"The Freeman Returns" with The Official Orange Box Thread

traveler said:
...but they're not disregarding in the sense that they dismiss the games without playing them. These are people that bought the games and played through them. (Or at least a substantial portion of them)
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C'mon, there are millions out there who would take one look at a game like Portal and dismiss it as crap without ever bothering to try it. And even it they did, would still dismiss it as crap.
 
Quincey said:
Do you think that Half-life 3 (technically 4 i guess) is going to be a full game, or broken up into smaller parts (episodes).
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I think they've learned their lessons with the episodes. HL3 will be a full-fledged new incarnation, I'd wager.
 
TTG said:
PS: FEAR's AI makes HL2 look like childsplay.
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I'm playing through on hard but I think they've improved it or something. Everything seems a lot more challenging this time through.
 
Let's end all this feudin and a fussin and get down to some gnome watchin

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more here
http://www.kfj.f2s.com/index.php/2007-10-15-gnome-quest

Started my gnome run today. So far so good, probably because I'm still in the early chapters. I dread the car chapters though
 
Druz said:
FEARs AI intentionally gives the illusion that it's smart courtesy of scripting.
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Not to mention when the entire game is comprised of narrow hallways and corridors there are only so many routes the AI can take.
 
traveler said:
I think they've learned their lessons with the episodes. HL3 will be a full-fledged new incarnation, I'd wager.
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God it is going to be 5,6, maybe 7 years for the full fledged Half-life 3. I think they may break it up to episodes but wont commit to doing them every year and instead say 3-5 hours of gameplay whenever we are ready.
 
poovine said:
Not to mention when the entire game is comprised of narrow hallways and corridors there are only so many routes the AI can take.
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That makes it more impressive. The fact that it can shine in very basic scenarios. Honestly, the one area FEAR does not need defending in is AI, especially not in a thread about HL2. :lol
 
Quincey said:
God it is going to be 5,6, maybe 7 years for the full fledged Half-life 3. I think they may break it up to episodes but wont commit to doing them every year and instead say 3-5 hours of gameplay whenever we are ready.
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I was kinda hoping they had a 2nd(smaller) team working on HL3 the whole time, laying down the ground work. Maybe we'll see HL3 before 2010?
 
TTG said:
I was kinda hoping they had a 2nd(smaller) team working on HL3 the whole time, laying down the ground work. Maybe we'll see HL3 before 2010?
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I hope so, but doubt it. Holiday 2010 please!!!
 
drohne said:
so portal is completely awesome -- just played through the whole thing. they've built such elegant puzzles around that mindbending portal mechanic. and the writing is amazing -- or not just the writing but the way the writing plays against the music and the visuals. one moment you're laughing at GLaDOS's glib euphimisms, and the next moment you get a chill from the starkness of the surroundings or a sinister note that's crept into the music. and the song at the end was weirdly moving. somehow. what an extraordinary game. i just wish there was more of it.
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I agree, an amazing game with a lot of creativity. However, I felt it was just the right length. Some of the puzzles were getting repetitive and the developers were able to keep it fresh with the story. I wouldn't mind seeing more puzzles in a different story and environment, but the developers got every drop of game out of portal. I think another hour would have pushed it into the "milking" category.
 
I just beat HL2.

Fuck wow. AMAZING GAME!!!!

I never played HL1, so here's a question that may or may not be dumb:

The guy at the beginning and end of the game, do we know who he is? Or is that the big mystery of the series? From just the end of HL2 I assume Gordon is a gun for hire, but he's more like a slave.
 
KarishBHR said:
I just beat HL2.

Fuck wow. AMAZING GAME!!!!

I never played HL1, so here's a question that may or may not be dumb:

The guy at the beginning and end of the game, do we know who he is? Or is that the big mystery of the series? From just the end of HL2 I assume Gordon is a gun for hire, but he's more like a slave.
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1. Play the Episodes
2. The G-Man, he's all a mystery at this point
 
KarishBHR said:
I just beat HL2.

Fuck wow. AMAZING GAME!!!!

