"The Freeman Returns" with The Official Orange Box Thread

&#1057 said:
Vortigaunts were psychic alien slaves from a dimension called Xen. They were slaves of something called the Nihilanth, which was essentially the Xen version of Dr. Breen.

In HL1, Gordon killed the Nihilanth, freeing the Vortigaunts from its powerful psychic control. But they were still enslaved by the "greater master," the Combine.
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Theres a good chance vortigaunts aren't actually from xen.
 
MrPing1000 said:
Theres a good chance vortigaunts aren't actually from xen.
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True, but I didn't want to get too in-depth.

Nihilanth and Vortigaunts were actually from another world, and the Nihilanth tried to escape to Xen, away from the Combine.


Although, Antlions are supposed to be from Xen, and the Vortigaunt in Episode 2 says that Antlion husbandry was an art of the Vortigaunts used to harvest larval extract.
 
MrPing1000 said:
Theres a good chance vortigaunts aren't actually from xen.
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Possibly, but it's likely they originate from the same place as the Nihilanth and Alien grunt.

Also wow at Vortigaunts being voiced by Tony 'Candyman' Todd!
 
GDJustin said:
For what its worth, I've never played HL2, I'm an HL2 newb. My thoughts:

- The gameplay isn't exactly WOWing me (I think Halo 3 has better gunplay, and Bioshock has better environments/exploration). BUT... I'm still enjoying myself and I can absolutely see how it would have been a revelatory experience in late 2004. It's just that in the nearly three years since, the game has been surpassed. Which is no surprise, really.

- Three elements that REALLY show the game's age and would be unacceptable if the game were just being released now, in 2007 - 1) Ladder interactions. Clunky as hell. 2) "Picking up" objects. Where's Gordon's arms? 3) Swimming/water interactions. The swimming is very clunky, and I laughed out loud the first time gordon "swam" underwater but his pistol remained in position.

- Graphically I think the game holds up AMAZINGLY well. I don't know why Half-Life 2 has held up better than other 3D titles from 2004... but it has. Obviously games like Bioshock and Gears of War are more impressive, but HL2 still looks better than many PC and 360 titles release today, despite being three years old.

- I like it enough to keep playing. I mean, I'm having fun. BUT, I don't think I'll ever get the same enjoyment out of HL2 as people that played it the first time around.
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I agree with this post in pretty much every way. I'm not very far in the game, but I'm not entirely feeling it. But I do recognize that its years old... and I'm sure it's going to improve as things progress.

I do know I hate puzzles like this in games... busywork IMO. I'm in a believable world where I have to move barrels around to get where I want to go.

Regardless... this is a fantastic value, and by no means do I dislike HL2... just not wowed by it yet.
 
gregor7777 said:
Sorry if this has been asked, but:

Is HL2 rendering native in 1080p on the 360?

I have my 360 set to upscale all my games to 1080p, but in the settings menu of HL2 it reports the res as 1920 x 1080 which I though was a wierd thing for the game to list. Meaning, wouldn't the upscaling being done outside of the game itself, and thus game game would report a resolution of near 720p?

Is HL2 running native 1080p? Can't really test the difference visually right now, but if noone knows I can check later.
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Have no way to test this myself (720P set), but I read somewhere else HL2 does render true 1080P on 360.
 
SickBoy said:
I agree with this post in pretty much every way. I'm not very far in the game, but I'm not entirely feeling it so much. But I do recognize that its years old... and I'm sure it's going to improve as things progress.

I do know I hate puzzles like this in games... busywork IMO. I'm in a believable world where I have to move barrels around to get where I want to go.

Regardless... this is a fantastic value, and by no means do I dislike HL2... just not wowed by it yet.
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The loading gets irritating as well. I stopped playing the Xbox version because they happened often, and broke up the experience. I thought that was an "Xbox exclusive;" I didn't expect it to be in the PC version. Ah well. I'm still able to play it on a big screen TV in 1080p. I'm enjoying the game so far.
 
