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

[fistfulofmetal]

Glen Shinobi : Film :: Himuro : Video games

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

You guys trying to make this about me are fucking whack. I've been praising The Hurt Locker HL2 consistently for months now.

[Himu]

You have betrayed me, fistful.

[Himu]

How can you do that to an e-bro? You just don't.

[fistfulofmetal]

you brought this upon yourself.

[Himu]

How can I convince you otherwise?

[fistfulofmetal]

nothing can be done. you've scorched the earth, hombre.

[Himu]

Noooo

[fistfulofmetal]

 

[Vizzys]

hurry up and finish hl2ep2 so you can wait miserably like the rest of us

[Raban]

hurry up and finish hl2ep2 so you can wait miserably like the rest of us

Fucking Valve.

FUCK YOU VALVE. FUCK PORTAL 2. GIVE ME EPISODE 3.

[Smooth Groove]

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.

Enemy AI also feels much better in HL1 which is especially glaring because the rest of Hl2's tech is obviously light years ahead of Hl1.  No doubts that HL1 is still a great game but it looks really dated.  FPS is probably the genre where graphics became outdated most quickly because everything is right in your face.  I would love a HL1 remake.  It would make sense and not seem like just like a cash-in because HL2 and the episodes don't really play that much like HL1 despite being its sequels.  

[Raban]

Well I hope you're following Black Mesa then. I personally don't think they'll ever finish, but who knows.

[Himu]

You'll still play Bad Company 2 with me when I get it though, right? 

[Great Rumbler]

Well I hope you're following Black Mesa then. I personally don't think they'll ever finish, but who knows.

I keep hoping that Valve hires these guys, sends them some resources to help them finish, and then puts Black Mesa in a package deal with Episode 3.

[fistfulofmetal]

you can join on me if you want. will my squad be open? it is a mystery.

[Raban]

Well I hope you're following Black Mesa then. I personally don't think they'll ever finish, but who knows.

I keep hoping that Valve hires these guys, sends them some resources to help them finish, and then puts Black Mesa in a package deal with Episode 3.

I don't know what's preventing them from doing this, really. This mod is showing more promise than both Narbacular Drop and the original Left 4 Dead combined, and Valve still won't throw them a bone. I don't get it.

[brawndolicious]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

And why exactly was it called the Orange box?  Because of the orange Hazard Suit?

[Raban]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

And why exactly was it called the Orange box?  Because of the orange Hazard Suit?

Orange is kind of like the series color.

And I don't mind paying for a mod if the team is given the resources to make it way better than it would be had it been free.

[Smooth Groove]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

Because it might never be released?  At the rate those modders are going, even if the mod were finished, it would look severely outdated upon release which completely defeats the purpose of a graphically revamped Hl1. 

[brawndolicious]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

Because it might never be released?  At the rate those modders are going, even if the mod were finished, it would look severely outdated upon release which completely defeats the purpose of a graphically revamped Hl1. 

Valve takes 2-3 years to make 5 hours of gameplay with small engine upgrades.  I don't think it's exactly the most efficiently managed company.

[Great Rumbler]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

Because it might never be released?  At the rate those modders are going, even if the mod were finished, it would look severely outdated upon release which completely defeats the purpose of a graphically revamped Hl1. 

Valve takes 2-3 years to make 5 hours of gameplay with small engine upgrades.  I don't think it's exactly the most efficiently managed company.

 

[Himu]

Wait, so you guys want to pay for a mod that would be free anyways?

Because it might never be released?  At the rate those modders are going, even if the mod were finished, it would look severely outdated upon release which completely defeats the purpose of a graphically revamped Hl1. 

Valve takes 2-3 years to make 5 hours of gameplay with small engine upgrades.  I don't think it's exactly the most efficiently managed company.

[The Fake Shemp]

am nintenho neglects the fact that they run the premiere digital distribution venue for PC games and that other franchise they now have, Left 4 Dead.

In fact, Valve has released a game every year the past several years!

2007: The Orange Box, 2008: Left 4 Dead, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2, 2010: Portal 2, 2011:

[Great Rumbler]

am nintenho neglects the fact that they run the premiere digital distribution venue for PC games and that other franchise they now have, Left 4 Dead.

In fact, Valve has released a game every year the past several years!

2007: The Orange Box, 2008: Left 4 Dead, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2, 2010: Portal 2, 2011:

And they also provide continuing support for their online games, including new maps, weapons, patches, and other content [for free].

[Himu]

am nintenho neglects the fact that they run the premiere digital distribution venue for PC games and that other franchise they now have, Left 4 Dead.

In fact, Valve has released a game every year the past several years!

2007: The Orange Box, 2008: Left 4 Dead, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2, 2010: Portal 2, 2011:

Only 5 hour games that that take 4 years to make. They don't count!

[iconoclast]

2007: The Orange Box, 2008: Left 4 Dead, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2, 2010: Portal 2, 2011:

2006: Episode 1, 2005: HL2: Lost Coast, HL2 Xbox port, 2004: Half-Life 2, 2003: Day of Defeat...

[demi]

you guys are wowing me here

half life

2

[Himu]

Entanglement sucked.

[Raban]

Entanglement sucked.

All of HL2 post-Highway 17 sucked. Except maybe Anticitizen One.

[Himu]

I liked pretty much all of the Citadel, so I disagree.

[Raban]

I liked pretty much all of the Citadel, so I disagree.

I did too, until I played EP1.

[Himu]

Sandtraps rules because you get to send an army of antlions to tear combine apart.

[Himu]

it's not too bad.

