Any boss fight needed in Ep:2?

But it does. We rarely come across enemy with this scale. First, the boss itself is a piece of art. It is very amusing to simply look at it. Also, fighting an enemy with such a large scale require a different skill, which is unique and enjoyable. Moreover, since the boss is big, it can destroy most of the environments and props. And this can make use of the new cinematic physics system to create a grand destruction scene, for instance, the boss destroy a building, very nice to see.
 
What? Really, what does that have to do with my playing experience with the boss?
 
We don't usually see creative ideas in games, but that doesn't mean that they are good.
 
Absinthe said:
To the people who don't want boss fights:

Do you not want boss fights period or do you just not want some generic behemoth with one million HP? Because the tentacles in HL1 never broke immersion for me and were enjoyable to defeat.
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Not to mention they added a good horror factor with the dying scientist 'Destroy the damned thing before it grows any larger!!' then you hear the banging and your like 'wtf is that'. Then they show it killing a security guard. I think they did a really amazing job introducing it, and on the gameplay mechanics to beat it
 
Anybody besides me having trouble trying to picture somethign that would be a boss in half-life? The gargs worked. But anything else, bigger, or more like a synth, doesn't seem to fit in.
 
Don't diss a good bossfight. They help give a player a break from the usual killing of the disposable henchmen while still keeping the visceral thrill that isn't present in most normal puzzles.
 
I find a boss like Nihilanth fine. It's a bit more interesting than just blasting him with your weapons; he can heal himself, you can restock on ammo by the portals he uses. The best part was the orbs around him, and how they could be regained by going to the crystals.
 
You go inside and after defeating the Controllers, you'll find ammo lying around, and some encased in this little green... canister. There's a portal for you to get out.
 
Que-Ever said:
Anybody besides me having trouble trying to picture somethign that would be a boss in half-life? The gargs worked. But anything else, bigger, or more like a synth, doesn't seem to fit in.
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I big Synth probably wouldn’t fit in. But a Xen creature (AntLion King, Tentacle, Hydra) might.
 
I liked the hunterchopper boss fight in HL2, and the reactor puzzle (semi-boss fight).

I have to agree that striders and gunship battles don't really feel like bossfights. They're too numerous to feel momentous (especially in HL2, the gunship fight in EP1 was good), and -way- too easy to take down after you figure out how to dodge their fire.

Blast pit was grand, because you were working a whole level to kill the tentacles (though it's kinda weird how they got there in the first place).

The garguanta was a bit less, but still felt like a real boss fight without being ridiculous.

Gonarch and Nihilanth were like the rest of Xen. It made sense game-wise, but weren't that fun compared to the rest.



Now as for my hopes for Ep2/3... I'm hoping for some last-ditch efforts on the combine, sending their prototype synths after you. I don't really like antlions :P
 
Samon said:
But I don't mind a boss wherein you need to engage brain in order to take it out...not at all. I just don't want it to be thrown in there for the sheer sake of it. I consider Dark Energy a boss fight in a sense - where the battle is practical in that you need to stop Breen from escaping. Valve seem to aim for a more practical way of doing things and I really like that. I don't want to see another Nihilanth.
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That's one aspect where Valve got it right, by the end of HL2 you had risen from feeling powerless at the beginning, to feeling like you were the final boss of the game.

In HL1 even the final battle with the Nihilanth had other Xen creatures popping in to have to overcome so you could get back to the fight, or
avoid being teleported out.

But the combine troops that were so much trouble coming in to the Citadel were little more than a secondary obstacle, and in some cases were extra ammo, in completing the objective of stopping Breen from leaving.
Breen was not the boss, the Reactor and Citadel resources were not a boss,
even the time limit to complete the task was not what made it a boss fight.
It was being able to use everything you had learned from surviving the rest of the game to finally kick combine ass that made it into a boss of a fight.

In some games the BOSS battle is there to show you have reached the end of a level, and that most of the creative effort was put into making that final fight worth it. But some of the best challenges in the Half-Life series come about in the middle of a chapter, and make you the player learn to be more creative in how you handle the challenge, and the overwhelming odds of the chapters that follow.
 
We have already felt it in HL2 so I demand something different in Ep:2. A bos fight will be just fit to introduce a new, unique, giant monstrosity. As I said before, I want to have a look at the ability of Valve in creating a dynamic, destroyable environments, which I expected to be great for game players.
 
I think the best boss fights are the kind where the stakes are constantly being raised.

For instance in the end of hl2 you had a timelimit urging you to bust the reactor before breen GTFO. That adds a good amount of tension. With the ep1 gunship fight you had your cover being eaten away the whole time.

