XEN (My Second Poll)

Xen, Hate it or Love it?

  • Hellz Ya, Xen For Life!

    Votes: 26 50.0%

  • Meh, It Was Okay.

    Votes: 16 30.8%

  • Damn, That Place SUCKED

    Votes: 8 15.4%

  • Isn't That The Place That Looks Like A Mushroom Head?

    Votes: 2 3.8%
  • Total voters
    52
Omega11

Omega11

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So, I've beat Half-Life 1 before, and was playing it again on PS2. I just reached Xen, whihc, in my opinion is an awesome place. But I read some where (Wikipedia I think) that lots of Players Critiscise Xen because of all the jumping puzzles, and the lack of proper physics (such as falling straight down instead of towards the land mass).

So I ask; Xen, hate it or love it?
 
It was a shock to the system certainly in that one doesn't expect such a drastic change in locale after a lot of re-used textures and square rooms throughout the first 80% of the game. I hated it first time, grown to enjoy it more now.
 
So I am told...
Agreed, Nihilanth sucked,
Yes, it was dark,
Yes, Gonarch's section=Crap

But not so disappointing, except that you can count that scientist in the Lambda Core as... Oh, I unno... THE LAST LIVE HUMAN YOU'LL EVER SEE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS!!! DAMN MAN, I WANTED SOME DAMN GUNS, SOME DAMN MARINES, ANY ONE WHO IS STILL ALIVE, IF ONLY TO HAVE THE GOOD OL' BLACK MESA CHATS:
*Use Button*
"Yes, let's go!"
*Use Button*
"I won't take another step!"
*Grenade*
"Oh dear!"

yeah, I voted for Xen, but, man I just realized how much I miss civilization O_O
But good level in all. . .
 
I really, really liked Xen. Sure it could have been better but I enjoyed it. IMO, the thing that Xen lacks the most is atmosphere.
 
What was wrong with the Gonarch level? I don't think there was anything wrong with the Xen levels except for one of the Nihilanth's secondary rooms where you could accidentally clip very easily into one of the rising balls and gib.
 
I liked Blue Shift's Xen 'cause it felt alive and refreshing, but damn that headcrab den...I got lost so much, hated that part.
 
I liked Xen quite a bit, but immediately throwing that jumping puzzle at you when you first arrive is a bit of a bad first impression. That factory place was pretty well done, if a bit tedious. The gonarch's bit was also good, I don't see the problem with it.
As for the Nihilanth, it was horrible until I figured out that it was possible to get to the higher platform. It could've been worse, like not knowing to destroy the crystals, or dodging his attacks, but that's how bosses are supposed to be, aren't they?
 
The art design of Xen was unappealing for me. The jumping puzzles were not much of a hassle. Loved fighting the Gonarch and Nihilanth. I actually downed Nihilanth from the ground level using my wicked Rocketeering skillz.
 
Xen will always take the cake as the most beautiful locale in gaming, in my opinion. I love the place. I can only hope Valve takes us back some day.

Bulletbrain said:
I actually downed Nihilanth from the ground level using my wicked Rocketeering skillz.
Click to expand...
Ditto. I didn't even realize the function of the jump pads until my second playthrough. The first time I just unloaded on him with everything I had in my inventory and then arced a rocket above him, then down into his brain.
 
Loved it.

I just used the crossbow on Nihi's crystals. Didn't even have to fly up.
 
I loved Xen's landscapes outside, but didn't like the interior design so much.

Half-Life 3: Xen Interior Design
 
Xen looked awesome; a fantastic location all round. However, the gameplay sucked something absolutely horrible. Gonarch and Nihilanth are both examples of the worst boss fights to 'grace' FPS.
 
I found Xen to be neither as good nor as bad as anyone says it is. My absolute favourite part of it was the abrupt transition between fighting a desperate battle during your last moments on Earth only to be zapped through the portal and greeted with near silence on the other side. After that, it was cakewalk to the end of the game. The first level was trivially easy. "The Gonarch's Lair was a standard (if somewhat old school) boss fight. "Interloper" was a a sort of artless hassle that required more patience than finesse. The Nihlanth was just another case study in how drawn out ordeals don't add much to gameplay. All in all, a 6.5/10 in a game which probably deserved better. Good thing the closing scene wound it all up on an eerie note.
 
