Half-Life 2
November 17th, 2004If you'd like to follow the conversation thread for Half-Life 2, please use the Comments RSS feed. Want to reference this article? Please use this handy TrackBack URI.
Comments welcome.
Your input is important to me in that I feel it adds another layer of communication to the conversation. On that note, please try to remain civil and respectful of opinions other than your own.
See you next year then ;)
That dude looks like me. Back when I had my hair cut short. And wore glasses. And body armor.
Andy, maybe he’s finished a lot earlier. Rumors say that it’s been finished in 11 hours already. But my, I’d love a review. I’ve seen some teasers before, and it looked too damn good to be true.
Beware!!! It’s the Free-man!!!! He’ll corrupt your instinct.. Beware!!! (Inside game joke)
I haven’t posted anything in the past few days. The delay was mostly due to the release of Half-Life 2 which I spent the greater part of last night playing.
The reviews I’ve read mention that Half-Life 2 can be completed in 11-15 hours, but I’m taking my time, absorbing the details and enjoying the experience. From the outset, it’s just a breathtaking experience and many of the sequences in the game unfold around you (similiar to the first Half-Life) eliminating the need for cutscenes. At times I felt like I was taking part in a movie or on a thrill ride at Disneyland or Universal Studios.
For the most part it has exceeded my expectations ten fold and then some. As I mentioned when I finish it, which I expect will be within a few days I’ll write a review. If for some reason I haven’t completed it within the next week or so I’ll go ahead and write up my thoughts on the game. Regardless you can expect a review sooner than later.
I’ve heard that it doesn’t take long to complete, and it has a lousy ending. How would you compare it to Doom 3?
Simon: Quite honestly, as far as gameplay is concerned it knocks the teeth out of Doom 3, which as it turns out had repetitive gameplay, at least to me anyways. Half-Life 2 on the other hand offers twists and turns and white knuckle moments unlike those offered from Doom 3. It’s a matter of opinion and preference, but I will say this. I do plan on revisiting the game even after I’ve completed it, not one single game I’ve played (other than the original Half-Life) made me want to play it again.
It’s amazing man.
How it looks like?
It’s kicking my ass all kinds of ways too! :D
Wondering why it was so quiet lately…
Hmm.. Seeing as though I’m related to Erik, I feel the need to give you my input on Half Life 2. I myself, am very hard on reviewing games because Im very critical. Anyways, for a short review, Half Life 2 is like a movie that opens slowly and begins to pan out with ease.. From haunting sounds of a evil tyrant warning his slavings that a rebel is amoung a group.. Who the rebelious cause is, is also revealed.
Though, I’m not to far in to the game, but with most games I’ve played, if the game play doesnt pick up by the first hour then I’m totally going to ditch it and carry on with another game. (For example Doom 3, to me it seemed like all I was doing was walking around shooting stuff.. Opening doors, finding keys, running for hell cause I’m out of ammo etc). In Half Life 2, your gameplay varies between speeding away from cannons being fired at you, rockets being launched from vessels flying by or hiding from head crabs trying to devour your very head.
The Graphics are outstanding, and everything is so full of color and depth. The humans speak with accuracy when voice is transmitted through your speakers, and when things move, you listen.
Regardless of the problems (Like AI being alittle dumbed down in the easier difficult settings), its a really really REALLY good game. Not only will you enjoy playing it, you’ll enjoy watching how the story line progresses.
Anyways, SHORT REVIEW.. Expect Erik to have a waaay better one..hah..
I spent a whole night just throwing stuff around and shooting in windows. Now thats gameplay.
Ian: Same here. I finally got to the part in the game where you drive the land buggy — which rocks by the way — and at one point I was just playing around with the Gravity gun, grabbing wood planks, barrels, etc. and then jumping back on the buggy and cruising the detailed landscapes. I found out land buggy and deep ocean water do not mix.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I’ve been a fan of your CSS work for a while. ;)
The buggy ride was amazing! And it gets better! :D
Glad to hear it doesn’t have that flat feeling Doom3 had. Might have to scrounge up some old titles for a few trade-ins at the local EB to pick this up. I know the alpha was fun as hell just picking up chairs with the grav gun and launching them at npcs.
I upgraded my video card to a Radeon 9550 for this game, and the visuals are beautiful now. The gameplay is fun, but not as different from HL1 as I expected. I’m not that far yet, though. Unfortunately, I still need a better processor than my 1.1 Ghz Athlon to get rid of some of the lag in larger open areas and where lots of physics calculations are happening.
I’ve been very impressed by the music and voice acting so far. I want the soundtrack!
kartooner: A land buggy! That sounds exciting; I’m not up to that stage yet.
I can’t get over how realistic it all looks. I’ve thrown my mouse across the room several times due the fright I receive after a pesky head crab jumps out of no where.
Thanks for the kind comment on the CSS also.
Ian: I don’t want to ruin anything for you, so I’ll be as vague as possible, but I know how you feel about the realism. In fact, in one particular sequence in the game my fear of heights kicked in and needless to say I was a bit mortified.
Haha, most the time in the SCARIEST scenes I was totally out of ammo on every gun and was only left with my gravity gun.. Needless to say, I was franticaly trying to grab splinters of wood to launch at my foes but them just shrugging it off like it was nothing… I was running through one part of the game the entire way, until I saw the light and got out.
I was more scared in one little town then I was pretty much in all of DOOM III. In Half Life 2, you don’t expect the scary like in D3, it just throws its evil little head at you.
Whole Life….end of story.
Bollocks to this… I’m going to have to buy HL2 now.
I was waiting for my free copy after buying an ATI card… but this is getting too much!
Thanks for making me part with more cash Erik! :o(
No problem, Chris. It’s a gift. :)
It’s just simply the best game ever made, on any platform. Some people will point to Halo 2, but most PC gamers scoff and laugh at Halo 2, for good reason. Half-Life 2 is the game the reminds us jaded PC gamers what made us gamers in the first place.
I posted my impressions here:
3dgpu.com/...
I’ve also uploaded 40 screenshots for those who don’t have the game, or don’t plan on getting it, so you can see the graphical goodness. I’ve beat the game on Medium, but I was overwhelmed the first time around, so I plan on going through it again on Hard and take my time and relish the pure bliss this game gives you. Even up to the end, the game holds the awesome pace, and never lets you go.
I want to play, but I think I should get a new GC before, just so that I can experience the game in full.
Donnie: Half-Life 2 is pretty forgiving, even on low end video cards. The Source engine is quite flexible, and gives a really solid performance, even on a GeForce4-level card. However, if you really want to experience the game in full, and don’t want to spend a bundle, check into getting the new GeForce 6600GT coming out anyday now. I’m hoping to get one anyday now for review, and should have my experience up on 3dgpu.com - however I’m hearing from others that got it early that is’a solid performer for the money.
To concur with everyone else so far, HL2 is quite amazing. Kartooner, I’ve also just finished the land buggy mission which was fun (and had more ‘obstacles’ than the jetski type hover boat.) My only negative is that both of those ‘rides’ last a little too long and I find myself wanting to walk to wherever it is I’m going…Just past the sand lions now (well, atleast their my friends now) and looking for Alex’s father….Can’t wait to finish this one up!
I must agree. As far as FPSs are concerned, I always liked Half Life the best. The second one exceeded all my expetations.
Hey I was just surfing around and decided to post a short comment here. I run a movie review message board and am looking for people to write reviews and contribute at my forum. You can even post a link to your blog on your signature file at my forum. It’s all good! Take care.