Did You Know Half Life 2 Is ****ing Awesome?

[soulslicer]

fear and hl2 are the only two games that ever really made me feel like its a movie..

 

[GreatEmperor]

For me, HL2 is one of the two best action games ever. The other spot is held by the games in the GTA3 series (GTA3, VC, and SA), which offer a completely different take on the single player action experience by creating open-ended gameplay, and the freedom that comes with it. HL2 is, of course, very linear in contrast, but that linearity is part of what allows it to reach a high level of immersion in the narrative (the oft-talked about feeling of being in a movie).

If I had to draw up a list of my top five most memorable moments in gaming, I'm sure at least three would be from HL2, along with one or two from the original Half-Life.

I dont find linear to ever be good, even if it does direct your stare to somewhere, it feels less involving for levels

 

[Asknoone]

I much prefer linear to vast, open-ended spaces. Linear allows you to structure your gameplay and to work with the narrative in a more interesting way; you can construct a cinematic experience. I'd argue it's far more involving. Arguably HL2 wouldn't be as good if it weren't for its linearity.

 

[leib10]

True, it focuses your gameplay greatly, but Episode Two should be interesting because it'll be a definite break from the very narrow linearity without having the aimless wandering like the GTA series had. For all you Alyx haters though, you might have a hard time because several previews have mentioned that you can very easily get lost if you don't listen to her!

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

I just replayed Half-Life 2 on my mums computer and it looks absolutely amazing. Wow, it looks so good on a 1280x1024 (LCD) setting with everything on high.

On this computer it has dual core CPU's, and a GeForce 7600GS 256mb PCI-express, 2 GiG's of ram, and of course the LCD monitor. I can't wait to see what Episode 1 looks like on this computer.

 

[BarnyFan]

Of course its good but i still like the first one better (i played it since I was 6)

 

[SpotEnemyBoats]

Of course its good but i still like the first one better (i played it since I was 6)

Welcome to the forums. It's safer here.

Let me first say that I too enjoyed the first Half-Life (that's why I am waiting for Black Mesa mod!), although I found some of the levels a chore like Residue Prosessing, then there was bossfights, which to this day is old. There was several flaws in the original Half-Life that I found cumbersome, then that's where Half-Life 2 came in. Brilliant atmosphere, phenominal story, believable characters, and groundbreaking physics. What more can you ask for in a game?

 

[Kevin]

Oh yea Half Life had some funny glitches...:upstare:

 

[angusNUBangus]

I'm going to play it for a second time before Orange Box comes out.
I love this game!

 

[Pinkle]

Confusing also, go ahead and try to go through that head game:rolling:

third one rocked try it

Aww, SH isn't too confusing once you read up on everything...Basically, it's about a girl who was almost burned to death as a sacrifice in a cult, but she lived and was filled with HAET and RAEG and she made a deal with the devil to make Silent Hill a nightmare place where people go to be punished. Basically. There's more to it, but ya know.

Okay, I'm done derailing, I promise!

 

[Narvi]

Aww, SH isn't too confusing once you read up on everything...Basically, it's about a girl who was almost burned to death as a sacrifice in a cult, but she lived and was filled with HAET and RAEG and she made a deal with the devil to make Silent Hill a nightmare place where people go to be punished. Basically. There's more to it, but ya know.

Okay, I'm done derailing, I promise!

So the town of Silent Hill is essentially an emo MySpace blog?

 

[Kevin]

Thats a nice way to put it...:hmph:

 

[GreatEmperor]

Aww, SH isn't too confusing once you read up on everything...Basically, it's about a girl who was almost burned to death as a sacrifice in a cult, but she lived and was filled with HAET and RAEG and she made a deal with the devil to make Silent Hill a nightmare place where people go to be punished. Basically. There's more to it, but ya know.

Okay, I'm done derailing, I promise!

That was the plot of the movie and not even correct

the game was something way more obscure for this

 

[GreatEmperor]

I much prefer linear to vast, open-ended spaces. Linear allows you to structure your gameplay and to work with the narrative in a more interesting way; you can construct a cinematic experience. I'd argue it's far more involving. Arguably HL2 wouldn't be as good if it weren't for its linearity.

Linear is not constructing cinematic images it only forces some sequences to be watched by you, a sequence can still be initiated with a more open area and some nooks and crannies to find, but the hallway look of City 17 really made it feel less immersive.

 

[Xendance]

I love Half Life 2 so much I want to marry it and have its babies.

 

[Kevin]

Off-topicish question: What really happened to SH then? The real one in the games.

And no. The fact that city 17 was like a hallway, where there is a certain area, you can walk in, did not make it less immersive.
If it was one big playground like GTA it would'nt be half of what it is today.

 

[GreatEmperor]

Off-topicish question: What really happened to SH then? The real one in the games.

And no. The fact that city 17 was like a hallway, where there is a certain area, you can walk in, did not make it less immersive.
If it was one big playground like GTA it would'nt be half of what it is today.

Im talking about destructible doors, and a way into a back alley behind the building with soldiers from where you could throw grenades in, a few of those things would be great for making it seem like a real city instead of just some hallways with doors painted on the sides

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Hahahaha, devious, but its a fact that HL2 is not due for release until september the 23rd, 2003. But of course it will be ****ing awesome.

I agree, it will be awesome, though those who claim to have played it are filthy liars.

 

[nokori3byo]

Linear is not constructing cinematic images it only forces some sequences to be watched by you, a sequence can still be initiated with a more open area and some nooks and crannies to find, but the hallway look of City 17 really made it feel less immersive.

Hmmmm, I hear what you're saying, but I think you're putting an unduly negative spin on it. The immersion acieved by linear design is more one of immersion in the narrative than immersion in the game's environment.

I think immersion in the environment is a task better suited to so called "sandbox games." For an example of what I mean by effective use of linear gameplay compare "Jedi Knight: Outkast" with "Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy." Where the former used linear progression to propel its narrative toward a satisfying conclusion, the latter gave the player the option of choosing the order in which he/she completed the missions. The result was an oddly disjointed feel. The game's story lost its sense of urgency as it was broken into a set of bite-sized mini-missions.

The original HL owed a lot of its success to allowing players to feel like the were inside a movie--a task at which a whole generation of lame-o FMV games had failed. What HL2 did was simply to take that succesful formula and refine it, effectively eliminating back-tracking and needless repetition.

 

[Kevin]

Yea, whatever he^ said...

 

[Ohcanep]

I think everything that has something to do with HL is beyond what anybody from this world could make.

Right you are, G-Man made it up on his day-off and chose VALVe to be his puppet, claiming they could have possibly come up with all that.

 

[leib10]

I just played HL2 and Episode One on my new laptop, which can handle all the eye candy. It's really like playing a different game.

 

[Kevin]

A gaming Laptop?