I'm pretty sure that you can kill Nihilanth by shooting him anywhere and inside the head just does more damage. I have killed him without attacking his brain (But it took ages)
 
Xen was great IMO I really want to see it in HL2 graphics.
 
Xen was nice, just stand at the edge, look at the skybox and listen to those odd sounds... wonderful! And just before you jump into nihilanth's main portal, when you hear scientists and barneys from it, wery creepy.
 
Everything Gus said. Xen's sounds were brilliant, especially that freaky teleporter music thing... you know the one. The way it's so weird and slightly nonsensical, it messes with your sense of reality a bit.
Loved all the fauna, many a fun minute of speculation to be had there. The many small things like the flying gold leaves and glowing crystals made it so much more interesting. Gameplay wise... Gonarch was kinda meh, Nihilanth was maybe a bit too drawn out, getting teleported away constantly and having to search for ammo in that pool took away some of the intensity. Interloper was very tricky indeed, but the title "Interloper" sounds really cool, so that sort of made up for it :p. Anyway, I like a level I have to work at.
 
To Finally end up someplace else was good, but it was an uninspiring world of floating islands and jumping puzzles. Fair enough to turn it into a platformer, but the shooting that remained got progressively less interesting as 'zany' level design came before well-thought out enemy placement.

Visually, it was never exciting either. Nothing in Half-Life 1 really ever was. Given today's computer's and Valve's stricter approach to both visuals and gameplay testing, Xen could one day return and be something much better. Whether it will be recognizable is another matter.
 
Hmm, I'm a mix really. Because the jumping puzzles, You see, I wound up on Xen, with 10 hp, and got the first meds to 25 hp -_-. Eventually, I got to that blue pool, and healed. Got into that one teleporter with the small butterflies, got to the Gonarch... and stopped. So, for now, Xen's atmosphere, almost matches Ravenholm if you ask me. The Nihinilanth (because I have played it before, but it looks better on PS2 :P) was a hard fight, and I found it confusing. The first time I played, the only tactics me and a friend had, were shoot continuously. He said it took him like 3 hours of straight up gun fire, or something... not sure exactly how he put it O.o
 
The sounds were indeed awesome. You know which sound I like the most? When the boids are flying by, making their baying, echoing calls. It's wonderfully atmospheric to hear that, "whoo-oo, whoo-oo," look up, and see a flock of these tiny sky mantas banking overhead. Really made it feel like a living place, having fauna that you never interact with moving around in the game.

kupoartist said:
Visually, it was never exciting either. Nothing in Half-Life 1 really ever was.
Click to expand...
I have to disagree with you there. Half-Life was what I purchased my first PC for, having been primarily a console gamer. Playing Half-Life on a 128mb Riva TNT was the best looking game I'd ever seen. :laugh: I still find the game visually appealing today, perhaps because I've grown so used to them and can appreciate them for their art direction more than the actual pop and sheen of the graphics. Xen still looks more beautiful to me than anything I've seen in current gaming, and I don't think it's just nostalgia goggles either.
 
If I wanted to jump everywhere, I would play super mario.
 
O_O Okay Then...

Anyways, how can one doubt the color and visuals? The place was the most colorful environment I've ever seen in a game, then Halo came out, and nothing was colorful, just shiny X_X!!! Xen had subtle color, the fungus and rock diving between greens and browns, the fauna darts from Gonarch's bluish color to Nihinilanth's flesh. It was an amazing set of levels. And don't even get me started of the Vortigaunt Factory or Nihinilanth's gorgious blue Palace... It was an awesome set of levels with the best set of color variety I have yet to see matched by any other game...