[brawndolicious]

am nintenho neglects the fact that they run the premiere digital distribution venue for PC games and that other franchise they now have, Left 4 Dead.
In fact, Valve has released a game every year the past several years!
2007: The Orange Box, 2008: Left 4 Dead, 2009: Left 4 Dead 2, 2010: Portal 2, 2011:

I would say that the Orange Box is basically a "full" new game since it includes a 6 hour episode, a few hours of Portal, and the TF2 multiplayer (only a few maps though).  But that took them 3  years in a company with over 200 employees so it's not that fast at all.

L4D is short, has only a few environments, and is of course on the same old engine.  It's a fun, replayable game but I can't see where all the time went into it.  Portal 2 probably won't be in challenge rooms but I have no idea what scale it is going to have.  I'm hoping for a good 12-15 hours of gameplay though.

[iconoclast]

It's a fun, replayable game but I can't see where all the time went into it.

I can't see where all the time went into it.

It's a fun, replayable game

[The Fake Shemp]

You can't see where all the time and energy went into a four-player coop game that is played online (good netcode!) with large environments, dynamic A.I., 8-player versus mode, etc.?

Really?

[naff]

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.

Demons Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes.

FROM SOFTWARE (and PS3)

[fistfulofmetal]

Himuu just fyi. I'm posting this from my droid. I'm outside where you live with my arm cocked back. First person who comes out of the front door gets a punch right in the kisser

[Great Rumbler]

This thread actually got me motivated to play Episode 1 again. I don't think I've played it since Orange Box came out.

[brawndolicious]

You can't see where all the time and energy went into a four-player coop game that is played online (good netcode!) with large environments, dynamic A.I., 8-player versus mode, etc.?

Really?

The AI and netcode is impressive but how many man-hours does that take?  The reason there was such a huge time/resources cost in moving to next-gen platforms is the higher res assets.  I don't see a lot of assets.

[brawndolicious]

no I don't think any of their games are bad, I just think they take too long/use too many resources to make them.  Maybe it's because they're perfectionists.

But they are better at making puzzles and indoor levels then at making large outdoor levels.

[pilonv1]

what do you do for an encore, denounce minge?

probably claim TF2 is terrible

[Himu]

Beat ep 1. Was great until the shitty part where you have to go back and forth to help move citizens to the other street. "Gorden, get more civilians!" UGH.

Started ep 2, and I'm like three or four chapters in and it has been a non-stop awesome fest.

[Himu]

Ep 2 knocks the shit out of Ep 1, HL2, AND HL1.

OMFG

[Joe Molotov]

Yeah, Episode 2 is just solid awesome.

[chronovore]

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.

I'm probably the only person who liked Xen, though I definitely had my issues with it. The Bull Testicle Crab in the pit, I beat by finding a spot where it wouldn't slide me off the ramp into the pit, and killing it from a distance. I also quicksaved my progress on each of the platforms when doing that big ascent. Yeah, it was not in alignment with all preceding gameplay, but I guess that also made me feel like I was battling on the aliens' home ground, with them at the advantage.

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.

I'm a nostalgia wanker.

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Nikki Dial

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Ginger Lynn

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[Raban]

Yeah as much as I hate to compare the two, Willco, you can praise 2 all you want, HL1 is a much better game to me. The level design is really cohesive and unique. I love HL2, but it's like the FF13 of first person shooters. Nothing but straight lines. I can't deny that HL2 kind of set the standard for the modern FPS, but HL1 is just better in a "before they were famous" way.

[Himu]

Whereas FF13's structure makes it among the most boring and badly paced rpgs ever, this doesn't mean it doesn't work with HL2. In fact, games like HL benefit from such structure. FF13 isn't a good comparison.

[Raban]

Whereas FF13's structure makes it among the most boring and badly paced rpgs ever, this doesn't mean it doesn't work with HL2. In fact, games like HL benefit from such structure. FF13 isn't a good comparison.

I didn't mean in quality, just that it took a game that was fairly nonlinear and made it really linear. I never said that it was bad, but the change from HL1 came as a shock to me when 2 first came out.

[Himu]

Beat ep 2.

I definitely think I like it more than Riddick. It was perfectly paced from beginning to end, and was a fantastic ride throughout. Had a great ending too.

Honestly, the only thing I didn't like was the final battle. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but I'd fire Magnussums at the Striders and they'd fall right off, and I'd have to keep going back and forth in attempts to make a hit. Fucking annoying and tedious, but still fun I guess.

I pretty much played the game in two sessions and when the credits rolled I blurted,"It's over?!"

I want more dammit!!!!!

[Smooth Groove]

I thought the final fight in EP2 was pretty sweet.  It was a much fresher experience than your typical FPS endgame.  Also, EP2 still looks hella sweet with 64xAA at 1080P.  I'm definitely gonna play at least parts of it again. 

[Himu]

I prefer HL2's end game but whatevah.

[Smooth Groove]

I prefer HL2's end game but whatevah.

Nice concept but way too easy.  EP2's last battle took me much longer to beat than the original's. 

[Himu]

Replaying Portal.

Haven't played since 2008

One of the few games I consider to be perfect

VALVE

BLIZZ

[Great Rumbler]

I want more dammit!!!!!

Just think how those of us who played Ep2 when it first came out feel. :'(

[Joe Molotov]

Honestly, the only thing I didn't like was the final battle. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but I'd fire Magnussums at the Striders and they'd fall right off, and I'd have to keep going back and forth in attempts to make a hit. Fucking annoying and tedious, but still fun I guess.

Hunters will try to shoot the bombs off the Strider if you don't take them out first (the best way is to just run over them).

[tiesto]

Yeah, I played Ep2 a few months after Orange Box dropped, and quickly proclaimed it as the best FPS I've ever played. The wait for Ep3 has been insane. I really hope we get some news at E3.