Half Life 2 --- Not that great... ...for what I expected!

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Soulstice

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 26, 2001
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Alright... ENOUGH! Don't spam me with hate before you at least hear me out.

First of all, I like Half Life 2... ...no doubt. It's a great FPS, and combines all of the solid elements that we have come to expect from FPS'.

HOWEVER, I was expecting so much more than just a simple graphics upgrade. Yes, I loved the first game... ...I mean, it was the first of it's kind and it paved a path for all of the FPS games that have showed up since. But, HL2 is nothing more than HL, albeit better graphics. Okay, Okay... the gravity gun is kewl. But, aside from that, I'm disappointed.

In all honesty, I was hoping Valve would lean more towards 'Deus Ex' with respect to enhancing the story and character interaction. BTW, DX2 is garbage... ...I'm specifically referring to part I, which in my opinion is the best FPS of all time. I mean, Valve had all these years to work on the story, and yet... ...tell me if I'm wrong... ...THERE WAS NO F-ing story!!! The game itself is completely unidimensional... ...no exploring, and all of the puzzles are pretty simple. Granted, I haven't finished the game yet. I've had it for two nights, and I'm currently just about to meet up with the female character to save her father. I've already completed the buggy and hover-craft sequences, and they were definitely fun... ...but nothing that I haven't already seen (Hello... ...FARCRY!!!). In fact, even though I like HL2 thus far, at this point, I would argue that FarCry is the better game. Graphics-wise, HL2 does stand out, especially if you have a system that can handle it. However, it's not that much of an improvement over FarCry... ...I'd even go as far to say that FarCry had better terrain graphics, where as HL2 really only shines with regard to character design and animation.

Anyway, my fantasy HL2 would have been the following:
1. Follow-up detailed story to the original
2. Deus Ex character interaction and huge intriging story, including multiple ways of approaching each level and multiple methods of interacting with characters (rather than a simple run and gun unidimensional approach).
3. FarCry's open concept design of being able to explore entire levels, without simply being forced to move in a single direction.


All in all, if this was any other game, I would probably be praising it right now. HL2 does do a lot of things right, and it still ten times better than a lot of the other garbage that has been released lately, including the boring unidimensional Doom III.

On the other hand...
...for a 4 million dollar budget, and an eternity in development, I was expecting a much better product. And, to top shit off, even though I haven't completed the game yet, I have been told that it only takes 15 - 20 hours to complete! WHAT??? That sucks. I've been waiting all this time for a 15 hour game??? Deus Ex took me tripple that... ...although I replayed some parts twice just to get different results... ...but still... ...disappointing to say the least.

Over all, I give the game a 7 / 10... ...and that is a deserving mark. Screw PC Gamer and all of these other ass-kissing Websites... ...they're obviously getting paid to review the game with a high GPA, or are simply doing it because of the self-fulfilling prophecy of Half Life 2 being expected to "be the greatest game ever" -- PC Gamer . *rolleyes*

I'll say this, if Half Life 2 is a 98% like PC Gamer claims, then Deus Ex (the original) is 150%, and FarCry is 125%.

And for the record, I'm not saying FarCry is the better game... ...I'm saying HL2 and FarCry are about equal in terms of storyline and gameplay... ...but, FarCry was the first to use the jeeps and shit, and it gets extra points for the handglider and open-concept level design... ...NOT TO MENTION that it was RELEASED 8 MONTHS before Half Life 2.

Hopefully, this post won't generate too many flames.

Soulstice
 
character interaction and huge intriging story
Click to expand...
If you want an RPG, go buy an RPG.
I can recommend
(1) Morrowind gold edition
(2) Neverwinter nights + expansion special edition
(3) Hey, go play Deus Ex again
</blah>

Ok but seriously, whilst FC did have massive open environments, HL2's retro atmosphere is quite spectacular and the atmosphere alone blows FC out of the water. And although the freedom in FC is great, it took away from a sense of purpose. FC storyline ? FC plot ? practically nonexistent.

