Am I the only one that thinks Half-Life 2 is a little overrated? - Games

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961002]I found that Half-Life 2's gameplay was about the same thoughout, forcing you to use nothing but a supercharged grav gun doesn't make MY strategy of "shoot every goddamn thing that moves" any different.[/QUOTE] In that event, I'd say we played the game in vastly different ways. Not to say that I didn't shoot damn near everything, but that I approached it differently. I used the environment to my advantage and used my Antlion allies to form a flanking force against the combine. Despite that, I noticed a very distinct switch in play style from level to level. Maybe that was how I reacted to it personally, but it was certainly there.

[QUOTE=Notnotprobydoby;27961021]It's a shame that these discussions on facepunch never transcend the "You are wrong I am right" level of discussion, and never actually discuss the essence of the issue. Which in this case is the definition of a good game. it's impossible to argue about what game is a good game if you haven't established the definition of a good game. Therefore this should be about what is a good game before discussing if Hl2 is one.[/QUOTE] "Good" is subjective, I think that Prototype was a great game, others don't. you cannot "establish the definition of a good game" because that varies from person to person. [editline]9th February 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=JeanLuc761;27961051]In that event, I'd say we played the game in vastly different ways. Not to say that I didn't shoot damn near everything, but that I approached it differently. I used the environment to my advantage and used my Antlion allies to form a flanking force against the combine. Despite that, I noticed a very distinct switch in play style from level to level. Maybe that was how I reacted to it personally, but it was certainly there.[/QUOTE] Clearly, I think I played it like I would Doom or Quake, as it plays a lot like those games, it doesn't feel like a modern shooter, which can be good.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961080] Clearly, I think I played it like I would Doom or Quake, as it plays a lot like those games, it doesn't feel like a modern shooter, which can be good.[/QUOTE] Ah, well that's where I think the difference lies. Because of the way I approached it, Half-Life 2 is unlike any other shooter that I've played. Because of the way you played it, it was a fairly average, if not good, first person shoother.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961080]"Good" is subjective, I think that Prototype was a great game, others don't. you cannot "establish the definition of a good game" because that varies from person to person.[/QUOTE] I disagree, you could say that you compare a game to it's competitor's at the time to judge how good it is, or if it passes the test of time. Or if it changed the gaming industry. If you can't establish what a good game is, then discussing if x game is a good game is pointless.

[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;27961139]Ah, well that's where I think the difference lies. Because of the way I approached it, Half-Life 2 is unlike any other shooter that I've played. Because of the way you played it, it was a fairly average, if not good, first person shoother.[/QUOTE] Just goes to show how someones play style can really affect their enjoyment of a game doesn't it.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961198]Just goes to show how someones play style can really affect their enjoyment of a game doesn't it.[/QUOTE] Indeed. That's part of the reason why I find games like Crysis so appealing. I get to play it as a stealth fiend, my friends get to go ape shit crazy and annihilate everything. Everyone is happy.

[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;27960907]As true as that is, that's an environmental change, not a gameplay change. Halo's gameplay remains the same throughout almost the entire campaign. Half-Life 2, on the other hand, forces the player to update his strategy in almost every level. It also includes the massive environmental variety that's present in Halo. This is why Half-Life 2 is more varied.[/QUOTE] Yeah, sure, the same basic gameplay is the same in that you shoot things. You also spend all of Half-Life shooting things. How is Half-Life's switch from shooting generic enemy soldiers to shooting generic enemy zombies more varied than Halo's switch from shooting lithe, agile soldiers to shooting numerous forms of zombie-esque life forms? I hate to break it to you, but all Half-Life 2 is, is a shooter. Introducing some light squad mechanics is firstly hardly groundbreaking and secondly barely 'variety.' [editline]9th February 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Notnotprobydoby;27961021]It's a shame that these discussions on facepunch never transcend the "You are wrong I am right" level of discussion, and never actually discuss the essence of the issue. Which in this case is the definition of a good game. it's impossible to argue about what game is a good game if you haven't established the definition of a good game. Therefore this should be about what is a good game before discussing if Hl2 is one.[/QUOTE] Well as much as I'd like to, it's a bit tough when you're arguing with people that think Valve is the messiah and Half-Life 2 is the bible.

