# PC gamers, it's our turn : Half-Life 2!!!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409 "2004-11-12T17:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/41 "2004-11-14T12:16:59Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I know what you mean. I won’t believe that Half-Life 2 is finally out until I see the boxes on the shelf in Best Buy. > > When I was in the store today, I did notice that they had shelf space cleared off, right next to Doom 3. I’m taking that as a good omen. Actually, many Best Buys already have Half Life 2 on the shelves, ready to buy. Of course, you can’t play the game until the 16th - stupid Vivendi is holding up the release. Oh well, I pre-ordered via Steam, and will go back to playing CS:Source while I wait. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/42 "2004-11-14T13:33:30Z")
What’s odd to me is that no other studio seems to even attempt to match the inventiveness of HL (I’m thinking snarks) and I don’t know if AI of recent FPS’s (except Halo) has come close to that of HL. I don’t think Halo compares to HL either from a relative breakthrough standpoint or pure gameplay. The only game that rivals HL is Call of Duty which gets extra points for being historical. Half-Life 2 will be incredible and will live up to the hype. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/43 "2004-11-15T17:24:03Z")
If anyone’s interested, [Gamespot will have a full review of Half-Life 2 today at Noon PST.](http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/index.html). I’m undecided on whether I want to read it. They’re usually pretty good about being spoiler-free. I may just pop in to see the numerical score they come up with. I’m curious to see how HL2 stacks up (at least ostenisbly) to their other recent “superb” games: GTA:SA 9.6 Halo 2 9.4 Not that a numerical rating really means anything, but I think they do pretty well to keep it reasonable (see: Doom 3 – 8.5). (btw, the original HL got a 9.4) ---
**Author:** ![Anthropomorphic\_Mouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Anthropomorphic\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anthropomorphic_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/44 "2004-11-16T03:48:50Z")
4 more hours! Just four more hours! Too bad I have work today and can’t get out of it… and then the girlfriend will probably want to do something… _sigh_ Could be a while before I get to witness the glory of Half-Life 2 ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/45 "2004-11-16T05:51:22Z")
Well, if things go as planned then we’re down to TWO hours. I told myself I wouldn’t wait like this, but here I am. Maybe I should do a little Half-Life to get in the mood… ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/46 "2004-11-16T06:23:10Z")
Gamespot is a bunch of console terds. I await that weird British Edge magazines review: they always come out late, so they never pimp themselves out for a good review exclusive, and they are tough as hell. I’ve been a fan for a loooong time, even wasting a large portion of last year on the [HL2.net](http://HL2.net) boards (if you know of the infamous “Info” thread, then yeah, that’s the same Apos). Needless to say, when I basically left my rig to go work for John Kerry in Ohio, I figured I would miss out on HL2’s release, which was a huge huge downer. Luckily, Valve came through for me and delayed the game long enough for me to come back! 🙂 now I can enjoy the release along with the rest of the community. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/47 "2004-11-16T06:56:36Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Gamespot is a bunch of console terds. I await that weird British Edge magazines review: they always come out late, so they never pimp themselves out for a good review exclusive, and they are tough as hell. Spoilers on the link… > **[Half-Life 2](https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/half-life-2)** > > Half-Life 2 for PC game reviews & Metacritic score: \[Metacritic's 2004 PC Game of the Year\] By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiven... …look at the top review… 😃 I’ll wait to read the actual magazine before believing that score, but if Edge, the no-bs magazine gives that score, I’m off to buy a new computer first thing tomorrow morning… :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/48 "2004-11-16T06:58:17Z")
…oh, and SPOILER laden reviews are starting to flow in… > **[PC Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, News, Reviews & Videos - IGN](https://www.ign.com/pc)** > > IGN is the leading site for PC games with expert reviews, news, previews, game trailers, cheat codes, wiki guides & walkthroughs [http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=32810&subsectionid=1609](http://gamesradar.msn.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=32810&subsectionid=1609) > **[Half-Life 2 Review](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/half-life-2-review/1900-6113062/)** > > Half-Life 2 is a very impressive and engaging shooter, and a faithful follow-up to one of the greatest PC games of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/49 "2004-11-16T07:21:08Z")
