Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Interview

[Liquidize105]

As was reported yesterday (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9971), CVG's interview with VALVe's Robin Walker is here (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/interviews/interviews_story.php?id=134751%26page=2).

The important future event question has been predictably but awkwardly sidestepped.

CVG: Is it now your intention to continue and conclude the Half-Life story through the release of episodes, or can we still expect another full sequel from Valve in the future?

Robin Walker: Episode Two has been in development for some time.
Other than that, the interview suggests that certain long-standing questions would be addressed in Episode 1:

For example, "What happened to the Citadel at the end of Half-Life 2?" and "What happened to Breen, is he dead?" and "How does the G-Man factor into all of this?"
$12.95?

UPDATE: The usual "HL2 BEST GAME EVAR!" cry has sounded against the opposing "HL2 is overrated!" howl in the forums. Since then I've done a quick analysis of the few big conflicting camps here (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10040). Share your updated thoughts there please http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Dr Quincy]

Kerching! Sold.

[TheKeck]

I forget, do we have any kind of "date" for Episode 1?

[grimjoe]

I forget, do we have any kind of "date" for Episode 1?

April 24 i believe

[Klade]

April 1st is probably more appropriate.

[Thin_J]

April 1st is probably more appropriate.

Zing!

That being said, I'll definitely be buying it whenever it does happen to hit steam.

[GrinR]

I found Half Life 2 to be exceedingly boring. Go forward, shoot everything that moves, wait a little while if you shoot it and it doesn't die (that's an NPC talking), all the way to the end of the game.

*yawn*

I don't really care what happened to the citadel, or the aliens. The whole plot seemed ridiculous anyway. What happened to the USA? The world? Governments? WTF?

Nevermind, if the game couldn't be bothered to tell me - you probably shouldn't either.

[Klade]

I think your the first person I've known not to like Half-life 2 after completing it.

[Blade]

I think you're the only person ever to not like Half-Life 2 after completing it.

Anywho, $12.95 isn't bad if it's Opposing Force-length.

[Echani]

I found Half Life 2 to be exceedingly boring. Go forward, shoot everything that moves, wait a little while if you shoot it and it doesn't die (that's an NPC talking), all the way to the end of the game.

*yawn*

I don't really care what happened to the citadel, or the aliens. The whole plot seemed ridiculous anyway. What happened to the USA? The world? Governments? WTF?

Nevermind, if the game couldn't be bothered to tell me - you probably shouldn't either.
The story isn't exactly in your face, but if you've got 10 minutes to spare, give this a read (http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm).

And no I'm not a rabid half life fanboy, I enjoyed the games, but only played through them once. I wanted to fill in the gaps and found that site.

[ezra]

I found Half Life 2 to be exceedingly boring. Go forward, shoot everything that moves, wait a little while if you shoot it and it doesn't die (that's an NPC talking), all the way to the end of the game.

*yawn*

I don't really care what happened to the citadel, or the aliens. The whole plot seemed ridiculous anyway. What happened to the USA? The world? Governments? WTF?

Nevermind, if the game couldn't be bothered to tell me - you probably shouldn't either.

yeah, god forbid one would actually have to pay attention to the game to know whats going on, rather than have it shoved in your face by trite cinematics. You missed out on one of the finest games ever, Grin. Sorry to hear it.

[Sensei-X]

I think your the first person I've known not to like Half-life 2 after completing it.

You must not know many people, most people I know didn't care for the ending, more than a few got 75% of the way through and gave up because the story was pretty much unworthy of even b-movie status. Shortly after HL2 came out, there were message boards full of people pissed that HL2 answered none of the questions raised in HL1 and when all was said and done, pretty much dumped you right back where you started. Only Halo 2's "ending" gives HL2 a run for its money in mediocrity. That being said I don't regret the purchase, because I bought the gold package for CS:Source, DOD:Source and all the other Valve games that came with it, HL2 ended up being "that game you got free when you bought CS:Source".