[QUOTE=postmanX3;27961258]Yeah, sure, the same basic gameplay is the same in that you shoot things. You also spend all of Half-Life shooting things. How is Half-Life's switch from shooting generic enemy soldiers to shooting generic enemy zombies more varied than Halo's switch from shooting lithe, agile soldiers to shooting numerous forms of zombie-esque life forms? I hate to break it to you, but all Half-Life 2 is, is a shooter. Introducing some light squad mechanics is firstly hardly groundbreaking and secondly barely 'variety.'[/QUOTE] I disagree, Half life makes you think in different ways. Take the beach level where you have to walk on wooden boards to survive. Or the ant bait. These completely change the gameplay. So it is hard to argue that half life doesn't have more variation than Halo. Does this make it a better game than Halo? I dont know, that depends on your definition of a "good game". EDIT: These different opinions remind me, I always loved Half life 2. I was constantly talking about it to my friends, and after a few months I finally convinced one to try it. And I was so anxious to see his reaction to the game. I fired up HL2 and let him play the part you first find Eli. I thought he would be blown away by the dialogue and the way the story is told, instead he was constantly jumping around the room and crowbarring Eli in the face. And he asked me if the game was broken because he couldn't kill him. I was disappointed, but it did teach me that your play style really dictates how you perceive a game.

[QUOTE=postmanX3;27961258] I hate to break it to you, but all Half-Life 2 is, is a shooter. Introducing some light squad mechanics is firstly hardly groundbreaking and secondly barely 'variety.' Well as much as I'd like to, it's a bit tough when you're arguing with people that think Valve is the messiah and Half-Life 2 is the bible.[/QUOTE] And my problem arguing with you is that you make an awful lot of assumptions. Yes, Half-Life 2 is a shooter; I never claimed otherwise. I simply gave reasons as to why the game has more variety than Halo. Side note: attempting to insult the people you're arguing against is not a great way to try and win a fight. I think Valve is great. I also think Modern Warfare, Halo, Battlefield, Gears of War and Unreal Tournament are great. There is no valid reason that should be a point against me.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27960804]Even so, it doesn't have nearly as many varied scenarios as Half-Life 2. Like I said, the fundamental gameplay remains almost exactly the same. In Half-Life 2, with many of the new scenarios, the basic fundamentals of the gameplay and combat are changed. The bugbait changes the pace, and makes the gameplay more deliberate and strategic. In Ravenholm, you will most certainly be making use of the various saw blades and explosive barrels scattered around, as well as the traps. In Our Benefactors, the upgraded Gravity Gun is completely unlike any previous moments in the game. Should I go on? Really? Are you REALLY sure about that?[/QUOTE] I ran through ravenholm with an SMG and then shotgun when I got it, hardly touched the gravity gun except to grab ammo from father away. The bugbait part was hardly any different from shooting, you just looked at the guy, pressed the mouse button, and he died, nothing strategic about it. Will agree with you on the super gravity gun part, however short lived it was.

[QUOTE=postmanX3;27961258]Yeah, sure, the same basic gameplay is the same in that you shoot things. You also spend all of Half-Life shooting things. How is Half-Life's switch from shooting generic enemy soldiers to shooting generic enemy zombies more varied than Halo's switch from shooting lithe, agile soldiers to shooting numerous forms of zombie-esque life forms? [/QUOTE] You are missing the point. It isn't just enemy variation you find in Half-Life 2. Every new chapter significantly changes the structure and mechanics of the gameplay. [QUOTE=postmanX3;27961258] Well as much as I'd like to, it's a bit tough when you're arguing with people that think Valve is the messiah and Half-Life 2 is the bible.[/QUOTE] I don't think Valve is the messiah, and I don't think Half-Life 2 is perfect. They both have flaws. I'd definitely argue thatHalf-Life 2's combat needs to be set on fire, and redone. But those flaws ultimately don't hold back Half-Life 2 from being a brilliant game.

HL2 = old school gameplay, Halo = modern gameplay.

[QUOTE=evilweazel;27961378]I ran through ravenholm with an SMG and then shotgun when I got it, hardly touched the gravity gun except to grab ammo from father away. The bugbait part was hardly any different from shooting, you just looked at the guy, pressed the mouse button, and he died, nothing strategic about it. Will agree with you on the super gravity gun part, however short lived it was.[/QUOTE] Well, again, it depends on how you choose to play, though I find it curious as to why you didn't use the sawblades scattered all around. It was one of the most enjoyable moments of Half-Life 2. As for the bugbait, there was a lot of possible strategies. You could use them as distractions, which you attack from the back. You could use them to flank the soldiers, while you attack them head on. There was a lot of options available. [editline]9th February 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961385]HL2 = old school gameplay, Halo = modern gameplay.[/QUOTE] I would argue that they are both fairly old-school.

