Why does everybody like Half Life 2? By STEAMtards.

[Mele ~ on Grayza]

What about Team Fortress 2?It also has a huge community,and it's been around for 2-3 years,and it's basically only about teamwork and using a good combination of classes to progress in some maptypes.

I dont know man, i guess it just wasnt that big of a succes. It doesnt have that big of a community tbh and the recent updates appear to have gotten some criticism.

 

[Wulfstand]

Depends,really.I for one allways enjoy poppin some heads as a sniper or do some sticky grenades as a demoman,and whenefer I feel that need again,there're allways tons of servers,some really great(Special Attack,GTFOgaming,No Heroes,etc) to choose.As for the updates,yes some of them were kinda useless(Heavy,Sniper),BUT others were vital imo,such as the Medic,kinda-scout(it depends),piro(except for the flamethrower imo) and so on..
From what I've seen and played,the game has a GREAT community(the microphones only make it better),and a pretty big one,considering the above mentioned huge list of servers.
It might not be as popular as CS ,but it's as close as it can get I presume.

 

[Mele ~ on Grayza]

Depends,really.I for one allways enjoy poppin some heads as a sniper or do some sticky grenades as a demoman,and whenefer I feel that need again,there're allways tons of servers,some really great(Special Attack,GTFOgaming,No Heroes,etc) to choose.As for the updates,yes some of them were kinda useless(Heavy,Sniper),BUT others were vital imo,such as the Medic,kinda-scout(it depends),piro(except for the flamethrower imo) and so on..
From what I've seen and played,the game has a GREAT community(the microphones only make it better),and a pretty big one,considering the above mentioned huge list of servers.
It might not be as popular as CS ,but it's as close as it can get I presume.

I am talking about competitive play only, not public play.

 

[Hobo Elf]

What about Team Fortress 2?

it's basically only about teamwork

 

[MetalCraze]

If the game is played by several millions of retarded sheeple - it means the game is gud.

 

[Mele ~ on Grayza]

Expecting arguments from Skyway is like expecting a divine intervention.

 

[racofer]

So I found a (negative) review on HL2 today that mentioned a lot of stuff we have talked about in here, and some others that I didn't notice about the game but now it makes sense.

http://www.enofore.com/essays/half_life_2_review.html

• This last point is one of the reasons it is so difficult to become immersed in the game. That's right, I said "difficult". I might have said "impossible". Immersion requires a fully realized world. It requires that thing we call "reality" that so many people spend their lives trying to deny. A realized world has no actions without causes. That means that enemies should not just "appear" out of thin air. They should exist somewhere to begin with and get to where they are going by normal means. The one and only example of this happening is that scene in the Water Hazard chapter where you fight through the building to the lock and you see a troop carrier bring in more troops to the area behind you. Cause and effect. You see the carrier, therefore you know where the troops will be. You know they won't walk through walls, hop over chainlink fences (now, why can't Gordon Freeman do that?), or just plain fly over impassable areas. In Half Life this mostly happened with Xen creatures teleporting in in weird places, which is somewhat acceptable since the idea is that a random swarm of teleporters is flying through Xen and picking them up. Earth troops were much more predictable, and improperly reappeared in only one place - the fortification above the generator you repaired to get on that first train. In HL2 there is no reality. Troops just spawn in places where they would irritate the player the most. They always know where you are, even if you shoot down the cameras, which is unrealistic anyway you look at it. If they know where you are they should be able to easily overwhelm you with three or four troop carriers at the same time, or just a couple of helicopters. Since the canals are basically just a single path from which you can never deviate, they could simply block them with debris to force you off that stupid airboat (which for some reason never blows up). Then a single helicopter could easily corner you and kill you in seconds.
  
  The second requirement for reality is that it exists even when you are not looking at it. The Combine should not just sleep standing up in suspended animation, waiting for Gordon Freeman to come by. The beginning of the game offered a good example of how things ought to be. The soldiers would raid apartments while you walked by, ordinary citizens would go about doing their ordinary things. You could actually talk to a few of them. Sadly, this is the point the game designers decided to start the rush, so any contribution to the atmosphere and immersion that these features could have made, was erased. Half Life had much more "life behind the scenes". I really enjoyed spying on the Xen creatures living in the hallways; there weren't that many places where you could, but in those places life really kept going on without requiring Gordon Freeman. The bullsquids hunted the headcrabs or foraged in the lake. The hornet dudes supervised the slaves. The Gargantuas wandered around, breaking stuff. The sniper babes walked around, patrolling the area. HL Opposing Force was even better at pre-placing creatures in interesting places and making them live.

