Hello again, real world. Game crashes before it even begins: expecting Map 0, got map 19? WTH?
The hype is REAL!!
Only 30 minutes with the game…smooth, amazing graphics. A physics engine which looks to be the best ever.
But best of all…I FEEL…like a citizen of City 17.
The game has an atmosphere from the first minute which maintains itself for as long as I’ve been in the game.
Awesome job by Valve…
Back to the game…
Holy crap. So, my game is not working. What do I do? Well, assuming that there is no way to contact Valve for support with everything being swamped, I just burst into tears like a baby posting on a random fan messageboard. And out of the blue a support guy and eventually Erik Johnson himself both track ME down and try to help fix the problem!
http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?id=9009775
That’s pretty damn cool support. Again: the developers and support people are apparently cruising around fan messageboards looking to solve problems… in the middle of the night.
That’s gotta count for mega boku cool.
:eek:
…that is cool! Dammit! Want new computer NOW!!!
Want to play HL2 NOW!!!
Wahoo! It’s 5:10 AM EST, HL2’s been out two hours now, and Imagunna play it!
If only I didn’t have class in two.5 hours :smack: :mad:
The fan hype on this is incredible. Every other major game, there have been people saying “well, pretty good, but I was pretty disappointed with this this this and this.” With HL2, fans are gushing that “finally, they did it right” “this is going to set the bar for FPS games” etc. The only people negative are obvious trolls (Mortyr was better!), and there aren’t even very many of them. Most people say that they are just speechless. My issue should be resolved in about an hour, and then I get to see for myself. 
Back to gaming (updating nVidia drivers, new set out as of 9 Nov), but they really did get it right. Amazing.
So far the game is great!!!
Can’t type now must play.
Back later with a report.
Nice to hear positive responses. I may have to buy this for my husband!
Wow, it really is good. Not just pretty, not just well polished, but actually fun to play. I’m not too far in, but I already want to replay some of the battles.
I kept thinking I would work through the game slowly, savoring it, but the game itself doesn’t really allow it: keeps you on the run almost constantly. Plenty of what the Croatians call “frantic action feeling.” The combine rarely let up, and the whole game is fantastic at creating this creepy “hunted and watched” atmosphere.
Manhacks are teh suck! The military needed some of these babies for Tora Bora.
The random people don’t look quite as detailed as the main characters, but they still have a creepy aliveness to them even so. Those eyes…
So far the physics are great: the puzzles are fairly easy once you see all the possibilities, and I’ve still yet to get the physics gun. Realistic unfolding cardboard boxes are awesome. The way explosive barrels chain-react: awesome. Everything breaking and smashing and flying everywhere: awesome awesome awesome. And the funny part is that the first major thing they have you “do” is stack boxes: a kewl nod to oldmanmurray.
The jokey nods to HL1 are a little over the top though.
I got to play it for about 20 minutes before work, up to the point where you meet Alyx.
Impressive things so far:
-
Atmosphere. The graphics and sound are great, but the design is such that you feel you’re really in City 17. Also, after having “won” at the end of Half-Life, I’m REALLY curious to see how humanity is now corralled into a city-sized cage. The Combine forces are quite menacing, and Dr. Breen’s face and voice explaining to the humans why it’s good for them is very chilling. Something obviously went very, very wrong in Gordon Freeman’s absence.
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Character animations - from the lip synched speech to the postures to the facial expressions, HL2’s characters seem more real and alive than any other game I’ve seen. The way they can give you or other characters subtle glances, look surprised or scared, and even express joy in their eyes really gives you a lot of empathy for them and gives the game much more impact. I’d love to see what home-grown moviemakers will do with this engine.
As for the game itself, I haven’t gotten past the initial stages. But I can’t wait to see it all!
EZ
Lol, all that, and you haven’t even gotten a weapon yet.
There’s no way I’m going to be able to wait until Christmas on this one…
You know, I played the original Half-Life on an AMD 400, with an 8 mg video card with 256 RAM.
Now I have a P4 2.4 MHZ, a 128 ATI Radeon 9700, and 512 RAM.