I haven't had much time to really get into all of the games, but Portal is amazingly fun, and Half-Life 2 is a snore fest for me so far. Can't wait to try out TF2 on Live! :)
 
Ramirez said:
I haven't had much time to really get into all of the games, but Portal is amazingly fun, and Half-Life 2 is a snore fest for me so far. Can't wait to try out TF2 on Live! :)
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I wouldn't go so far as to call HL2 a snore fest, but, yeah, when I played it for the first time back when it originally came out, I didn't like it quite as much as everyone else. Coming off of Halo, the gunplay just felt a little insubstantial and the A.I. seemed much weaker. The level design and pacing (aside from the vehicle segments, which drag on a bit too long) are impeccable, though, and it still, to this day, has the best presentation of story in a game. (Well, the series as whole that is)

Yet despite my 8.5-9.0ish feelings for HL2, (when most people see it as a 10- to try and quantify feelings here) I found Ep. 2 to be nothing short of excellence. I literally can't find a single flaw with it and would recommend for those finding HL2 to be a little less than expected to play through it and Ep. 1 just so they can experience Ep. 2.
 
Graphics Horse said:
Possibly, but it's likely they originate from the same place as the Nihilanth and Alien grunt.

Also wow at Vortigaunts being voiced by Tony 'Candyman' Todd!
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I thought it was Lewis "Motherfucking" Gossett, Jr.
 
SickBoy said:
I agree with this post in pretty much every way. I'm not very far in the game, but I'm not entirely feeling it. But I do recognize that its years old... and I'm sure it's going to improve as things progress.

I do know I hate puzzles like this in games... busywork IMO. I'm in a believable world where I have to move barrels around to get where I want to go.

Regardless... this is a fantastic value, and by no means do I dislike HL2... just not wowed by it yet.
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Glad to hear someone else that never experience HL2 when it came out feels the same way I do.

For what its worth, my opinion of the game HAS improved since I made that post. I still don't think I'll ever see it as an 'AAA' game, but for the first few hours I actually had to force myself to keep playing, and that's not the case anymore. After a bit you FINALLY get some better weaponry - they stick you with crappy guns for too long.
 
Mrbob said:
Have no way to test this myself (720P set), but I read somewhere else HL2 does render true 1080P on 360.
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I thought I remember people saying that it did render natively in 1080p, but perhaps they notice the same thing I did and assumed.

I wonder if anyone can clear this up for us...
 
Hay guys, this is offtopic but i'm stuck in half life 1 which i want to finish before playing the HL2 portion of TEH ORANGE BOX. I'm in this silo where I'm supposed to climb down and turn on the giant fan, then climb up and jump and have it blow me up to the top, but i end up falling to my death every time :(
 
GDJustin said:
Glad to hear someone else that never experience HL2 when it came out feels the same way I do.

For what its worth, my opinion of the game HAS improved since I made that post. I still don't think I'll ever see it as an 'AAA' game, but for the first few hours I actually had to force myself to keep playing, and that's not the case anymore. After a bit you FINALLY get some better weaponry - they stick you with crappy guns for too long.
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Like I said, stick with it just for Ep.2. It's not radically different, but it does everything in HL completely right and features the best pacing in any game ever. (Or at least any game I've ever played.)
 
I think HL2 is peerless in pacing and level design, getting to Black Mesa East felt like a massive accomplishment and at this point in the game you've only got 3 weapons! Epic.
 
blindrocket said:
I preordered The Orange Box on PS3 today. I had $70 worth of credit to burn anyway.
I have faith it will turn out good.
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Is there any inkling of an official date as yet? Valve said it'd be a few weeks behind schedule, but Gamestop has it listed for December. I don't wanna wait that long. D:
 
lockii said:
I think HL2 is peerless in pacing and level design, getting to Black Mesa East felt like a massive accomplishment and at this point in the game you've only got 3 weapons! Epic.
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To each his own, but the vehicle segments definitely ran on a bit too long for me.
 