Pretty spot on in my opinion.

• That gasp eloquently expresses what I think of graphics in HL2. The superbly rendered graphics speak well of the skill of the programmers that made them possible, while ruthlessly exposing the lack of taste of the artists who made them. A work of art is an expression of the artist's values. It is a view of the world rendered through the artist's eyes, emphasising what he thinks important and good, and removing what he finds irrelevant. Thus, by looking at the artwork in HL2, you look at the souls of its creators, and it is a frightening sight indeed. Given all these wonderful tools for high-resolution textures and high polygon counts, the artists used them to the fullest possible extent to render the kind of world they presumably want to live in exquisite detail. It is a world consisting entirely of flaws. It is a world that resembles the interior of a giant trash can, bringing to vibrant life every chip of peeling paint, every pungent morsel of raw sewage, and every soggy cardboard box soaking in it. The walls are dented and faded, the wood is rotten, the steel is rusted through. The ubiqutous crates, the tired old clichee of the gaming world, are magnificent in their cracked splendor, proudly wearing wood grain, eyes, rusty nails, and half-rotten boards. The barrels looked like they've spent a century at the bottom of the sea. The furniture looks like it was bought at Salvation Army and used pretty hard for about the same period of time. There isn't a single clean surface in the entire game! I don't know what effect they intended to achieve, but they have certainly given me the ability to experience new and previously unknown depths of disguist.
  
  That complaint only covers the physical objects in the game. The people and aliens fall into an entirely different category, that of abject pitifulness. The first thing you notice about them is how short and disproportioned they are. Either someone has lopped eight inches off their legs, or their heads became too bloated with all that "resistance" nonsense. Gordon Freeman towers over them all like a God, which, I suppose, might have been intended. The second thing you notice is their skin. Where in the original games you saw a smooth-shaded polygon, or some such thing, in HL2 the artists were finally able to show the human face as they think it ought to be - sallow, dingy, and pock-marked. I am tempted to conclude they used their own faces as a model. Clearly none of the people in the game know how to wash their faces, shave, mend their clothing, or perform any other actions of personal hygiene. The Combine troopers probably shoot them just to get rid of the stench they would have produced if our computers came with that particular capability. They are also all butt ugly, with the exception of Barney, who is more handsome than ever. He is also the only one who knows how to dress neatly, with the rest just wearing tattered rags. Apparently none of them have thought of stripping a Combine trooper after killing him. To top it all off, they all seem kinda stupid. Each person has one line he keeps repeating even when it is no longer relevant. If this is the human race, I think I'd pick Combine's side instead. They obviously have enough intelligence to persevere in the progress of science and technology.
  
  I specifically object to Alyx and the message conveyed by her. She is a fine example of the modern urban ghetto culture, with her sloppy clothing, her rebellious character, and "hip-hop cool". Her counterpart, Judith Mossman, an educated woman from the upper-middle class, is, of course, the traitor. In a typical Robin Hood fashion, the game bashes the "rich" and all they represent, namely intelligence, civil order, business and wealth, pride, good manners, cleanliness and neatness in objects, houses, and persons.And it extols the things modern culture proclaims to be virtues; namely ignorance, helplessness, humility, slatternness, lack of personal hygiene, crudeness in manner and speech, and a general lack of concern for one's life and well-being evidenced by the state of neglect and disrepair so ubiqutous in the homes of the urban poor and in HL2. It is pretty obvious that the game panders to the audience of the modern teenager, who really is the living embodiment of those "virtues", with his dire depths of ignorance, his lack of interest in the world and how it works, his apathy and listlessness, his search for mindless amusements like HL2's fast-paced chases, binge drinking and smoking, animalistic music, drugs, and emotionless, disinterested sex. If you want to see the end product of those values, look at New Orleans, where hordes of the poor from the government-sponsored housing projects are ravaging the city, shooting everything and everyone, looting and raping. Some will say it's because they're victums. Some will say it's because they are black and poor. But really, it is because of the lack of those "middle-class values" that are so thoroughly vilified by the popular culture. It is in their music and their conversations. It is in the novels and in the movies. And now it's in games; games like HL2, or Grand Theft Auto.

This guy should be part of the codex.

 

[Jasede]

Oh my, that was fabulous. Buy the fellow an account right now!

By the way, I finally played past the Train/Sewer/Water level, and Ravenholm and am now past the Buggy section. There is not much fun in the game even now. Fighting the combine is reasonably fun, but the levels are awfully linear, every second area shows off the physics engine until you fall asleep and there is not one weapon that is fun to use. This game must have the worst shotgun I ever had to handle.

