Half-Life 2 OUT!!!

[geekmarine]

Yeah, I know, I'm going traitor on all you guys, but man, it totally rocks!!! Stayed up 'till 2 AM for it to be unlocked, went to bed at 4 (mainly 'cause didn't feel well) woke up at 7, been playing since then... Only problem is I still don't feel well, primarily in the form of a headache... Curses!!! Anyways, yeah, my God, it's beautiful. I think I shall sum it up this way: there are three games which have absolutely blown my mind the first time I played them - the original Super Mario Bros., Doom, and now Half-Life 2. Wow... Just... wow...

[Lord FlatHead]

HL2 and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes released on the same day ? I am smiling ear to fucking ear but my bank account is weeping... I'll probably pick one of them up next week and trick someone into giving the other to me as a Christmas gift. Now just to decide which one I want to play more :)

[Snarboo]

I'd go with Metroid Prime 2. Considering how busy the Steam registration servers are, and the fact that the game has to be registered before the game files can be decompressed after installation, you wouldn't be able to play Half-Life 2 right away. Atleast with MP2 you can play the game as soon as you put it in the system. That's just my opinion though.

[zark]

I think it's better than Doom 3.

[Scuba Steve]

Terrorists Win.

[Bucket]

Crap... the money doesn't roll in for another 2 weeks, and there's already a list of 10 games I want. I'll be back to broke within days.

[Epyo]

alien hominid, hl2, metroid prime 2. I chose the first 2 and will get the last for christmas.

[Ralphis]

I pick the same three as Epyo, maybe add Paper Mario 2

[Sephiroth]

so you have to activate half-life 2? is it like when you have to activae windows? if so that is fucking bull shit!

or is it more like you download it and then register the game?

i have the ATI deal so i got to do that.

[Quast]

Snarboo said:

Considering how busy the Steam registration servers are, and the fact that the game has to be registered before the game files can be decompressed after installation, you wouldn't be able to play Half-Life 2 right away.

heh, Most people were playing HL2 12 hours ago...took at most, 30 mins maybe to validate/decompress. This was the moment it officialy launched too...

[BlueSonnet]

My buddy got it today. When speaking to him on the phone just now he started his review shouting "IT'S FUCKING LEET!"

Sounds good then. Not in hurry to get it myself though but i'll get it for christmas.

[Snarboo]

Sephiroth said:

so you have to activate half-life 2? is it like when you have to activae windows? if so that is fucking bull shit!

Well, it just installs a bunch of compressed files that contains the game data onto your hard drive. From there, you have to register a Steam account and then register your copy of Half-Life 2 to "activate" it. You have to wait for Steam to decompress the game files after that.

Quast said:

heh, Most people were playing HL2 12 hours ago...took at most, 30 mins maybe to validate/decompress. This was the moment it officialy launched too...

Not from what I've read. If anything, it seems Steam isn't able to handle all the registration attempts and for most people it's taken anywhere from one hour to many to get the game up and running on their computer, not to mention registration being halted by bugs in Steam itself. I've also heard that a manual doesn't come with the boxed version to tell the person how to activate their copy of HL2, which could lead to serious problems. That's what I've heard anyway.

[DoomDan]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/review.html?q=1&tag=gs_hp_flashtop_story

[geekmarine]

I didn't have any problems activating my copy... It took a long time (15-30 min) to decrypt the file, but that that was it. Anyways, yeah, to reiterate, it's absolutely incredible, best thing I've ever seen.

[Snarboo]

geekmarine said:

Anyways, yeah, to reiterate, it's absolutely incredible, best thing I've ever seen.

What about the game do you find to be most impressive or enjoyable? How does it play when compared to the original? I mean, do they play pretty much the same? Just curious.

[DOOM Anomaly]

There's a Half-Life 2?

[geekmarine]

Crap... Just so much... Visuals - doesn't have Doom 3's shadow system, but nonetheless, very nice, large outdoor areas, lighting very well done. Gameplay - weapons are very nice, physics incredible, lots of fun to be had with that, gravity gun OMG, characters - also well-done, good dialog, very animated, geez... Atmosphere - yeah, really creeps me out sometimes. Overall, I want to say that it plays like the original Half-Life, but the improvements allover are just too much... Rather, it's more that it's how the original Half-life would be if the technology had existed then. Really, I hate to say it, but after playing Half-Life 2, I really want to say that the original is a piece of crap.

[Quast]

Snarboo said:

What about the game do you find to be most impressive or enjoyable? How does it play when compared to the original? I mean, do they play pretty much the same? Just curious.

Most impressive? I'd say the visuals top that of doom 3 in many ways. Much larger level size...know what? screw real time shadows and the flop of a tech demo that is doom 3.

This game is simply fun to play, end of story. The feeling you get tossing a grenade over to some combine dudes and watching their lifeless bodies fly into the air and majesticly flop on the ground...pure satisfaction. And the OMG crack fiend super zombies!