I loved it when it came out and It still holds up quite nice. I wish you could see your body when you look down (that would help jumping stuff) and arms when shooting torrets or driving...just to add some realism.
 
I think Half-Life 2's decision to avoid omg teh badazz guns™ makes the game more realistic and more practical. It's not about hardcore gunplay; it's still there, but what impresses me the most is the story, the detail in everything (characters, character behavior, environments, etc.), most of the "puzzles" feel so real and connected to the world... it's just a very well-executed and impressive franchise. After seeing Halo 3 through to the end, it has absolutely nothing, zero, zilch, on Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two. It's a shame that Episode Two is taking a backseat to the Halo 3 hype, because it's bar none a superior FPS. Yes Halo 3 has the multiplayer aspect and that's dandy and all, but I consider Halo 1 and Halo 2 to have great single-player experiences in addition to the multiplayer, and I found Halo 3's single-player to be extremely shallow and relatively non-eventful.

I was kinda bummed that I didn't have a 360 when Halo 3 launched, I hate missing out on the party, but after buying the Orange Box and seeing Halo 3's story mode, I can't say I'm feeling the pain anymore.
 
The vehicle segments where I think my favorite aspect of the game. The interludes in Water Hazard/Highway 17 prevented the vehicle segments from getting stale and aided in conveying a massive scope.
 
traveler said:
To each his own, but the vehicle segments definitely ran on a bit too long for me.
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I was glad that the airboat part was over too, but I think of it [the boat and being followed by that damn helicopter] as "earning" the awesomeness of the Black Mesa interlude.
 
I really liked the vehicle segments in Half-Life 2, at least the intensity and pacing, but I absolutely loved the driving in Episode Two. Those setpieces were fucking awesome.
 
Man, I finally played HL2 during the day in 5.1 and not my headphones and any complaints about gun audio is pretty off the mark. That shit was BOOMING. Literally.

I'm on Sandtrap and I really love game's atmosphere. It feels like leisurely walking through a Stephen King novel. Every setting feels very Maine-y, you've got zombies and aliens and lots of quirky people. I really love the overall mood of the game. The Orange Box, with this along with TF2 and the amazing Portal is a pretty convincing example of Valve's ridiculously awesome pedigree. Bring on Left4Dead.

This fall has been all about the 360 introducing me to two new favorite development teams, Irrational and Valve. Kudos.
 
brandonh83 said:
I think Half-Life 2's decision to avoid omg teh badazz guns™ makes the game more realistic and more practical. It's not about hardcore gunplay; it's still there, but what impresses me the most is the story, the detail in everything (characters, character behavior, environments, etc.), most of the "puzzles" feel so real and connected to the world... it's just a very well-executed and impressive franchise. After seeing Halo 3 through to the end, it has absolutely nothing, zero, zilch, on Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two. It's a shame that Episode Two is taking a backseat to the Halo 3 hype, because it's bar none a superior FPS. Yes Halo 3 has the multiplayer aspect and that's dandy and all, but I consider Halo 1 and Halo 2 to have great single-player experiences in addition to the multiplayer, and I found Halo 3's single-player to be extremely shallow and relatively non-eventful.

I was kinda bummed that I didn't have a 360 when Halo 3 launched, I hate missing out on the party, but after buying the Orange Box and seeing Halo 3's story mode, I can't say I'm feeling the pain anymore.
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But Halo is about hardcore gunplay. It shouldn't be docked for lacking what HL2 has anymore than HL should be docked for not being about hardcore gunplay. (I do agree that Ep. 2 is a much better single player campaign than any of the Halos though-much to my surprise.)

Edit: BB, have you got to Ep. 2 yet? If not, oh man do I envy you...
 
traveler said:
But Halo is about hardcore gunplay. It shouldn't be docked for lacking what HL2 has anymore than HL should be docked for not being about hardcore gunplay. (I do agree that Ep. 2 is a much better single player campaign than any of the Halos though-much to my surprise.)
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Yeah I know, I was just expressing my disappointment in Halo 3's story mode, not docking Halo 3 for its gunplay focus.
 