[ezra]

You must not know many people, most people I know didn't care for the ending, more than a few got 75% of the way through and gave up because the story was pretty much unworthy of even b-movie status. Shortly after HL2 came out, there were message boards full of people pissed that HL2 answered none of the questions raised in HL1 and when all was said and done, pretty much dumped you right back where you started. Only Halo 2's "ending" gives HL2 a run for its money in mediocrity. That being said I don't regret the purchase, because I bought the gold package for CS:Source, DOD:Source and all the other Valve games that came with it, HL2 ended up being "that game you got free when you bought CS:Source".


I honestly have no conception of what system you people use to gauge stories. It doesn't even make sense to me that you could call HL2's storyline 'mediocre'. It was well thought out, original, planned, integrated carefully into the game rather than just cinematics, subtle, mysterious, and intelligent.

[aversion2k]

You must not know many people, most people I know didn't care for the ending, more than a few got 75% of the way through and gave up because the story was pretty much unworthy of even b-movie status...

I can imagine someone playing through it, then they stopping and saying "Oh darn, I'm having alot of fun..but..well..I dont feel the story is worthy. I'm going to have to stop playing, Dang"

Personaly I thought the story was fine. But I had fun, so what does it matter.

[Draft]

I found Half Life 2 to be exceedingly boring. Go forward, shoot everything that moves, wait a little while if you shoot it and it doesn't die (that's an NPC talking), all the way to the end of the game.

*yawn*

I don't really care what happened to the citadel, or the aliens. The whole plot seemed ridiculous anyway. What happened to the USA? The world? Governments? WTF?

Nevermind, if the game couldn't be bothered to tell me - you probably shouldn't either.I believe that is a fair summation of HL2. While I did find it to be a fun game, and will definitely purchase the expansion, HL2 was basically HL1 with the gimmick of physics and really, really, really good graphics.

And while I believe that physics will be the Next Big Thing in first person shooters, I think you'd be hard pressed to argue they were anything but a gimmick in HL2. It's not like the game was designed around their implementation. Instead, it had a very basic shooter design, with some tried and true shooter puzzles, only instead of flipping a switch, you stacked heavy things that flipped the switch.

edit: what story?

"Gordon, you've been gone 15 years. In that time, aliens invaded and took over the world. Now you have to stop them. The preferred method is traveling through downtrodden eastern eurpoean areas shooting these aliens. Eventually you will probably end up in their base, where they will have some incredibly explosive, incredulously vulnerable device, and you will shoot it."

[TheEpicOfTyler]

I thought Half-Life 2 was one of the most finely crafted games of the past generation, and I am eagerly awaiting these episodes.

[thecrazyd]

edit: what story?

"Gordon, you've been gone 15 years. In that time, aliens invaded and took over the world. Now you have to stop them. The preferred method is traveling through downtrodden eastern eurpoean areas shooting these aliens. Eventually you will probably end up in their base, where they will have some incredibly explosive, incredulously vulnerable device, and you will shoot it."
Just because you didn't pay attention to the story, doesn't mean it wasn't there. If you wanted the story, you needed to explore your environment and choose to look for it. If you wanted to blow through the game shooting things, you could do that too.

[carneconcarne]

"Gordon, you've been gone 15 years. In that time, aliens invaded and took over the world. Now you have to stop them. The preferred method is traveling through downtrodden eastern eurpoean areas shooting these aliens. Eventually you will probably end up in their base, where they will have some incredibly explosive, incredulously vulnerable device, and you will shoot it."


HAHAHA, I liked hl2, but this is so true. v. nice, Draft

[Klade]

edit: what story?

"Gordon, you've been gone 15 years. In that time, aliens invaded and took over the world. Now you have to stop them. The preferred method is traveling through downtrodden eastern eurpoean areas shooting these aliens. Eventually you will probably end up in their base, where they will have some incredibly explosive, incredulously vulnerable device, and you will shoot it."

Well if you really want to boil something down that much you can do it with anything. After all what was Robinson Crusoe but a bigot who say on an island for a few years before being rescued? Or Hamlet but a whiney guy who didn't like his uncle very much?

