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[Multiplatform] Half Life
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aesop
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 09:32 AM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 03:32 PM #1 of 19
Half Life

I've become a bit of a Half Life enthusiast in recent weeks. I've been playing and now finished Half Life2 and the available Episodes via the Orange Box. Taking them all on one after the other, I thought I would tire of it, but it's been very enjoyable. I really found it hard to stop once I got going.

So, I was just wondering what people think of the Half Life franchise in general?

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Tagonist
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 09:56 AM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 04:56 PM #2 of 19
The Valve guys define the standards in all things FPS, at least on PC.
HL2 is an incredible effort in terms of interactive storytelling, and that alone makes it one of the best franchises out there, because it manages to tell a story through gameplay alone without the help of other media. Of course you could argue that there are "masked" cutscenes, especially in EP2, but even though EP2 is a bit heavier on the story-feeding side it still remains within the boundaries of one medium - even if through some neat tricks.
Gameplay wise it's doing what FPS should do. There are some innovations in the sector that have gone past HL2, but that's excuseable, as it's the standard, the basic shooter that's the measure for all others, so there can indeed be some that are better in some parts (Crysis and FEAR exel with some neat additions to baseline gameplay mechanics - for example).

As a franchise, Half Life has grown out of the in retroperspective very colorful shooter into the more mature, highly polished and streamlined feature of HL2. City 17 is much darker, a lot greyer, grittier than Black Mesa ever was. For me, HL2 features some similiarities with the Metal Gear Solid franchise, in so far that it uses "generic game figures" from previous games as fully fleshed out characters (if that term applies to the likes of Barney, Eli and so on...).
What's important about it as a franchise is that it's readily distinguishable as, well, a Half-Life game. For example, we never see Gordon's hands or feet as he interacts with the environment, though we know they're there and modeled. I take it that this is indeed a conscious design decision, as many other FPS these days feature (a lot better) body awareness, where Gordon turns (steering)wheels without any manipulators seen, seemingly with the power of his mind. Then there is the overall optical identity of the game, City 17, the Combine, the Vortigaunts and so on and so forth which all elevates it from being "Ghost Recon with Aliens" to something with an own identity.

Sheesh, I could go on for hours writing about this...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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Old Nov 18, 2007, 10:08 AM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 03:08 PM #3 of 19
Originally Posted by Tagonist
For example, we never see Gordon's hands or feet as he interacts with the environment, though we know they're there and modeled
No they aren't. Try using the thirdperson console command and you'll see what I mean. The hands are parts of each usable weapon model, and the rest of his body just isn't there. There's no Gordon Freeman character model outside of HL2: DM.

The franchise is amazingly immersive - I'm still playing Episode One, but man, I'm glad I finally have a computer good enough to handle it.

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Old Nov 18, 2007, 12:01 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 07:01 PM #4 of 19
No they aren't. Try using the thirdperson console command and you'll see what I mean. The hands are parts of each usable weapon model, and the rest of his body just isn't there. There's no Gordon Freeman character model outside of HL2: DM.
I meant more in a psychological way.
We see them using weapons, and see the gloves as he puts on the HEV. Thus, we the players know that there "are" hands. He just doesn't seem to be in need of using them for anything but, well, shooting.

How ya doing, buddy?

These are the Books of Harrow
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aesop
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 01:40 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 07:40 PM #5 of 19
Then there is the overall optical identity of the game, City 17, the Combine, the Vortigaunts and so on and so forth which all elevates it from being "Ghost Recon with Aliens" to something with an own identity.
I'm sure I know what you mean. Because of this I was considering ordering the Half Life2 book, Raising the Bar. It looks like an interesting read.

Quote:
The franchise is amazingly immersive - I'm still playing Episode One, but man, I'm glad I finally have a computer good enough to handle it.
Hm. Yeah, it feels like I've been avoiding the PC and Xbox versions for years, just waiting for the Orange Box release. My PC couldn't handle it, and I heard the Xbox version was a bit poor.