Oh, and I can't believe anyone actually picked the last option :P
 
I thought Xen was terrifying and lonely. The parts when you were inside those vast, dark caverns and hiding from vortigaunts added so much more than the fights with the gonarch and Nihilanth, especially with the echoing voices (in the game files, it's "the_horror3" I think it's called, that frightened me the most. I finished an EP a while ago and that alone was the inspiration for one of the tracks). I also loved the sounds that those healing pools made. Really the sounds made the Xen experience what it was.

I thought most of it was great, I just don't think Gonarch's Lair or Nihilanth match up to the rest of it. And those bloody floating bastards! Alien controllers, are they called? I hate those more than anything else in any game.

I'd love to see Xen revisited with a graphical makeover in the source engine.
 
Yeah, Xen was awesome. And the immersiveness when you get there with 10 hp (braggin aren't I =/), It sucked though, cause everytime you landed with those god damn jumping puzzles *SPLAT*, you're dead O_O. It would be nice to see it in the graphical remake, but the people making BMS seem most focused on Black Mesa itself and not the actual XEN levels or too many aliens... either that, or Xen is low on their priority list, because they have yet to make the Alien Grunt, the Vortigaunts, The Gonarch, Nihilanth, or anything much from Xen... Maybe they're using the Vort model from HL2, but mind you, those look like old men compared to the 'young soliders' in HL1. So hopefully, I'm wrong, and they do intend to keep Xen in there, and hopefully, we wil not be disappointed :)
 
I suppose there's a lot more to work with already when making textures and designing parts of Black Mesa itself. Xen would be something quite different altogether from a designer's point of view. I guess it'll take them some time if they want to do it properly but yeah. As you say, hopefully we won't be disappointed. :)
 
I remember being one of the only people on the BMS forums who actually participated in the thread on what Xen should look like. It was hilarious because a year or so later I go back and peruse their forums, and I'm reading the Xen thread (having forgotten I ever posted on their forums at all), and I'm not paying attention to the posters' names and I'm thinking, "Yeah, this guy knows what he's talking about with how Xen should be remade. I agree with everything he says. Who is this guy? ...Oh. It was me." :laugh:

Based on the concept art they had it looked pretty good. Xen's the only reason I'm looking forward to BMS.
 
Aspe said:
especially with the echoing voices (in the game files, it's "the_horror3" I think it's called
Click to expand...

Hey... that reminds me. In that really tall room with the Vorts on those spinning elevator platforms and a teleporter at the top, there's a passage you can go through somewhere. It leads to another tall room that's like several platforms with a spiral ramp around them, where you can find pickups and grunt containers. It's only pretty faint, but I'm sure you can hear this like... muffled screaming or something... Jesus, that creaped me out. Which is good, of course. There's also some random screaming sounds when you're approaching the room at the bottom of the rocket in Black Mesa. Am I the only one who noticed these?

I hope that's not what you were talking about, Aspe. You meant at the Nihilanth portal, right?
 
Godron said:
I hope that's not what you were talking about, Aspe. You meant at the Nihilanth portal, right?
Click to expand...

It was actually, hehe. I started a new game from Xen today just to get to that part. It was so spooky the first time. You're right though - you can sometimes hear the voices at the Nihilanth's portal, I've noticed.:)
 
Nihilanth's speech was pretty wicked too, at the start of Interloper and Xen etc. Scary crap man o_o. I love those levels those. And Godron, I think that it's the same room =/. because I remember following those little passages... and returning to the same place.
 
Darkside55 said:
I have to disagree with you there. Half-Life was what I purchased my first PC for, having been primarily a console gamer. Playing Half-Life on a 128mb Riva TNT was the best looking game I'd ever seen. :laugh: I still find the game visually appealing today, perhaps because I've grown so used to them and can appreciate them for their art direction more than the actual pop and sheen of the graphics. Xen still looks more beautiful to me than anything I've seen in current gaming, and I don't think it's just nostalgia goggles either.
Click to expand...
Well, if 1998's console games were the guideline, then Half-Life looked like a million dollars :P Personally, 1998 was the year I got my first game-worthy PC, and what did it come with? Unreal. Sure, Half-Life was evidently a far better game, but Unreal really showed it up visually. At least in terms of effects. Half-Life was a watershed for PC gaming in that it took the games out of the old Sci-Fi / Fantasy drudgery, and much of its design work was thought out better than in Unreal, but Unreal had great lighting, far more impressive textures, animated, higher def skyboxes and just generally more detail.

