If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the
FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to
register or
login before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
| 30 JAN 2005 at 4:34am |
The_cranky_hermitPrivate Detective
Posts : 547
Joined: 14 MAR 2004
Status : Online | Whaddaya mean "turned into?" Aside from a few diversions like driving along cliffsides and playing catch with Dog, I thought it was a pure shooter the whole way through. There wasn't anything from the first game or this one that would make me think it was going to offer much in the way of plot or character development.
Though, I DO think the game gets too tedious for its own good somewhere around the interiors of Nova Prospekt, and it just isn't much fun any time after that point. I especially hated the Striders, who you have to fight by saving/loading until you time your runs from cover to cover perfectly, continue until you find a magic crate with unlimited rockets, and take cover/shoot rocket until Strider is dead. But the first two thirds of the game was an absolute blast.
|
| 30 JAN 2005 at 10:01am |
Lucien21Guild Master
Posts : 4876
Joined: 9 JUL 2003
Location: 0
Status : Offline | I must admit I got bored with it towards the end as well.
Dear Diary, My teenage angst bullsh*t now has a bodycount.
|
| 30 JAN 2005 at 11:37am |
| Deleted User | I thought it was great... the ending was brilliant, never seen NPC's act together so well. The whole Strider scenes are extremely tense, being hunted by those massive beasts...
It's got as much plot as Syberia though.
|
| 31 JAN 2005 at 5:18am |
| Deleted User | I enjoyed the game pretty much all the way through. The only parts I really disliked were the "defend your position" type tasks where you'd have to setup a defense and maintain it for a set period of time... I just find that rather tedious...
Apart from that, it was great fun, but I think once you get on the slippery slope of letting the time between pickup and play get longer and longer you will just find the whole thing a chore....
Just like most adventure games for me these days....
I followed HL2 up pretty quickly with "Chronicles of Riddick"... WOW, what a great surprise that game turned out to be... Brilliant fun!
|
| 31 JAN 2005 at 8:53am |
| Deleted User | Snap!
Riddick was great, if a little short and easy, even on the hardest setting. Shame the little graphical glitches cut through the smoothness, although Starbreeze looks like THE studio to watch now.
|
| 31 JAN 2005 at 2:00pm |
Agustín CordesGuild Master
Posts : 5696
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: AR, Buenos Aires
Status : Offline | I'm sorry SJH, but I think the ending was one of the most idiotic things I've seen in a long time. It reminded me so much of how I hated Matrix Reloaded (plot-wise). Valve seem to be going the Wachowsky Bros. way, devising a plot so convoluted and obscure that all you can is watch whatever story they have unfold and don't even try to understand what's going on. And that was the way I felt: I just shooted around while the characters babbled stuff at me. The unexpected and "brilliant" twist in the end made me very, very angry. The funny thing is that it was a friend who told me "the ending is pure crap!", to which I said "come on, it can't be that bad... who cares anyway, it won't ruin the whole game". Turns out I was even more pissed off.
As for the game itself, I kind of felt the same as Randy, except I was bored earlier. By the time you ride the first hovercraft to be more precise. I still can't understand how people are saying this has a balanced gameplay. The first "levels" are OK and it's fun to overcome the obstacles. But then you realize the levels go on and on and the obstacles keep being the same, over and over again.
Beats me why this game is so overrated. My take is that the franchise is so worshipped all over the world, that few dare critizing it. Mind you, the game was fun at times, specially the sequence in the old town (then again, I'm biased towards creepy settings). Much of my grips with this game comes from the incessant praising. Balanced gameplay? Some sequences were dead easy, while others extremely hard and unfair (not to mention frustrating, such as putting the jeep back on its wheels). Brilliant and innovative puzzles? The few "gee-look-at-my-fancy-engine-puzzles" (the word 'puzzles' used in a broad sense here) were not only far and in-between but too repetitive and simple. How people are saying that HL2 has what adventure games are missing (save for the top-notch characters, of course) is beyond me.
So I liked the game. I wanted to love it, just to be cool like the rest (), but I was too bored during a 40% of it. Another 40% was just "OK". The remaining 20% was outstanding. I guess all the praising is forcing me to like this game less than I should.
|
| 1 FEB 2005 at 4:08pm |
Jeroen StoutSchattenjger
Posts : 2798
Joined: 14 NOV 2003
Status : Online | I thought the game to be very nice, balanced and never boring, the ending made me angry at first... then I realised that it's a brilliant ending that way.
|
| 1 FEB 2005 at 4:44pm |
| Deleted User | I hate it when people say something is "overrated". Well, Agustin, did Petter and I overrate it? Did Cranky, Bazza or Parrot? Or did we just... disagree with your own opinion? That so many people do like it show it's not overrated at all. Overhyped, maybe, but I feel totally opposite to Agustin here. And so do others... it's just a disagreement of opinion. :
You say -
How people are saying that HL2 has what adventure games are missing (save for the top-notch characters, of course) is beyond me.
