Half-Life² Questions

Both Episode 1 and 2 are sort of mini-expansions. 1 is very short, about two or three hours, and isn't really anything special, bar a couple of cool moments. Episode 2 is longer, say 4-5 hours, and is great fun. Both follow on from the original game.

 

Episode 1 and Episode 2 is Half Life 2 minus everything good plus teen retardation that just reminds me of cheap TV shows for schoolkids about a hero constantly saving the chick who is crazy about him.

 

one day well be together

 

Skip it and play Portal.

 

Meaning it's exactly the same.

 

HL2 was good the first 20 minutes until you've met her. Also HL2 was good during other 20 minutes when that bitch was far from you.
But right after the end where you just couldn't believe that Valve did that retarded cliff-hanger a 3rd time and you were ripped off again someone at Valve said "hey guise scratch the story how about we do HL2 like these tv series for teenagers without any meaning".

 

Alyx definitely plays too big a role. In HL2 she only pops in now and then, though she's a bit more prominent towards the end. You are still the main man though. In EP1 its all about you two together, which wasn't too big a pain as its not very long and you know you'll be rid of her in EP2, right?

NO. MOAR ALYX PLOX!11

Could they just fucking kill off Dog, though? I hate that piece of shit.

Oh yeah

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the ending of HL2 was alright. I was thinking "hahahah, the bitch is fried", but then Deus Ex Machina comes in to save the day in the next game.

Otherwise HL2 and the Episodes are pretty darn good. Although I disliked Ep2 the most. It had a bit of a consoly feel.

 

And remove the only bit of retarded anime from there? Are you mad?

HL2 can be very enjoyable if you won't look at poor gameplay design decisions like boring driving and emo characters - it will be a HL1 outdoors then.
But Episodes are just an abomination. Does anyone remember that Valve seriously wanted to make Alyx the main character of Ep1 and remove Gordon?

 

Portal was cool and atmospheric, but not exactly brain-wrenching experience - the puzzles could, and should have been much more contrived and difficult.

Oh, come on, the way it beat up strider was quite a spectacle.

I'm slightly dismayed, though, that Dog is basically your indestructible comic relief character - the game would benefit from more "Sirius" tone all the way through.
That applies to the arcadish segments too - choppers' pulse cannons warning you as they charged up, beeping mine-balls pattern attacks, weak rockets, weak enemy fire in general, etc. - they should have cut this shit.
Also, more variety in enemies and weapons would be called for - at least give me my portable gauss cannon back, you stupid fucks!

Still, people at Valve know their shit, I'm getting Ep3 as soon as it's out, though preferably on physical media. I despise Steam, though.

 

I liked Episode 2. Especially

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Moment when you are in house surrounded by forcefield and marines come from all directions

Moment near the end when you drive car and shoot those big spiders.

And Episode 2 uses upgraded engine with great bloom effect.

 

there is much I love about hl2 but I also think alyx is overused. The feeling of being alone, exploring a world full of deadly stuff was awesome in hl1.

I understand they have an impression facial animation engine and they need to show it, but maybe they should limit the alyx section to one per game.

Also those characters helping you out in hl2 are indestructable... dog, the vortigaunt, alyx... they somehow lessen the notion that you are the earth messiah and savior

 

Except in HL1 you were just trying to GTFO out of there and not save anything and during the whole second game they treat you like one
"ZOMG ITZ GORDON FREEMAN THE ONE FREE MAN"
Just what the fuck Valve? Trying to please schoolboys?

 

You even get a virtual girlfriend with no risk to choose the wrong answer and piss her off.

 

All of the Half-Life 2 series is brilliant.

 

Still waiting for my boy Adrian to come back and kick some ass.

 

Episode 2 is the best out of the series. By a mile. The Half Life 2 series, that is.

If you got the Orange Box make sure you check out TF2 and Portal. Portal only takes 3 hours, although TF2 has a bit of a learning curve now that it's been out for a year and people are good at it.

 

Some of the posts in this thread seem to evaluate Episode 1 and 2 as standalone games, without considering that these are intended as a continuation of HL2.

Cuntway for example is just using selective utter bullshit to justify another swig of the whine chalice.

Played HL2 --> Ep1 --> Ep2 in order recently over a few days. Undoubtedly one of the better FPS experiences of the past few years. I get the criticisms, especially of Ep1 and the end of HL2. Taken as a whole though, I can't think of a better FPS experience from the past few years.

It doesn't only take place in dark corridors, it doesn't feature randomly spawning enemies, it doesn't completely rely on idiotic PDA\answering machine gameplay devices, events take place while the player is present - not after the fact, it isn't obsessively concerned with realism and the brown sepia tones that necessitates. It has decent length, variety of settings, a semblance of a narrative that attempts to involve the player and an engine aimed at PC gamers with a great balance between performance and looks.

Comparatively speaking, name a better SP FPS released since 2004?

 

Name a better SP FPS period... Also, I don't understand how anyone could possibly suggest HL1 is superior to HL2. Try actually playing that old piece of shit again and then see how you feel. If your opinion remains unchanged, then I really don't know what to tell you. Shooters don't age well, that's all there is to it.

Episode One sucked. It definitely took on the role of Blue Shift in this saga .

 

Half-Life marks the beginning of an era. Half-Life 2 marks its culmination as well as the end of it.

Episode 1 seems to want to hang on to the old goodness, but it ultimately fails.

Episode 2 embraces defeat and is a full-on conversion to consoltardation with achievements, hyped and buzzworded features that never really materialize, engine compromises for XboX, and that fucking garden gnome signifying it all.

Valve is dead.

 

The last time I've played HL 1 was a year ago and it was still a blast to play. Note that it was my fifth playthrough and I'm currently waiting for that Source remake mod to come out and play it again a couple of times

 

Why, beacuse there are outdatet graffix? If a game's good, it's good. If you view it as shit after 10 years, either it was shit when it came out already, or you have some instead of your brain.

 

well, at the start you were just trying to survive.

From the marine chapter (we've got hostiles) your objective becomes "find the lambda complex and help them save the world". When you get to the lambda complex, your objective becomes "take on an alien world alone and save the world".

If you want a game where you are just trying to get the fuck out try blueshift. It was short but good, and the plot made more sense (no superhero "save the world" crap, but a real "get the hell out of here" plot)

---Regarding episode 1 and 2 in general

I too consider episode 1 and 2 the best single player fps since 2004. They are good. Yeah, I'd like more alone time from alyx and some gameplay tweaks (make gordon a litlle bit faster, remove most of the medikits from the levels on hard, and make the combine soldiers more intelligent and aggressive) but they are still the best out there.

 

Anyone who thinks that Doom and DN3D didn't age well is mentally unstable.

 

as long a shooter has good resolutions and fun gameplay, i find they can always draw me back in.