Half-Life 2 Box Art Revealed

[Chris D]

We've known for some time now what the rough finalised box art is going to look like. However, today ToTheGame have posted up the UK/European box art which confirms the news we posted about Half-Life 2 being a DVD only release in the UK (and now apparently Europe).[br]

[br]Included above is also the US box art (right) which may be subject to change as it still states that the rating is "Pending", whereas we already know It will indeed be "M for mature".[br]
[br]
A surprise to some may be the fact that Half-Life 2 has achieved an 18+ rating from PEGI, especially considering the original got away with a 16+. It may come as a disappointment to some of you but personally, I think the rating has been deserved from the footage we've seen so far.[br]
[br]
Go and visit ToTheGame for the original news post here.[br]

 

[Dynasty]

good one. im glad that they decided to rate it 18+ as kids shouldnt play the game in my opinion...and that means less kids on cs:s aswell (finally the mic screaming days are over!!!).

gordon is REALLY coming this time...in 27 days....hold us....

 

[Vinnie_NL]

Nice, and cool it's on DVD

(BTW it's my first 'almost 1st post' )
And the 18+ rating means we can expect a lot of gore , the higher teh rating the better

 

[Dr. Freeman]

hmm.. no screen shots of the G-man or Aylx boxes?
wanted to see the CE too... oh well.

 

[Mattigus]

It looks like the Gordon on the left has a fatter head than the Gordon on the right. Is that supposed to be some sort of message that Valve wants to send about Europeans? Hmmmm...

 

[CptStern]

good one. im glad that they decided to rate it 18+ as kids shouldnt play the game in my opinion...and that means less kids on cs:s aswell (finally the mic screaming days are over!!!).

gordon is REALLY coming this time...in 27 days....hold us....

well I doubt that will happen ...judging by the amount of people here under 18 it's safe to say there will be a lot of underage players ..although not from canada as you have to show picture ID to buy a game rated M

 

[Vinnie_NL]

It looks like the Gordon on the left has a fatter head than the Gordon on the right. Is that supposed to be some sort of message that Valve wants to send about Europeans? Hmmmm...

the head is broader but it's also taller so it's just larger than the other one

That sucks if you are 17 and live in Canada and you are want HL2 as much as we do. I never knew there where countries where you have to identify yourself for buying a game. I bought Soldier of Fortune (18+) when I was 14 and they didn't make any problems.

 

[noQ]

Hmm..I think I need to buy myself a dvd-drive then :rolling:

 

[etzel90]

the left is zoomed in more and brighter, thats all.

 

[triple_w]

The fact that the both editions will be DVD in Europe, was also confirmed directly by Vivendi Norway this morning to Norwegian gaming-site http://www.gamer.no


With regards
Kjetil

 

[Chris D]

well I doubt that will happen ...judging by the amount of people here under 18 it's safe to say there will be a lot of underage players ..although not from canada as you have to show picture ID to buy a game rated M

I believe it's only illegal for them to purchase the game themselves.

If a parent buys it for them, technically their parent is giving them consent to play it and therefore overrides the certification.

Bit of a weird system, but that's just the way it is.

 

[CptStern]

I believe it's only illegal for them to purchase the game themselves.

If a parent buys it for them, technically their parent is giving them consent to play it and therefore overrides the certification.

Bit of a weird system, but that's just the way it is.

ya ..I've always maintained it's the parents responsibility to know what their kids are playing ...they need to start taking this stuff seriously before we have another witch hunt like the one in the 50's that almost completely ruined the comic book industry

 

[BlueWolf72]

ohh unfiar. I wanted a special box for the collectors vers

 

[CptStern]

the head is broader but it's also taller so it's just larger than the other one

That sucks if you are 17 and live in Canada and you are want HL2 as much as we do. I never knew there where countries where you have to identify yourself for buying a game. I bought Soldier of Fortune (18+) when I was 14 and they didn't make any problems.

I dont want to derail this thread ...but you shouldnt be playing SoF at 14 ...there's a mature rating on it for a reason. It's such a double standard, parents will go ballistic if porn is sold to a minor but wont bat an eyelash when their kid buys a game meant for adults

 

[Chris D]

ohh unfiar. I wanted a special box for the collectors vers

There will be - those are the standard boxes for UK and US

 

[DeltaBlast]

I dont want to derail this thread ...but you shouldnt be playing SoF at 14 ...there's a mature rating on it for a reason. It's such a double standard, parents will go ballistic if porn is sold to a minor but wont bat an eyelash when their kid buys a game meant for adults

Yeah well I enjoyed porn since I was 11 so meh

 

[CptStern]

Yeah well I enjoyed porn since I was 11 so meh

yes but your parents didnt buy it for you did they?