Bah, spoilers suck. We’ve already seen way too much of the game already: lets at least get the story fresh. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/50 "2004-11-16T07:31:24Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Gamespot is a bunch of console terds. Very interesting, because I’ve always viewed their opinions as skewed towards PCs. The fact that GameSpot stemmed from a PC website doesn’t help matters either. What cinched the deal for me though is the way they right in their semi-weekly feature where all the editors write a topic in regards to whatever they want. It seems 60%+ of the time, they discuss PC games. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/51 "2004-11-16T07:34:08Z")
Sure we’re both talking about ga **M** e **S** pot? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/52 "2004-11-16T07:39:40Z")
Well we’re now officially looking at 15 minutes!!! (Do you reckon there’s a chance in hell that we’ll actually be in game at 12:01?) I’m not the hugest fan of Gamespot, but I find them somewhat reasonable. I do actually kinda like the video reviews they do sometimes as it can actually show you some good in-game footage. Oh and by the way, the Gamespot review gave Half-Life 2 a rating of 9.2 which obviously is still really really good, but it kinda irks me that it’s less than Halo 2 when it seems like the only real criticism is that [spoiler]There isn’t anything incredibly new and groundbreaking and they claim the story is somewhat disappointing[/spoiler] However, both those things are supposed issues with Halo 2. As always, I’ll make up my own mind. Jeez, I’m excited!! ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/53 "2004-11-16T07:42:58Z")
Given that every other mag and site is gushing about how cool the story is and how it is told (plus the ending), I have a hard time buying Gamespot’s take. Especially since Halo2’s story apparently just [quote] irritatingly dies midgame.[/spoiler] Given that the level design is supposed to be teh suck in Halo2, and it has no physics gun, I don’t see how it can rate higher. Maybe for and alongside console games. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/54 "2004-11-16T07:45:06Z")
Crap. Spoiler tag, er, didn’t work, or something! Damn, er, hamsters! ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/55 "2004-11-16T07:48:30Z")
I agree. Not to bash Gamespot too much (again, check there a fair amount for just the basic “is it decent or not”) but I checked their super-duper-all-time games review list. I was curious if they believed it was possible for a game to be a 10.0. [You might be suprised at what I found.](http://www.gamespot.com/reviews.html?type=byscore&platform=all&order=desc&time=alltime) Indeed the moral is to take it with a grain of salt. 1 minute!!! ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/56 "2004-11-16T07:50:55Z")
The time is NOW!!! Unlock the gates Valve!!! ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/57 "2004-11-16T07:52:35Z")
Right now Steam’s website is slower than…than…well I’m too excited to finish the analogy with something witty. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/58 "2004-11-16T07:53:26Z")
It’s unlocking right now. 31% complete. Going veeerrrry slowly, but going. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/59 "2004-11-16T08:03:35Z")
It’s unlocked. Goodbye, real world. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409/60 "2004-11-16T08:12:45Z")
> [@Jayrot](#): > > I agree. Not to bash Gamespot too much (again, check there a fair amount for just the basic “is it decent or not”) but I checked their super-duper-all-time games review list. I was curious if they believed it was possible for a game to be a 10.0. > > [You might be suprised at what I found.](http://www.gamespot.com/reviews.html?type=byscore&platform=all&order=desc&time=alltime) > > Indeed the moral is to take it with a grain of salt. > > 1 minute!!! Video Games are a very time-subjective medium. While I’m not a fan of Tony Hawk, I can see why it would have gotten a 10 during its time. However, I believe Zelda is one of those classics that can withstand the test of time. I don’t believe anyone can truley ever predict what games will maintain their integrity; whether Half-Life 2 will be one of these titles will be interesting to find out. We should know within five years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pc-gamers-its-our-turn-half-life-2/274409.md?page=4)