Of course you could look at all the other things that went into these stories, all the subplots. You could look at Half-life and see a love triangle. See a beloved elderly scientist looking out for his daughter while trying to fight a war. See a man who disappeared and become a folk hero larger then life.

Half-life 2 is the first and thus far only game to my knowledge that has been able to use facial expressions right in the game play (not in a rendered movie) to portray character emotions. I'm not talking about simple emotions like fear. But more complex things like frustration, suspicion etc. And they did a damn good job of it.

edit: upon re-reading the above my two paragraphs don't appear to link up so let me clarify. Previous games did not possess the technology to have a story told in anything but straight up dialogue. Through the implementation of facial expressions, not to mention subtle changes in the voice actor's tone, you can tell what they are feeling and thinking. This allows for a much more cinematic story then any other game has ever dreamed of, at least in the game itself. So if you were looking for somoene to hold you by the hand and tell you what everyone was feeling, then your right half-life 2 has no story. But if you just pick up on the clues as to what these characters are thinking and feeling that it has a very deep story.

[Watership]

yeah, god forbid one would actually have to pay attention to the game to know whats going on, rather than have it shoved in your face by trite cinematics. You missed out on one of the finest games ever, Grin. Sorry to hear it.

While it was a good game, graphics aside, why was it one of the finest games ever? The physics? The story? the gameplay?

I liked the game but I would rank the original game much higher than this one.

[Draft]

Just because you didn't pay attention to the story, doesn't mean it wasn't there. If you wanted the story, you needed to explore your environment and choose to look for it. If you wanted to blow through the game shooting things, you could do that too.ok so what did I miss? the newspaper clipping about the 7 hour war? The cookiecutter supporting characters (spunky, hot sidekick Alex, loyal, dependable sidekick Barney, resolute, wise mentor Dr. Alex's Father, turncoat with a heart of gold Dr. Hottie, misguided, despicable badguy Dr. Breen? Am I missing anyone? Oh how about the crazy, heavily armed guy who jokes around when facing certain death?)

I'm sorry, but Morte is a great supporting character. Glottis is a great supporting character. The closest thing to a great supporting character in HL2 is DOG.

A great story is about characters who grow and mature and speak to you in a real way. The only character growth in HL2 is Dr. Hottie turning good at the last second, which is a page right out of Michael Bay's Writing for the Screen.

The story is nothing to crow about, but the presentation of that story is certainly comendable. Unfortunately, HL1 was just as good at presenting a paperthin story in an excellent way, and while HL2 didn't miss a step, it didn't gain any ground either.Well if you really want to boil something down that much you can do it with anything. After all what was Robinson Crusoe but a bigot who say on an island for a few years before being rescued? Or Hamlet but a whiney guy who didn't like his uncle very much?If there are specific plot elements I am glossing over that made HL2s story "great", by all means, point them out.Half-life 2 is the first and thus far only game to my knowledge that has been able to use facial expressions right in the game play (not in a rendered movie) to portray character emotions. I'm not talking about simple emotions like fear. But more complex things like frustration, suspicion etc. And they did a damn good job of it.I agree. I agree 100%. Best facial expressions ever. Certainly made the delivery of the boring, generic storyline top notch, which is something HL has always excelled at.

[Watership]

I honestly have no conception of what system you people use to gauge stories. It doesn't even make sense to me that you could call HL2's storyline 'mediocre'. It was well thought out, original, planned, integrated carefully into the game rather than just cinematics, subtle, mysterious, and intelligent.

It was subtle alright. Gordon gets to the city, fights his way out, then fights his way in, gets an unbeatable weapon, and finishes the game.

And there was this guy, and he sorta did something bad etc..

[aversion2k]

..
And while I believe that physics will be the Next Big Thing in first person shooters, I think you'd be hard pressed to argue they were anything but a gimmick in HL2..

You make it sound like a bad thing.
I could also argue that "fun" is just a gimmick
Seriously, who cares if its a gimmick, it adds to the game and makes it more fun.

