Late to the Awesome: Half Life 2 Episodes 1 and 2

[Himu]

Replayed HL2 over the past week. Beat it yesterday and started HL ep 1.

I'm loving ep 1 so far. It takes everything I loved about HL2 and puts it all in one tight, cohesive package but without the filler sections of its prequel.

And I hear ep 2 is just as good if not better?

[Ichirou]

Western gaming

[Himu]

Have you seen the light, Ichi?

[fistfulofmetal]

Episode 2 is the best FPS ever made. Real talk.

[iconoclast]

I thought Episode 1 was pretty weak to  be honest, even back when it first came out. HL2 and Episode 2 are amazing though.

[brawndolicious]

Episode 1 was really fun, especially if you played it with only bullet.  The physics gun just never got old.

Episode 2 was really underwhelming though.  The weakest parts of HL are the vehicle sections and it focused on that.  I always rushed through those parts to get back on foot.  I mean, it was all driving through repetitive forests so that made it even more boring.

[Ichirou]

Have you seen the light, Ichi?

I'm not running away from my homojapuality but it's undeniable that this gen, every Asian game I've played other than Bayonetta (and the flawed-but-fun Dead Rising) have ranged from fair to mediocre.  Seems the only good Japanese gaming left is on portables.

[fistfulofmetal]

Episode 2 was really underwhelming though. 

how does it feel being MISTER WRONG?

[The Fake Shemp]

Episode 1 was really fun

Episode 2 was really underwhelming though.

This is the dumbest thing you have ever written, and that's saying something, because your entire post history is like a greatest hits of incomprehensible stupidity.

[Beezy]

Episode 1 was really fun

Episode 2 was really underwhelming though.

This is the dumbest thing you have ever written, and that's saying something, because your entire post history is like a greatest hits of incomprehensible stupidity.

[Himu]

Ep 2 is really that good? Cant' wait.

How long are these games on average?

[Ichirou]

Trying to understand nintenho is like trying to decipher the mysteries of a vanished language for which no viable codex exists.

[fistfulofmetal]

Trying to understand nintenho is like trying to decipher the mysteries of a vanished language for which no viable codex exists.

well we already have father mike so we got the experience.

[The Fake Shemp]

I thought Episode 1 was pretty much garbage, but Episode 2 is better than Half-Life 2. It has one of the few, legitimately awesome "boss battles" ever put into a FPS.

[Himu]

I like ep 1 a lot so far, but then I'm only an hour in. I like the physics gun a lot.

[Himu]

I thought Episode 1 was pretty much garbage, but Episode 2 is better than Half-Life 2. It has one of the few, legitimately awesome "boss battles" ever put into a FPS.

Better than Portal's?

[The Fake Shemp]

Yes, but only because the final level in Portal wasn't much of a boss battle - it was just a final level (an awesome one at that). But completing the end content for Episode 2 left me with that sense of accomplishment and sheer exhaustion that only a true "boss battle" can evoke.

I thought Episode 1 was pretty boring and tedious, very much more-of-the-same. I didn't dig it.

Episode 2 is a legitimate epic, and a great teaser for the inevitable Episode 3 and/or Half-Life 3.

[demi]

Episode 2 made me shit my pants because I screwed up an entire achievement because I used the crossbow at the very end of the game

[brawndolicious]

Episode 1 was really fun

Episode 2 was really underwhelming though.

This is the dumbest thing you have ever written, and that's saying something, because your entire post history is like a greatest hits of incomprehensible stupidity.

Well did you like sitting in the car and driving it around or did you like having the vehicle just as a gameplay mechanic so that you can cover long distances (like for the final fight)?  I heard all this hype about being able to drive around that I thought it was going to be like Halo or at least Far Cry and be pretty epic but it just wasn't.  It was, like linear and formulaic.

The combat and level design of HL2 and it's episodes are basically a decade old now.  I hope they try and just focus mainly on puzzles and story for the episode 3 because that's what it's always been really good at. Maybe HL3 will change up a lot of things tho.

[Great Rumbler]

The vehicle portions of Half-Life 2 are actually my favorite parts of the entire game.

[brawndolicious]

For their novelty?  Like the tank levels in Goldeneye?

[duckman2000]

Episode 1 licks ass

[Great Rumbler]

For their novelty?  Like the tank levels in Goldeneye?

No, because they were fun.

[Himu]

Okay, I'm at this part where a bunch of antlions keep respawning.

SMH

Done for the night.