 

[Vinnie_NL]

I see the rating for movies and games just as an indication of what you can expect, not as a restriction. If you can play SoF when your 14 without having negative sideeffect such as mightmares or violent behaviour, then why not. And there also will be people over 18 who are are having negative effects from seeing violent content. It differs just from person to person.

 

[CptStern]

did your parents let you watch porno movies at the age of 14?

 

[Vinnie_NL]

Er, no. BUt I think they wouldn't like it if they would find out I watch them now although I'm 18

 

[Dr. Freeman]

I dont want to derail this thread ...but you shouldnt be playing SoF at 14 ...there's a mature rating on it for a reason. It's such a double standard, parents will go ballistic if porn is sold to a minor but wont bat an eyelash when their kid buys a game meant for adults

not to off topic but sadly society is heading for the worse when it comes to issues like this one.
my young cousin gets almost anything he wants... his parents don't pay attention to these ratings and such.. and hes only 9 years old.

and its not just about gaming and comics.. generally parents have become very leanient in what they do for their kids.. (or don't do).
thats MHO anyway.

edit: Stern i think we should start a new topic in Off Topic chat about this issue.

 

[CptStern]

Er, no. BUt I think they wouldn't like it if they would find out I watch them now although I'm 18

That's my point! Parents are quick to stop their kids from viewing something that is natural (sex) yet they have no problem allowing their kids to view somerthing that is unnatural (extreme violence) ...sexuality is far less damaging than violence ..I'd rather let my 14 yr old see an act of sex than an act of violence

edit: I agree Dr Freeman ...that sounds soo ...clinical ..."will you be using the anal probe today Dr. Freeman?"

 

[Asuka]

good one. im glad that they decided to rate it 18+ as kids shouldnt play the game in my opinion...and that means less kids on cs:s aswell (finally the mic screaming days are over!!!).

gordon is REALLY coming this time...in 27 days....hold us....

That doesnt make any sense. 90% of the "kids" who cant buy it alone will buy it 1 with there parents 2 from a store that doesnt care about not selling it to only 18+. Which means the exact same a month of people yelling on mic all that stuff will have the game. Sales dont drop from ratings in this point.

 

[Gorgon]

Does anyone know the release date of the CE in the UK ?

 

[frusion]

good one. im glad that they decided to rate it 18+ as kids shouldnt play the game in my opinion...and that means less kids on cs:s aswell (finally the mic screaming days are over!!!).

gordon is REALLY coming this time...in 27 days....hold us....

they will get their parents to buy them the game...of course

 

[Bsoul]

I think the rating thing is big in america for example:
FOX has soften down the Alien versus predator movie to get a PG13 rating so less gore and extreme voilence while all the Alien and predator movies were Mature (now allot of die hard fans are pissed), so parents (who look at ratings) can send their kids to see AvP and fox can cash in.
I hope this doesn't happen with games industry aswell.

@CptStern
I got carmageddon (18+) when i was like 14yr's old and at that time i didn't really thought of it to buy a porn movie instead of that game
also most of the parents don't even know what the game is about that there child is buying, if i would asked for "lolita's asses part 3" when i was 14, i think my parents would know what it is

 

[sharp]

DVD version is the whole of Europe. :naughty:

Good job VU.

 

[Vinnie_NL]

And if you still don't have a DVD drive you can still play it if you preload it from Steam since you only need the CD key (or do I need to say DVD key )

 

[CptStern]

@CptStern
I got carmageddon (18+) when i was like 14yr's old and at that time i didn't really thought of it to buy a porn movie instead of that game
also most of the parents don't even know what the game is about that there child is buying, if i would asked for "lolita's asses part 3" when i was 14, i think my parents would know what it is

parents need to start taking responsibility ..I'm sure they wouldnt have allowed you to buy a movie with a title like: "lolita's asses part 3"

I'm not saying it doesnt happen ..but if the game industry is going to grow into creating true "mature" games (not just boobies and swearing) they need to ensure that they wont be sued for selling games that are intended for adults to minors ..unfortunately if the retailers dont force age restrictions some parent/religious group will ...do you really want a non-gamer censoring games? it's already happening...Leisure suit larry isnt sold in Australia because of questionable content

 

[Takuya]

Aren't there also two other standard boxes with picture portraits of Alyx and the Gman on them? I've seen a few pictures of them, but I was never told they were going to use them.

Edit: Oh, and I've recently been hearing that some stores do require ID in order to buy M rated games. A friend of mine was unable to buy Fable for his Xbox because he isn't 18. (He tried to buy it from Target)

 

[wibblemonster]

well, its good to see the boxes & I'm glad its an 18, the more blood the better... imo

parents have a responsiblity to ensure their kids don't play violent games... mind u, it never did me any harm..... Wibble!!!!!.......

