Why Half-Life 2 is so great

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Werner Spahl wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>
> Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...
>

An evil corporation, ruled by a dictator is implanting a virus in
people's brains which removes their free will and makes them mindless
followers. The dictatorship appears benign, as the public face of it
constantly reminds all who will listen, but beneath the surface their
is a dastardly plan to take over all the computing power in the world
and use to some unspecified evil end (probably advertising).

Fortunately there are a few brave souls bright enough to realise that
this a Bad Thing and that it Must Be Stopped. For starters, all viruses
should come in shiny boxes and not humiliate you.
In the game you play the role of Gordon Difool, a ranting obsessive
with a single-minded aim - to bring down the evil corporation and
destroy its president, Gabe Breen.

Armed with a crowbar and a rage that makes you foam at the mouth, you
must find and destroy the corporation's main weapon; a powerful,
all-seeing, all-controlling computer system known only as Steam. Along
the way you must recruit what help you can from the 27,000 individuals
who really all exist and have really signed the petition and not used a
bot at all to fake their names and who also hate the machinations of
Breen and Steam.

Half-Life 2 brings back some of your favourite characters from the
original. Human grunts who just wade into flame battles with no regard
for their colleagues. Mindless zombies who simply follow the leader and
attack anyone nearby. Head crabs, who I can't fit into this analogy yet
but I'm working on it. And of course, Striders...

Can you scream long and hard enough to make Breen change his mind and
admit that Steam is wrong? Will your pubescent tantrums be eough to
make Breen realise how ugly he is? Can you stop Steam taking over the
world? And can you do all this before your mum gives you enough
pocketmoney to buy HL2 for yourself?

"9/10" - PC Gamer
"Surely GoTY" - Another PC Mag
"Genre Transcending" - cr0...@hotmail.com
"Valve is UGLY!" - difool

 

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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:

> You really are showing your ingnorance describing HL2 as merely an FPS
> on rails.

Then please describe us levels in HL2 where you don't follow the one path
the game provides?

> Far Cry eh, ah yes and I bet your prefered movie is low budget B-plot
> stuff, would be a perfect match for your low IQ.

I think the plots of Far Cry and HL2 both are not much to talk about. Only
with HL2 they managed to contradict the plot of HL1 as well.

--
Werner Spahl (spahl@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships

 

[jlc]

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<chadwick110@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106758809.814678.289520@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Werner Spahl wrote:
>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>> > HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>>
>> Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...
>>
>
> An evil corporation, ruled by a dictator is implanting a virus in
> people's brains which removes their free will and makes them mindless
> followers. The dictatorship appears benign, as the public face of it
> constantly reminds all who will listen, but beneath the surface their
> is a dastardly plan to take over all the computing power in the world
> and use to some unspecified evil end (probably advertising).
>
> Fortunately there are a few brave souls bright enough to realise that
> this a Bad Thing and that it Must Be Stopped. For starters, all viruses
> should come in shiny boxes and not humiliate you.
> In the game you play the role of Gordon Difool, a ranting obsessive
> with a single-minded aim - to bring down the evil corporation and
> destroy its president, Gabe Breen.
>
snip----

LOL! Man that's the funniest thing I've read in a long time! Good Job! JLC

 

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Werner Spahl wrote:
> On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>
> Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...
Why do you care?

 

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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:

> HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.

Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...

--
Werner Spahl (spahl@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships

 

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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 12:47:25 +0100, Werner Spahl
<spahl@cup.uni-muenchen.de> wrote:

>On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>
>> HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>
>Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...

It's about a company releasing a game, with subliminal messages secretly
put in that cause people to react excessivly positivly or excessivly
negativly. (Classical sabotague story, but good enough for most people.)
The object of the game is to find these subliminal messages, remove them,
and bring the person who inserted them to justice. The end result is that
people can enjoy the game as it was intended.

 

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<cr0n1k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106713407.319321.327240@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> > It's a standard FPS, limited by the contraints of its Quake 1-derived
> engine
> > and other design decisions. A good FPS, but in no way is it "genre
> > transcending".
>
> Standard FPS lol, that is really comical.
> No actually it was the best game of 2004 and an instant classic.

I put Far Cry above HL2. More open ended gameplay, no apparent engine /
distance limitations presenting an expansive environment, more diverse
aresenal and of course, no Steam.

