Summary: PCZone review (some new info)

[switch]

*warning* contains MINOR spoilers, dont read if you want to keep information fresh when you play the game. I've included most interesting new info in spoiler tags to be safe. */warning*

I haven't seen anyone post a detailed summery on the PC Zone review yet so I will give it a shot. Theres only so much I can comment about without giving you the review so go buy this mag if you can, it really pumps up excitement for the game.

Spoiler rating: Low
New info: Quite a bit but none totally new.
New screenshots: A few.



New screenshots that are interesting:
(or ones I have forgotten seeing before)

Picture of 2 people from City17, ones on the floor dead, woman looking up, sad, great expression

Picture of a Vortigaunt shooting blue lightning in some sort of warehouse / hanger.

Spoiler rating: Low

Spoiler

Picture of DOG throwing a car, looks sweet!

Spoiler rating: High

Spoiler

Picture of a new enemy. Organic creature, big, standing on two feet with big arms and big pincer/claws to stab. Has a totempole like face

An interesting picture I cant quite work out, looks like a Ant lion on fire.

A nice but small picture of the organised resistance force (the ones in blueish clothing.

A picture of Gordon about to throw something, maybe a small drop ship, at dog on a basketball court.

Spoiler rating medium:

Spoiler

Gordon is on his airboat on a cannal aprroaching one of those cirtcular tunnel/pipes and a phat rocket is comming at him. Looks like its going to hurt.

Newish or interesting info:

They think its the best FPS ever, but more importantly the best action game ever.

The combine rifle is now called the Overwatch Pulse Rifle.

Spoiler rating: low

Spoiler

Barney calls headcrabs "face-humpers"

Alyx can take car of herself, ie you shouldnt be needed to quickload every 5 seconds because she dies.

Spoiler rating: medium

Spoiler

Puzzles are back but not over used. Good ude of physics ie may have to stack bricks on a seesaw to get to an unaccessable area. Or use use floating barrels to make a makeshift bridge.

Spoiler rating: low

Spoiler

Known form other reviews but you can smash manhacks against walls with the manipulator

As seen in the ravenholm bink you can fire circular blades through zombies, but whats more interesting (but rather obvious) is that you can get multiple kills with one blade. (gouranga from GTA anyone? )

Spoiler rating: low

Spoiler

You can also paint the zombies white with tins of paint!

You can change difficulty levels 'on the fly'. Eg your stuck at an enemy you can change it down to easy!



Bad areas

The AI for the combine soldiers was not groundbreaking, it wasnt as impressive as the rest of the game in parts. But it still would probably equal most games.

Load times were mentioned as a bad point but I coudlnt tell if it was in sarcasm or not.

The control interface is old fasioned, basically the same as HL1. Having no 'lean' buttons was seen as a bad point too, apparently hard to live without in the later levels. (I'm sure this could be modded in within a week of release though)

And they mentioned a 'tenuous' bad point as having no themed multiplayer, however mentioned all the other titles available to buy too (DoD:S TFC:S(didnt think this was made, maybe confused with TF2?)

Spoiler rating: high

Spoiler

The end was apparently quite easy which some people could view as a let down. However levels leading too it sound great.

Good parts

Basically everything else, the storyline the gameplay the attention to detail, the realistic and believable world.

They say where there have been similar things in other games such as COD, MaxPayne2 and doom3 they have beaten these at their own game.

Final Score
97% : "Quite possible the best action game ever made"

Good review, its a lot better than my rambeling comments about it, go buy it when its out in shops

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Spoiler

face-humpers? lollllll

 

[KagePrototype]

I'm glad they didn't succumb to overuse of hyperbole, like PC Gamer.

btw, when is the mag out for non-subscribers? Or is it out already?

 

[czrsink]

The review can't be any worse than the PC Gamer one.

 

[Sprafa]

Spoiler

FACE HUMPERS ?!!?

just to let taht out

 

[czrsink]

Kage - Friday.

 

[Clavius]

He man, thanks for the work you put in this, and good job on the spoiler levels.
I think I'll be getting the mag tomorrow...I want to see for myself.
I there much text? I'd love a good read about it.

EDIT: ok, that'll be friday then

 

[Tork]

very nice post, thank you.

 

[Dedalus]

Spoiler rating: low

Spoiler

Barney calls headcrabs "face-humpers"

Spoiler

he actually calls them 'head humpers'

 

[Gunner]

Thanks Switch :thumbs:

 

[kikekun]

Thanks a lot for the info. Good work.
This makes you a bit more like...hmm...DAMN DESPERATE to get this game. I mean, we are hearing that HL2 is the best action game in history every two days thanks to all the reviews that are popping out, and we don´t even have an official release date yet! But hey, we know there are 3 different packages in Steam, 3 on retail, all the tiny extras that come with each thing, dvd version in Europe...cool. We even are supposed to pay in full for the game this very same week through Steam to get CSS early. But still no sign of HL2 in the horizon.
This is just getting surreal. And the excuse that Valve is making the game better doesn´t work anymore.
WTF is going on on the VUG offices??

