Just bought it last weekend as a late b-day present and I am in LOVE. Love the graphics, the story, the enemies and the Gravity Gun is a joy. I want one for real! It’s just incredibly fun, and Ravenholm was creepy! I didn’t think this game could be so spooky, but it was by far!
BTW, anyone get motion sickness while playing? I haven’t played much, so I want to rule out the game because I love it so, but I did get ill while playing.
I kinda hated it, 1) because I wanted it NOT to be on rails. I wanted it to be much more open-ended. 2) because the airboating-down-the-causeway part was WAY too long, and (perhaps most importantly) 3) because I was dreadfully ill when I first tried to play it. Because of 3, I never finished it, because it made me ragingly nauseous. I’ve tried to go back since then, but the memory of it and my sickness makes me feel all oogy whenever I try.
I do need to suck it up and try again though.
To add extra comical goodness to the Half-Life 2 Experience, click here and read the archives from the beginning to wherever you happen to be in the game.
It made me way more motion sick than any game I’ve ever played. I could play Quake III for days and never get sick, but HL 2 made me feel so bad I’d have to quit and come back…knowing I’d get sick all over again. I finally got to the point it wasn’t so bad about the time I beat it. Went back to play a few levels (like from Ravenholm to Nova Prospekt) some time later and blech…sick all over again.
Aw man, I was hoping it was just me. I’ll probably stick it out though… :mad: 
I would call it probably the greatest first-person shooter ever. I’ve played through it a bunch of times, and replay individual sections occasionally. No motion sickness here.
I should clarify by saying that it wasn’t HL2 that made me ill (though it made me a little motion sick at times.) I first played the game at a time when I had some vicious stomach bug…and the association is still with me.
Ooooooooooooooooooooog.
Make sure after you finish the game, you get Garry’s mod. You can play with the physics, model your own ragdolls, build whatever you want, etc. It makes the game engine about 50 times more fun.
I’ve heard this complaint made about HL2 from a lot of people, and I don’t get it. I don’t think the FPS genre is known for open-ended gameplay.
I think that most people’s complaints stem from that there isn’t any decision about how to go about your task. It’s never “Get from point A to B through this city block,” it’s always “Go down this alley, through this door, up the ladder,” etc. Any decisions the player makes are only whether or not to grab ammo caches or set up turrets for a scripted assault. Granted, the first HL was exactly the same way, so I didn’t really expect there to be much of a change in the sequel. It was very well done, so I didn’t have a problem with it. But there’s always the niggling little bit during the second or third playthrough that says “If I piled all the boxes in the area up here I could jump over the wall” and then it turns out you can’t because there’s an invisible barrier keeping you in.
Once you’ve done your vanilla playthrough, track down something called the S-Mod, which adds some more weapons, bullet time, and - most importantly - the GORDON KICK, a boot straight out of Duke Nukem that sends enemies flying.
I don’t remember there being any invisible barriers in the game. Visible ones, yes, but invisible?
I know, but with every FPS that comes out, I hope a little for another “Deus Ex.” Still waiting.
Whoever does a proper sequel to this Game Of Games should be awarded the Nobel Peace Price, a Knighthood, the Congressional Medal Of FIGJAMmery, and given a Dump Truck full of money for their efforts…
I have a fear of heights and the part where you have to walk out under the bridge made me very queasy. It’s very realistic in some aspects, and I enjoyed the game.
Do you still need Steam to get it? I got a new computer and want to play it, but it’s not hooked up to the internet (I do have another computer that is hooked up to the internet, so I can download stuff at least.)
The game is good, but I was very unsatisfied with the multi-player component. HL1 wins hands-down in that department.
Yay! I ate a full meal and no icky stomach feeling! I have conquered!
Also, I really really want a Gravity Gun. Please can some MIT grad work on this for me? I promise to only use it for good!
Those parts, frome Ravenholm to Nova Prospekt, including the Highway 17 (?) part with the bridge are my favorites of the game. From the dark, claustrophobic gloom of Ravenholm to the wide open Highway. And the bridge.
Q: Do i have to have Steam to play Half-Life 2?
A: Steam will be required for all of Half-Life 2 but Valve have just recently added functionality to enable you to use Steam offline, without an internet connection
Hell, I’d settle for someone to port it to a modern engine (like Source or the one used in FEAR), re-work the textures and add a few more objects to the various levels.