Yes, FC was awesome, yes HL2 is ALSO awesome. If your prefer FC thats fine, but the single player HL2 blows FC out of the water (imo) - FC was pretty, but too easy to get fed up cause there was no sense of direction or purpose.
 
Half Life 2 was more than just a graphical update. The gravity gun was absolutly glorious.
 
I'm replaying Hl2 after I beat it and its not as fun as the first time. The graphics the first time through wow'ed me at every turn, now as I'm going through the chapters again I'm starting to see a lot of places where they use low res textures. It's still a fun game but I agree that it's not the greatest game ever. As a matter of fact I played through Doom3 twice, the last on nightmare and both times were fun. Yes Doom3 was simple gameplay but there's just something fun about blasting an imp in the face with a shotgun that never gets tiresome.
 
You have to go at HL2 with a certain mindset. It's like reading a book. Look around, there are a lot of little things that describe the story. The beauty of the game is in its subtlety.

Running through HL2 like you would through Doom3 is akin to watching Mulholland Drive like you would Resident Evil or Dawn of the Dead. It is NOT the same experience and will take some work to make the story come alive(albeit not as much lesbian action or warped reality/perspective as in Mulholland Drive). The initial confusion in the game is there to make you curious. You have to look at the newspapers, listen to the director guy, talk to the citizens. I guess it all comes down to different tastes/amounts of patience though.
 
Dude not trying to be mean or anything but I seriously stopped reading when you said you wanted it to be like Deus Ex! I mean.... uh.... what? It was a good game but wouldn't that be a little bizarre?

:confused:

People would be more pissed at that than steam. I know I was expecting a First Person Shooter.... of which DX is kinda not. Man where's the XS smilies... need a little stick poking. :p
 
I've heard a lot of people really rip the story. I can't say anything one way or the other as I only just got the gravity gun, but I think that so far it fits in perfectly with the first one. What was the story of the first one? Get out of Black Mesa alive. That was about it. There were little things you had to do along the way and you have the appearance of the G-Man at the end, but as far as story goes that's as deep as it got.

It's not necessarily the story that appeals to me but how it's presented. I can't really put my finger on it, but it just works for me.

Also, how deep of a story are people looking for in HL2? I know that when I watch an action film I have different expectations concerning the story than I would when watching a drama. The story for the original HL was an action movie story. So far HL2 seems to be about the same. If I want a drama movie story then I play an RPG.
 
I'd agree that it's not as long as the original The story doesn't flow as well. Other than that it's great. FarCry was open, but it lacked purpose. It had a story and it flowed well. It just sucked. HL2 is better in that reguard. The post appocolyptic atmosphere and style of HL2 is great.

They are both good games. Dues Ex sucked in my opinion. The game engine had serious flaws and the graphics sucked. I won't get into all that I hated about that game. But the comparison isn't valid. HL2 isn't an RPG. FPS's should be about 15-20hrs max. RPG's should be about 40.60hrs minimum and higher would be fine.

The level design of HL2 is just badass. Interesting locations and the sense of traveling you get from your trek across the various terrain is awesome. I like the on the run feeling you get. Moving along just trying to stay alive.

It's hands down a better game than Farcry.
 
Whatsisname said:
Half Life 2 was more than just a graphical update. The gravity gun was absolutly glorious.
Click to expand...

You're serious?? :confused:

ONE weapon does NOT make the game. :rolleyes:
 
First off I agree that DX was one of the greatest games of all time. I played through it twice and got all endings. But to that end, Half Life is not that kind of game. HL2 plays exactly like HL did in that you had a mix of puzzle solving and baddy bashing. It's an action FPS, not an RPG FPS. (whoa, too many acronyms).

As for the story, I really think people miss it entirely in most games. HL2 has such a rich story thus far and I'm only on chapter 8. The depth it goes to is amazing as well. If you take the time to read the random newspaper clipping lieing around the game, you will have a much better sense of what is going on. Personally I like the story better than what was in DX as that was kind of predictable. So far, I have no idea why the Xen aliens are helping the resistance and there are a lot of details about the Combine I have yet to discover.

