Half-life 2 is Better Than Doom 3

[Liquidize105]

"Who are you kidding! This isn't news to me or anybody else! Thank you Captain Obvious!"

Wait one second, it is when it's coming out of the mouth of id co-founder Tom Hall. Thanks goes to DoomMarine (http://www.doommarine.com/) for tracking down the one man who has, historical, been unhappy with Doom's razor-thin narrative.

So, what's he up to these days?

Read on. (http://www.doommarine.com/main/interviews/thall.php)

I suppose Anachronox 2 is too much to hope for.

[Taco]

Half-Life 2 has set the bar for FPS games in my opinion.

Anachronox was one of the most funny and entertaining games I have ever played. Depressing how that turned out, that game was the true victim left behind by Daikatana. I would LOVE a sequel. I'm sure there is all kind of legal issues to resolve before that though.

[Liquidize105]

If I remembered right, I traded my Anachronox CDs to fitbabits.

I want them back! :eek:

[Taco]

You know you want to (http://cgi.ebay.com/Anachronox-BRAND-NEW-FACTORY-SEALED-PC-Game_W0QQitemZ5795992727QQcategoryZ80338QQssPageNa meZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) ;).

[Borgboy]

Unrelated...But I'm too lazy to start my own topic.

Some of you might find this interesting (http://economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=4246109).

[Varsity]

Being a successful developer and being a fanboy are mutually exclusive in my mind. Stupidity and arrogance are not winning qualities in a competitive market. Disclaimer: some might get lucky.

[Everlost_MI]

Was/is Anachronox that good?

[StoneGut]

Tom must of seen the "Valve is / are hiring" post from the other day... he's praising them up a whole lot!

[Worldcrafter]

I love that scene in Anachronox where the whole crew is stuck in a space ship, and they're slowly going insane. I had to end my game and watch it again.

Yeah, Anachronox is a fun game. I haven't played it in a while, but I think I remember it being linearand some of the quests were obsure. But it's a funny game, and was fun to play.

[Taco]

Anachronox is a VERY well written game and funny as hell. Gameplay wise its like Final Fantasy and shares the same flaws, but the atmosphere, enviroment, story and humour make it a very different and fun game.

[WeezY]

but FEAR is better then HL2 and doom2, together ...:D

[Taco]

Being a successful developer and being a fanboy are mutually exclusive in my mind. Stupidity and arrogance are not winning qualities in a competitive market. Disclaimer: some might get lucky.

I don't really get your point. Who's this directed at? Hall?

[thegameguru]

but FEAR is better then HL2 and doom2, together ...:D

Hardly... wait until the full product..

Uber Graphics doesnt equal stellar gameplay.

[Chill]

Anachronox is probably in my top 5 favorite games. Funny to think I almost didn't buy it. I remember looking at the system requirements and it listed "sense of humor" in the recommended system requirements. I then knew it was a winner.

[Wolfgang]

The fear demo is the most impressive FPS demo I have played IMHO. I will be buying that game on launch.

[EvilBob46]

The fear demo is the most impressive FPS demo I have played IMHO. I will be buying that game on launch.

Wrong thread?

btw, can you play Anachronox fine with a gamepad?

[Chill]

Wrong thread?

btw, can you play Anachronox fine with a gamepad?

Yeah, wrong thread. Even if you think its the right one, its not.

I really doubt you can play it with a gamepad. And even if its technically possible, it would be very awkward.

[Taco]

Yeah, I can barely remember it, but I think I remember certain pieces being specifically designed for a mouse.

[DevDict]

Anachronox was great in everything but combat. I didn't finish it: I couldn't bear with the Jap-RPG combat system :(.

[Orphiuchus]

Anachronox is the single best thing ever.

[Varsity]

I don't really get your point. Who's this directed at? Hall?
Nobody, it's just a general comment.

[Wolfgang]

There were several fear comments before my post. I was responding to them.