Which kind of references my own review, and I feel a little got-at. I explain why, so you don't need to ask how. Disagree as much as you want. Won't make me like it any less.
I mean - feel free to dislike it, but don't step on the toes of others who do! I enjoy reading coherent criticism and agree it's definitely not the perfect game, especially on second play. I feel Far Cry is a superior title for gameplay, for example...
|
| 2 FEB 2005 at 8:10pm |
Agustín CordesGuild Master
Posts : 5696
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: AR, Buenos Aires
Status : Offline | Why is it OK to swoon all over this game but harsh criticism is not in order? Like I said, seems to me this franchise is enjoying some kind of holy status!
Look, don't misinterpret me. I'm not saying you're not entitled to enjoy this game and maybe build an altar on its honour (hey, to each his own!). I didn't imply either it was you and the ones you mentioned that were overrating HL2, and if it came that way I'm sorry. I was referring mostly to the press anyway (ie: it's the highest rated game in PC Gamer's history -- as I it: overrated).
As for your review, I honestly havn't read it. My comment about the so-called 'adventure' elements came from stuff I've been reading lately (I couldn't even point out where I did).
One thing though: I heavily disagree with the notion that "if so many do like it, then it's not overrated". I loved Doom3, and many others did, but I'll be the first one to tell you it was just as overrated!
|
| 2 FEB 2005 at 10:28pm |
| Deleted User | How do you explain something as being overrated if the majority like it?
You're confusing me here.
I'll agree PC Gamer overrated it, but the general public like it. There's a difference in positioning there.
edit - sorry re the review thing. I just assumed you read the JA+ reviews... sorry..
|
| 2 FEB 2005 at 10:32pm |
MichalNGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7058
Joined: 14 SEP 2003
Status : Online | Originally Posted By SquarejawHero (2 FEB 2005 10:27pm)
How do you explain something as being overrated if the majority like it?
Being overrated and being liked (or even loved) by the majority aren't necessarily related concepts.
Example: If HL2 was said to be the best thing since sliced bread as well as capable of curing cancer, would you say that it would be overrated?
I forgot my sig.
|
| 2 FEB 2005 at 10:43pm |
| Deleted User | Read my post again, Mr Clever, and you'll find the answer you seek.
Using the word as a generalisation in this case simply isn't true. I can be specifically overrated in the sense of a singular example, but lets face it - it's a hideously popular game and people rave about it all over the net.
|
| 3 FEB 2005 at 4:40am |
MichalNGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7058
Joined: 14 SEP 2003
Status : Online | Originally Posted By SquarejawHero (2 FEB 2005 10:43pm)
Read my post again, Mr Clever, and you'll find the answer you seek.
I don't think so - your views seem to be conflicted. You're simultaneously admitting that HL2 is overrated while claiming that it isn't. So is it or is it not?
Using the word as a generalisation in this case simply isn't true. I can be specifically overrated in the sense of a singular example, but lets face it - it's a hideously popular game and people rave about it all over the net.
I've not played HL2 myself yet. I've spoken to a number of people who have and many of them said that yes, it is a great game, but it is overrated and overhyped. I see no contradiction there. Overrated does not equal bad.
I forgot my sig.
|
| 3 FEB 2005 at 10:38am |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By MichalN (3 FEB 2005 4:40am)
I don't think so - your views seem to be conflicted. You're simultaneously admitting that HL2 is overrated while claiming that it isn't. So is it or is it not?
I've not played HL2 myself yet. I've spoken to a number of people who have and many of them said that yes, it is a great game, but it is overrated and overhyped. I see no contradiction there. Overrated does not equal bad.
That's true, but here's how I see it...
Generally according to most of the reviews and general popular opinion it can hardly be called overrated. People LIKE it, a LOT of people do. The majority of people that play it. So it can't be called overrated as a good game that a vast amount of consumers enjoy.
However, a single source can overrate it. PCGamer gave it a spectacularly high score which it didn't completely deserve.
If you want a straight answer, there you go. I fail to see how an obviously intelligent, bright person who's got a penchant for throwing in clever remarks can't see it.
|
| 4 FEB 2005 at 2:32am |
Agustín CordesGuild Master
Posts : 5696
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: AR, Buenos Aires
Status : Offline | SJH you're the one confusing me here! So what if everybody likes HL2? Let's see - a vast majority of gamers like and some of then even worship Grim Fandango. Do you agree that's a badly underrated game? I'm sure you will. Similarly, even if the whole universe has enjoyed playing HL2, it can be just as badly overrated!