I'd like to see a bossfight where you fight in a building that is burning down, or some other environment that is becoming progressively more dangerous. A simple "dodge its fire, take your time, and hit its flashy weakspot" is boring. As are stationary bosses that you can just hammer away at while doging its predictable attacks.

Its got to be something that when you finish it, you have to mop the sweat off your brow, say "f*ck yes, eat sh*t computer," and pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
 
They should bring the Prowlers back and have one or a squad of them hunting Freeman in the woods. THAT would be so bad ass. They can jump and climb trees and shit and pop out of nowhere. Oh man...that'd be the coolest boss fight ever. Have it so Gordon lost all his weapons except for the Crowbar. Melee frenzy n_n.
 
Maybe I don't fully understand the biology of Antlions, but why would something that big evolve and survive in the first place? How would it mate? How could it possibly eat enough to survive? I understand that they may be hive-minded, but hives revolve around the queen to reproduce. What the hell does a giant male antlion have to offer?

Also, something that kind of bugs me is if the antlions are Xen creatures then wouldn't their flying ability be a bit out of place? Xen has lower gravity which makes that flying style awkward and not anything like the other flying creatures on Xen. Are they not from Xen?
 
i think it was laidlaw that said something to the effect that most creatures did not originate from Xen, Xen was just a sort of place where things kinda ended up.

Translation... Valve can make up whatever crazy ass monster they like without having to worry too much as to whether it would be highly suited to a Xen environment.

As for something that big living underground. Well, look at it this way. Since its male it can afford to be huge without having to be fed (relatively) much since it won't be spitting out babies 24/7 like a queen would. Since its living in underground caverns the walls would be able to support its bulk. Even better if it lives half sumerged in underground water sources (water would support its weight better), which judging by the antlions living near the coasts of c17, is possible. Its means of reproduction is probably done by King Blobby Cheeks impregnating a still unseen type of antlion or perhaps the Guards or even the regular antlions. This would spread the duty of birthing out amongst more than one antlion and mean that the hive can multiply faster than if they had a queen setup.

(edit) I am such a gigantic nerd...:(
 
Flyingdebris said:
i think it was laidlaw that said something to the effect that most creatures did not originate from Xen, Xen was just a sort of place where things kinda ended up.

Translation... Valve can make up whatever crazy ass monster they like without having to worry too much as to whether it would be highly suited to a Xen environment.

As for something that big living underground. Well, look at it this way. Since its male it can afford to be huge without having to be fed (relatively) much since it won't be spitting out babies 24/7 like a queen would. Since its living in underground caverns the walls would be able to support its bulk. Even better if it lives half sumerged in underground water sources (water would support its weight better), which judging by the antlions living near the coasts of c17, is possible. Its means of reproduction is probably done by King Blobby Cheeks impregnating a still unseen type of antlion or perhaps the Guards or even the regular antlions. This would spread the duty of birthing out amongst more than one antlion and mean that the hive can multiply faster than if they had a queen setup.

(edit) I am such a gigantic nerd...:(
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QFT.
 
DeusExMachina said:
They should bring the Prowlers back and have one or a squad of them hunting Freeman in the woods. THAT would be so bad ass. They can jump and climb trees and shit and pop out of nowhere. Oh man...that'd be the coolest boss fight ever. Have it so Gordon lost all his weapons except for the Crowbar. Melee frenzy n_n.
Click to expand...

The return of the Prowlers would be great :) But not as a boss fight.
 
I completely agree with the OP on this. Something I missed from HL2 compared to HL1 are the big set-piece combat challenges a "boss" brings. In half-life the tentacles challenge was amazing, especially with the "cut-scene" beforehand to introduce it. I especially loved the boss in Gonarch's Lair. That was another real challenge. Ah and the Bullsquid - killing it by making it chase you and then throwing the switch to electrocute it.

It's variety that makes it so much fun. Not knowing what is going to be around the next corner. Finding out how it behaves and looking for a weakness to target. In this respect, I found HL 2 a little "monochrome". If it's big, fire rockets at it. If it's an ant-lion boss, just pump plenty of lead into it. Thats it. Not much variety there.

AND I WANT A GLUON GUN - Probably the best sound and graphics effect on a weapon I've ever seen :).
 
Yes, that bullsquid really was terrifying, with its flamethrower arms and blue carapace...
 
I'd prefer a boss fight rather than some tough enemy like the Strider again. I loved running through the maze of freigthers in Ep1 but i'd really really love to see an enemy that could only be beaten a certain, that maybe is capable of spawning other enemies as well :O. That'd be cool. I guess kinda like the Poison Headcrab Zombie. Those things strike fear into me every time i hear them. More enemies like that would be nuts. But more along the lines of the enemies like Cerebrus in God of War. Something you've gotta kill really fast before everything gets overwhelming. That would really make everything hectic.
 
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