Also, Ravenholm must be the worst section in a game ever; how could one waste so many opportunities all at once?

But the game is technically brilliant: the textures are very well made, the models are too - it gives of a vibe of expert craft and programming. But what they used it for...

 

[racofer]

Soon after that comes Nova Prospekt, the only good part of the game besides the intro. The it declines again and you get a god weapon that kills everyone in one click.

 

[Dickweed]

If the game is played by several millions of retarded sheeple - it means the game is shit shit SHIT SHITSHITSHTSITHSTISHITHSIHTS.

You had a typo there so I fixed it for you.

 

[BLOBERT]

HAHAHAHA SKYWAY IS RIGHT YOU ARE HOMOS FOR LIKING CONSOLE TRASH ANY GAME THAT OTHER PEOPLE LIKE IS STUPID SHIT SHIT SHIT

COOL PEOPLE LIKE ME AND SKYWAY ONLY LIKE GAMES NOBODY ELSE LIKES IF OTHER SHEEPLE LIKE IT THE GAME IS SHIT GO BACK TO GAMESPOT CONSOLETARDS!!!!!!!!!111

ONLY DUMMIES LIKE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL I WORE ALL BLACK AND HAD NO FRIENDS AND LISTENED TO THE CURE AND I HAD NO FRIENDS BUT I WAS ALOT SMARTER CAUSE NOBODY ELSE LIKED THE CURE SO I WORE BLACK AND MAKEUP AND I WAS SMARTER!!!!!111 ALL YOU IDIOTS JUST LIKE HALF LIFE 2 CONSOLETARD SHEEPLE GO BACK TO GAMEFAQS, YOU AREN'T SMART ENOUGH TO HATE ALL THE GAMES WE DO

 

[BLOBERT]

hAHAHAHHA, that long ass review above was a serious intellectual circle jerk. Alyx, an example of modern ghetto culture? Jesus, that is weak.

 

[racofer]

*butthurt alert*

 

[Talby]

I liked it. It's a fun shooter with a cool setting, and I've always wanted to play a videogame adaptation of 1984, which is what the game is like before all kinds of wierd aliens start appearing. It was cool the way they actually show you the Combine being bastards to everyone at the start so you've got a reason to want to kill them.

They've really written themselves into a corner with the Gman. He's been around since the first five minutes of Half-Life, and three sequels later we've still got no clue as to who he is. No matter what the explanation is, it's going to suck.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

It's a fun shooter

You know a fun shooter? Quake 2. Or FEAR. Halo. Or even CoD4+. Fun shooters. HL was NEVER a fun shooter.

with a cool setting, and I've always wanted to play a videogame adaptation of 1984

Like the fucktards who cum over CoD4 because HOLE SHIT THE SNIPER PRIPYAT MISSION SO ATMOSPHERIC I GOT RADIATED 10/10 GAME you just proved you're a moron. The distopian, 1984 vibe lasts for exactly 10 minutes and then you start gunning and never, ever see it again.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Seriously, what's the point in arguing over whether a linear run+gun shooter is fun or not? If someone finds a game fun, then it's fun - it's as simple as that. There's no difference between 'thinking' something is fun and something actually being fun - it's still just a matter of psychological experience - and if there WAS a difference, I'd take the word over the person who had the experience over the guys telling him that he didn't REALLY have fun.

It's different with rpgs and strategy games, because there are other semi-objective criteria to measure those games by. You can sensibly argue about whether PS:T had a creative setting or intelligent themes, or how Deus Ex allows for multiple solutions, or how Starcraft encourages a mix of strategic and tactical thinking. Heck, it even makes sense to argue about 'realistic' or setting-driven shooters, such as debating whether Red Orchestra captures realistically depicts WW1 infantry, or whether STALKER has better long-range assault play than Far Cry.

But when a person is simply saying that they found a game really fun - especially with something as mindless and unchallenging as a run+gun FPS - what could you possible argue about? It's like arguing about whether chocolate tastes good - sure, you can sensibly debate whether belgian chocolate is better than German, or whether milk chocolate is better than pure chocolate, but when someone buys a straight-up Cadbury block it's stupid to start arguing 'that stuff is awful, you can't really be enjoying that!'.

Run+Gun FPS like HL2 - or heck, even the new shitty cover+gun+run stuff like COD4 - are pretty much the cadbury chocolate of gaming. Either you enjoy them as a purely pre-intellectual mindless endorphin-producing experience, or you don't; either way there's no claim to their being great pieces of art, and it's absurd to talk about one person's taste being better than anyone else's. Again, I'm NOT saying that popular = best 'in general' - there's tons of games and genres where you can sesnsibly argue about what is objectively best. I just don't think HL2 falls into that category.