Pai Pai Master said:
Is there any inkling of an official date as yet? Valve said it'd be a few weeks behind schedule, but Gamestop has it listed for December. I don't wanna wait that long. D:
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Yup, I am just going by Gamestop and Ebgames listings and it's December. I don't want to wait that long either, but if it's not coming out NOW I'd rather it be later so it doesn't cut into my Call of Duty 4 time which releases November 5th.
 
brandonh83 said:
Yeah I know, I was just expressing my disappointment in Halo 3's story mode, not docking Halo 3 for its gunplay focus.
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Ah, ok. I loved Halo 3's story mode for its open environs and dynamic encounters with the A.I. but, yeah, going straight from it to HL2:Ep. 2 really made me appreciate its "every inch is unique" level appearance, story presentation, story, characters, pacing, and level design.
 
I loved the vehicle parts, the only bit I didn't like was the harbour full of rockets where you had to open the cargo container and drive through it.


MoxManiac said:
Hay guys, this is offtopic but i'm stuck in half life 1 which i want to finish before playing the HL2 portion of TEH ORANGE BOX. I'm in this silo where I'm supposed to climb down and turn on the giant fan, then climb up and jump and have it blow me up to the top, but i end up falling to my death every time :(
Click to expand...

You're meant to crowbar the panels in the ceiling, if that's your problem.
 
traveler said:
Ah, ok. I loved Halo 3's story mode for its open environs and dynamic encounters with the A.I. but, yeah, going straight from it to HL2:Ep. 2 really made me appreciate its "every inch is unique" level appearance, story presentation, story, characters, pacing, and level design.
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Yeah it had good battle scenes and nice environments, but I was just bored by the story direction to the point of tears. It had a nice ending though.
 
I can't believe I missed out on the game. This is my first time playing through Half Life 2 and I have to say that it is game of the year for me so far. Its a shame that I didnt play this gem back in 04.

Thanks to Valve on developing such a great port of the game. Looks excellent with the HDR lighting and 1080 upscale.
 
I have HL2 for the PC but I never finished it cause I lost my save. I think I was near the ending though.

Now I dunno if I should replay it again on PC, buy the Orange box for PS3 or just skip the entire thing.
 
gray_fox224 said:
I can't believe I missed out on the game. This is my first time playing through Half Life 2 and I have to say that it is game of the year for me so far. Its a shame that I didnt play this gem back in 04.

Thanks to Valve on developing such a great port of the game. Looks excellent with the HDR lighting and 1080 upscale.
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Is it upscaled to 1080p though? Alot of us are thinking that it is 1080p native if your 360 is set to 1080p.
 
oo Kosma oo said:
I have HL2 for the PC but I never finished it cause I lost my save. I think I was near the ending though.

Now I dunno if I should replay it again on PC, buy the Orange box for PS3 or just skip the entire thing.
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Yeah, don't skip it.
 
is valve doing episode 3, or are they splitting up or handing it off to somebody else? i don't keep up with them, but i thought i heard they were making a new engine and going on to hl3
 
sixthsubset said:
is valve doing episode 3, or are they splitting up or handing it off to somebody else? i don't keep up with them, but i thought i heard they were making a new engine and going on to hl3
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erm what? They're doing episode 3. After that who knows. HL3 will be on source though. That doesn't mean it won't look better. They intentionally designed the engine so piecemeal upgrades were possible. The next obvious step would dx 10 and higher res textures. Textures are probably the engines weakpoint atm.
 
brandonh83 said:
I think Half-Life 2's decision to avoid omg teh badazz guns™ makes the game more realistic and more practical. It's not about hardcore gunplay; it's still there, but what impresses me the most is the story, the detail in everything (characters, character behavior, environments, etc.), most of the "puzzles" feel so real and connected to the world... it's just a very well-executed and impressive franchise. After seeing Halo 3 through to the end, it has absolutely nothing, zero, zilch, on Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two. It's a shame that Episode Two is taking a backseat to the Halo 3 hype, because it's bar none a superior FPS. Yes Halo 3 has the multiplayer aspect and that's dandy and all, but I consider Halo 1 and Halo 2 to have great single-player experiences in addition to the multiplayer, and I found Halo 3's single-player to be extremely shallow and relatively non-eventful.