[Watership]

Just because you didn't pay attention to the story, doesn't mean it wasn't there. If you wanted the story, you needed to explore your environment and choose to look for it. If you wanted to blow through the game shooting things, you could do that too.

This just gets me mad. What's happening should be obvious. I don't want to go all over a room for 30 mins reading newsclippings on pillers to find out what's going on. Otherwise, the story is lost on 99 percent of the game playing population. Reaching people with a story is the goal of storytelling. This was just a summary.

Half LIfe 2 might have had more story buried deeply in clever in-game environments, but that would only reward the excessively anal players who keep pressing the buttons on coke can machines.

Furthermore! The next FPS that doesn't have explosive barrels wins game of the year!

So there.

[The Continental]

I found Half Life 2 to be exceedingly boring. Go forward, shoot everything that moves, wait a little while if you shoot it and it doesn't die (that's an NPC talking), all the way to the end of the game.

*yawn*

I don't really care what happened to the citadel, or the aliens. The whole plot seemed ridiculous anyway. What happened to the USA? The world? Governments? WTF?

Nevermind, if the game couldn't be bothered to tell me - you probably shouldn't either.

Can you collect disability for being dead on the inside?

[ezra]

While it was a good game, graphics aside, why was it one of the finest games ever? The physics? The story? the gameplay?


I felt everything about it was amazing. The graphics were beautiful - not because they had the latest gimmick, but because the artists used what they had to make a convincing world, with detail and with character. I thought the game was incredible fun, with combat actually being exciting. The physics were not only technically very good, but fun as hell! I go into a room, shoot a guy, he gets knocked back by the shot, a floating drone ricochets off the wall, sending sparks, a grenade blows up a desk sending fragments everywhere, i pick an energy orb out of the air and shoot it at someone. How exactly is that not fun?

The story i felt, regardless of it being 'too subtle' was very intelligent. Sure you can dumb it down to 'bad guy vs good guy'! (aside: But guess what? Every fucking story can be dumbed down to that. So please stop using that argument k?) But what matters is HOW it was done. There was some actual thought that went into this story - they seemed to know what they were talking about when it came to the science fiction ('entanglement'), it was well thought out (just how would the earth react to a hostile take over? They actually seemed to have thought about that, how it would go down, etc), and I thought it did a good job of blending the familiar with the fantastic. I felt the game had great atmosphere - which itself is a large part of the story, since it sets the tone. And if you don't believe me - well, i know that a lot of gaming publications gave HL2 game of the year (as do you, i hope). It also sold a hell of a lot. What more do you want?

[ezra]

I'd also like to ask those of you who say half life 2's story was terrible to name a game that had a great story. Maybe then i can get some insight into what is going on in your head.

[Draft]

I'd also like to ask those of you who say half life 2's story was terrible to name a game that had a great story. Maybe then i can get some insight into what is going on in your head.I subtlely mentioned a couple up there. Planescape: Torment had a great story. Grim Fandango had a really great story.

[GrinR]

I'd also like to ask those of you who say half life 2's story was terrible to name a game that had a great story. Maybe then i can get some insight into what is going on in your head.

Deus Ex, Planescape:Torment (or hell, toss in ALL the infinity engine games), Fahrenheit, VampireTM: Bloodlines, System Shock(1,2), Anachronox, Undying, HALF-LIFE, KOTOR.

That'll do for a start.

[ezra]

I subtlely mentioned a couple up there. Planescape: Torment had a great story. Grim Fandango had a really great story.

Fair enough. I guess I have to qualify this by saying that this is a great story for an fps. Games like grim fandango are essentially interactive stories (not diminishing it in anyway - i love adventure games) and thus more time can be spent on it. Planescape (as far as I know) was an rpg, again an genre in which story is an essential element. In an FPS it is not easy (and most times, not even neccesary) to intertwine a narrative. I felt Half life did an amazing job using the FPS structure to tell a strong story, by nontraditional means. The player was not 'told' the story, they 'lived' it. If you were really gordon freeman, you wouldnt have a twenty minute presentation setting up everything. Maybe one needed a large imagination to fill in the gaps, but to me the story felt 'vivid and real' the entire time. Story, for me, isnt just about characters. Its about atmosphere, its about tension, its about grandess of scale and ....i dont know, epic-ness.

