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Half-Life 2 Xbox - IGN Review

O

Osorio

Member
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/666/666049p1.html

9.5 Presentation
Subtle, minimalist HUD, menus, and interfaces. It's all about believability, and Valve does it better than anyone.
9.0 Graphics
Excellent for the Xbox. This isn't high-end, high-resolution PC imagery, but the graphics are nonetheless damn good.
9.5 Sound
Great voice acting plus superb music equals the top-notch sound all around.
10 Gameplay
A huge variety of missions, experiences, and suprises will have you riveted all the way to the end.
8.5 Lasting Appeal
A 16- to 18-hour single-player game with tons of little things that are worth going back and finding. The G-Man awaits your search.
9.4
Outstanding OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
 
I don't even want to know how bad the load times are.

edit:

"Improving on the PC version, the initial load time into the game is shorter, and the load times between sections are also shorter. Each one is only 15 seconds. And for the record, the initial load time for Half-Life 2 is way shorter than is the initial load time for Halo 2."


well, that shut me up.
 
FiRez said:
Best console for FPS games ..ever!! :)

I hope that the X360 keeps that legacy
Click to expand...

Methinks Revolution will have something to say about that.

Of course it won't have Halo or PD.
 
No mouse and keyboard ---> gameplay score -5

Why can't console FPS just support it? It's not like keyboard/mouse is expensive.
 
Zeo said:
Methinks Revolution will have something to say about that.

Of course it won't have Halo or PD.
Click to expand...

I knew that was coming

teh pwn said:
No mouse and keyboard ---> gameplay score -5
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Funny...I said the same 4 years ago, but a game called Halo make me eat those words
 
Did that rumor about it maybe supporting higher res textures on the 360 flush out? I see it was on the BC list....
 
The load times in the PC verion really pissed me off. They were like a minute long. And I never did finish the PC version, so hopefully someday I can pick HL2 up for the Xbox.

And hopefully, the HL2 Xbox development team now begins work on CS: Source for the 360 :)
 
Lemurnator said:
I think Nintendo 64 was the best console for FPS.
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I couldn't agree with you more.

Turok's controls was the best.

Me thinks that people won't care about how HL2 look, when they use the game on X360, because it IS backward compatible.
 
Funny...I said the same 4 years ago, but a game called Halo make me eat those words
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Yeah, but how many FPS games are designed around controllers specifically, let alone one specific to a console?

Halo controls great, but you need to essentially cram the game into a controller from the beginning for results like that. I'm sure HL2's plenty playable (fully, even), but not everything can be transitioned so smoothly.
 
john tv said:
I skimmed the review, but maybe I missed the most important part: will this play on an Xbox 360 or not?
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Doesn't say in the review, but yes it will be.

Though it isn't confirmed, Valve may have loaded some higher resolution content on the Xbox disc which you can use with the 360.
 
Tain said:
Yeah, but how many FPS games are designed around controllers specifically, let alone one specific to a console.

Halo controls great, but you need to essentially cram the game into a controller from the beginning for results like that. I'm sure HL2's plenty playable (fully, even), but not everything can be transitioned so smoothly.
Click to expand...

imho the learning curve is just higher on a dual analog pad, sadly some devs thinks otherwise and put insanely auto-aim values but I believe that even the most fast paced FPS can be played without any troubles with the control S
 
Dark Age Iron Savior said:
so why would anyone want this if they have a PC that can run it?
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Because a lot of people...don't (have a PC that can run it...that is, not don't want it)?
 
My PC can run it just fine. I'd rather play it from my huge-ass beanbag cushion on my giant-size widescreen HDTV in all its progressive glory than on my dinky little 19" monitor with my dinky little PC chair. The slight drop in graphical quality doesn't bother me one bit -- I'm here for the game, not the visuals. :)
 
Just watched the preview video. Looks really good. The Source engine scales incredibly well. This will be a great game for all of the people who can't afford the latest Radeon X50232 and don't want to deal with the utter horseshit of Steam (don't even get me started).
 
john tv said:
My PC can run it just fine. I'd rather play it from my huge-ass beanbag cushion on my giant-size widescreen HDTV in all its progressive glory than on my dinky little 19" monitor with my dinky little PC chair. The slight drop in graphical quality doesn't bother me one bit -- I'm here for the game, not the visuals. :)
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I'm not here to pick on you, john tv, but I see this reasoning quite a bit. Why don't people simply get a more comfortable PC chair? I have one that's more comfortable than my couch... And get a bigger monitor while you're at it. Yeah, that's right, you've got some bucks, Mr. fancy-pants "giant-size widescreen HDTV" gamer.

Joking, of course. But I don't see why people don't spend a little to make their PC environment more comfortable.
 
Nice! I hate gaming on a PC (period.)

