Comments on the HL2 review

[Thorn of Death]

Gamespot's review:

Half-Life 2 doesn't revolutionize the genre, instead sticking with the familiar formula of run-and-gun action, occasional puzzle-solving, and scripted sequences established by Half-Life.

Oh, that's very bad. Bad Valve, don't you ever make a game that doesn't revolutionize a single genre.

What on earth did they expect? Wall climbing, Max Payne dodging style, and a Hazard suit ultimate frenzy move?

Aside from a detour through a deserted town full of all sorts of booby traps, there are a lot of echoes of the original Half-Life in Half-Life 2--so many, in fact, that there's a strong sense of déjà vu at times. Still, it's hard to knock Valve for not wanting to tinker too much with a proven formula, and Half-Life 2 is as fast-paced and enjoyable as its predecessor.

Wasn't that exactly what we wanted? Combination of the old goodies from HL1 and some cool newies? Man...

Surprisingly, Half-Life 2's story is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. The first half of the game feels a bit unfocused, while the second half seems rushed. Even worse, the story leaves behind a mess of unanswered questions, and it doesn't touch on any of the lingering questions left over from the first game. Valve likes to leave tantalizing hints and tidbits everywhere in the game, but few of these actually develop into anything interesting, and by the end you're left wondering what the game was all about. In many ways, Half-Life 2 feels like the middle chapter in a much larger story, and it suffers as a result.

See the most rediculous part: "Even worse, the story leaves behind a mess of unanswered questions, and it doesn't touch on any of the lingering questions left over from the first game."

This explains why some games such as FF7 got a 9.5 score, heh. Notice the "Even worse". So if AC doesn't answer questions related to it's prequel, it would have a really sucky storyline.



What really surprised me is the sound score of 9. CSS gives very good sound effects. And combined with the graphics, it really takes you into the game. I don't see how can HL2 get a 9 instead of a 10. We'll see anyway. From what we've heard from the trailers, it's pretty impressive.

Another surprise is the somewhat disappointing performance by the game's artificial intelligence. Even on the tougher difficulty levels, most of the humanoid enemies don't seem to show the same kind of intelligent behavior that they did in the previous game.

He seem's impressed with HL1's AI.......

Running into a mine like blind.
Reloading right in front of a gun pointed at him.
Looking vaguely at a friend who has suspeciously fallen to the ground, lifelessly.

 

[trevjim]

you should be a laywer

 

[ShinRa]

What on earth did they expect? Wall climbing, Max Payne dodging style, and a Hazard suit ultimate frenzy move?

Nope...they simply wanted dual weilding weapons, a nameless guy in a green suit, and rehashed gameplay from its predecessor with no thought of creativity or attempt at improving the gameplay.

 

[Thorn of Death]

you should be a laywer

That good or bad?

 

[The Mullinator]

Gamespot just wants to be different I think. It seems to me that Gamespot thinks people will trust them more if they harp on a game that just about every one else is absolutely loving.

It works for them too, they have a tendency to give scores and reviews that are often really not right and then it draws attention to them.

 

[Thorn of Death]

Well, I doubt it will work this time.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Being a Lawyer is good, for the record.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[The Mullinator]

Well, I doubt it will work this time.

Of course it will, just imagine the number of people posting their review because it is so different from all the other online ones. Then just imagine how many people will keep on going back later to see what they give the next big game.

 

[bobbydigital]

Nope...they simply wanted dual weilding weapons, a nameless guy in a green suit, and rehashed gameplay from its predecessor with no thought of creativity or attempt at improving the gameplay.

That sounds strangely similar to Halo 2.

Hehe, but yeah, Halo 2 is sooo mediocre.

 

[Sparta]

Nope...they simply wanted dual weilding weapons, a nameless guy in a green suit, and rehashed gameplay from its predecessor with no thought of creativity or attempt at improving the gameplay.

Oh give it a rest

 

[Joeslucky22]

halo 2's multiplayer sucks **** compared to hl2's... And thats all the reviewers seem to boast about....

they make it sound like HL2 its the same thing...

LOL

IT IS THE SAME THING only BETTER

and thats why its so much f***ing better than halo 2

and dont f***ing tell me halo 2 is nothing like halo.

 

[vicefredav444]

wow, we reward game developers like bungie who got lazy and put together a rushjob, and this is how we treat creative game developers that go out of their way to nearly perfect everything for us.

even bungie admitted that if they had to have variety in their game, it would only last 5 hours, thats a cheap excuse for not being creative enough. the video game industry is gonna go downhill if this keeps up, coz companies are gonna focus on rushing out games to make money, companies won't go out of their way, and we're gonna regret not having games like half-life, hl2 and other quality games.

 

[bartman]

shit I expected AI will be like on E3 2003 video :| :| :|