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Krelian
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 01:43 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 06:43 PM #6 of 19
I meant more in a psychological way.
We see them using weapons, and see the gloves as he puts on the HEV. Thus, we the players know that there "are" hands. He just doesn't seem to be in need of using them for anything but, well, shooting.
Oh. Sorry, but the "they're there and modeled" part kind of threw me.

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Tagonist
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 02:31 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 09:31 PM #7 of 19
Oh. Sorry, but the "they're there and modeled" part kind of threw me.
Yeah, I take it that was a bit misleading, as I was practically putting two thoughts into one statement.
The one part is "We know Gordon has Hands as he is a human being."
The other part is "We know that to some extent Gordon's extremities have been modeled" - thus we could theoretically expect to see more of them, especially since there have been other games with a much higher degree of body awareness before HL2. Thief 3 especially.

Anyway, it obviously doesn't matter that much. HL2 is still one of the best FPS out there, and "body awareness" seems to be something not everybody likes. I do though, and I'm always wondering why I have no feet when playing HL2... *_*

FELIPE NO

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Old Nov 18, 2007, 02:31 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 10:31 PM #8 of 19
It's an interesting contradiction in the games, the way they do things with story exposition, design, structure, scoring and voice work most games dream of, yet at the same time lean heavily on such outdated "traditions" as the old weapon hierarchy of next weapon essentially replacing the previous one, lugging your entire armoury with you, awkward inventory management (especially for throwing grenades), "alive and fine until that last point of life is gone" health system and the usual inconsistencies of indestructable locked doors. Most of the time the games manage to beautifully mask its invisible walls, but sometimes the incredibly detailed environments simply don't act like you expect them to. You mostly stomach them and pass them over because you're willing to forgive lot for such a game.

I really only had issues with the friendly NPC AI in HL2. Alyx worked very well in the later episodes, her longer healthbar removed most of the frustration of being unable to tell her where to go, and most of the time she acted smart enough for the situation at hand. The rebel AI in HL2 on the other hand (and Episode 1 to an extent) were a different matter entirely.

In humanising its world and characters with so much care and detail and subtlety, you're bound to have players grow fond of the characters around them, even the most incidental ones. So when you are given charge of four team mates to command and guide, I more often told them to run to a corner, while I rushed at the enemy, hoping I'd finish off the fight before they returned to me. It was infuriating that they didn't stay where you told them to go to for long, yet at the same time displayed virtually no awareness for their own safety, happily assaulting an automatic turret or a strider with popguns and no cover or means of actually getting to them. Perhaps it was foolish of me to insist on keeping everyone I could alive, because the game probably aimed for that feeling of hopelessness and the sense that much bigger things were happening around you, no matter what you do. If an NPC fell in battle, it was afterwards a moment for mourning and regret. But more often than not they weren't dying because of Combine superiority, they were simply dying because of lemmings brains and your inability to tell them to get the hell out of the way.

The same happens in the Halo games too. They've made the marines so fun and characterful, you're bound to want to keep them alive (unless you are playing the game for entirely different reasons than me, of course). I insisted on always driving the warthog myself, because that was the best way to keep at least two marines alive. Usually if one of the marines got shot in a firefight, I sooner reloaded the scene and attempted to fare better.

So yeah, rant over, the team ordering in HL2 felt tacked on and poorly implemented. It seemed to go against many things the game had achieved so far. In order to do well in the game at that point, you largely had to stop giving a crap for everyone else, and either leave them on their own, or worse, constantly send them ahead to scout and be on the recieving end of waiting ambushes. I'm sure many FPS players were fine with this. You could tell Valve had kept these people in mind then they turned off friendly fire, probably fresh off the memories of people shooting mission critical characters in HL1 for fun and complaining when the game ended. I however, am not like those players, and HL2 most certainly wasn't primarily a game for them.

