as you needed to then meet up with the Science Team for help (because certainly government forces weren't so helpful ) and so on.

 

[Adrien C]

You don't seem to get the point, the thing is, Gman awakes you, saying that its time and that he needs you.... Yeah, but what for ? All those quest you mention are sub-quests (meanning that they were not planed)

So what was the main quest Gman had for you ?

 

[j1mmmy]

You don't seem to get the point, the thing is, Gman awakes you, saying that its time and that he needs you.... Yeah, but what for ? All those quest you mention are sub-quests (meanning that they were not planed)

So what was the main quest Gman had for you ?

Was there a main goal in Half Life that you knew from the very start?

No.

The Gman operates on a need to know basis and we don't need to know. Assumedly they'll be some Half Life 3 revelations regarding this. I think Valve always wanted to suggest we were going to the citadel though for stronger link to the end.

 

[Adrien C]

Was there a main goal in Half Life that you knew from the very start?

No.

The Gman operates on a need to know basis and we don't need to know. Assumedly they'll be some Half Life 3 revelations regarding this. I think Valve always wanted to suggest we were going to the citadel though for stronger link to the end.

ehhh, yes there was, getting to the surfice and call for help.

 

[cleckmoon]

The objective of the game is to get Alyx in bed. Of course, this will be a continuing process, spanning over several games.

First-person f***ing! WOO!

 

[jimmyjam]

ehhh, yes there was, getting to the surfice and call for help.

that lasts less than half the game? doesn't sound like a main objective to me

 

[kupocake]

So what was the main quest Gman had for you ?

Destroy Citadel 17 and eliminate Breen. Isn't that fairly obvious?

 

[Kingreaper]

You don't seem to get the point, the thing is, Gman awakes you, saying that its time and that he needs you.... Yeah, but what for ? All those quest you mention are sub-quests (meanning that they were not planed)

So what was the main quest Gman had for you ?

Incite a rebellion and destroy Breen

In HL your aim is to reach the surface, to begin with

The final objective is to kill Nihilanth, now I may just be not getting it, but in what way does that help you reach the surface?

Going through to Xen at all doesn't help reach the surface

In fact, by the time you reach the tunnel system you pretty obviously aren't trying to just escape anymore

 

[Sulkdodds]

I felt HL2's overall objective was at first just to find a place of shelter in an unfriendly world, and then to make that world a better place.

 

[Styloid]

The G-man smuggles you into City 17 because he knows what you would do (even if you're not quite sure) and that it would benefit him, much like the Germans smuggled Lenin into Russia. In HL2, I had a sense of purpose because:
1. Characters told me what I had to do effectively.
1.5 Characters reflect my situation; Before blowing up Combine teleporter, resistance in the canals treat me like another refugee. After, they follow me and take orders. Breen also speaks directly to me later on.
2. The geographical path of the game is mapped out very believably and I felt like I was actually travelling to real places.
3. The goals of the game are logical and don't get tedious.
4. Glimpses of the injustice of the Combine are constantly given for me to realize that something has to be done.
5. Many things happen out of my control that I have to directly react to rather than simply wandering.

 

[Sadisten]

first u find barney. then u must get to klieners lab. then u must get to elis lab. then u must escape it trough ravenholm. then u must get to alyx, then save eli, find mossman, teleport to klieners lab, then help barney in the streets and then kill breen

 

[monkeynuts]

I agree that I was a little clueless most of the time, however that's part of the reason why I enjoyed the game so much. I was basically thinking I've got to figure out whats going on here and the only way to do that is to survive.

But yeah, the minute I stepped outside the door onto the streets of city 17 and saw the massive citadel dissapearing into the sky I knew I would end up there eventually.

HL2, like all 2nd installments of a trilogy, suffers from things it can't hope to prevent: There is no solid beginning or end. It is just the continuation of the story.