Then for depth of the world, if you take the time to notice, there are quite a few times when you can wonder off the beaten path with little side alleys or houses along the way. There isn't a huge amount of content in these places, but everytime you pass one up you feel you've left something behind.
 
Well, I personally think hl2 was a dissapointment as well, but for different reasons.

First off, you complain about the storyline. I don't know about you, but give me a gun and give me somebody to shoot, I don't need any other reason to want to kill them. Call me sick and twisted I guess, but I thought the story was alright, although a bit useless.

Second, you complain about the games length. Shoot, coming about 10hrs into the game I was just wanting it to be over with already. Single player fps are in the past, everything has been done they are just repetitive. I can play fps multi for hours, but single player is just yawn.

Third, there was nothing new in hl2 that wasn't done in other games. If your going to spend years and years on a game atleast make it have some unique stuff to it. Sorry but the grav gun is not enough. I guess it just comes down to what else is there to do new in a fps?

In all honesty, I don't think I would say hl2 single player was any better than doom3 single player. Now obviously hl2 should have some longevity because of the multiplayer mods. Although at this time CS is just total garbage. I feel like i'm playing with a bunch of 8 year olds at recess who just learned there first cuss words.

Anyways, hopefully some day somebody will release a better multiplayer fps, because as it stands right now I still think the best MP experience comes from a game that didn't cost a penny (Enemy Territory). Kind of sad when a 4million dollar game gets beat by something given away for free.
 
Soulstice said:
...for a 4 million dollar budget, and an eternity in development, I was expecting a much better product. And, to top shit off, even though I haven't completed the game yet, I have been told that it only takes 15 - 20 hours to complete! WHAT??? That sucks. I've been waiting all this time for a 15 hour game??? Deus Ex took me tripple that... ...although I replayed some parts twice just to get different results... ...but still... ...disappointing to say the least.


Soulstice
Click to expand...

So you were expecting a FPS that took from 45 - 60 hours to complete? No wonder you were disappointed.
 
The story picks up from HL1 and ends like that ,cause theres going to be an HL3 !!


doesn't anyone understand this ?!!

watch, when HL3 comes out everyone is gunna be like, OHHH NOW I GET IT!! :eek:
 
texuspete00 said:
Dude not trying to be mean or anything but I seriously stopped reading when you said you wanted it to be like Deus Ex! I mean.... uh.... what? It was a good game but wouldn't that be a little bizarre?

:confused:

People would be more pissed at that than steam. I know I was expecting a First Person Shooter.... of which DX is kinda not. Man where's the XS smilies... need a little stick poking. :p
Click to expand...
Hah! That's exactly where I stopped reading as well. I don't know where he got the idea of it being like Deus Ex. Valve never even mentioned anything like that. It's a case of setting yourself up for a fall.
 
OK,DX it is not.

Also, why rip on its story? I think the only reason people rip on this is because they are expected to be spoon fed the story, they don't take the time to explore. DX helped these people by showing long exposition down your throat all the time. Not in HL2, its there for you if you want, or you can just run by it all, mowing down enemies (except for a few times like Dr Ks or Dr Es labs) and having fun.

Personally, I enjoyed being able to explore, reading the cutouts, posters, listening to what is spoken, broadcast....as well as laying waste to large swathes of Combine.

Is that so hard to understand?

Story : Its there if you want it, but you must look for it, it won't slap you in the face.
 
Kristo said:
OK,DX it is not.

Also, why rip on its story? I think the only reason people rip on this is because they are expected to be spoon fed the story, they don't take the time to explore. DX helped these people by showing long exposition down your throat all the time. Not in HL2, its there for you if you want, or you can just run by it all, mowing down enemies (except for a few times like Dr Ks or Dr Es labs) and having fun.

Personally, I enjoyed being able to explore, reading the cutouts, posters, listening to what is spoken, broadcast....as well as laying waste to large swathes of Combine.

Is that so hard to understand?

Story : Its there if you want it, but you must look for it, it won't slap you in the face.
Click to expand...
How can you guys read the newspapers in Kleiner's lab? I upped my res to 1600x1200 and the text on them was still entirely unintelligible.
 