[GrinR]

Can you collect disability for being dead on the inside?

It's a gravy train that just don't quit.

[thecrazyd]

This just gets me mad. What's happening should be obvious. I don't want to go all over a room for 30 mins reading newsclippings on pillers to find out what's going on. Otherwise, the story is lost on 99 percent of the game playing population. Reaching people with a story is the goal of storytelling. This was just a summary.

Half LIfe 2 might have had more story buried deeply in clever in-game environments, but that would only reward the excessively anal players who keep pressing the buttons on coke can machines.

Furthermore! The next FPS that doesn't have explosive barrels wins game of the year!

So there.
Well, good new then! You can have fun playing the game without searching for the story!

[ezra]

Deus Ex, Planescape:Torment (or hell, toss in ALL the infinity engine games), Fahrenheit, VampireTM: Bloodlines, System Shock(1,2), Anachronox, Undying, HALF-LIFE, KOTOR.

That'll do for a start.

I find it weird that you liked system shock and not halflife2. And you thought the original halflife had more of a story than hl2? It was the opposite for me.

[ezra]

This just gets me mad. What's happening should be obvious. I don't want to go all over a room for 30 mins reading newsclippings on pillers to find out what's going on. Otherwise, the story is lost on 99 percent of the game playing population. Reaching people with a story is the goal of storytelling. This was just a summary.



You didnt have to look that hard for the goddamn story. And besides, stories in games (especially FPS's) are lost on 99% of game players anyways - so why bother force feeding them?

[GrinR]

Ezra, I think the difference between what you're saying and what I'm saying is that for you the world of Half-Life 2 was largely in your head whereas for me it was largely on the screen.

I went into Half-Life 2 expecting to enter the world of Half-life, only later in time and with updated graphics and tech-stuff (AI, physics,etc.), and ended up playing a run-of-the-mill FPS that had parts of what I remembered from HL1. It made sense in HL1 that Gordon would be fighting his way out of Black Mesa; he was fighting for his life - and the momentum of that struggle carried him to another dimension, where he fought one of the most absurd aliens ever (HL1 ending = LAME!). In HL2, I show up and I guess I'm Gordon..? I am told I am... but the whole world has changed. I entered City 17 (or whatever) .. why? Just cuz? Nobody noticed the great Gordon Freeman? Didn't I join the Government guy at the end of HL1? Well, ok, I'll just do what people say and run around and kill stuff because they said so...

It just never grabbed me ever.

I guess you either had some knowledge of the backstory beforehand, or you just didn't need that continuity to get "into" it. I think HL2 would have been a better game if they had just made the main character someone entirely new.

BTW - FarCry utterly wiped it's ass with HalfLife 2. In Every Fucking Way.

[GrinR]

I find it weird that you liked system shock and not halflife2. And you thought the original halflife had more of a story than hl2? It was the opposite for me.

Not so much 'more of a story' than 'a more compelling story'.

[ezra]

Ezra, I think the difference between what you're saying and what I'm saying is that for you the world of Half-Life 2 was largely in your head whereas for me it was largely on the screen.

I went into Half-Life 2 expecting to enter the world of Half-life, only later in time and with updated graphics and tech-stuff (AI, physics,etc.), and ended up playing a run-of-the-mill FPS that had parts of what I remembered from HL1. It made sense in HL1 that Gordon would be fighting his way out of Black Mesa; he was fighting for his life - and the momentum of that struggle carried him to another dimension, where he fought one of the most absurd aliens ever (HL1 ending = LAME!). In HL2, I show up and I guess I'm Gordon..? I am told I am... but the whole world has changed. I entered City 17 (or whatever) .. why? Just cuz? Nobody noticed the great Gordon Freeman? Didn't I join the Government guy at the end of HL1? Well, ok, I'll just do what people say and run around and kill stuff because they said so...