 

[johnnypoopoopant]

cool 18+

 

[LeXo5]

Just to but in on the whole parents/kids/ratings/society deal... I wouldnt let my kids (under the age of say 13) see porn or buy them M rated games.

My first M rated game was half-life which I bought when I turned 13 and I did buy it with parent's consent after we had a talk about the maturity of it. And as for movies, I saw my first PG-13 movie, when i turned 12 so it was at about the reccomended age.

I personally find it incredible when I ask how hold player X is and they reply with "9 years old" ....... they really shouldn be playing at that age

 

[Zappathefappa]

speaking of the boxes, I just got a newsletter thing from vivendi about half-life2 and it has the same box but with the mature "M" thing and the CE box... these might be old or artist composites or something but heres the link anyways:

http://store.vugames.com/productmerch.asp?groupid=117&affid=9155

 

[daz1971]

Hmm, 18+. Personally I'm all for it - a bit of gaming gore and horror never hurt anybody! But it does mean HL2 will probably have to be modified (censored) before it is released for retail in Australia. Due to our very, very stupid classification laws, there is no classification for 18+ games in Australia. Effectively that means they are banned here.

PS. My first post. Be gentle with me...

 

[Vinnie_NL]

Just to but in on the whole parents/kids/ratings/society deal... I wouldnt let my kids (under the age of say 13) see porn or buy them M rated games.

My first M rated game was half-life which I bought when I turned 13 and I did buy it with parent's consent after we had a talk about the maturity of it. And as for movies, I saw my first PG-13 movie, when i turned 12 so it was at about the reccomended age.

I personally find it incredible when I ask how hold player X is and they reply with "9 years old" ....... they really shouldn be playing at that age

I agree, 9 year is far too young for games like that. And as you said for yourself, you bought HL (16+) when you were 13, so a difference of a few years doesn't have to be a big issue and I think of it that way too.

 

[A True Canadian]

speaking of the boxes, I just got a newsletter thing from vivendi about half-life2 and it has the same box but with the mature "M" thing and the CE box... these might be old or artist composites or something but heres the link anyways:

http://store.vugames.com/productmerch.asp?groupid=117&affid=9155

Wow, why is the collector's edition so big? I thought it was just a standard DVD with order forms for the bonus stuff.

 

[Letterhead]

A lot of this isn't a question of "letting" kids buy M-rated games or see porn because now they can do both without their parents ever knowing thanks to the beauty that is the internet. Personally I'm glad the curretn system is in place (in America) where no one needs to present ID to buy games because this results in less pirating of these games by kids under the recommended age requirement, and I think the game developers should get all the money they deserve so our medium can continue to be viable. My opinion may be a little biased on this subject seeing as I played Doom when I was about six or seven, Duke Nukem' 3D on shareware when I was seven or eight, and Half-Life when I was eleven or twelve. Based on what you all have been saying I should be some warped, twisted killing machine but I'm not. I am, instead, a productive memeber of society. If a child has a good upbringing then external factors like games or movies won't have negative effects on them.
That being said, as I am still under seventeen my parents willnot let me buy GTA3 and, more recently, Vice City. Even though I don't agree with this edict I still didn't break their rules and didn't play those games. The objection they had was the portrayal of violence against innocents, which can be very tasteless.
I don't think the relative blood/gore level in games should dictate the rating of a game, but the level of freedom you are given in killing noncombatents and how violently it is protrayed. Do you think it is fair that a game like Half-Life or Half-Life 2, where you are killing aliens for the most part, has the same rating as GTA3 or Manhunt?

 

[Bullseye]

good one. im glad that they decided to rate it 18+ as kids shouldnt play the game in my opinion...and that means less kids on cs:s aswell (finally the mic screaming days are over!!!).

gordon is REALLY coming this time...in 27 days....hold us....

are you actually serious about kids not playing games
i'd say let them play games..seriously.. if you knew kids that live in my city you'd pray they'd play games.. cause they'll just steal something from you or kick you for no reason... and no.. pistols aren't allowed here :hmph:

but back to the topic.. i'm 16 myself and couldn't care less about the ratings cause:
1: I allready bought the game through Steam.
2: even if i'd buy the retail they'd give it to me anyways.

 

[dudedude7000]

That's my point! Parents are quick to stop their kids from viewing something that is natural (sex) yet they have no problem allowing their kids to view somerthing that is unnatural (extreme violence) ...sexuality is far less damaging than violence ..I'd rather let my 14 yr old see an act of sex than an act of violence

That's sick! Violent games are much less damaging than porn! porn corrupts ones mind, and plus it ruins a future relationship with your wife! You'll have a stained mind! porn is in no way natural! the only natural sex is one man and one woman in marriage with no cameras running! Violent games while not natural are much less damaging, you won't end up becoming a mass murderer as long as you're mature enough to know the difference from reaility and fantasy.