It was those moments when the ground works of the game jumped at me. You no longer saw the breathing (well, choking) city, you saw the linear path and the glooming void you're not supposed to see behind the invisible walls. You no longer saw the people, the characters, the individuals fighting for their freedom, their very right of existance, you saw the dumb actions, flawed pathfinding, stock random lines of dialogue, the puppets, completely unaware of their actual surroundings. You felt disconnected from the world you'd been so hypnotically pulled into, a very similar feeling to when in a game you struggle to find a button to do the action you wanted to do, suddenly becoming aware of the interface between you and the experience, as opposed to simply reacting transparently to happenings.

The combat, while furious and demanding, thanks largely to the visuals, excellent sound design and some decent ragdolling, still lacked some of the physical feel and tactical pacing of something like Halo or Flashpoint. You more often than not simply stood or strafed while emptying clips into soldiers, confident your armour and health would be enough, ready to simply heal up afterwards. You didn't feel that compelled to seek cover most of the time, unless you were against a turret, strider or gunship.

But outside those niggles, years on, it stands as a phenomenal game. I really loved Half-Life 1 when I first played it, but could never replay it the second time. It was so heavily scripted, you knew where something was simply waiting to jump at YOU, or which spot activates which event. The atmosphere and set pieces were tremendously involving, but I only saw the scaffoldings and metal works behind the sets at that point.

HL2, while still having a few of those annoying "why the fuck was that thing just SITTING there, as if it was waiting for me to walk by" moments that bring to question the amazing integrity of the world the game had otherwise built so well, is still an entirely different beast. The source engine is still beautiful, but it's brought to life by the astounding visual design. The game is still a ghost train ride, but it's so exhilarating and beautifully built I've no issues with admitting it earned every single award it recieved. The story, admittedly often predictable and not much different from the usual sci-fi plotlines, is made to sing through excellent pacing and delivery, much like the first Halo. The voice acting really is some of the best we'll probably ever hear in any media, and I could only really appreciate it on my second playthrough.

Episode 1 was admittedly short, but felt the perfect lenght for me. Giving Alyx as a companion character was a superb addition and her design and AI is still some of the most satisfying in games.

I was slightly disappointed with Episode 2, only because the vehicle controls are completely awful on a 360 pad (while the rest of the controls work surprisingly well on it), slightly diminishing the enjoyment of the otherwise fantastic driving sections. It did throw more thrilling set pieces for us to experience and for that I love it. The ending did take the wind out of the overal enjoyment for me (same with Halo 3's final few "twists"), but I am more than excited and anxious to find out how things go in Episode 3.

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Last edited by map car man words telling me to do things; Nov 18, 2007 at 02:52 PM.
Tagonist
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Old Nov 18, 2007, 02:46 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 09:46 PM #9 of 19
After playing some HL1 a few days ago, I find it a bit peculiar that HL2 didn't feature a few things HL1 did. For example, Zombies feeding on corpses, and some of the more prominent monstrosities - yeah, I kinda miss the Bullsquid, though the Acidlion has now more or less taken up its place in the HL foodchain.

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Old Nov 18, 2007, 05:23 PM Local time: Nov 18, 2007, 04:23 PM #10 of 19
Quote:
For example, Zombies feeding on corpses, and some of the more prominent monstrosities - yeah, I kinda miss the Bullsquid, though the Acidlion has now more or less taken up its place in the HL foodchain.
Still waiting for an epic HL2: episode 3 fight with an Ichthyosaur

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Monkey King
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Old Nov 19, 2007, 01:09 PM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 12:09 PM #11 of 19
I'm not particularly a fan of FPSs, but I've found the Half-Life series oddly compelling. I'm actually in the middle of playing HL2 for the first time, and I'm liking the pacing of the challenges thrown at you. You get introduced to an annoying, unassailable foe, building up a sense of anxiety and frustration as you're continually hunted - and then they hand you a big shiny rocket launcher. It's satisfying on a very primal level.

Turning random faceless NPCs from the first game into main characters was a neat touch, too. It's like "Oh hey, THAT guy was Eli," or "Oh shit, he remembers me blowing up his lunch."

I'm really despising all the vehicle segments, though. The controls are a bit questionable, and they tend to feel more like penalty segments designed solely to sap away your health. As the weakest parts of the game, they go on way too long. It did lead to a pretty funny moment, though. "Radio ahead to base! WE HAVE GORDON FREEMAN'S CAR!"

