This quote sums the game up better than I ever could...

[Venkman]

A great quote from Eurogamer, and explains in the most objective way that i've heard in any hl2 review so far, exactly how I (we?) feel about the game:

With the level of filmic ambition and quality lavished upon the game, it's inevitable that certain eternally unimpressed people will be going all out to tediously pick apart various elements in an attempt to take something away from Valve's achievements - and yes, looked upon under a microscope you'll start to see the little elements that could have been improved. For some, it's merely a question of gameplay preference with some expressing tiredness for scripted FPS after years of being saturated in them. For others it's technical odds and sods that still remind you you're 'only' playing a videogame; the somewhat forgiving AI, the lemming-like buddy AI, the continued use of scripted, restrictive environments, the slightly irksome physics puzzles.

Yes, Half-Life 2 is not the perfect game. No game is, especially one that tries to take on the ambitious task of simulating elements of the real world, but once you take Half-Life 2 in the context of what it is and what it excels in, as opposed to what you thought it might be or could be, then it's startlingly clear that we're dealing with the game of the year. Never before has a game shouted 'ten out of ten' to us from the opening seconds to the last, and if this is a sign of what's to come in the next generation, then we're not likely to be changing our hobbies any time soon. If there's another game out there capable of evoking such consistently bewildering and dizzying excitement then we're not aware of it.

 

[shady0brady]

Great post - 100% true.

 

[2mass]

true true :thumbs:

 

[Peqkx]

wrong thread

 

[PvtRyan]

Fully agree with them, it has plenty of flaws, but despite them it's still game of the year or even more for me.
During the somewhat tedious midsection of the game (after Ravenholm till Nova, although it wasn't by any standad bad, hell every chapter could have been a decent standalone game) I was wondering if the naysayers have been right, but now I'm in Nova Prospekt, the naysayers are bloody idiots :E

It may not have been revolutionary in the features it implemented, but it has done it all so well that it's certainly revolutionary in the fact that it's the first FPS since HL to once again raise the bar...

 

[2mass]

yeah i know, and i still love the game incredibly much.. GREAT game

 

[f|uke]

Those who demand perfection need to look in the mirror.

No game, no movie, no book is ever "perfect". And the more complex things get, the easier it is to pick things apart. Yet its complexity that makes great works of art so great.

Thats just the way it goes.

Welcome to the forums, guys.

 

[Spartan]

With the level of filmic ambition and quality lavished upon the game, it's inevitable that certain eternally unimpressed people will be going all out to tediously pick apart various elements in an attempt to take something away from Valve's achievements - and yes, looked upon under a microscope you'll start to see the little elements that could have been improved.

Oh, I get it: HL2 is beyond criticism. Where have I heard this before?

 

[Spartan]

Those who demand perfection need to look in the mirror.

With HL2, no problem is worth noticing. With, say, Doom 3 or Halo 2, even the slightest problem is the end of the world.

 

[AmishSlayer]

With the level of filmic ambition and quality lavished upon the game, it's inevitable that certain eternally unimpressed people will be going all out to tediously pick apart various elements in an attempt to take something away from Valve's achievements - and yes, looked upon under a microscope you'll start to see the little elements that could have been improved. For some, it's merely a question of gameplay preference with some expressing tiredness for scripted FPS after years of being saturated in them. For others it's technical odds and sods that still remind you you're 'only' playing a videogame; the somewhat forgiving AI, the lemming-like buddy AI, the continued use of scripted, restrictive environments, the slightly irksome physics puzzles.

Yes, Half-Life 2 is not the perfect game. No game is, especially one that tries to take on the ambitious task of simulating elements of the real world, but once you take Half-Life 2 in the context of what it is and what it excels in, as opposed to what you thought it might be or could be, then it's startlingly clear that we're dealing with the game of the year. Never before has a game shouted 'ten out of ten' to us from the opening seconds to the last, and if this is a sign of what's to come in the next generation, then we're not likely to be changing our hobbies any time soon. If there's another game out there capable of evoking such consistently bewildering and dizzying excitement then we're not aware of it.

I'm certainly not trying to take anything away from Valve's accomplishments when I explain the parts of the game that I didn't enjoy or didn't think were up to snuff for "THE BEST GAME EVER!" I just think the AI was average at best, the story was weak (yes..I read and looked everywhere for those "wonderful" tidbits of information scattered through the game), the physics lose their fun after a while (how many times can you throw a barrel at a soldier to kill him and still get the same satisfaction?) and the whole Gordon Freeman experience didn't work out this time around like it did in HL1.

I still had fun. I am already playing it again (on hard - unfortunately it's still not actually hard) and still having fun.

 

[mortiz]

Oh, I get it: HL2 is beyond criticism. Where have I heard this before?

Spartan stop being an arse! He didn't say that. HL2 can be criticised, but despite those criticisms it's still a great game.

Now grow up and stop trolling! You've already posted about what you think of HL2, you don't need to bring it up in every thread!

 

[Venkman]

It's fine to criticise, hell i'd encourage it - i'm sure we've got all got a huge list of things we'd like to add to/modify the game.

Otherwise we'd just give it 100%, and then show all the world's game developers the yellow brick road to the dole queue.

F**k me i'm new here

 

[Biggleska]

A great quote from Eurogamer, and explains in the most objective way that i've heard in any hl2 review so far, exactly how I (we?) feel about the game:

I completely agree with you. I didn't particuarly enjoy ravenholm up to where i am now (Sandtraps, though i stopped just after driving through the tunnel).

 

[miked4o7]

I can think of lots of things that could be improved... but I can't think of one thing that hl2 didn't improve upon over all other fps with the possible exception of AI, where hl2 is on par with the best fps out there right now, but maybe not any better.