Oddly enough, Unreal contains a mid-game section that takes place in 'Na Pali Haven', a series of floating islands above the planet surface. Despite Unreal being a lacklustre shooter, those levels are far better, IMO than Xen. There's little or no platform jumping, it has a nice serene but overshadowing fear to it, it is outlandish without being too obscure. Valve themselves now subscribe to the idea of awe coming from the familiar becoming unfamiliar: Xen is just too off the wall. Na Pali haven is just a big rock with flowing water and caves and even alien settlements: there's even a Interloper-esque factory sequence, which uses the established industrial-alien designs instead of just half-heartedly ripping off H.R.Geiger's Alien designs and adding a lot of twirling lifts on sticks. Interloper looks less like a factory than it looks like a Circus.
 
:O You Bastard!!!

Interloper was awesome, and it was far more imaginative with the different colors and lighting. Xen was good BECAUSE it was 'off the wall'. Sure it was foreign, but the reason it was so awesome was because no one yet thought of a world with floating islands covere in fungus, or teleporters that used the power of the butterflies, or giant stacks that burst in purple smoke, or 'thumpers' that punded the ground like HL2, or... aww, the list goes on! XEN WAS SO IMAGINATIVE!!! It's what made it so awesome the first time I played it because, he you are, running through a science facility, trying to survive, and instead of being sent outwards, to some other Earthly location, you were sent THERE!?! I was like, OMFGWTF? And I immediately fell in love with the levels, so what if the physics were poor, or the lighting wasn't THE GREATEST, and here's a thought, what about Half-Life: Source, which apparently use an updated lighting engine :O...
 
I will have to check out Unreal sometime. I've only played the Tournament games, and the Unreal 2 demo, which I didn't care too much for.

But I can't see anything ever beating Xen other than a sourcified Xen. It's an alien world that feels alien. Everything is just so...beyond. Omega described most of it (the platforms, the smokestacks, the flora) but there's one thing missing from his post, the thing I fell in love with: the sky. That iridescent, all-encompassing sky that these platforms are suspended in. You look out and see nebulae in the distance, all blues and greens. It's really one of those things that just grabs my attention every time.
 
Darkside55 said:
Based on the concept art they had it looked pretty good. Xen's the only reason I'm looking forward to BMS.
Click to expand...

Are you serious? Seeing the whole game remade in source would be a paradise! Anomalous Materials Labs, Blast Pit, Apprehension, Questionable Ethics, Surface Tension, Lambda Complex are some of those lovely places I would love to see in source, just think about it. And yeah, Xen would be really cool aswell :)
 
Don't get me wrong, if it's good (which it looks like it will be) I'm going to enjoy the entire game. It's just that particular section is what I'm looking forward to. There's not really any part of me that says, "I'd sure like to see Residue Processing done up in the source engine!" :laugh:

I want to see Xen. That's all I want to see.
 
Darkside55 said:
I will have to check out Unreal sometime. I've only played the Tournament games, and the Unreal 2 demo, which I didn't care too much for.

But I can't see anything ever beating Xen other than a sourcified Xen. It's an alien world that feels alien. Everything is just so...beyond. Omega described most of it (the platforms, the smokestacks, the flora) but there's one thing missing from his post, the thing I fell in love with: the sky. That iridescent, all-encompassing sky that these platforms are suspended in. You look out and see nebulae in the distance, all blues and greens. It's really one of those things that just grabs my attention every time.
Click to expand...

AWW, How could I have forgotten the sky?!? I fell in love with that too, it really grabbed my attention the first time, then I realized the giant land mass below. But aww man, How could I have forgotten!?!

And yeah, all of BMRF would look good in source, but Xen would take the cake, or BMS would end up as a flop on my list :(
 
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