It just never grabbed me ever.


I dont see where the missing motive was. Why were you there? I thought the G-man explained that at the beginning (though in rather more entertaining fashion than simply saying 'go free the world!'). Nobody noticed its gordon freeman? In the first four minutes of the game both barney, and the combine notice, and you are sent running for your life (look, a motive!) to try and find safe haven. After that you're again sent to try and meet up with Ali vance to try and find her father who was captured, etc etc etc. I didnt feel at any point that i was doing something 'without a meaning'. I understand what you're saying about the 'in my head' part - I like to have some freedom of imagination in games (ex: elderscrolls games = me love) but I still think this game qualifies on more traditional standards as one with a well told story.

If you didnt connect with it, i mean, shit happens, right? But its not like the game was shorting you out on any sort of 'motive'.

[drakkarim]

for $13 I'll probably download it. curious if anyone knows how longs its supposed to be? i'm not really into 1 hour games.

[[Jez]]

$13 = £7.40 thats a bargain for UK gamers... now I need to get motivated enough to bother finishing it... everything after Ravenholm seems kind of a letdown (up to the prison so far)

[Taco]

for $13 I'll probably download it. curious if anyone knows how longs its supposed to be? i'm not really into 1 hour games.

They said their target playtime is 4-6 hours.

[Klade]

I think the word is 5-7 hours (probably closer to 5).

[Banacek]

HL2 reminds me of a really hot girl that you talk up until you find out she's in a sorority...

[aversion2k]

..
BTW - FarCry utterly wiped it's ass with HalfLife 2. In Every Fucking Way.

Gameplay wise I found them are pretty much equal (perhaps I enjoyed farcry slightly slightly more)
But based on everything else your've said I assume your judging them for there storylines not gameplay.

so..
You like farcrys story?

What the hell?!

[Noman]

I found HL2 to be one of the best FPS ever created and also a lot better game than its predecessor.

While the story was forgettable (almost non-existant), the basic gameplay was great. Its biggest strength was throwing completely new situations at the gamer right up to the very end. I am not talking about set-pieces or puzzles, rather than completely new way of looking/playing some game elements when one has almost gotten used to them being some way (weapons, enemies etc.) I liked the thought that went into turret implementation. That is, they were indestructible but could be tipped over, setting up some frantic 'hold the line' scenarios. I liked the rocket launcher and its own way of aiming enemies. I liked how the sniper level was set up, where you could use others to pinpoint the sniper location. The gravity gun was simply an amazing way to provide gamers with several ways to proceed. One could hack enemies into pieces with blades, block turrets with other level objects, create choke points and of course the last level flip for the gravity gun that was again unexpected.

I was never impressed by its story (or lack of) or the explicitly laid out physics puzzles. Still, it's an amazing FPS, perhaps the best ever.

[Liquidize105]

I've posted an analysis of HL2 opinion camps here (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10040) :)

Post any additional opinions there.

[Roc Ingersol]

stories in games (especially FPS's) are lost on 99% of game players anyways - so why bother force feeding them?
Paul WS Anderson... is that you?

[sflufan]

HL2 is so very superior to the original HL in every way, shape, and form that there is absolutely no comparison between them.

The original HL bored me to tears in some parts because of its relatively generic setting and plotline that I nearly quit playing the game (is there a worse level in all of gaming than "On A Rail"?). That was never the case with HL2. The last thing I wanted from HL2 was an updated HL and therefore I was very very pleased indeed.

I suppose some people wanted HL2 to be similar to the original game and that's the source of their dissapointment (silly as that may seem). I for one am thankful that wasn't the case otherwise there is no way in hell that I would have finished HL2.

Simply put, the original HL is terribly overrated while its sequel is not.

Far Cry was a fun, great, highly-entertaining game but it was just a cheesy B-grade movie compared to the sophistication of HL2 (although the vehicles in Far Cry were better implemented than those in HL2).