HL2 is still good but I'd put FC slightly above it.

 

[shawk]

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chadwick110@hotmail.com wrote:
> Werner Spahl wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>>
>>>HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>>
>>Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...
>>
>
>
> An evil corporation, ruled by a dictator is implanting a virus in
> people's brains which removes their free will and makes them mindless
> followers. The dictatorship appears benign, as the public face of it
> constantly reminds all who will listen, but beneath the surface their
> is a dastardly plan to take over all the computing power in the world
> and use to some unspecified evil end (probably advertising).
>
> Fortunately there are a few brave souls bright enough to realise that
> this a Bad Thing and that it Must Be Stopped. For starters, all viruses
> should come in shiny boxes and not humiliate you.
> In the game you play the role of Gordon Difool, a ranting obsessive
> with a single-minded aim - to bring down the evil corporation and
> destroy its president, Gabe Breen.
>
> Armed with a crowbar and a rage that makes you foam at the mouth, you
> must find and destroy the corporation's main weapon; a powerful,
> all-seeing, all-controlling computer system known only as Steam. Along
> the way you must recruit what help you can from the 27,000 individuals
> who really all exist and have really signed the petition and not used a
> bot at all to fake their names and who also hate the machinations of
> Breen and Steam.
>
> Half-Life 2 brings back some of your favourite characters from the
> original. Human grunts who just wade into flame battles with no regard
> for their colleagues. Mindless zombies who simply follow the leader and
> attack anyone nearby. Head crabs, who I can't fit into this analogy yet
> but I'm working on it. And of course, Striders...
>
> Can you scream long and hard enough to make Breen change his mind and
> admit that Steam is wrong? Will your pubescent tantrums be eough to
> make Breen realise how ugly he is? Can you stop Steam taking over the
> world? And can you do all this before your mum gives you enough
> pocketmoney to buy HL2 for yourself?
>
> "9/10" - PC Gamer
> "Surely GoTY" - Another PC Mag
> "Genre Transcending" - cr0...@hotmail.com
> "Valve is UGLY!" - difool
>

Nice one.

--
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and
conscientious stupidity."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

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Kroagnon wrote:

> I put Far Cry above HL2. More open ended gameplay, no apparent engine
/
> distance limitations presenting an expansive environment, more
diverse
> aresenal and of course, no Steam.

Steam is an absolute joy, instant no hassle patching is wonderful and I
look forward to many more game companies adopting it in the future.

 

[jlc]

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"Kroagnon" <kroagnon@kroagnon.com> wrote in message
news:10vfptq6fvsm667@news.supernews.com...
>
> <cr0n1k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1106713407.319321.327240@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
>> > It's a standard FPS, limited by the contraints of its Quake 1-derived
>> engine
>> > and other design decisions. A good FPS, but in no way is it "genre
>> > transcending".
>>
>> Standard FPS lol, that is really comical.
>> No actually it was the best game of 2004 and an instant classic.
>
> I put Far Cry above HL2. More open ended gameplay, no apparent engine /
> distance limitations presenting an expansive environment, more diverse
> aresenal and of course, no Steam.
>
> HL2 is still good but I'd put FC slightly above it.
>

I have to agree. I stared playing FarCry just before I finished HL2. It was
hard to get back into HL2 (which I finished a couple of days ago) after
having so much freedom in FC. I love games where I can decide the best way
to tackle a problem. I'm only on the fourth level of FC but already I've had
more excitement and fun then playing HL2 to it's end. HL2 grew so stale for
me toward the end I still can't get over it. I was really having a blast
with the game until I got back to the city. The squad levels blew it for me.
FC on the other hand, so far, is really an exciting game. The hang gliding
level was one of the coolest things I've ever done in a game. I really felt
like I was hanging from that glider! And the view, WOW! I got a real kick
when I was way up the mountain in the level where I had to blow up the
communication dish and I was able to use my binoculars to see all the way
down to the far end of the beach where my boat was still there, bobbing in
the water. That was a pure gaming moment for me. The way HL2 was so tightly
on rails really took a lot of the fun out of it for me. JLC

 