I like controllers way more than a mouse and keyboard. I only really prefer M/KB in most Strategy games, where there is a cursor and analog on a controller is way too slow and inaccurate to be much fun.
 
Lemurnator said:
I think Nintendo 64 was the best console for FPS.
Click to expand...

Didnt play an xbox obviously. ...

Halo, Halo2, RTCW, TS2,3, Doom 3, HL2, DX2, UC1+2, Ghost Recon 1 + 2, Odworld SW, Far Cry make the N64's ps titles pale into insignificance. Halo alone does that.
 
Sounds good to me! I can play it on Xbox or the 360, sweetness. I am a bit disappointed with Far Cry Instincts so far, so I might just jump on this one first :-D
 
Awesome. If this year has my to be my Xbox's last hurrah than getting arguable the best FPS transitioned well on to it one hell of a way to go!! This thing is the best home console for FPS ever, the controlls are so well designed for it outside of keyboard functions.

Funny thing is before this generation I didn't care for the FPS genre, but playing Halo 2 gave me a better appreciation on it.
 
PC version is superior. Whether one rather play this on a couch or bed is irrelevant. I already have a PC version, but I am glad they put it on console for this without a quality rig. If I didn't have one, I'd pick this up day one.
 
And for the record, the initial load time for Half-Life 2 is way shorter than is the initial load time for Halo 2."
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Whooptie shit!

Once Halo 2 finishes that initial load (which, by itself, is actually rather stylish and well integrated into the game) you encounter no additional loading points throughout the rest of the game. It's one constant experience from beginning to end.

I much prefer one large loadtime if it means a complete removal of all others.

Still, nice to hear that the between level loads have been shortened up. Based on the footage I've seen, it looks to run very well too...but we'll have to wait and see.
 
Dark Age Iron Savior said:
so why would anyone want this if they have a PC that can run it?
Click to expand...

Lots of people, especially here on Console Age Forums, don't game on PCs, ever.

Lots of people have outdated PCs - IIRC jett has Pentium II 300 MHz or something ancient like this.

Lots of people prefer console gaming in general to PC gaming.

You can't blame them and please do not downplay HL2 for the Xbox.
 
so why would anyone want this if they have a PC that can run it?
Click to expand...
Well, the faster loading and more consistent presentation makes it worth a shot. You can play through the game and not be bothered by technical issues.

Plus, analog stick view movement just LOOKS nicer while playing. In a cinematic FPS such as this, that isn't a bad thing at all.

I played Doom 3 on XBOX as well as the PC and enjoyed it in both places. Though, I suppose in that case, they were a bit different as XBOX D3 had a lot of modified content and levels making for a unique experience that was actually more streamlined (solving some of the problems people had with the PC game).

HL2 runs awesome on my PC now, but I'm still curious to try it on XBOX sometime.
 
Suburban Cowboy said:
mario kart got a 9.5



obviously this game must be shit in comparison
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Actually I was thinking of the Jade Empire score. Man that was such a boring and generic experience. I hope to god this HL2 score is IGN Xbox fairly judging the game.
 
john tv said:
My PC can run it just fine. I'd rather play it from my huge-ass beanbag cushion on my giant-size widescreen HDTV in all its progressive glory than on my dinky little 19" monitor with my dinky little PC chair. The slight drop in graphical quality doesn't bother me one bit -- I'm here for the game, not the visuals. :)
Click to expand...

I burn with jealousy! :lol
 
dark10x said:
Well, the faster loading and more consistent presentation makes it worth a shot. You can play through the game and not be bothered by technical issues.

Plus, analog stick view movement just LOOKS nicer while playing. In a cinematic FPS such as this, that isn't a bad thing at all.

I played Doom 3 on XBOX as well as the PC and enjoyed it in both places. Though, I suppose in that case, they were a bit different as XBOX D3 had a lot of modified content and levels making for a unique experience that was actually more streamlined (solving some of the problems people had with the PC game).

HL2 runs awesome on my PC now, but I'm still curious to try it on XBOX sometime.
Click to expand...

Reading the review the loading points are still there in the XBox version. Says it is around 15 seconds which is about par for what I get on the PC with Half Life 2.

Oh and my 9800PRO runs this game around 45-60FPS the entire way so it isn't like you need a monster rig to run this game. Oh well people believe what they believe.

Still looks like Valve did a nice job with the XBox version. I'll pick it up myself when it drops under 30 bucks.

Oh and JohnTV does your HDTV has a VGA input on it? Hook your PC up to your TV, buy a gamepad adapter or the X360 controller for windows and have the game run on your glorious HDTV with better image quality and a higher framerate. :)

Actually, JohnTV, wait for the Xbox 360 before playing this. There are supposed to be enhancements made to the game on the Xbox 360.
 
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