It's a great game, but it isn't fit to lick Half-Life 1's asshole.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27961381]You are missing the point. It isn't just enemy variation you find in Half-Life 2. Every new chapter significantly changes the structure and mechanics of the gameplay. [/QUOTE] Not any more then other games, I blasted though the game with an SMG and shotgun, like it was Doom, nothing really felt the different to me.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961385]HL2 = old school gameplay, Halo = modern gameplay.[/QUOTE] I'd actually say that both are fairly old school since Halo hasn't changed much in the last decade. Call of Duty is the poster child for "modern" first person shooters.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27961430]Well, again, it depends on how you choose to play, though I find it curious as to why you didn't use the sawblades scattered all around. It was one of the most enjoyable moments of Half-Life 2. As for the bugbait, there was a lot of possible strategies. You could use them as distractions, which you attack from the back. You could use them to flank the soldiers, while you attack them head on. There was a lot of options available. [editline]9th February 2011[/editline] I would argue that they are both fairly old-school.[/QUOTE] You can take just about any game and play it a number of different ways and say there are a lot of options available, HL2 isn't the only one with gameplay like that.

[QUOTE=evilweazel;27961463]You can take just about any game and play it a number of different ways and say there are a lot of options available, HL2 isn't the only one with gameplay like that.[/QUOTE] Likewise, just because you don't use the options available, that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27961430]I would argue that they are both fairly old-school.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=JeanLuc761;27961460]I'd actually say that both are fairly old school since Halo hasn't changed much in the last decade. Call of Duty is the poster child for "modern" first person shooters.[/QUOTE] Didn't know who to quote so I quoted both of you. Which that is true to an extent, Halo has more of a modern feel to it don't you think? HL2 has non auto regenerating health, lets you have all the weapons in the game at one time, ect. Halo, health regen, more prominent in the later ones of course. two weapons at a time, ect.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27961430]I would argue that they are both fairly old-school.[/QUOTE] I'd much rather argue that you can't compare the two. They are both entirely different games.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961528]Didn't know who to quote so I quoted both of you. Which that is true to an extent, Halo has more of a modern feel to it don't you think? HL2 has non auto regenerating health, lets you have all the weapons in the game at one time, ect. Halo, health regen, more prominent in the later ones of course. two weapons at a time, ect.[/QUOTE] Well that is true, but they both gave rather old-school combat, and they haven't adapted the pseudo-realistic style of most modern games.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27961593]Well that is true, but they both gave rather old-school combat, and they haven't adapted the pseudo-realistic style of most modern games.[/QUOTE] Which is a very good thing, I like old school gameplay.

[QUOTE=Rahkshi lord;27961712]Which is a very good thing, I like old school gameplay.[/QUOTE] I agree :downs:

hl2 sucks, the first one was awesome

Half-Life 2's opening chapter was amazing, and it's still cool to replay now and then just for the nostalgia factor. But I really had no fucking clue what the fuck was going on when I first played it.

[QUOTE=TunnelSnake;27962194]Half-Life 2's opening chapter was amazing, and it's still cool to replay now and then just for the nostalgia factor. But I really had no fucking clue what the fuck was going on when I first played it.[/QUOTE] I definitely agree that Point Insertion was one of the finest moments in gaming.

It was one of the greatest games when it came out back in 2004 but to be honest, it hasn't aged well.

[QUOTE=ChosenOne54;27962297]I definitely agree that Point Insertion was one of the finest moments in gaming.[/QUOTE] I can recite that damn speech of Breen's from memory. "Welcome! Welcome to City 17. You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my administration here, in the Citadel so thoughtfully provided by our benefactors. I have been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here."

I loved Half-Life 1, but I think Half-Life 2 is a little overrated. It's so different from the original.

[QUOTE=ButtsexV2;27962160]hl2 sucks, the first one was awesome[/QUOTE] I wouldn't go as far to say it sucks, but it's overated. I still think it's a great game though