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JLC wrote:
> "Kroagnon" <kroagnon@kroagnon.com> wrote in message
> news:10vfptq6fvsm667@news.supernews.com...
> >
> > <cr0n1k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:1106713407.319321.327240@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> >
> >> > It's a standard FPS, limited by the contraints of its Quake
1-derived
> >> engine
> >> > and other design decisions. A good FPS, but in no way is it
"genre
> >> > transcending".
> >>
> >> Standard FPS lol, that is really comical.
> >> No actually it was the best game of 2004 and an instant classic.
> >
> > I put Far Cry above HL2. More open ended gameplay, no apparent
engine /
> > distance limitations presenting an expansive environment, more
diverse
> > aresenal and of course, no Steam.
> >
> > HL2 is still good but I'd put FC slightly above it.
> >
>
> I have to agree. I stared playing FarCry just before I finished HL2.
It was
> hard to get back into HL2 (which I finished a couple of days ago)
after
> having so much freedom in FC. I love games where I can decide the
best way
> to tackle a problem. I'm only on the fourth level of FC but already
I've had
> more excitement and fun then playing HL2 to it's end. HL2 grew so
stale for
> me toward the end I still can't get over it. I was really having a
blast
> with the game until I got back to the city. The squad levels blew it
for me.
> FC on the other hand, so far, is really an exciting game. The hang
gliding
> level was one of the coolest things I've ever done in a game. I
really felt
> like I was hanging from that glider! And the view, WOW! I got a real
kick
> when I was way up the mountain in the level where I had to blow up
the
> communication dish and I was able to use my binoculars to see all the
way
> down to the far end of the beach where my boat was still there,
bobbing in
> the water. That was a pure gaming moment for me. The way HL2 was so
tightly
> on rails really took a lot of the fun out of it for me. JLC


I admit not everyone is going to appreciate the 'on rails' nature of
HL2 but I still believe in terms of delivering a game 'experience' the
2 are incomparable, HL2 is simply in another league.

 

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Stoned Monkey wrote:
> lol
> fantastic, that was great its definately the best post of its type
going
> around

JLC wrote:
> LOL! Man that's the funniest thing I've read in a long time! Good
Job! JLC
Shawk wrote:
> Nice one.


Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week.

 

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Werner Spahl wrote:
> On Thu, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> > Steam is an absolute joy, instant no hassle patching is wonderful
and I
> > look forward to many more game companies adopting it in the future.
>
> Try Steam with a dial-up connection, Valve fanboy. About
> other problems, please discuss them with difool 😉...
Go to hell, ASSCLOWN.

 

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cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> I admit not everyone is going to appreciate the 'on rails' nature of
> HL2 but I still believe in terms of delivering a game 'experience'
the
> 2 are incomparable, HL2 is simply in another league.

I'm with Kroagnon and JLC on this one. I really enjoyed HL2. The
Citadel level was a bit of let down (too short, just train rides) and
Ravenholme seemed to belong in a different game, but overall it was an
excellent game. Varying pace, varying geography, some excellent set
pieces, visually stunning. The use of the physics engine was done well
and I'm sure there'll be some fantastic mods that really go to town
with it. I have a few opportunities for improvement, but no real
complaints. I even get on fine with Steam.
I finished HL2, sat back and thought "Wow". Definitely worth the price
of admission.

A few days later I installed Far Cry.

Far Cry is visually stunning. Jaw-droppingly beautiful. Of course it
helps that they set it in a tropical paradise rather than a
half-destroyed Eastern European city. But the way the grass moves and
the waves lap at the beach is fantastic.
The real clincher for me though, is the freedom you have. You can go
anywhere - only tree trunks and rocks impede your progress. There are
therefore several ways to approach a given target. In comparison, HL2
usually has only one way forward and you need to get past each obstacle
in turn.

Perhaps it is fairer to _not_ compare these two games. Sure, they're
both FPSs, but Far Cry is more in the mould of IGI or even Deus Ex and
HL2 is nearer the Doom end of the scale, in terms of linearity.
I'm not far into Far Cry yet, but from what I've seen so far I suspect
it will have the edge over HL2 for me, because I enjoyed the freedom
that games like Deus Ex and IGI offered.