 

[mchammer75040]

You can change difficulty levels 'on the fly'. Eg your stuck at an enemy you can change it down to easy!

Spoiler rating: high

Spoiler

The end was apparently quite easy which some people could view as a let down. However levels leading too it sound great.

Thanks for the summary.

Spoiler

I dont see how it could be viewed as a let down, like it says above you can adjust the difficulty at will. Great idea btw.

 

[Icarusintel]

good summary, sounds like a worthwhile read, isn't it a UK mag, though? wonder when it'll be out here, in the states

 

[Robert]

Nice review of the review. Thank you

 

[[sl@yer]]

I just received PC Zone in the post....the review is very very good.

Just one point in your summary. Your second "high" spoiler is not what you think it is (i.e. a new creature). It is actually an antlion guard on it's back legs.

Thanks for the report though! I was thinking of doing something similar....but hoped someone would beat me to it so I didn't have to!

 

[Asuka]

Very nice. Only read the low spoilers.

 

[Volcane]

I just got mine in the post, will read it in the bit. Did see a cool screenshot :-

Spoiler

Dog attacking a dropship

 

[-=DouglasteR=]

Haha

Spoiler

DOG needs to "recharge" and walk around the destroyed park twice a day

:afro:

 

[brullan]

I´m just hoping that the AI remarks under "Bad points" won´t be too noticable...

 

[perrkele]

Hmm weird. In the other reviews they praised the Combine AI, saying that they always tried to flank you, attacking from all sides at the same time and throwing nades at you etc.

 

[Cynical]

just a few adds:

spoiler alert:

Spoiler

in one of the screen shots Alyx is talking to Gordon(the subtitles r shown). she ends the talk saying: "now let's track down Mossman"
man, i wonder could this mean that Mossman betrays u and runs away? or that she has dissappeared? either way it's a spoiler.

also there is a part where they give brief info about the main characters (this is where they say Barney calls headcraps headhumpers), they mention that Dr Judith Mossman and Alyx dont get along. they talk about Dr wallace Breen, saying that he was the former head of black mesa, and that he gained significant power in the new regime at the expense of a "Faustian Bargain" that may destroy the human race. but he is not too bothered about that since he sees the human race as inefficient and dirty. they also say Dr Elli Vance has created a new lab that he called Black Mesa East (i didnt hear the name before).

also it's good to mention that they were nitpicking for faults in the game, just because the reviewer had to do it. he said his first instincts were to give hl2 100%, but he knew that he couldn't give any game that score.

edit: oh, and there is no mention of shephard anywhere in any of the reviews so far, so i guess its safe to assume that he is not part of hl2 the game. but he will most likely appear in an x pack. maybe u were not interested in him but i was kinda curious of whether we will meet him in hl2.

 

[-=DouglasteR=]

Hmm weird. In the other reviews they praised the Combine AI, saying that they always tried to flank you, attacking from all sides at the same time and throwing nades at you etc.

Yeah, this sound like Difficult issues to me :dork:

You dont Spect the combine act as NEO on Easy dont you !? :naughty:

 

[SAJ]

A picture of Gordon about to throw something, maybe a small drop ship, at dog on a basketball court

So now we know what the secret multiplayer is , play "fetch" with DOG !
lol

 

[ShinRa]

not much of a spoiler as it is a let down. the ai isnt groundbreaking, apparently not even to levels of games today. when one of the biggest things they were promoting were enemy ai. that really dropped my hype a ton. :bonce:

 

[brullan]

Yeah, Guinny... my only real concern and worry about hl2 actually was the AI... AI is the key point to really great games as I see it actually.

On another note... if the AI is HL 1 standard, then it´s still pretty damn good with todays standards

 

[ShinRa]

idk. cuz the other reviews praised it. but they also praised everything and didnt really name any bad points. so now it makes me wonder whos right. i cant see the ai being bad. but i hope it isnt dissapointing to the point where the ai feels like an afterthought

 

[Cynical]

idk. cuz the other reviews praised it. but they also praised everything and didnt really name any bad points. so now it makes me wonder whos right. i cant see the ai being bad. but i hope it isnt dissapointing to the point where the ai feels like an afterthought

it was clear that the reviewer was so excited after the game that he wanted to give it a 100%. regarding the a.i he said that he was expecting a revolutionary A.I just like hl1 was at the time. he said he was a tiny bit dissapointed the a.i didn't achieve the following: retreating and regrouping, dragging off the wounded while shooting back with the other hand, backtracking etc. and he finishes saying "fortunately it doesn't betray the experience too much". just to give u an idea about how serious he was when he was mentioning the bad points: he said "there are loading times between levels that can last up to 10 seconds(appalling i know)". now how serious do u think that is? :naughty:

 

[guise]

the comment on load times seems to be pure sarcasm.... compare it to the load times of far cry and doom 3. they took more like 10. minutes (also sarcasm before people start insulting my system)

 

[SFLUFAN]

not much of a spoiler as it is a let down. the ai isnt groundbreaking, apparently not even to levels of games today. when one of the biggest things they were promoting were enemy ai. that really dropped my hype a ton. :bonce:

If this fairly minor comment in one magazine versus the three that didn't feel the need to mention it (not to mention that it's "on par" with today's other games) causes your hype to "drop by a ton", then I suggest you need to stop taking this game so damned seriously.

 

[nutcrackr]

Nice summary thanks, avoided all of the non low spoilers (thanks for doing that). AI might still be very good, but when you expect something to be excellent you observe it very closely.

 

[switch]

Thanks Cynical for posting that, I didnt have much time earlier and missed reading that section because I didnt think there would be more info.

Spoiler level: low

Spoiler

It also mentions more about Mossman saying how she applied for the same job as Gordon in black mesa and is sycophanatic (eg someone who sleeps with the boss for the job).

One thing thats probably obvious but i didnt realise before is the Vortigaunt speaks, I know it uttered odd words in HL1. But having a proper voice actor (been listed on imdb for ages) may mean that it can actually have conversations with characters.

And about Breen
Spoiler level medium

Spoiler

As Cynical said Breen made a Faustian bargin that may distroy the human race. If you dont know what Faustian means: "A magician and alchemist in German legend who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge." This gives good information about his intentions.

Spoiler level:low

Spoiler

The new lab Eli has created called "Black Mesa East" could be the name of the place you see him in the bink with the Vortignaut and Mossman in the underground place that Gordon arrives in a lift.

 

[switch]

Eek wanted to edit my post but went over the 15 minutes while typing :x


Just found something horrible on the last page of the PC Zone magazine!
They have a picture of someone BUTCHERING the HL2 CASE with a KNIFE

The humanity!
The actual article is just joking about a hl2 help line called the "PC ZONE Rehabilitation Institute For Half-Life 2 Related Stress Disorder" Pretty funny

(it looks to be a real hl2 box too, DVD case sized but thicker and made out of card, I wonder if its the final one that VALVe have given them)

 

[Cynical]

Eek wanted to edit my post but went over the 15 minutes while typing :x


Just found something horrible on the last page of the PC Zone magazine!
They have a picture of someone BUTCHERING the HL2 CASE with a KNIFE

The humanity!
The actual article is just joking about a hl2 help line called the "PC ZONE Rehabilitation Institute For Half-Life 2 Related Stress Disorder" Pretty funny

(it looks to be a real hl2 box too, DVD case sized but thicker and made out of card, I wonder if its the final one that VALVe have given them)

lool didnt see the rear view page before u mentioned it, pure hilarity :naughty:

edit: it's meant to be a rehabilitation institute helpline for all other developers after hl2 is released and puts all of all their games to shame.

 

[switch]

Theres also a much bigger picture of the Vortigaunt and the black resistance fighter and..
Spoiler level:minor

Spoiler

Something that I noticed that I havent seen said yet is that the Vortigaint is holding a tool / gun. So maybe he can use guns. Would be funny seeing that guy running aorund firing a gun.

edit: made out something else too.
Spoiler level: medium-high(speculation)

Spoiler

In the screenshot with the subtitles whee it says "Now let's track down Mossman" it is in a prison area (has the white bars) and there seems to be a combine forcefield of somesort blocking the path

 

[Volcane]

Don't know if has been mentioned:-

Spoiler

It confirms why Barney is wearing combine clothes, because he is working undercover as a combine grunt.

 

[Gorgon]

Thanks Switch :thumbs:

I second that,

This is realy amazing.

What the hell is wrong with the AI ?

I am confused. :dozey:

 

[KagePrototype]

I don't think the reviewer meant that there was anything wrong with the AI, more that there's nothing there to write home about. It does it's job, and it does it very well, it's just nothing amazing. That's the impression I got, at least.

 

[Wraith]

syc·o·phant ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sk-fnt, sk-)
n.
A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.

 

[-JeZ-]

Nice one switch. I hope the PCZ review is better than the PCGUK review. I think you can sum up the PCGUK review in one word:

Spoiler

SPOOGE!

 

[Oddity]

The review can't be any worse than the PC Gamer one.

yeah, i felt let down by that. Too much - "damn it's good!" explain why next time, jim.