[Raban]

I actually agree with nintenho on this one.

I'm a huge fan of the HL series and I enjoyed Episode 1 over Episode 2. Story-wise, EP2 wins, it just has a lot of juicy substance and awesome scenes. Gameplay wise it seems to be Episode 1 inverted. Instead of all the action sequences back-to-back in a short game, it's all the filler sequences back to back in a badly paced game.

The entirety of the antlion mines sucked and the car driving was more of the same shit from Highway 17 but this time in a forest.

Maybe it's because I played Portal prior to EP2 and was in the mood for a more concise game, but all I can remember is painfully long sequences of repetitive bullshit and wasting all my ammo on Hunters and then it was over. My dislike of EP2 could also be because I'm not usually a fan of the second of any trilogy, since they're usually filler and time-wasting until the grand finale, and EP2 hit the marks on that stereotype effortlessly.

By all means it's still a good game, but EP1 destroys EP2 in the gameplay department. Lowlife > Everything in EP2.

[fistfulofmetal]

so wrong. soo wrong.

[brawndolicious]

I actually agree with nintenho on this one.

I'm a huge fan of the HL series and I enjoyed Episode 1 over Episode 2. Story-wise, EP2 wins, it just has a lot of juicy substance and awesome scenes. Gameplay wise it seems to be Episode 1 inverted. Instead of all the action sequences back-to-back in a short game, it's all the filler sequences back to back in a badly paced game.

Yeah but also, the way I played episode 1 was going for the one bullet achievement so every area meant having to search for the rubble and looking for anything that you can actually use.  It felt more like a survival horror or adventure game then a shooter and I guess it was boring going from that to regular shooting in episode 2 since I played them back-to-back.

[Raban]

I actually agree with nintenho on this one.

I'm a huge fan of the HL series and I enjoyed Episode 1 over Episode 2. Story-wise, EP2 wins, it just has a lot of juicy substance and awesome scenes. Gameplay wise it seems to be Episode 1 inverted. Instead of all the action sequences back-to-back in a short game, it's all the filler sequences back to back in a badly paced game.

Yeah but also, the way I played episode 1 was going for the one bullet achievement so every area meant having to search for the rubble and looking for anything that you can actually use.  It felt more like a survival horror or adventure game then a shooter and I guess it was boring going from that to regular shooting in episode 2 since I played them back-to-back.

I can tell you, having played EP1 like five times, it feels survival-horror-ish regardless of how you approach the action. Until of course you get to the trainyard.

[brawndolicious]

i'm all for people having opinions but ... Ep 1 over Ep2 ?
are you fucking high?

honestly, it feels like I tried to compare splinter cell and ninja gaiden.  they're both good in their own way but I personally liked the really minimalist and dark areas of Ep1 where you're actually encouraged required to explore.  I do generally dislike all the vehicle sections in HL tho.

I actually agree with nintenho on this one.
I'm a huge fan of the HL series and I enjoyed Episode 1 over Episode 2. Story-wise, EP2 wins, it just has a lot of juicy substance and awesome scenes. Gameplay wise it seems to be Episode 1 inverted. Instead of all the action sequences back-to-back in a short game, it's all the filler sequences back to back in a badly paced game.

Yeah but also, the way I played episode 1 was going for the one bullet achievement so every area meant having to search for the rubble and looking for anything that you can actually use.  It felt more like a survival horror or adventure game then a shooter and I guess it was boring going from that to regular shooting in episode 2 since I played them back-to-back.

I can tell you, having played EP1 like five times, it feels survival-horror-ish regardless of how you approach the action. Until of course you get to the trainyard.

zombines lawl.

yeah I guess I just really am partial that type of HL gameplay where you have to really think to survive.  It made me feel disappointed at the end where you had to go back to the citadel and fight regular combine again.  I'm really hoping the next episode or HL3 try to give you more paths for each level so you can play to your style.

[Raban]

i'm all for people having opinions but ... Ep 1 over Ep2 ?

are you fucking high?

For once, no, I'm not. I really enjoyed EP1 more than 2. I get the same reaction to that opinion everywhere I go, and as much as I try I can't see why EP2 is the better game. Nobody here has even bothered explaining it, so I'm assuming the reasons will continue to be elusive.

[fistfulofmetal]

reasons:

better action
better story
better and more varied locations and set pieces

[Himu]

HL2 has some horrible pacing and I never finished it.

It really does. It just drags on and on and on. Went downhill after "Sandtraps" until you get the physics gun.

Keep going.

