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Half-life was way ahead of it's time for online gaming but nothing I've ever played can compare to the Halo 2 Xbox live experience. As close to perfect online gaming as I've ever seen. Sorry. But I do agree that Half-Life 2 will probably be complete awesomeness as well, just not as much awesomeness as Halo 2.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Half-life 2 isn't really trying to compete in the online arena. The idea is to be the Best Single-player Game Ever.
Of course, I won't know about that firsthand for a while. Need me a new machine first But the reviews are great!
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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I have had fun with it so far...though the load times in some places are a bit longer than I would like (not worse than a PS2 game...but it does break up the mood at times).
I am still near the start though, I have only played for a couple of hours (this week has been very busy)
I actually ordered the game on Steam (their online system). I really like it...this way I don't need to keep up with a CD, and I don't have to put a CD in to play.
I thought they were skimpy with the multiplayer though. All they did was ship an updated version of Counter strike. Don't get me wrong, it is a very fun game...and they did improve the graphics over the original, but I would have liked a real half life 2 multiplayer.
I was actually holding out hope that they would surprise us with TF2...and have that as a surprise multiplayer. How cool would that be. They could have at least done TFC:source like they did with half life 1 and counter strike.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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Well, they are making a Day of Defeat: Source,
Also, good ol' Natural selection is considering it as well...
To me, What I've seen of Half-Life 2 kind of looks like an Equillibrium rip off, which is based on Farinheight 451. And Halo is a rip off of doom, which is based on something else.
Multiplayer, bah, I'm a CS lover, can't go wrong with that. Though... They got rid of the chickens in Italy. *Sobs*
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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quote:To me, What I've seen of Half-Life 2 kind of looks like an Equillibrium rip off, which is based on Farinheight 451. And Halo is a rip off of doom, which is based on something else.
What a sad world you live in.
Posts: 1907 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Hey, I'm not complaining though, kind of more fun that way. Just to picture to be some geek with a PhD in Theoretical Physics going around comiting genocide. I mean, how fun is that?
^_^ (Note, I've just seen from about the beggining to ravenholm.)
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I was waiting for Ghost Recon 2, which is also out. The Xbox version will tide me over to March when the PC version comes out. Then, I stop doing anything else with my evenings.
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I beat Half-Life 2 earlier today, shortly after I woke up. As I said in another thread, this is the Platonic ideal of "Game." The bar has been raised so high by this game that the rest of the industry is going to have a tough time even approaching this level of immersiveness and play depth.
Half-Life 2 presents a very real-feeling world, with an excellent depiction of an Orwellian society at work. All of the action seems very naturalistic, given the setting, which makes it so much more astounding -- and satisfying -- when big things happen. Characters are well-drawn and generally believable, the world is extremely detailed, and the physics engine works marvelously and is an integral part of the puzzles within the game.
Normally, I don't like first-person shooters; it's not a genre that appeals to me. I'm much more fond of space sims, adventure games, and RPGs. First-person shooters are usually little more than mindless gorefests (see: anything by id software following their break with Apogee) -- just the same old thing over and over: shoot stuff, grab key, unlock door, get bigger gun so you can shoot more stuff. No thanks.
I enjoyed every minute of Half-Life 2. It's that good.
quote:To me, What I've seen of Half-Life 2 kind of looks like an Equillibrium rip off, which is based on Farinheight 451. And Halo is a rip off of doom, which is based on something else.
My god.
Anyway, came home to it in the mail today. I read that it's pretty much the near-perfect game.
So, you know, nobody will be seeing anything of me in cyber- or meatspace for easily the next two weeks. (I mean, heck. There's the first Half-life to play in the 2 engine, AND upon completion Vampire: The Masquerade to promptly purchase. My dancing card is full.)
edit: Oh, and for what it's worth, I strongly believe that there isn't a single console FPS experience that will beat a PC FPS experience. The PC is simply the superior medium for FPSers. Consoles are excellent for third-person, simulators, and most anything non-first person that isn't a RTS, but you will never have either the graphics nor control a PC offers for FPS's on a console. If you started playing FPS's on a console and have never really had the equipment to play them on a PC, then I can understand the Haloesque loyalty. But once you've gotten your equipment on, why on earth would you ever go back to a console for this style of game?
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What systems are people playing this game on? Does one need a stupid hog of a system to run it? I am a Halo 2 addict right now, but while great, it isn't the greatest online game...it is just the best one on Xbox right now. I still hold Battlefield 1942 as the high bar for multiplayer. But I don't think my rig can take the Half Life 2 strain. Send specs, give me hope. Thanks!
Settings: 1280x768* DirectX 9 rendering path** All advanced options maxed out No anti-aliasing 4x anisotropic filtering
* I have a wide-aspect LCD, and Valve was kind enough to support this aspect ratio (16:10) without distortion
** The game supports four rendering paths, depending on your hardware: DirectX 7, 8, 8.1, and 9. The game detects your video card and decides which rendering path to use based on that, which determines certain advanced settings, such as how (and if) shadows are rendered, how much bump-mapping is used, how advanced water effects are, and so on. Because of this, the game scales extremely well to older hardware.
Posts: 293 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Thanks for the specs. I am not too far off...2400 XP but half the memory and card is a bit slower. A few hundred bucks and I will be fairly caught up...ugh. Still, sounds like it is worth it. The original is still the high water mark for single player FPS storytelling.
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But the reviews are great!