[Draft]

DOOM 3's gameplay may be derivative, but at least it's fun. I'd rather jump around like a maniac fighting randomly spawning baddies than replay HL2, which ranges from frustrating (oh gee another 7 mile stretch of buggy driving) to boring (hey now I'm gonna crouch behind this box while combine run at me from 100 meters away.) HL2 has a couple really sweet action set pieces, like the helicoptor thing fight, or the antlion prison assault, but most of the game is kinda tedious.

[Taco]

I've replayed HL2 3 times now. Plan on doing it more.

Completed Doom3 once out of pure will power. Let's face it, once you've completed 15% of D3, you've seen it all. I would of probably enjoyed Doom more if it had a bit more variety in scenery. The graphics were wasted.

Different strokes.

[Draft]

But you have to admit, a lot of the combat in HL2 is hiding behind a crate until Combine get tired of waiting and rush at you with no cover. The times the game gets really intense is when they pull a DOOM 3, and plop you in a room with enemies spawning in randomly! :P

[Varsity]

You can play however you want. I've only hid behind stuff when I felt like it. Could it be that Doom forces you to play in a particular style, while HL2 lets you choose? How's that for turning the tables. ;)

[Taco]

Guess you could play it like that. I didn't. 90% of the time I was on the offensive, charging, ducking, strafing, constantly moving. Though if I camped behind every crate I saw waiting to kill someone, I'd probably get bored.

I love run and gun games, I like Serious Sam and all the other id games. I still think Doom3 is very mediocre and forgettable.

[Adam Blue]

But you have to admit, a lot of the combat in HL2 is hiding behind a crate until Combine get tired of waiting and rush at you with no cover. The times the game gets really intense is when they pull a DOOM 3, and plop you in a room with enemies spawning in randomly! :P

Again, Draft speaks on my behalf. Doom was about tons of fucking crazy monsters to fight, and most would just kill you right away with a hit or two. That tension was awesome. It is 'DOOM', so it is based on the gameplay of a game called 'DOOM'. HL2, while a good game, in no way sets the bar for other FPS. It's way too easy, and the enemy AI is boring. It's the same AI as Doom3, but Doom3 fucks you from all sides with the AI.

What I believe the problem is people don't like a game if it's hard. Closet monsters? Cheap, but makes up for lack of AI, raising difficulty. And most of you don't like that. HL2...breezed through that in two days. At some points I was bored but figured I had to beat it.

HL2 introduced good physics. Great, so now let's impliment it into a great single player experience.

[slink-jadranko]

I am glad I did get round to grabbing Anachronox a few years back. It was long after it came out, but something reminded me I'd been looking forward to it.
It was great fun. Up there with the great LucasArts adventures for me, in terms of how much fun it was. Damned funny, good writing, good direction and, well I liked the gameplay.

[Varsity]

HL2 introduced good physics. Great, so now let's impliment it into a great single player experience.Hard, long or complex does not equal great. The ability to understand your audience on the other hand, generally does.

[Adam Blue]

Hard, long or complex does not equal great. The ability to understand your audience on the other hand, generally does.

Great has rarely ever been achieved. There is no definition, and is all at the hands of the dev.

[Taco]

OK. I am now going to be a dick. I know this as I am typing this out.

HL2 introduced good physics. Great, so now let's impliment it into a great single player experience

Your opinion is incorrect. Very incorrect.

[The Iron Weasel]

no shit Half-Life 2 is better then Doom 3

Half-Life 2 is one of the best games of all time, let alone one of the best fps's

but i agree with the statement that Doom 3 was tense, i loved both but Half-Life 2 was just much better in terms of variation, i think Far Cry was better then Doom 3 aswell, because Far Cry had the best AI in a PC game, well until F.E.A.R.

[Gpig]

Man, once I got the shotgun in the game, the game became so much more fun up until about the city part. The city part felt like other shooters that just merely felt "good" not perfect like the rest of the game. I don't remember crouching behind stuff and hiding. If I remember correctly, I shotgunned every single person on highway 17 by strafe turbo jumping to close the gap and then unloading. When I think of parts of the game I liked it ended up being almost the entire game: the beginning, ravenholm, the river, highway 17, and the prison added up to quite a bit of the game.