[fistfulofmetal]

and now we have people bashing HL2. gtfo of your own thread.

[tiesto]

I wasn't too fond of Episode 1, too many trial-and-error parts, (hated waiting for the elevator in the dark, and the final chase scene) but the second episode plays a lot smoother, has more interesting locales, and develops the story much more. If taken as a standalone game, ep2 is my favorite FPS of all time. Both games are about 6 or so hours long, Himu, from what I remember.

[The Fake Shemp]

This thread is good for compiling a list of posters to never take gaming recommendations from.

[demi]

HL2 has some horrible pacing and I never finished it.

co-sign, HL1

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm sorry, demi, but you... you're now on the list.

[demi]

I would still tug to you, Willco

[The Fake Shemp]

[Himu]

HL1 is definitely better than HL2, but HL2's no slouch either. It just has some atrocious pacing issues and filler.

[Himu]

and now we have people bashing HL2. gtfo of your own thread.

This is why I troll HL2 despite loving it to death. Actually, I do that with a lot of games I like. If you don't think x game is perfect, even if you really like it, prepare to be ridiculed!

 

[The Fake Shemp]

Half-Life 2 is about ten - nay, maybe fifty six - times better than the original. You can't really disagree, the sequel is just objectively better. The only people that prefer the original are nostalgia wankers.

[fistfulofmetal]

bu bu bu the marine AI in HL is sooo good guys

[The Fake Shemp]

I can pretty much shutdown any argument that alleges that the original is superior to the sequel with one word: Xen

Everyone can go home now, thanks for playing.

[Himu]

I can pretty much shutdown any argument that alleges that the original is superior to the sequel with one word: Xen

Everyone can go home now, thanks for playing.

Two can play this game.

Nova Prospekt

Hint: it sucks.

[fistfulofmetal]

now you're just being aggressively wrong on purpose. tsk tsk.

[duckman2000]

Nova Prospekt

Hint: it sucks.

WTF is wrong with you

[Himu]

now you're just being aggressively wrong on purpose. tsk tsk.

Fuck no I'm not. The turrets? Hideos.

Taking out the two gunships? Tedious.

The best of the chapter is when it blends in with the chapter before it, Sandtraps, where you get to control an army of antlions to kill for you. Which is awesome.

[The Fake Shemp]

Himuro tries to troll and backfires spectacularly in two posts

Revealed for the crappy gamer he really is

[fistfulofmetal]

thats it. we're no longer friends.

[Himu]

Yes, we are, fistful. You can't say that to me!

[The Fake Shemp]

Glen Shinobi : Film :: Himuro : Video games

[Himu]

Himuro tries to troll and backfires spectacularly in two posts

Revealed for the crappy gamer he really is

You actually liked the part with the turrets? That shit ain't fun, son.

Crappy gamer? It's not even challenging.

Make a staircase with some crates, throw turrets up on upper level, jump on upper level, fight a bunch of Combine endlessly ad nauseum.

It just wasn't fun.

I'm not big on HL2 end game in general, though. Aside from the Citadel, which is abso-fucking-lutely mind blowingly awesome in every sense of the word.

[Himu]

Glen Shinobi : Film :: Himuro : Video games

Except I said clearly before that HL2 is a great game.

[The Fake Shemp]

Nice try, Green Shinobi Himuro

[Himu]

You cunt

[Himu]

Anyways, Willco, you've really really offended me today and I don't think I'll ever recover.

[Great Rumbler]

Glen Shinobi : Film :: Himuro : Video games

Except I said clearly before that HL2 is a great game.

Just let it go, Gree Himuro. You lost.

[Himu]

[Raban]

I can pretty much shutdown any argument that alleges that the original is superior to the sequel with one word: Xen

Everyone can go home now, thanks for playing.

Two can play this game.

Nova Prospekt

Hint: it sucks.

Correct.

And sorry Willco, but you can take your "objectively better" and shave your ass with it. Both HL1 and HL2 are wonderful games, but HL1 is better. It has cohesive level design, actually challenging gameplay, better pacing and some really fun/awesome moments.

Half Life 1 is like the first game I ever played, and by now all the nostalgia has worn thin and I still really enjoy it. I was immensely hyped for HL2 and the game delivered on all fronts, but it doesn't surpass HL1 in my mind, nor does any FPS.

And I'm getting sick of people whining about Xen. Sure you are completely unprepared for this section of the game by the time you get there, and it's kind of a strange way to end the game, but at least HL1 actually ends.