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Gaming Ten Years On: Half Life 2

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Combatus, 7 Nov 2014.

  1. theshadow2001

    theshadow2001 [DELETE] means [DELETE]

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    My guess is its money in the bank for valve. Only to be released in case of financial difficulty.
     
  2. boiled_elephant

    boiled_elephant Merom Celeron 4 lyfe

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    Like many people here, HL2 was one of my formative gaming experiences. I'd played plenty of games before then, but it was the first time I was truly astonished at how good and immersive a game could be.

    The graphics have aged a little, but thanks to standard-raising set design and animations (and near-perfect weapon balance) it still feels great to play.

    Thinking about it, it's amazing that it was 10 years ago when you consider how many games released many years later - and on bigger budgets, made by bigger teams - still fall way short on things like animation, voice acting, writing or level design. When HL2 came out I thought it would lead by example, but where Valve take it as their personal duty to make the best game they can with the resources available, a lot of developers seem to think that if a job's worth doing, it's only worth doing to the bare minimum standard required to emulate Call of Duty's success and turn an easy profit.
     
  3. Phil Rhodes

    Phil Rhodes Hypernobber

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    Meh. Played it for half an hour. Wasn't grabbed like I was with the original.
     
  4. Niftyrat

    Niftyrat Dremel overpriced like EA games

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    its interesting, was never a fan of either game, much preferred rainbow 6 games of the time if it was FPS or generally playing warcraft2 and 3 then dawn of war.

    just never felt the love for it. but then i only recently found myself enjoying HALO Reach (game is more fun with a friend on co-op then it ever is single player for me)
     
  5. mi1ez

    mi1ez Modder

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    10 years... Wow. Feeling pretty old... Epic game and the second I can afford a new PC this will be the first installation!
     
  6. Xir

    Xir Modder

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    A general problem of episodic content, you stop when the last part didn't pay off...so always in the middle.

    You'd think Valve could just do a short end-of-storyarc-bit just out of goodwill though.

    Depends on your gamestyle. Gaming has such a low importance in my life that I cannot organise anything multiplayer, and unorganised multiplayer is a pain in the butt.
     
  7. mute1

    mute1 What's a Dremel?

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    It's not a 'sense of entitlement'. It's the fact that Valve announced and promised more to the series and it hasn't happened. Nor have they bothered to explain anything.

    The idea that a company that presents itself as one of the best would not release the promised next part due to high expectations is... hypocritical? Cowardly? Uncreative?
    I'd like to think, on the evidence of Portal 2, that they are merely being arrogant and perfectionist, and that eventually the sequel will come.
     
  8. Corky42

    Corky42 Where's walle?

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    That's what happens when a publisher is holding the purse strings (IMHO) Not many developers spring to mind that don't have a publisher pushing them to take a that's good enough approach to their game.

    The Internet would be apoplectic with rage that it was so short, my bet on the next installment in the HL series is sometime after Source 2, SteamOS, and VR are all in place.
     
  9. miester7

    miester7 My single core cpu plays crysis

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    Even though it is the greatest game i've played its only a Game! If you were on your deathbed i doubt it would ever cross your mind as being an important part of your life. And then by that time maybe HL3 will be out:p
     
  10. Ergath

    Ergath Giant Zombie Pigeon Photographer

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    HL2 was amazing. I have particularly fond memories of the multiplayer - there was a map where you could push a car with your gravity gun and get it wedged in a stairwell, thus denying access to a whole chunk of the map where the RPG spawned. It wasn't easy to achieve this but the butthurt it generated made it all worth it.
     
  11. pbryanw

    pbryanw Minimodder

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    Are you saying that HL3 will be released within the next 40 years - that's better than some estimates :)

    Funnily enough I haven't finished HL2 yet. I bought it when it first came out on Steam in 2004, but have only managed to play about half an hour a year - newer games always came & took my attention. So when I'm on my deathbed, I hope I'll have finished it by then.
     
    Last edited: 11 Nov 2014
  12. dolphie

    dolphie What's a Dremel?

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    I loved that game, the mission planning and how tense it was trying to not get shot. And the flashbangs! I had some fun with HL2, but my favourite action shooters of all time are Duke Nukem 3d, the System Shock series, and Unreal Tournament 2004 (I just played Onslaught).
     
  13. jimbok11

    jimbok11 What's a Dremel?

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    Incredible franchise...hope it carries on strong
     
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