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Gamespot and IGN review the GOTY (Half-Life 2)
- Thread starter paul777
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Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Unison said:
Didn't they get free Iced Tea or something while they were playing?
Sounds like a fair (or even higher-than-expected) score, given all the problems that they single out:
Rehash of Half-Life 1
"With that said, many of those tricks feel more than a bit familiar now, and the game itself is saddled with a disappointing story"
"Half-Life 2 doesn't revolutionize the genre, instead sticking with the familiar formula of run-and-gun action, occasional puzzle-solving, and scripted sequences established by Half-Life"
"Half-Life 2 settles into a more conventional and familiar style of play. Aside from a detour through a deserted town full of all sorts of booby traps, there are a lot of echoes of the original Half-Life in Half-Life 2--so many, in fact, that there's a strong sense of déjà vu at times."
"Meanwhile, you'll be armed with a formidable arsenal, most of which is recycled from the first game, such as the submachine gun, shotgun, crossbow, and, of course, the ubiquitous crowbar. These weapons haven't changed much, and they feel roughly the same."
Teammates boring, with poor AI
"You never really develop any attachment to your teammates, though, as they tend to be very disposable, and replacements are available at regular intervals. And teammates have a tendency to get in your way in cramped interiors--while they'll slowly move out of your way, it's still a little annoying."
Story disappointing, many unresolved plot threads
"Surprisingly, Half-Life 2's story is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. The first half of the game feels a bit unfocused, while the second half seems rushed. Even worse, the story leaves behind a mess of unanswered questions, and it doesn't touch on any of the lingering questions left over from the first game."
Enemy AI is worse than the first game
"Another surprise is the somewhat disappointing performance by the game's artificial intelligence. Even on the tougher difficulty levels, most of the humanoid enemies don't seem to show the same kind of intelligent behavior that they did in the previous game. They'll seek cover and then peek out to fire, but invariably they'll charge at you, making it easy to take them down."
Rehash of Half-Life 1
"With that said, many of those tricks feel more than a bit familiar now, and the game itself is saddled with a disappointing story"
"Half-Life 2 doesn't revolutionize the genre, instead sticking with the familiar formula of run-and-gun action, occasional puzzle-solving, and scripted sequences established by Half-Life"
"Half-Life 2 settles into a more conventional and familiar style of play. Aside from a detour through a deserted town full of all sorts of booby traps, there are a lot of echoes of the original Half-Life in Half-Life 2--so many, in fact, that there's a strong sense of déjà vu at times."
"Meanwhile, you'll be armed with a formidable arsenal, most of which is recycled from the first game, such as the submachine gun, shotgun, crossbow, and, of course, the ubiquitous crowbar. These weapons haven't changed much, and they feel roughly the same."
Teammates boring, with poor AI
"You never really develop any attachment to your teammates, though, as they tend to be very disposable, and replacements are available at regular intervals. And teammates have a tendency to get in your way in cramped interiors--while they'll slowly move out of your way, it's still a little annoying."
Story disappointing, many unresolved plot threads
"Surprisingly, Half-Life 2's story is one of the most disappointing aspects of the game. The first half of the game feels a bit unfocused, while the second half seems rushed. Even worse, the story leaves behind a mess of unanswered questions, and it doesn't touch on any of the lingering questions left over from the first game."
Enemy AI is worse than the first game
"Another surprise is the somewhat disappointing performance by the game's artificial intelligence. Even on the tougher difficulty levels, most of the humanoid enemies don't seem to show the same kind of intelligent behavior that they did in the previous game. They'll seek cover and then peek out to fire, but invariably they'll charge at you, making it easy to take them down."
lockii said:
How could they have done that? The game was simply not finished. Gabe directly admits that in the recent Gamespot article. Half-Life 2 simply wasn't finished...
I briefly scanned the review in order to avoid spoilers, and thankfully, it wasn't full of them (from what I could tell). It does not sound particularly revolutionary, though, and it seems as if it might just be a standard FPS with a little more polish.
The fact that the GS reviewer awarded Far Cry the same score has me worried. I thought Far Cry was simply a mediocre game (and sometimes a BAD game) wrapped in a beautiful package. I can't imagine that HL2 will disappoint me in the same way...
I can't say until I see them running, but I also disagree based on what we've been shown. Heck, I think Halo 2 and Prime 2 look better than Half-Life 2. Still, with all of the physics and animation in action, it should look quite a bit better...
How can a reviewer, in good conscience, jack up the score based on expansions that don't exist? Or if he imagines that the mods will be bad, should he lower the score?paul777 said:
Like Halo 2, this game will be a victim of its own hype. People got all excited over a game that, quite frankly, never really promised to be that different from its predecessor. Yet they ignore all that and go crazy because it's not a revolution. And ironically, both developers chose to raise a bunch of completely unanswered questions and leave everything hanging at their games' conclusion.