I find that how the plot of Half Life games is given is very different to most games. Yes you do get your main objectives shouted at you and if you just blast through sticking to them then the plot can seem a bit shallow. But I find that if you slow down and spend some time just wandering around and taking in the little extra sights and sounds that are to be had then the experience can be made a lot richer.
Deus Ex was for me probably the best example of how deep and intelligent you can make a plot. It was interesting, varied and yet never seemed fanciful. The way it was told also absolutely spot on. I don't know if it will ever be matched.
Soulstice said:
Granted, I haven't finished the game yet. I've had it for two nights, and I'm currently just about to meet up with the female character to save her father.
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Also judging a game's story before actually getting more than about 1/4 way is a little pre-emptive.
 
I would like to clarify something... ...I wasn't expecting the game to utilize Deus Ex's RPG elements or interface. However, I was definitely expecting decision-based, open-concept, character interaction.

In terms of originality, HL2 fails miserably. You can argue all you like about it being exactly what is said it was going to be... ...but in this day and age, recycling an exact replica of the original, with the exception of the updated graphics, is unacceptable.

Secondly, you are right that I did set myself up for disappointment, but it had nothing to do with the Deus Ex comparison. It more had to do with the fact that I was expecting a revolution in game design and originality. What I go instead was a solid FPS, that barely outshines FarCry. I liked FarCry a lot, and I enjoyed playing through it... ...but it never stood out in my mind as one of the best games.

And, finally, even if you don't agree with my statements, at least admit that HL2 does not deserve a 98% rating!!! That's pure marketing bullshit, and I'm ashamed that PC Gamer would give it such a rating. My God, they make it as if HL2 has revolutionized the FPS gaming experience! On the contrary, it has simply recycled elements already in use by more three or four other FPS games (with the exception of the gravity gun ...the only original element in HL2!).

I won't post anymore on this thread, as all of our opinions are relative to how we believe a FPS should be designed... ...or specifically HL2. However, I just wanted to see how the rest of you felt or feel about the game.

It's always interesting to see how my fellow gamers evaluate the games they play, as well as their thoughts on how well the game plays.
 
Soulstice said:
What I go instead was a solid FPS, that barely outshines FarCry. I liked FarCry a lot, and I enjoyed playing through it... ...but it never stood out in my mind as one of the best games.

And, finally, even if you don't agree with my statements, at least admit that HL2 does not deserve a 98% rating!!! That's pure marketing bullshit, and I'm ashamed that PC Gamer would give it such a rating. My God, they make it as if HL2 has revolutionized the FPS gaming experience! On the contrary, it has simply recycled elements already in use by more three or four other FPS games (with the exception of the gravity gun ...the only original element in HL2!).

I won't post anymore on this thread, as all of our opinions are relative to how we believe a FPS should be designed... ...or specifically HL2. However, I just wanted to see how the rest of you felt or feel about the game.

It's always interesting to see how my fellow gamers evaluate the games they play, as well as their thoughts on how well the game plays.
Click to expand...

Well, how much can you do with the FPS genre? change it too much, and it won't be FPS anymore. I can see where you're coming from, but I'm loving HL2. I especially love how they've reused some of the sounds. I get the strangest feeling when I hit the health meter and it's the same sound as the original. My wife couldn't understand why I was so happy when barney said "here, I think you left this at Black Mesa," and threw down the crowbar. It's almost like coming home when you've been gone for a long time.

For me Half-life 2 is the perfect mix of new (physics and better graphics) and old (same guns, same style of play.)
 
Far Cry has better, more impressive visuals,
more open enviornments without the player being forced to follow the single path to get through the level.
Better monsters
more fun...


Far Cry came out of nowhere and is definately superior to Doom3 and thus far to Half-Life 2...I'm only about 3 hours into half-life 2, but I can definately tell you the first three hours of far cry were 100x's more gripping....
 
Wolf-R1 said:
You're serious?? :confused:

ONE weapon does NOT make the game. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

obviously you haven't played this all the way through.. because this gun does indeed make the game! near the end you will <3 it with all of your FPS might
 
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