I can appreciate a game (or other medium of entertainment) that lets me use my imagination as to the events and the plot rather than one that spoonfeeds me everything so that there is no thought process involved -- especially a B-grade plot with really really bad voiceacting as presented in Far Cry.

[Taco]

I'm not sure I can think of a single instance where Farcry one upped HL2. I mean I loved it, but HL2 is king.

[easi]

As far as it being £7.40, they'll find a way to screw us on the VAT and make it actually cost £30 're-calculated'.

[Beelzebud]

If Half Life 2 is a mediocre FPS game, then name me a great one.

I'll be waiting.

[Dirty Harry]

If Half Life 2 is a mediocre FPS game, then name me a great one.

I'll be waiting.
any of the operation flashpoint franchise.

[Citizen Philip]

I think some of the important elements that made HL2 special have already been touched on, which is to say, they tried many new things to an already bland genre: FPS.

Facial expressions, radical gameplay changes (vehicles, gravity gun, sentry turrets, bug bombs) and more use of the environment (allied units you can assign and move around, using the gravity gun to force the enemy to react to your modifications, to a lesser extent using the environment to kill opponents). I enjoy the atmosphere created: crumbling cities, abandonded towns, alien familiar environments, despair, etc.

Credit paid where credit due. They did lots of stuff that was inserted seamlessly into the game that you've taken for granted.

From a gameplay perspective Look at FEAR in comparison: You walk around, shoot stuff, try to scare you and sometimes the opponent AI is clever enough to take advantage of you when you stop paying attention, the AI can modify the enviorment for combat situations, Slow Motion. Did I miss any gameplay elements?

[GrinR]

Facial expressions, radical gameplay changes (vehicles, gravity gun, sentry turrets, bug bombs) and more use of the environment (allied units you can assign and move around, using the gravity gun to force the enemy to react to your modifications, to a lesser extent using the environment to kill opponents). I enjoy the atmosphere created: crumbling cities, abandonded towns, alien familiar environments, despair, etc.

Facial expressions: Neat, but pointless without meaningful dialog. I admit that it may be that I simply was never drawn into the "plotline" (whatever that was) but past the inital "wow that's cool" factor, the facial expressions had no impact on my experience.

Vehicles: Been there, done that, and done better in plenty of games. Halo springs immediately to mind.

Gravity Gun: A showpiece for the physics gimmick. Stacking crates is amusing, as is waving a buzzsaw blade in front of me (and shooting it), but ultimately it was nothing more than a neat trick. I think if the game had multiple pathways or solutions for things, the GG would have been more appealing, but I didn't think stacking bricks on a see-saw was particularly ground breaking.

Sentry Turrets: TFC had them, a decade ago. *yawn*

Bug Bombs: a GREAT idea, rendered useless by magically STEALING them from me when the "plot" decided I don't get to use them anymore. I remember literally thinking "what the hell happened to my bug gun?" when I past the levels that were designed around its use. Oh well, I guess the designers know best...

Allied AI: you're shitting me, right? Those idiots got themselves killed -constantly-, particularly where I needed them not to die (in the tunnel). I actually called a friend and complained that I wished they had brought the old "Barney" AI from HL1, because at least in that when I told them to fucking follow me, they didn't stop and turn around to fight "I'll protect you Gordon!" when I'm trying to babysit them to safety. The allied AI was only marginally stupider than the enemy AI, who all had as much concern for their own safety as your average shape in Geometry Wars.

Environment: One word: CRATES. Lots of crates to GG from here to there and barrels, that old chestnut, to throw (some of them explode!). I remember shooting at flourescent bulb after flourescent bulb, watching them resist rockets (as usual) and trying to push the static tables and non-physics-activated objects around to no avail. AGAIN, the developers only let the environment be manipulated where it was designed specifically to assist in a pre-scripted challenge. It reminded me of playing around with the beta and how the physics "demo" levels were designed to show off a "feature". Well, the whole game ended up being demo room after demo room.