And a big ass subwoofer. I hope they have the crossbow in HL2. I want to hear that “thunk” again…
I’ve had the game for a couple hours now and haven’t been able to register. This is not a good intro for this fricking business model.
OK, had to take a break to rake some leaves. (Fucking nature! :mad: )
-There were 3(?) games in between Half Life and HL2: Opposing Forces (play as marine), Blue Shift (play as Barney), and I think ‘City 17’. Never played the last, if it even exists. I could just click on Steam and find out, but I am funny like that. Anyways, I hope the plot between HL and HL2 is explained, to flesh things out a bit.
-Best character animations, ever.
-The Airbike is cool, and even cooler when you get the same gun as the helo on it!
-Bug-free, thusfar.
-I am now incredibly psyched for the next Day of Defeat. On this engine, it is going to rock.
-It’s damned nice to have a game live up to its hype. (Again, thusfar.) After Doom3, I was starting to lose faith.
-Throwing bottles at the cops in the beginning is uber-fun.
Hmmm, I didn’t think there was anything between the two. At the end of Half-Life…
The secret agent man demanded that Gordon make a choice - work for him or die. When Gordon wakes up in HL2, the G-man is still speaking to him.
IIRC Opposing Forces happens at the same time as the events depicted in Half-Life. I don’t know anything about Blue Shift, and I’ve never heard of the last one you mentioned.
There is no “city 17” City 17 is the setting of HL2, and was never mentioned anywhere in the game before Half-Life 2 begins.
Anyone noticed that a certain alien species is EXTREMELY talkative. I mean, litterally, imost characters have very few lines, but it will just keep talking and talking and talking forever, all different stuff, if you indulge it. Crazy amount of dialouge stored up in it.
Ongoing praise: the game truly is incredible. Everytime you think you are in for more of the same, they throw something different at you, mix it up somehow.
Works fine for most people: I had one major showstopper issue that had to do with a bad pre-load. Now it’s candy. Have you filled out a support ticket at steampowered yet?
I’m with Apos. My mind is blown on a minute by minute basis. My steam unlocked right away and smooth sailing for me. Played from 12-2:30 last night then forced myself to retire so I wouldn’t be a useless zombie here at work. I’ve gotten up to the “Black Mesa East”. Needless to say, can’t wait to get home.
My single word review so far: Polished. (It’d better be, right?)
I’ve been playing Counter-Strike: Source rabidly for a little while, so I have to say that by now I take the beautiful graphics and remarkable physics for granted. However, a few other things cool things (don’t worry, no spoilers):
[ul][li]killer atmosphere & pacing – gotta love the no cutscene style of Valve’s games (all 2 of them). Never takes you out of character. So simple, but hugely effective. [/li][li]Not that I didn’t like Far Cry, but Jack Carver is an idiot. “Free man” is the strong, silent type. Also, thus far we’ve got no “I’ll be in contact with you by radio so I can tell you where to go each step of the way” cliche. Characters tell you what to do, but you gotta figure out how to do it/get there. Which is not to say that there are actually multiple options, but you get my point. [/li][li]Decent ammo & weapon availability. You can’t carry 500 rounds, but you also aren’t underprepared. Just be reasonable – make each shot count. [/li][li]Love the ammo & health meters right next to the crosshairs (you did turn that on in options, didn’t you?). It’s a nice touch. Again, everything just seems polished and well thought out. [/li][/ul]
On another note, in the spirit of the Café Society threads on **“Lines of dialog that make you cringe in otherwise classic movies” **:
I had to chuckle when we first meet Barney – [spoiler]The Combine soldier takes his helmet off and says: “Hi, it’s me, Barney, from Black Mesa”. When I think about in real life I’d probably say the same thing –“It’s me…you know, from ……”, but the delivery on that line makes me think of:
Dr Nick: Hiiiiiiii Eeeeverybody!
Or
Troy McClure: Hi, I’m the loveable Barney. You may remember me from such scientific disasters as……[/spoiler]
Of course, HL2’s voice acting is superb, so that line just makes me chuckle. Go back and listen again if you don’t remember.