The major disappointment is the AI downgrade, I would think. It's the only gameplay element in HL1 that still seems impressive today, and if they dumbed it down for more casual appeal then it's quite a loss.
Ouch. 9.2 is a very suprising score for HL2 after PCGamer calling it one of the greatest games of all time, etc. Seems like it's just gonna be another pretty, but ultimately shallow FPS. IGN overrate everything, so I'm not even going to comment on their review.
I'm still getting it though. Atleast the physics gun looks like fun.
I'm still getting it though. Atleast the physics gun looks like fun.
D
Deleted member 1235
Unconfirmed Member
Unison said:
Never played H2 on live?
If multiplayer is a factor. H2 > Counterstrike
Campaign well, that's a lot different probably
Yeah, of course I've played Halo on Live... I kind of suck at it, don't have many people on my friends list and got tired of waiting 3 mins per game (I'd rather play DOAU's waiting mode where I can at least watch others play, frankly).
I am not hardcore into these things, I guess, and most of the value for me is in the single player campaign.
FartOfWar said:
Wonderful, could you give me your impressions too? That statement does not represent my thoughts on the game, as I have yet to play it, but that's what the reviews made it seem like...
If you disagree with them, I can only assume that you have played the game as well. So I'm curious why you disagree with them, as I don't want that to be the case.
Dagless M.D.
Member
looking amazing
border said:
It's curious to see so many folks here who generally refuse to take one critic's appraisal as scripture unquestionably accept every comment in this review. I found HL 2's A.I. incredible, superior to HL's in every imaginable way. Same goes for several of the alleged issues this reviewer has with weapon balance and general game difficulty. This part in particular really surprises me: "Case in point is the end of the game, which feels anticlimactic--you're given a horrendously overpowered weapon to use against relatively weak opposition." For me, HL 2's ending felt completely satisfying, novel, and climatic because of this development. Rather than the ordinary big, bigger, biggest/tough, tougher, toughest progression of every FPS, Half-Life 2 turns the paradigm on its head. After surviving incredible odds, enduring what I assure you are tough-as-f**k fights, something incredible occurs and it makes for one of my favorite final levels in any videogame ever. But don't let me spoil it. See for yourselves.
Crazymoogle
Member
Regardless of the general IGN opinion or scores given, they seem to have written a more interesting review.
The Shadow
Member
FartOfWar said:
Welcome to GA.
KilledByBill
Member
Heh, I actually am only expecting Gamespot's MGS3 review score to be in the high 8's. EGM's scores and comments for the game were very encouraging but I still expect many Snake Eater reviews to be very critical.
As for HL2, I'll still be picking up the game but its disappointing to hear that so much of its hype may have been overblown. The return of jumping puzzles puts me off, there's no reason to include platforming filler in a FPS of this caliber. It's even less excusable now than it was when the original Half Life was released(and it was shitty back then too).
I was planning on waiting for a price drop or two anyway and I'm sure by then it will be more than worth it. As long as impressions don't fall into Doom 3 territory, that killed my interest in that game completely.
Teknopathetic
Member
Way to go Olimario, you found the best dark and undiscernable screenshot of Half-life 2 in the world.
carbonbased
Member
SELL YOUR PCS
dark10x said:Oh good, so you HAVE played it. That's good news then.
As for A.I. Here's an excerpt from one review I wrote:
"I ran for cover; they rushed me as I tried to reload. I ducked into an apartment expecting to unload my shotgun as they approached the doorway; the first guy ate lead, but his boys backed off and lobbed in a grenade. I fired a missile at a gunship; its crafty pilot contorted his flying fortress and shot down my salvo, forcing me to launch another into the sky behind him before laser-guiding it back into his blind spot. And, in what must amount to the mother of all that-did-not-just-happen moments, a strider, high on its tripod of telephone-pole-tall legs and unable to flush me out on the ground floor, planted its feet in the walls on either side of the alley and lowered itself to eye level."
Other examples of its allegedly lame A.I.: Helicopters hunt you through warehouses, open up as you pass windows, and blast the roofs bits to get a bead on you. In one section where you're massively outgunned you must set up remote sentries to stage an Alamo-style holdout. Placement is essential, almost an engineering challenge, as a few Combine will find ways to distract one turret while another moves in from behind to overturn it. Likewise they'll use grenades to knock 'em over. As you use the sentries to cover each other's blindspots, you'll see the Combine adapt accordingly, always finding gaps to exploit unless you settle on an ingenious defense plan.