 

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chadwick110@hotmail.com wrote:
> Werner Spahl wrote:
>> On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>>> HL2 has a wonderful, inspired story.
>>
>> Yes? Then give us a short summary here, why it is so great...
>>
>
> An evil corporation, ruled by a dictator is implanting a virus in
> people's brains which removes their free will and makes them mindless
> followers. The dictatorship appears benign, as the public face of it
> constantly reminds all who will listen, but beneath the surface their
> is a dastardly plan to take over all the computing power in the world
> and use to some unspecified evil end (probably advertising).
>
> Fortunately there are a few brave souls bright enough to realise that
> this a Bad Thing and that it Must Be Stopped. For starters, all
> viruses should come in shiny boxes and not humiliate you.
> In the game you play the role of Gordon Difool, a ranting obsessive
> with a single-minded aim - to bring down the evil corporation and
> destroy its president, Gabe Breen.
>
> Armed with a crowbar and a rage that makes you foam at the mouth, you
> must find and destroy the corporation's main weapon; a powerful,
> all-seeing, all-controlling computer system known only as Steam. Along
> the way you must recruit what help you can from the 27,000 individuals
> who really all exist and have really signed the petition and not used
> a bot at all to fake their names and who also hate the machinations of
> Breen and Steam.
>
> Half-Life 2 brings back some of your favourite characters from the
> original. Human grunts who just wade into flame battles with no regard
> for their colleagues. Mindless zombies who simply follow the leader
> and attack anyone nearby. Head crabs, who I can't fit into this
> analogy yet but I'm working on it. And of course, Striders...
>
> Can you scream long and hard enough to make Breen change his mind and
> admit that Steam is wrong? Will your pubescent tantrums be eough to
> make Breen realise how ugly he is? Can you stop Steam taking over the
> world? And can you do all this before your mum gives you enough
> pocketmoney to buy HL2 for yourself?
>
> "9/10" - PC Gamer
> "Surely GoTY" - Another PC Mag
> "Genre Transcending" - cr0...@hotmail.com
> "Valve is UGLY!" - difool
lol
fantastic, that was great its definately the best post of its type going
around

--


You're not a God, you're a birthday cake!

 

[jlc]

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<chadwick110@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106822915.564015.65610@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> Perhaps it is fairer to _not_ compare these two games. Sure, they're
> both FPSs, but Far Cry is more in the mould of IGI or even Deus Ex and
> HL2 is nearer the Doom end of the scale, in terms of linearity.
> I'm not far into Far Cry yet, but from what I've seen so far I suspect
> it will have the edge over HL2 for me, because I enjoyed the freedom
> that games like Deus Ex and IGI offered.

I think you're going to love FarCry. What I'm enjoying so much is that I
have to think about what I need to do next. I don't have a clear path to
follow, I can go about the task at hand a number of different ways. And if
the no quick save bugs you all you have to do is hit the ~ key and type
\save_game 1 then hit enter, and to load the game \load_game 1. Works great
and is just as fast as a quick key for me. You don't have to keep re typing
the code in each time either all you have to do is hit ~ then the up arrow
key and hit enter. I'm enjoying replaying some of the areas so I can try out
different tactics. For me the sniper rifle is my best friend JLC

 

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On Thu, 26 Jan 2005 cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:

> Steam is an absolute joy, instant no hassle patching is wonderful and I
> look forward to many more game companies adopting it in the future.

Try Steam with a dial-up connection, Valve fanboy. About
other problems, please discuss them with difool 😉...

--
Werner Spahl (spahl@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships

 

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On 26 Jan 2005 21:17:10 -0800, cr0n1k@hotmail.com wrote:

>I admit not everyone is going to appreciate the 'on rails' nature of
>HL2 but I still believe in terms of delivering a game 'experience' the
>2 are incomparable, HL2 is simply in another league.

Agreed. If you don't like on-rails, like JLC, then yeah HL is not for
you. But for pure quality of gameplay experience and fun, HL2's in a
league of it's own.

 

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<cr0n1k@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106803030.716634.87630@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> I admit not everyone is going to appreciate the 'on rails' nature of
> HL2 but I still believe in terms of delivering a game 'experience' the
> 2 are incomparable, HL2 is simply in another league.

The "on rails" problem wouldn't be so bad if the buggy and hovercraft
stretches weren't so long. They were fun IMO, but I think if they were
shorter and if there were more areas to explore along the way, it would have
made a better experience.