As for TF2 and other multiplayer shooters? One thing people don't take into account is that each person's experience varies massively depending on the community in their local servers. I gave up on L4D because the community was fucking awful in Australian servers - disorganised, abusive , whiny, uncooperative and just plain stupid. On the other hand, the Perth TF2 servers are great - as soon as I switched to those from the eastern states servers I was amazed by the increased competence, sociability and tactics. I worked out after a while it was because there's pretty much the same 60 or so people on the whole time spread over 3 different servers, so everyone knows each other really quickly, which discourages fucktards and encourages teamwork. Consequently I find TF2 a lot of fun, and don't see the kind of crap that people are constantly complaining about on the gamefaqs and steam forums. I don't doubt that there's other places where the L4D community rocks and TF2 is shite. That stuff makes it pretty difficult, if not pointless, to argue about whose enjoyment of multiplayer FPSs is more justified.

 

[Azrael the cat]

Expecting arguments from Skyway is like expecting a divine intervention.

You know that furore over the piece of toast+cheese that supposedly had the face of Jesus on it? It's only a matter of time before some peasant in Argentina discovers one that looks like it has a positve review by Skyway.

 

[Talby]

It's a fun shooter

You know a fun shooter? Quake 2. Or FEAR. Halo. Or even CoD4+. Fun shooters. HL was NEVER a fun shooter.

with a cool setting, and I've always wanted to play a videogame adaptation of 1984

Like the fucktards who cum over CoD4 because HOLE SHIT THE SNIPER PRIPYAT MISSION SO ATMOSPHERIC I GOT RADIATED 10/10 GAME you just proved you're a moron. The distopian, 1984 vibe lasts for exactly 10 minutes and then you start gunning and never, ever see it again.

You have never, ever gotten laid, have you?

 

[Emotional Vampire]

Ask the guy above, he raged so hard he not only wrote 5 paragraphs but doubleposted to boot

 

[poocolator]

They've really written themselves into a corner with the Gman. He's been around since the first five minutes of Half-Life, and three sequels later we've still got no clue as to who he is. No matter what the explanation is, it's going to suck.

SPOILER ALERT

Spoiler

He's the guy who molested Freeman as a kid, sticking around to make sure Freeman never blabs.

 

[Secretninja]

How did I miss what this thread became...

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I specifically object to Alyx and the message conveyed by her. She is a fine example of the modern urban ...

o god yes

Also, for the spore review

EA used to advertise that the choices you make would lock you into different paths through the game. That, unfortunately, is not true. Sure, you get restricted to a specific diet; you either eat meat, fruits and vegetables, or both. This choice determines the class of mouths you get for your creature and the (mostly useless) special abilities your Chieftain gets in the tribal stage. (After the tribal stage, it does not matter at all what you creature looks like or what abilities it has) Other than that, you can completely redesign your creature at any time while in the creature stage. You might have had an incentive to avoid drastic changes if removing old parts was expensive. But Spore actually pays you for your old parts in full, encouraging radical redesign. You can buy a max-combat creature, kill kill kill, and switch to a max-social creature in a single redesign. This is definitely not evolution. Perhaps the designers were afraid that placing too many restrictions on creature design would turn people off, but that is a difficult argument to make, given how short each stage is and how easy it is to just start in the creature stage from the beginning.

and bioshock

 

[The One True Gamer]

"Given all these wonderful tools for high-resolution textures and high polygon counts, the artists used them to the fullest possible extent to render the kind of world they presumably want to live in exquisite detail."

What. That review goes from perfectly legitimate complaints I agree with completely to slackjawed retardedness which somehow finds a way to bawwww because a dystopia is - get this - not a nice place. Apparently unfamiliar with the concept of "fiction", I dread to see what this ballgargler's opinion of George Orwell is.

Fuck me, I came into this thread ready to join the rage at overrated mediocrity like HL and what do I find? Such utterly matchless inbred mouthbreathing that I actually end up defending it.

 

[xuerebx]

I like Half Life 2 because it was fun, and it was also one of my first FPS games. I liked the world and the characters. There was also one place which truly gave me the creeps, I think it was called Ravenholm.

But I don't see any reason why some people hold it so high like it's god gift to mankind.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

I like Half Life 2 because it was fun, and it was also one of my first FPS games.

You do know you need to be at least 13 to post on internet forums, right?