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Thread: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 thoughts...(may contain spoliers)

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    Half-Life 2 Episode 2 thoughts...(may contain spoliers)

    Firstly I gotta say the half-life series is by far the best series of games that linked together i've ever played. The story is better than most movies these days. Just keeps asking more questions, and it's got me thinking about what is going on in their world and what will happen next in episode 3.

    There is so much that could be going on...for instance the G-man is playing some real part in what is going on now but what are his motives?

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    o|-< acrobat's Avatar
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    Re: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 thoughts...(may contain spoliers)

    I have very little clue what the story is. I find that whenever a game develops some story and has some dialogue, I usually just tune out and my mind wanders and then I snap out of it when the action starts again. I can never tell if it's because I am bored by their stories, or if maybe I just have a terrible attention span or something.

    This game did seem to do a better job than others though. I was impressed that they developed the story and the characters and that it wasn't just another mindless shooter. It makes me wish I paid more attention now. I would be tempted to go back and play it again, but I never found the gameplay good enough to do that. I loved that they added physics, and they seem to be one of only a few companies to actually make something out of that. Other games may let you push a bunch of logs down a hill to squish some bad guys, but HL2 really took it to another level with their see-saws and whatnot. The gravity gun was genius and one of the best gameplay things I've seen for a looong time. Playing catch with Dog was one of the most surprising things I've seen in a game for ages, and it didn't really end there either. Even in this latest episode, I continue to be impressed like when there was some stuff in a crate, hanging from a tree, and I had to fire something up to knock it out the crate etc.. They really knew how to make physics into a gameplay thing rather than just an eye candy thing.

    I always felt like there was just something missing from these games though, HL1 was just great, but from HL2 to now, I just miss something, and I'm not sure what it is. I never seem to have enough rockets or those grenades on the SMG, to really get that gibbing action that I want. And there never seem to be enough enemies either. It's almost like there is so much story, puzzles, and running around, that there is little left for actual big shoot outs. All the "big" special fights, are just me versus one big beastie. And all the me vs humanoids, is just me vs a couple of bad guys. I want to see me vs like 20 people. (being trapped in that house was an exception) Another thing that bugged me is that I never felt like the weapons gave much of a kick. It sounds inane, but I just never felt like they really kicked when I fired them. The standard gun may as well be a pea shooter. The SMG and the futuristic machine gun, seem so well balanced and so modern, that they just fire with pinpoint accuracy and kill anything instantly, and it feels like a game rather than me holding a real gun. Other games do that better. The rocket launcher bugs me too, because I can't see the rockets or what I blow up, due to all the smoke.. And once the novelty wore off, I realised I didn't like being able to steer the rockets. It just made things too easy, and it completely removed the gameplay element of prediction - seeing where someone is running and shooting in front of them.

    To me, it's like a genius game. A game that is so clever and so well thought out, that they forgot to put the fun in. It's like a healthy cake that looks amazing and it's so clever that they managed to make a great looking cake with only half the sugar of other cakes... but unfortunately, it just doesn't taste as good as it should. Or it's like having a really smart girlfriend who you can have amazing conversations with and they can boggle your mind with their amazing intellect, but when you just want to have filthy disgusting sex, she looks at you confused. Ahem. Enough with the analogies. Hopefully someone knows what I mean anyway.

    I am really looking forward to seeing the third episode anyway. There is genius in the game and it is fun to play, I just find myself always wanting something a bit more, but in the meantime I still enjoy playing them. I wasn't too impressed with the first episode, but this second one I liked (once I got a bit further in to it). The end was quite a shocker for me, and it has really got my attention now. I want to see them go out with a huge bang on the third episode, and then I would really like them to end it there, on a high, and then move on to something new.
    Last edited by acrobat; 31-12-2007 at 03:23 PM.

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    Senior Member funke_munke's Avatar
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    Re: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 thoughts...(may contain spoliers)

    Spitfire check this site out for an insight into the Half Life saga story line:

    SPOILERS ABOUND!

    The Half Life Saga Story Guide


    It's pretty good and picked up on loads of things I never noticed/thought about!
    "I Don't mind Lobster. It's like you could, you know... Punch... A lobster. I wouldn't eat anything I couldn't punch"


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    Re: Half-Life 2 Episode 2 thoughts...(may contain spoliers)

    I love the dialogue between the new recruit who says he killed everything with his bare hands and the instructor....just when you enter the Whitesands building...soo funny.

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