Look what I'm saying: I very much enjoyed playing Doom 3. As a matter of fact, I loved the atmosphere and would replay it a couple of times. But I feel it has been not only overrated but overhyped. Does that make sense? Yes, why not?
Thousands will admit D3 was an enjoyable guilty pleasure. They're the ones who will also admit it was overrated. So why can't I say HL2 was overrated if the majority liked it?
|
| 5 FEB 2005 at 12:09am |
| Deleted User | This thread is badly overanalysed
|
| 5 FEB 2005 at 6:47am |
StellaIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 20 DEC 2002
Status : Online | [smiley=clap.gif] [smiley=clap.gif] [smiley=clap.gif]
What he said!
I feel about this thread pretty much the way I feel about Half Life 2 right: started off very interested, became a little less so, and then waited a week before finishing it...
|
| 7 FEB 2005 at 5:02pm |
RpauPrivate Detective
Posts : 439
Joined: 15 NOV 2002
Status : Online | Well, sorry if I am going off-topic here but since I did not play HL2 I can only speak about the first part.
It was odd, last weekend I was reading some old game magazines from my collection and by the time I was flipping the final page of the tenth magazine I had already read five or six very similar quotes. The general idea behind them was the following: "Half Life, the game that introduced cinematographic screenplay in the gaming world, going further than the average game, bla,bla...." Interestingly, I found such statement in magazines written in America (CGW), Spain (Game Live and Micromania) and Argentina (Xtreme PCand PC Juegos).
I remember having read that before but the almost general agreement was too much for me. I was stunned.
My point is: Where's the novelty in (warning: spoilers ahead) an ill-performed experiment that spawns a horde of aliens that seem to have no goal but to destroy everything that moves? Maybe that thin man running with his briefcase adds an intriguing feature but it's far from being really innovative. So, to summarize, I do not think that a bunch of scripted sequences make a real story. While I had fun with HL1 I remember being completely bored by the end (those damned levels in the alien world were downright ugly) and only managed to end it with the aid of the cheats.
So, Could be the case that the overhyping/overrating thing comes from the first part and has been passed on to the second installment?
“even the lover of the myth is in a sense a lover of wisdom, for the myth is composed of wonders”
|
| 8 FEB 2005 at 1:12am |
| Deleted User | </debate>
By the way, and this is very US-centric so I apologise, but if you have a Half-Price Books store in your area, you can pick this game up there for way cheap.
I now return you to your debate, which is already in progress...
<debate>
|
| 10 FEB 2005 at 12:59pm |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Where's the novelty in (warning: spoilers ahead) an ill-performed experiment that spawns a horde of aliens that seem to have no goal but to destroy everything that moves? Maybe that thin man running with his briefcase adds an intriguing feature but it's far from being really innovative.
Someone wasn't paying attention.
|
| 10 FEB 2005 at 1:17pm |
RpauPrivate Detective
Posts : 439
Joined: 15 NOV 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Aj (10 FEB 2005 12:59pm)
Someone wasn't paying attention.
While I did pay attention and I saw the relationship between this little man and the aliens, which is "explained" in the last scene, I still hold my oppinion concerning HL. And regarding the levels in the alien world, little attention is needed to judge them as bad. Indoors settings are good, though.
“even the lover of the myth is in a sense a lover of wisdom, for the myth is composed of wonders”
|
| 12 FEB 2005 at 6:43am |
The_cranky_hermitPrivate Detective
Posts : 547
Joined: 14 MAR 2004
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Rpau (7 FEB 2005 5:02pm)
My point is: Where's the novelty in (warning: spoilers ahead) an ill-performed experiment that spawns a horde of aliens that seem to have no goal but to destroy everything that moves?
You're really being short-sighted here. Basic plot premise is not the only place for innovation. Half-Life made huge strides in FPS gameplay, previously most FPS's were simple DOOM clones, but your rhetorical question about the plot is a lot like talking about Citizen Kane and asking "Where's the novelty in black & white pictures? Those were around for DECADES before Citizen Kane! Maybe that high contrast adds an intriguing feature but B&W is far from being really innovative."
|
| 7 MAR 2005 at 9:30pm |
Armand1880Sorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 223
Joined: 14 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Half Life 2 kicks ass. does it have the story of Gabriel Knight, or Monkey Island, or (Instert favorite Adventure Game here), no. But in terms of gameplay, graphics, and overall design, yeah, it rocks. I actually like the plot, which isn't that hard to follow if you've played the first game. I can't wait for the next game.
Ach, opinions. but I think we can all agree that it is far from suck.
|
| 12 MAR 2005 at 5:24pm |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | Cranky Hermit hit the nail on the head. I have nothing to add.
|
