I like Halo 2 just as much as the next guy, but this is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
Not all that much to say at this point, except that this weekend is going to feel particularly long. Check out Gamespot’s Final Hours of Half-Life 2 for a little history and excitement.
Everything I see about HL2 makes it look better and better. I’m in love with Counter-Strike: Source (even though it has some problems). But the question is: Can anything possibly live up to the hype? (for more info see: Doom 3, Halo 2, Star Wars EP1)
Counter-Strike:Source is visually stunning and the gameplay is frantic and realistic and scary as hell. I actually holler out when the game switches to third-person and I see the dark mist spray out of my head. Comrades fall against walls, and, seconds later, crumple to the ground.
The minutes of sneaking and creeping interspersed with tenths of seconds of sheer terror are what combat games should be – you learn quickly that sprinting into a horde of enemies expecting to come away with anything like a “win” is a ludicrous strategy. You are not a comic-book hero.
I only wish that there were a sound option where, if you were wounded badly enough, you screamed involuntarily – something like “I’m hit, I’m hit!” or “Aaaaaaagh, my leg!” or “Medi-i-i-ic!” – and were unable to move except very slowly, and at a cost to your health. Perhaps even wounded to the point of watching your life-bar tick away, waiting for someone with a bandage could get to you.
Other than the all-or-nothing health system, the game is phenomenal, and I can’t wait for Half-Life 2. Oh, and that preview with the train station? SO CREEPY.shudders
No. Honestly, I think gold could fall out of the box and people would still find something to bitch about. There were people screaming bloody murder over the fact that the E3 demo of Halo 2 wasn’t part of the game (and parts of it were), that the pistol was nerfed, that it wasn’t EXACTLY like Halo 1, blah blah blah…
I think it lived up to the hype, but I’m easy. If I spend $50 and I’m entertained then it’s money well spent to me. I don’t expect miracles though like some people seem to do. Doom 3 failed me in that respect because although it was a gorgeous (if you can call slavering monsters and blood gorgeous) game with a near perfect engine, the replayability factor for me was nil. I slogged through it and have had no desire to play it ever again. Some other company will take that engine and make a great game one day - hopefully a well lit game.
I’ve played Half-Life through several times along with all the expansion packs so I’ll be buying Half-Life 2. It looks like it’s going to be great.
It sucks that all these games are coming out together though. KOTOR II will be out in December, and I don’t know where I’m going to find the time.
yeah i know what you mean velveeta over on gamefaqs the first day people were just raggin on halo 2 and how dissappointing it was, how it sucked so bad. etc. me personally i am having a blast playing the campaign both solo and co-op and multiplayer is a blast too.
doom 3 was the letdown for me also like you i slogged through the game to finish it , but it was kinda boring. farcry was much better. all in all half life 2 is certain to be fantanstic and yet people will find something wrong with it. well it is going to be a full gaming end the year what with kotor 2 like you mentioned, metroid 2, resident evil 4 and i have yet to finish gta san andreas. good times.
Don’t need to. Obsidian and Lucas Arts already announced it will be out on Dec. 6th on XBOX. They almost never give a fixed date unless they are sure they won’t miss it.
Maybe this will be the exception, but I will be surprised. No offense (you actually seem really cool, I hope you pay for a membership), but I have to laugh when people buy into the first announced release date for a game. I can’t think of a single anticipated game in the last 5 years that even came close to meeting its launch date. Morrowind was about 10 months late IIRC, the first date I remember for Halo 2 was May of 2003, and I believe Half-Life 2 is over a year late at this point, no?
I’m predicting summer 2005 for KOTOR II, but I hope I’m wrong :D.
You’re right, they almost never meet the deadlines.
The only reason I’m pretty sure they will meet that date is because a) they have an exact day - not winter 2004 or even Dec. 2004, but an actual date - and b) because they really didn’t have to do a whole lot except come up with another storyline. It’s the same engine, same graphics. How hard is it to add new force powers and a Han Solo looking NPC?
And thanks for the compliment. I will probably pony up the dough for a subscription when this freebie runs out. It’s nice to talk to other gamers who can spell and form coherent sentences.
Do you think they either didn’t have enough time to put together a demo, or that they knew the response would be big enough without one? Or something else?
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