I still enjoyed HL2 just as I enjoyed games like Max Payne 1 and 2 (which
were even more linear) but Far Cry gives you more freedom to approach your
battles and thus has much better replayability.

I give Far Cry 2004 GOTY.

 

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"JLC" <j.jc@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:t-ydnUn4u4Clv2TcRVn-1Q@comcast.com...

> > Perhaps it is fairer to _not_ compare these two games. Sure, they're
> > both FPSs, but Far Cry is more in the mould of IGI or even Deus Ex and
> > HL2 is nearer the Doom end of the scale, in terms of linearity.
> > I'm not far into Far Cry yet, but from what I've seen so far I suspect
> > it will have the edge over HL2 for me, because I enjoyed the freedom
> > that games like Deus Ex and IGI offered.
> I think you're going to love FarCry. What I'm enjoying so much is that I
> have to think about what I need to do next. I don't have a clear path to
> follow, I can go about the task at hand a number of different ways. And if
> the no quick save bugs you all you have to do is hit the ~ key and type
> \save_game 1 then hit enter, and to load the game \load_game 1. Works
great
> and is just as fast as a quick key for me. You don't have to keep re
typing
> the code in each time either all you have to do is hit ~ then the up arrow
> key and hit enter. I'm enjoying replaying some of the areas so I can try
out
> different tactics. For me the sniper rifle is my best friend JLC

Far Cry and HL2 IMO suffer from the same problems: terrible ending levels. I
found the vast majority of Far Cry extremely enjoyable except for the end
levels.

As for Quick Save, didn't one of the patches add that in officially? Beware
of the quick save / load commands as they can break some of the scripted
events in the game (at least they did for me, but I played it back in May so
maybe it is all fixed by now.

 

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> I'm not far into Far Cry yet, but from what I've seen so far I suspect
> it will have the edge over HL2 for me, because I enjoyed the freedom
> that games like Deus Ex and IGI offered.


I no way does Far Cry offer the freedom of Deus Ex.

It is a linear, heavily scripted shooter with a single game path played
on largish game maps.

Looks lovely, has some great terrain but ultimately failed to deliver a
"fun" game IMO.

 

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Walter Mitty wrote:
> > I'm not far into Far Cry yet, but from what I've seen so far I
suspect
> > it will have the edge over HL2 for me, because I enjoyed the
freedom
> > that games like Deus Ex and IGI offered.
>
>
> I no way does Far Cry offer the freedom of Deus Ex.
>
> It is a linear, heavily scripted shooter with a single game path
played
> on largish game maps.
>
> Looks lovely, has some great terrain but ultimately failed to deliver
a
> "fun" game IMO.

Agreed.

The 'freedom' aspect of Far Cry is grossly overrated.

Also, a lot of people use the term 'open-ended' to describe Far Cry's
gameplay when this is factually wrong as 'open-ended' would suggest the
game has multiple endings to missions or endings of ones own making -
absolute nonsense.

 

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flightlessvacuum@lycos.com wrote:
>
> Agreed.
>
> The 'freedom' aspect of Far Cry is grossly overrated.
>
> Also, a lot of people use the term 'open-ended' to describe Far Cry's
> gameplay when this is factually wrong as 'open-ended' would suggest the
> game has multiple endings to missions or endings of ones own making -
> absolute nonsense.
>

Good man yourself.

Wait for Lewis to comeback frothing at the mouth. A few months ago he
was touting the "autonomous ai" (boggle) and how Far Cry
"revolutionised" gaming. The actual game was a far cry from what he
wanted it to be. OK game, great graphics, but (by far) the most boring
linear fps I ever saw.

 

[vinCe]

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"Walter Mitty" wrote

> OK game, great graphics, but (by far) the most boring linear fps I ever
> saw.

How many FPSs have you played?

 

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Vince wrote:
> "Walter Mitty" wrote
>
>
>>OK game, great graphics, but (by far) the most boring linear fps I ever
>>saw.
>
>
> How many FPSs have you played?
>
>

Most. Why?


NB : I'm not slagging Far Cry - just disputing the "non linearity"
claim. A fact though : its the first FPS I never bothered finishing.