Taco, maybe some people played HL2 in a weird way/were looking for a different kind of shooting gameplay? Like, it sounds like Draft wanted a more methodical, tense gameplay rather than an action oriented one. If that's the case then I could definitely see recommending Doom3, it's not as bad as everyone says.

[Taco]

It's a bit of a conundrum to me.

If people don't think Hl2 is a fantastic game, then what is? If it's Doom3 are there any other games made in the last five years you enjoy?

Now I was blindingly for every game id has made, defended them all and was labled a id fanboy when it was popular to do so. I just did not like Doom3, I can pick out a couple things that make it a good game, but these are things that lose their luster real quick. The graphics look good potentially, but this was easily the worse use of their engine ever by id. I had a lot more "holy shit" moments in HL2 than Doom3 when it came admiring what was being painted on my screen. That's not saying I think Source will be the long term winner, I don't.

I think maybe in the end, I just really hated the space station setting, and that was 95% of the game. If it had more variety and was bright enough to admire the enviroment it would of been a bit more likeable.

Oh, btw, I do agree I wish HL2 was a little more difficult :).

[Ghost_Saint]

HL2>Doom 3

Doom 3 wasn't bad, just bland.

That said best single player FPS on the market is Far Cry. HL2 does a lot of crazy stuff, but they just barely manage to unit it all into one game. Each level feels like it's own little expansion pack. In Far Cry you took the same gameplay in every level, but you had to adjust a lot to what was being thrown at you. I really liked the fact that you had to be very tactical in how you could attack in Far Cry, something I'm sad to see go in Instincts.

[Draft]

I thought HL2 was a really good game. I just didn't think it was the best thing since sex bread.

[MasterKwan]

Well, Half Life was a great game. Doom was a great game. Neither of the sequels was as ground breakingly good as the originals. I got bored with HL2 and felt cheated by the end. Doom 3, while pretty was MOTS. I have no desire to replay either one. FarCry on the other hand, I'm itching to re-install it again. That and Max Payne 2.

In my list of games I rate Farcry > HL2 > Doom3. None of them were bad games. I was just expecting more of ID and Valve.

[Everlost_MI]

Now reaching back in the archives I thought that Heretic and Hexen had a better story and gameplay than Doom 3.

[Taco]

I belatedly played Farcry. So many times I've played games based on buzz and usually it turns out to be crap, so I skipped it til a couple months ago. It was a damn good game, even with all he positive hype I was pleasantly surprised.

I haven't played another game that captured the awesome feel of stalking someone throught he jungle, taking themout with a headshot and moving to the next target, or sniping from a couple miles out.

[Rommel]

He said that Half Life 2 legacy was Quake. Was he mistaken? I believe he meant to say Half Life was Quake.

Anyway, he doesn't work for midway anymore, and just spent page after page sucking Valve's dick.

[Adam Blue]

And I'm not saying that HL2 is bad, or that Doom3 is the best game ever. They were merely sequels that did their job, and that was it. Far Cry was far more exciting that implimented various type of FPS gameplay into one.

[H.Bogard]

F.E.A.R. is a lot like far cry....i mean the graphics look quite similar (farcry being inferior ofcourse) excellent ai , realistic damage modelling etc

half life 2 is aimed at "fun" (gravity gun!) and I`d be damned if anyone disagrees

[Achilles]

Being a successful developer and being a fanboy are mutually exclusive in my mind. Stupidity and arrogance are not winning qualities in a competitive market. Disclaimer: some might get lucky.Stupidity is never a good quality in any market. But how arrogant does one have to be to think that their immaginary vision is more worthy of funding than anyone else's? You don't get a lot of people that are successful in entertainment industries without some arrogance there too.

[Kelegacy]

Was/is Anachronox that good?

Yes. Yes. And even though you only asked that one question....yes.