I'm kind of curious how they're going to tie Portal into all of this. I'm told that Aperture Science stuff is featured quite prominently in Episode 2. A portal gun + firearms could be really interesting. One of the things that made Portal feel too short is that it seemed like all the 'puzzle' parts from a normal FPS with all the actual gunfights edited out.

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Last edited by Monkey King; Nov 19, 2007 at 01:13 PM.
RacinReaver
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Old Nov 19, 2007, 01:22 PM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 11:22 AM #12 of 19
I just tried playing Blue Shift the other day. It was pretty lame.

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Old Nov 19, 2007, 02:28 PM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 10:28 PM #13 of 19
I'm kind of curious how they're going to tie Portal into all of this. I'm told that Aperture Science stuff is featured quite prominently in Episode 2.
I wouldn't say prominently, more of a character telling you about a location that has to do with the company and it's something you very probably visit in Episode 3.

I thought the very slight references in Portal were the only things tying it to the series, so to see it spelled out for you in Episode 2 was a bit of a disappointment. The mystery remains though and I can't wait to find out what's there.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The_Griffin
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Old Nov 19, 2007, 07:17 PM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 05:17 PM #14 of 19
I'm really despising all the vehicle segments, though. The controls are a bit questionable, and they tend to feel more like penalty segments designed solely to sap away your health. As the weakest parts of the game, they go on way too long. It did lead to a pretty funny moment, though. "Radio ahead to base! WE HAVE GORDON FREEMAN'S CAR!"
Really? Those were my favorite moments, especially the airboat sequence. They've got some of the most epic moments in the game, IMO. Nothing was as cool as when you dashed your airboat under a collapsing tower, just avoiding the debris in the nick of time.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?
Monkey King
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Old Nov 19, 2007, 10:40 PM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 09:40 PM #15 of 19
Really? Those were my favorite moments, especially the airboat sequence. They've got some of the most epic moments in the game, IMO. Nothing was as cool as when you dashed your airboat under a collapsing tower, just avoiding the debris in the nick of time.
You can get under the tower in time? The rocks always blocked me, making me do donuts until they settled into a ramp.

God, the airboat part was one of the most miserable parts of the game for me. The thing is hard to steer and they just drop shit in front of you that you can't avoid; unless you quicksave constantly or have the course memorized, you are going to get your ass shot off by all the soldiers on and rapelling down the bridges. There's nothing epic about it, it's just one long "Gordon gets shot over and over segment."

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The_Griffin
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Old Nov 20, 2007, 12:32 AM Local time: Nov 19, 2007, 10:32 PM #16 of 19
Well, on my first playthrough I did at least. Subsequent ones, though, have it coming down in front of me. I can immediately jump when I reach it, though.

And srsly, I really enjoyed it, even my first time through. Yeah, there was one part where I got shot because I didn't know where to go, but other than that it was mostly easy.

You'll be glad to know, though, that there are no vehicle sequences in Episode 1, and Episode 2's sequence is much easier. No aiming, just drive around.

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aesop
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Old Nov 20, 2007, 02:14 PM Local time: Nov 20, 2007, 08:14 PM #17 of 19
The ending did take the wind out of the overal enjoyment for me (same with Halo 3's final few "twists"), but I am more than excited and anxious to find out how things go in Episode 3.
Spoiler:
The ending? Do you mean the Strider/Hunter battles or the death of Eli?


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Old Nov 20, 2007, 09:56 PM Local time: Nov 20, 2007, 08:56 PM #18 of 19
I'm not sure I really played the first Half-Life all the way through. Instead, I started with Half-Life 2 and was amazed at the physics engine and overall gameplay. The best part had to be the gravity gun, just because you could finally pickup any item around you and use it to your advantage. Getting shot at? You could grab a nearby table and use it as a shield. That's what truly makes the Half-Life series unique...the developers were constantly thinking outside the box trying to develop new and innovative game experiences. And that trend continues with every new episode that comes out.

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