I was kinda bummed that I didn't have a 360 when Halo 3 launched, I hate missing out on the party, but after buying the Orange Box and seeing Halo 3's story mode, I can't say I'm feeling the pain anymore.
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HL2 isn't Bioshock, though. This IS a First-Person Shooter. Not a story-driven adventure game that happens to be in the first-person. I'm just disappointed in the fidelity of the gun fights. Your own guns seem to lack impact (although they sound damn good, I'll give them that), and the AI never really does anything interesting.

My enjoyment of the game climbed BIGTIME after I got the Grav gun, but then dropped right back into another valley during Highway 17. The rockets just don't feel like rockets, the shotgun, while it CAN kill in one shot up close, seems to lack weight as well. When you compared it to, say, a Gears of War shotgun (just as an example), the HL2 shotty seems much less satisfying to fire.
 
Man, these portal challenges are tough, i have the least time and least portals on the first two golden but the steps, i cant even get bronze lol

I also did all the advanced missions. I can't say i figured it all out on my own but I I did 4 of them 100% myself.
 
brandonh83 said:
I think Half-Life 2's decision to avoid omg teh badazz guns™ makes the game more realistic and more practical. It's not about hardcore gunplay; it's still there, but what impresses me the most is the story, the detail in everything (characters, character behavior, environments, etc.), most of the "puzzles" feel so real and connected to the world... it's just a very well-executed and impressive franchise. After seeing Halo 3 through to the end, it has absolutely nothing, zero, zilch, on Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two. It's a shame that Episode Two is taking a backseat to the Halo 3 hype, because it's bar none a superior FPS. Yes Halo 3 has the multiplayer aspect and that's dandy and all, but I consider Halo 1 and Halo 2 to have great single-player experiences in addition to the multiplayer, and I found Halo 3's single-player to be extremely shallow and relatively non-eventful.

I was kinda bummed that I didn't have a 360 when Halo 3 launched, I hate missing out on the party, but after buying the Orange Box and seeing Halo 3's story mode, I can't say I'm feeling the pain anymore.
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Considering I find the gunplay to be the main draw of a FPS, Halo takes a huge dump on HL in that respect. What good is the presentation if the core gameplay element of shooting gives no satisfaction? Oh well, different strokes.
 
I am quite happily surprised that even the normal HL2 had some nice upgrades.

The rumble helps the guns a lot too.

Also, Episode 2 makes me shit my pants. WHY CAN'T YOU LAST FOREVER?

I do sorta wish they remade the first Half-Life for this. I can people playing HL2 first and not knowing any of the returning characters or situations, and it's way too ugly for most people to go back to.
 
Ramirez said:
Considering I find the gunplay to be the main draw of a FPS, Halo takes a huge dump on HL in that respect. What good is the presentation if the core gameplay element of shooting gives no satisfaction? Oh well, different strokes.
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Gunplay stopped being the main draw of a single player FPS right around the era of System Shock and Half-Life. Perhaps this why I don't go gaga over Halo.
 
lockii said:
Gunplay stopped being the main draw of a single player FPS right around the era of System Shock and Half-Life. Perhaps this why I don't go gaga over Halo.
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Well, I'm glad you settled it for all of us. :)
 
agreed. right around the time people learned how to make fps that had interesting settings, scenarios, and stories, gunplay became a secondary concern. that's around the time i actually became interested in them
 
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