Now, I will give you atmosphere. The HL2 art staff gets a gold star from me. From the tiny details on the Citadel (the birds flying off it!) to the overall art design of City 17(?) - it was solid gold. Really immersive. A little like MYST, actually.

[GrinR]

any of the operation flashpoint franchise.

QFT .

[GoblinToe]

The Half-Life 2 engine is nice, admittedly. I finished the game, and that says something. But, frankly, the game was not terribly engaging for me because the plot just kept creating more and more questions without ever answer anything.

That's fine for the first 75% of the game as long as you end it properly. But no. Valve ends the game with a big question mark. Lame.

They can build nice environments with their 3D engine, but they suck at storytelling.

[Dirty Harry]

QFT .
I really love the cold war expansion, its probally one of my favorite games of all time. The single player campaign is fun as hell.

[Citizen Philip]

Facial expressions: Neat, but pointless without meaningful dialog. I admit that it may be that I simply was never drawn into the "plotline" ... It reminded me of playing around with the beta and how the physics "demo" levels were designed to show off a "feature". Well, the whole game ended up being demo room after demo room.

Now, I will give you atmosphere. The HL2 art staff gets a gold star from me. From the tiny details on the Citadel (the birds flying off it!) to the overall art design of City 17(?) - it was solid gold. Really immersive. A little like MYST, actually.

So what your saying is: I don't like the game, I don't think you should like the game either. Nothing you say or mention will be considered, and again, you shouldn't lile this game either. But it looks pretty, I can't deny that.

[Taco]

Hmm, my translation turned out a bit different.

My taste for games is simply god awful

That's what I got, maybe I need to brush up on my skills though.

[GrinR]

So what your saying is: I don't like the game, I don't think you should like the game either. Nothing you say or mention will be considered, and again, you shouldn't lile this game either. But it looks pretty, I can't deny that.

Well, no. I don't see anyplace where I said, or suggested, you should feel anything about anything. My response was my personal reaction to the specifics you listed about why you liked the game. The notion that my stating my opinion is an attempt to override your own is one of your own devising.

[GrinR]

Hmm, my translation turned out a bit different.

"my taste in games is no good"

That's what I got, maybe I need to brush up on my skills though.

In the competition for whose taste is better, objectivity is the clear loser.

I have my reasons for why I didn't like a particular game, as stated, and I have my reasons for liking or disliking other games, but I believe we're still waiting for a tasteometer for any meaningful determination of whose taste is superior.

[Dirty Harry]

Well, no. I don't see anyplace where I said, or suggested, you should feel anything about anything. My response was my personal reaction to the specifics you listed about why you liked the game. The notion that my stating my opinion is an attempt to override your own is one of your own devising.
SHAME ON YOU GRINR FOR DOWLOADING THE HALF LIFE 2 LEAKED ALPHA SHAME!11111 :@

[GrinR]

SHAME ON YOU GRINR FOR DOWLOADING THE HALF LIFE 2 LEAKED ALPHA SHAME!11111 :@

Who said I downloaded anything?

[Citizen Philip]

Well, no. I don't see anyplace where I said, or suggested, you should feel anything about anything. My response was my personal reaction to the specifics you listed about why you liked the game. The notion that my stating my opinion is an attempt to override your own is one of your own devising.

I was pointing out features the game included in a single gaming experience. Points that in my opinion indicated that HL2 was attempting to break a stale genre with innovative ideas. With varying amounts of success. Your summation grants nothing, no credit for any of their attempts or any success they may have had.

You sounded like a person trying to convince someone, which is bit different then having an opinion, or a disklike for something. But that, is my opinion. ;)

[GrinR]

I was pointing out features the game included in a single gaming experience. Points that in my opinion indicated that HL2 was attempting to break a stale genre with innovative ideas. With varying amounts of success. Your summation grants nothing, no credit for any of their attempts or any success they may have had.

You sounded like a person trying to convince someone, which is bit different then having an opinion, or a disklike for something. But that, is my opinion. ;)

Naturally, my opinion is not just my own, but also the only correct opinion. So what else is new? ;)