Yeah, in a way it plays like the original, but most of the levels are above ground...apparently it is a direct sequel, though I have my doubts as to whether or not the questions every player will have get answered...how did gordon get here? What happened? WTF is going on exactly?

Nothing has been too frustrating yet and my only real gripe is the number of hovercraft levels...a few too many IMO

I'm not sure how far into the game I am right now...I'd wager 50% or so. I quit playing for the night because my pack of antlions and I keep getting tore up on some beach.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

Quast said:

Yeah, in a way it plays like the original, but most of the levels are above ground...apparently it is a direct sequel, though I have my doubts as to whether or not the questions every player will have get answered...how did gordon get here? What happened? WTF is going on exactly?

Maybe he was sent back there to round up and kill anyone who escaped the facility. Like a certain security guard and a couple of scientists for example...

[Scuba Steve]

Quast said:

Most impressive? I'd say the visuals top that of doom 3 in many ways. Much larger level size...know what? screw real time shadows and the flop of a tech demo that is doom 3.

Maybe archaic gameplay, but I'm really tired of Doom3 being called a "Tech Demo". ALOT of artwork, time and effort went into creating the rich detailed environments in that game, and it might not be the great game you thought, it is most certainly NOT a tech demo. If you said Quake 1 was a Tech Demo... I might be inclined to agree, but Doom 3? Besides a Tech demo would show off the full potential of the engine... outdoor, water, vehicles... but it went generous on someof these aspects as to allow the largest possible audience since the engine was already a bohemoth.

So a "Tech Demo", as you say? No, not in the slightest. However on another note, I am looking forward to playing both Doom3 and Half Life 2 in a few years.

[Quast]

Scuba Steve said:

So a "Tech Demo", as you say? No, not in the slightest. However on another note, I am looking forward to playing both Doom3 and Half Life 2 in a few years.

Fair enough. I tend to be a tad over critical too often...especially of Doom 3. I don't wish a juvenile "vs." debate in this thread anyway.

The Ultimate DooMer said:

Maybe Gordon? was sent back there to round up and kill anyone who escaped the facility. Like a certain security guard and a couple of scientists for example...

Despite the gameplay being quite the opposite...

[Scuba Steve]

I think the gamespot reviews of HL2 and Doom3 were the two best I've read. They called D3 a fun game, but cliche'd and HL2 a very good game, but not "revolutionary" as everyone has made it out to be. The scores I think are very accurate.

[Sharessa]

;_;

Scuba Steve said:

I am looking forward to playing both Doom3 and Half Life 2 in a few years.

[Fredrik]

Scuba Steve said:

I am looking forward to playing both Doom3 and Half Life 2 in a few years.

Same here. I'm aiming for 2009.

[DOOM Anomaly]

I figured that I'd wait for one of my friends to buy it, then watch them play it, then when they run to the door and/or bathroom, I will sneak a few moments of gameplay. :D

[Snarboo]

I'm not trying to start a VS argument here either, but I'm surprised nobody has called Half-Life 2 a "physics demo" since that's all I ever here about when anyone talks about the game. So corpses go flying through air when you throw a grenade at them? Sounds cool, but it doesn't make the game play better. Frankly, I lost all interest in physics engines after playing games like Dues Ex 2 where the physics were just eye candy or buggy as hell. I've never played a game with physics that had better strategic opportunities than a game without. I bet you could remove the physics engine from Half-Life 2 and people would like it the same.

So far the game sounds rather average. Besides the graphics and physics, which most people seem wooed by, it sounds like the game plays almost exactly like Half-Life, which basically boils down to a rather linear experience with some interesting and intense moments here and there. I wasn't expecting a revolution here, but maybe more freedom than the original Half-Life to explore or use alternate tactics. I mean, it kind of ruins the feeling that your one man trying to survive incredible odds when there is only one way to survive. I heard the riverboat rides were especially linear. I've also heard the game's story seems rather rushed or is basically nonexistant.

However, I'm not saying that the game isn't fun, and I'm looking forward to playing both Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 in the coming months or years, no matter how "average" both games are when it comes to the genre.

[Lord FlatHead]

Snarboo said:

So far the game sounds [...] it sounds like [...] I heard [...] I've also heard [...]

However, I'm not saying that the game isn't fun

Well how fucking could you, all your negativity is based on things you heard. Shut up, play the game, then come back and rip it up all you like.

[Fredrik]

Calm down FlatHead, all this negativity just because someone stated an opinion?

[Arioch]

So far HL2 has met my expectations of it being an extremely flawed yet fun game.

I'm not done with it yet however and I hear the ending sucks donkey nads. Even compared to HL1.

[Snarboo]

Lord FlatHead said:

Well how fucking could you, all your negativity is based on things you heard.

I was trying to form a personal opinion based on what I had heard and seen and how I might possibly feel about the game. Frankly, it doesn't look all that impressive to me. What has Half-Life 2 done that has raised the bar for the FPS genre? So far it looks like every other FPS game out there and that has been out there since the original Half-Life. Very ironic, really, for a game that was so different in its time.