[Varsity]

Stupidity is never a good quality in any market. But how arrogant does one have to be to think that their immaginary vision is more worthy of funding than anyone else's? You don't get a lot of people that are successful in entertainment industries without some arrogance there too.
It's bad on its own, but I mean together.

[Teddeh]

Refreshing to see someone in the industry who is honest about what they actually DID in the development of a game. A lot of game devs I've known take a lot more credit than they should.

Best quote, when asked about games and their influence, especially on Columbine: "Parents need to be strong influences on their kid's lives, and some people have chemical imbalances that need to be recognized and addressed in time. Columbine was horribly tragic, but without Doom, would they have done the same thing? Sure, but then people would blame movies. People are getting worse and worse about taking responsibility. It's the kids' faults, and the parents should have been more in touch with their kids' lives. Everyone wants to blame someone when they hurt. What we do a lot does influence us, but we choose to do it. And parents need to be aware of what their kids are into, or it will happen again."

It should be law on EA to post this in any thread involving Jack Thompson.

[Everlost_MI]

Yes. Yes. And even though you only asked that one question....yes.

Thanks, I was able to find the game locally for $5.00 so I'll try it out and see what the hype is all about.

[Sloth]

I think what makes a game great are the moments that give a game character and life. Those moments don't have to be extravagant or important they just have to have impact.

if you think about all your favorite games, you're memory will be drawn to moments in the game that stand out. Like playing catch with Dog in half life or the music in the Fellowship Halls in Ultima 7. These are moments or aspects of the game that act like thumbnails for the mind's eye.

[Kelegacy]

I think what makes a game great are the moments that give a game character and life. Those moments don't have to be extravagant or important they just have to have impact.

if you think about all your favorite games, you're memory will be drawn to moments in the game that stand out. Like playing catch with Dog in half life or the music in the Fellowship Halls in Ultima 7. These are moments or aspects of the game that act like thumbnails for the mind's eye.

All of Ultima 7's music is phenomenal. Especially the Fellowship stuff. Also, one of my fav. parts of the game is actually the opening scene where the Guardian is pushing through the blue screen and talking with his incredible voice. His voice, tone, and pacing set the stage.

[kizke]

And I'm not saying that HL2 is bad, or that Doom3 is the best game ever. They were merely sequels that did their job, and that was it. Far Cry was far more exciting that implimented various type of FPS gameplay into one.

I disagree. I played a hell of a lot of Far Cry and though I'd say it rivals HL2, I think that HL2 was overall a more well-rounded, diverse, groundbreaking, and altogether fun game.

But we're just splitting hairs at this point, because I love all three of the aforementioned games. :)

[Testcase]

Hard, long or complex does not equal great.

That's not what my wife says! Though, I'm getting a bit tired of the ceiling swing...

[Jadbalja]

Barely got past the second or third level of Doom3 before boredom set in on top of the irritation at not being able to wield a flashlight and gun at the same time and at the constant monster closets.

That being said, I didn't enjoy HL2 nearly as much as the first one.

I really liked Anachronox, right up to the last battle, which my middle-aged reflexes just weren't up to (same thing happened with Beyond Good & Evil). Sadly, in both cases I never got to see the end.

[51|RandoM]

Why are people creaming about the fear demo, especially when talking about FPS?

Is it spooky? hell yes it is spooky, but the actual FPS run and gunning feels pretty meh to me. Don't tell me how great the a.i. is either, I watched the bad guys step on proximity mines in the middle of a hallway, not once, but twice in a row. Two of them together at end of hallway, I hop around corner, toss the mine, 1st guy comes, steps on mine, dies, I hop out toss another mine, then the 2nd guy must be a lemming cause he makes the same bonehead move as the last one... after watching the last one make it and die.

On the topic itself, is hard for me to rate one game over the other. Each has its own highpoints, and they both differ. I will say that I felt like I'd made a real accomplishment when I finished Doom3, whereas when I finished HL2, I was like, "Is that it? The end can't be that easy, can it?"