[Jason Vines]

I've been playing through Half-Life 2 again, and I still find it to be an immersive game. It's definitely one of the best games of all-time. But the best ever, as some have said?

IMO, no.

The Half-Life 2 Source engine is certainly the most capable engine ever made. It renders life-like settings for a fraction of the power Doom 3 needs to portray something only three-fourths as good. But still, Half-Life 2 is merely Half-Life on steroids. It doesn't introduce drastically new gameplay, and its ally deployment system isn't even as advanced as Unreal 2's. Also, the game becomes repetitive sometimes. Multiple levels call for the player character, Gordon Freeman, to ride a water glider, or later a souped up go kart. The novelty of these vehicles provides fun at first, but then they become boring.

In addition, the ending of Half-Life 2 doesn't resolve the story or answer any questions. Knights of the Old Republic II, with its abysmal final act, did a better job of tying up its loose ends.

[Rick]

I mostly agree with you - the Source engine is definitely one of the best engines ever used in a game. I don't have a very powerful computer, and I have a not-that-good video card (GeForce 4 MX 440) and I was able to run HL2 smoothly on 800x600 with no video lag at all.

I agree, the gameplay was pretty much the same, except for the vehicles and the part where you need to control a crane, but nevertheless, I had the feeling that HL2 played a lot better than HL1. A lot smoother and more comfortable.

I disagree with the repetitive part though - I haven't experienced much repetitive gameplay, of course, the basics are just shoot every enemy you encounter, but for some reason, I kept looking at the enviroment and stuff, and I was caught off-guard a lot by enemies, which keeps the game fun to play.

Have you tried Counter-Strike Source? I like that game too, better than CS 1.6. I got it with my HL2 disc, since I purchased the collector's edition.

[Jason Vines]

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I agree, the gameplay was pretty much the same, except for the vehicles

The vehicles were indeed new to the Half-Life series, but by 2004, not to the FPS genre. No One Lives Forever, Halo, Unreal Tournament 2004, and the Jedi Knight series, for examples, had already provided vehicular experiences. So the vehicles in Half-Life 2 weren't revolutionary, but expected.

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I kept looking at the enviroment and stuff, and I was caught off-guard a lot by enemies, which keeps the game fun to play.

I look at the environment, too, but I never "trust" the FPS games I play. I always expect enemies to pop out from every corner and cranny. Not doing so is a fast way to lose health.

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Have you tried Counter-Strike Source? I like that game too, better than CS 1.6.

I've tried it, but my CS skills have atrophied since I stopped playing CS in favor of DoD a few years ago.

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I got it with my HL2 disc, since I purchased the collector's edition.

Hmmm. I think CSS shipped with all editions of the US version of Half-Life 2.

[Jason Vines]

I was browsing the Internet for information about Half-Life's background story, and I found some interesting articles:

Half-Life 2 Story Speculation

Half-Life 2 Story Speculation Part 2

Half-Life 2 Story Guide

I think the fact we need website articles to figure out much of the game's storyline bespeaks the weakness of the game's storytelling. Still, the story is a good one that I wish had been more apparent in Half-Life 2 itself.

[Mephistox]

AHHHHHHHHH WHAT ARE YOU TALKING AOBUT!
?!?!?!?!?!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!???!?!?!!!?!????!!!?!??!?!!?!??!?!?!?!?!?

HL2 RUulleed!!!




surely you can see that by the capitalized first line, misspelled last word, and a full line of question marks and exclamation points?

Your review is typical of ALL FPS'es.... You repeat the same stuff over and over again, with new guns and in new enviornments... what makes it fun is the quality of the grapics immersing you inside the game so you feel like you're IN IT.

Plus... is damn fun using the Grav gun to pick up little saw blades and chuck em at zombies... no other game has that

You say HL2 is HL on steroids? well.. very AMAZINGLY powerful steroids at that then. Its not totally the same... sure you run around killing things.. the objectives arent the same... there are a few of the same characters, but thats because its a sequal. The game introduces some new guns, new ways of killing people, new forms of transportation (and betters the existing ones).... New enviornments too.

What exactly qualifies as new under your terms if you dont see this?

On to CS:S...thats where i think you're right about the steroids thing.... Nothing new in that game. No new guns... just new models and redone maps (except thats good.. CS_OFFICE 4 life )
CS:S is a n00bs game.. the hitboxes are SOOOO BIG..... anyone can get a headshot.

i prefer 1.6 to Source... but i'll still play source every once in a while so i can kick some ass

[Jason Vines]

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Your review is typical of ALL FPS'es.... You repeat the same stuff over and over again, with new guns and in new enviornments...

True. But, my point was, some of Half-Life 2's set pieces, like the canal and the highway, persist overlong. As you said, part of the thrill of an FPS is experiencing different environments with different equipment. I'm not saying Half-Life 2 was a slouch in this department, but it wasn't as good as it could have been.

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You say HL2 is HL on steroids? well.. very AMAZINGLY powerful steroids at that then. Its not totally the same... sure you run around killing things.. the objectives arent the same... there are a few of the same characters, but thats because its a sequal. The game introduces some new guns, new ways of killing people, new forms of transportation (and betters the existing ones).... New enviornments too.

What exactly qualifies as new under your terms if you dont see this?

Half-Life 2 expands on elements from Half-Life, such as moveable or rideable objects, or intelligent companions. But aside from that, the gameplay changes aren't major. In terms of gameplay, Half-Life 2 is to the original Half-Life what Jedi Academy is to Jedi Outcast: an expansion pack that somehow became a game of its own.

The objectives are the same, usually demanding Gordon reach the end of the level and overcome obstacles in his way. Objective variety, such as that of Dark Forces or No One Lives Forever, doesn't exist.

What would I like to have seen?

Level goals aside from, reach the end alive. More deformable terrain. Platoons of rebels under Gordon's command for the more difficult assignments. By under Gordon's command, I don't mean just accompanying Gordon, but assignable by him to attack certain targets, defend certain objectives, or handle certain tasks while Gordon does something else. (Perhaps Gordon could even defend a whole rebel base, like Black Mesa East, from the Combine! And he could lead a batallion into the Citadel.) More robust sentry-setting and mine-laying capability.

Things that would revolutionize the capabilities of the FPS, as the original Half-Life did in 1998.