Vague Story

[free_man]

Hey people,

I'm really loving Half-Life 2, it's a AWESOME game! But.. the story for me is just very vague.

Now i've played Half-Life 1 before, but didn't completed it. It just doesn't hold my attention as much as Half-Life 2 does.

So, do you really need to play Half-Life 1 before playing Half-Life 2?

 

[W4d5Y]

No, I don't think so. Quite much from HL1 is explained while exploring the characters' dialouges in the soundfiles. P.e., Breen isn't even mentioned in HL1, but is in hL2. ONLY.

 

[Beerdude26]

P.e., Breen isn't even mentioned in HL1, but is in hL2.

They do refer to him in Blue Shift, I think, as "The Administrator".

 

[DeusExMachina]

I'm really loving Half-Life 2, it's a AWESOME game! But.. the story for me is just very vague.

You better run away before Samon gets here.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

They do refer to him in Blue Shift, I think, as "The Administrator".

He's referenced in HL1 as the administrator also, but never by name until HL2.
Also, I certainly get your point, HL2's way of telling a story is very vague, you have to look for it, and that's for everyone nor is it a perfect way to tell a story, but for HL2 I think it works very well.

 

[Jintor]

This is true. It doesn't shout the damn story into your ear like various other games do. It's more subtle. Source's expression-tastic npcs help as well.

 

[Darkside55]

You don't need to play Half-Life to enjoy Half-Life 2, but to say that it helps is an understatement. While you can understand Half-Life 2 without playing Half-Life, and HL2 will go ahead and reference things from the first games for you, you should still know all the backing behind it. Certain things aren't said in the game, and those're the things you'll want to hear about. Off the top of my head, specifically, they don't really speak of the end of your adventure, things like why and how the G-man is able to deposit you into City 17, why you've lost 10-20 years, how the portal storms actually started occurring...and all of this is stuff you pick up from HL.

The story is pretty light on exposition though. They don't hand you the details, you have to go out and search for them. A lot of exploring, talking to NPCs, looking over every little everything and trying to put the puzzle together from these little pieces. That's why we have forums like Singleplayer Mythology, where people can discuss all these ideas about the storyline, because you can interpret a lot of stuff in many different ways (some things are pretty clear-cut too though).

Is there anything in particular you're not clear on? Maybe we can clear it up for you. Use the search button too, and search all the Half-Life-specific forums, because chances are we've already seen it, reviewed it, studied it, overanalyzed it, packed it up, filed it, and left it sitting on the shelf.

 

[Slacker]

I can't imagine really enjoying HL2 to the fullest extent without playing the first one first.

 

[free_man]

Thanks guys! Well, i guess i know my problem. I like slow games that tell you the story piece by piece. But i don't have the patience to explore every little detail. So, that's why i miss the important stuff.

 

[ríomhaire]

If you want to understand the story until your brains ooze out your ears read the entire Rumours and Speculation and Singleplayer Mythology sections.

 

[Asknoone]

You better run away before Samon gets here.

Naw, the story can be be a little daunting for the average player who's just looking to shoot, or looking for something a little easy. It's a totally different way of telling a story, and it is something completely new for people.

 

[free_man]

Naw, the story can be be a little daunting for the average player who's just looking to shoot, or looking for something a little easy. It's a totally different way of telling a story, and it is something completely new for people.

But maybe it could be a way to force the player to explore the world for every little detail.

 

[Asknoone]

Well, it is. Thats why it's such fantastic story telling, because there is so much in there to discover.

 

[flycrusher]

Well, it is. Thats why it's such fantastic story telling, because there is so much in there to discover.

And much more than just discover, the great thing in that game it's that there is a master line and everything else, it's up to you to make your own story. So everyone has his own half-life, there is not just one story, but it depend much on your imagination.

 

[Baratos]

I personally enjoyed the little tidbits hidden away; however, I frequently got confused by what was happening around me. For example, the first time I saw a headcrab launcher land, I assumed that the headcrabs themselves had built it and were invading Earth or....something. In order to understand whats happening in the game fully, you have to play several times through.

IMO it is indeed a good idea to play HL1 first. I didnt, and ended up assuming headcrabs were geniouses, among other things.

 

[Absinthe]

The Half-Life saga is full of wonderful details and is pretty rich in terms of its content.

I just think it needs more exposition linking a lot of the stuff together.

 

[MorganFreeman911]

For example, the first time I saw a headcrab launcher land, I assumed that the headcrabs themselves had built it and were invading Earth or....something.

I rofled.