I never played HL1, so here's a question that may or may not be dumb:

The guy at the beginning and end of the game, do we know who he is? Or is that the big mystery of the series? From just the end of HL2 I assume Gordon is a gun for hire, but he's more like a slave.
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HL1 Spoilers (sorta):

G-Man can be seen at miscellaneous points throughout the game as you're trying to get out. When you're first playing it, it's a really great experience, because all you know is that there are aliens flooding in and marines trying to kill you, and you're just trying to get out of the complex. Meanwhile, this dude in a black suit keeps popping up (if you're paying attention, though he's kind of hard to miss sometimes). At the end of the game, it turns out that you've sort of been prospected by G-Man and after seeing your impressive work, has chosen to hire you.

For more-ish (be careful not to spoil yourself with the Episode 1 information), go here:

http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm
 
Nick Laslett said:
Whilst trying to find comparison data, I read that the 360 version of Half Life 2 is actually a port of the Xbox version, not the PC original. Is that true? I already have the Xbox version.
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Nope, it actually has a few upgrades over the PC version such as HDR.
 
Just beat episode one. I liked it, but if I remember correctly there was a long wait between HL2 and HL2:ep1 and had I not played them back to back, I would have been underwhelmed by ep1 considering the wait.

But I didn't wait, so I loved it


PS. I am officially a HL fan, so I really hope they release ep3 on 360 somehow
 
I was replaying episode 2 and was scared shitless when
the hunter who attacks Alyx was looking at you outside of the barn you open the gate in. He was behind me and it's dark there so I didn't notice. Holy fuck! It had that weird 'hobo looking at you through the window' feel to it. The impact was even greater because he didn't make a noise or anything but just stood there. Yikes. Horror moment indeed.

Also I got that stupid 'get some grub' achievement yesterday, possibly the most irritating one to get. Especially when you know there's actually a larvae hidden behind a closet in the beginning. Collectathon crap sucks

In other news, stuff from the entire HL² saga is still running through my head and I keep wanting to play/replay the games. It's become one of my favorite franchises now. It practically never happens that I care for characters in a game but
when Eli died I seriously yelled 'no!' at the screen. Half Life maybe doesn't have the perfect shooter gameplay, but when it comes to creating believable characters, creating a world you believe you're a part of... great success.

Also I read some HL story stuff and I can't believe there were people who thought at one time that G-man was Gordon from the future
 
Just finished Portal. Despite only being a couple hours long, it's really a great experience and I can't wait until we get a full-blown game utilizing the portal gameplay. The last level was great, although I did get stuck a few times until I figured out that building up momentum is very useful way to get to high areas.

The writing was great throughout and the ending is pretty awesome, song and all.
 
Is anyone else having freezing problems on the Benefactor level of HL2? My game freezes at nearly the same point everytime. (I'm playing on the 360)

After 4 restart tries last night I gave up, and let the Box rest, but today it was the same story. This is my first play through of Half Life 2, and I was REALLY into the story, so I went to Blockbuster and rented the game, thinking it might have been a problem with my disc. Nope, frozen in the same spot. The odd thing is, I can play through any other part of the game no problem. I haven't tried the episodes yet, because I'm trying to stay spoiler free, but Portal worked just fine.

So pretty much, multiple restarts, clearing the cache, new disc, none of it worked. This is really frustrating - I'm so close to the end!! I'm about to give up on 2, read the wiki and move on to the episodes :(.

Anybody know what's up?

edit: solved it - restarted from the beginning of the level, and it worked. Must have been a corrupted save file or something.
 
Darunia said:
when Eli died I seriously yelled 'no!' at the screen. Half Life maybe doesn't have the perfect shooter gameplay, but when it comes to creating believable characters, creating a world you believe you're a part of... great success.
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I wonder if Valve played around with the idea of letting you shoot around/struggle against the advisor in that scene. After going through the first encounter with it, I knew it was gonna be a watch only affair. I think his death would of had more meaning if YOU couldn't stop it. Alyx's cries had more of an efffect than the actual death IMO.

I think the hunter's attack on Alyx was an awesome move on Valve's part. Not in the "OMG A TWIST" sense but in that it builds a stronger bond between her and you. I literally didn't want to let her out of my sight after she was healed. For the first time you see Alyx as vulnerable, or atleast it seemed that way to me.

As a whole, I think episode 2 is the best half life 2 experience yet. Had a really good blend of story and action. And the action never felt too slow(unlike episode 1) or meaningless. Great stuff all around.

Episode 3 better be around next spring on DLC!
 
Ok. I just beat Portal. At first I was underwhelmed and didn't get why everyone was so obsessed, but its once you beat the test part and begin the escape that the game gets unreal.



Anyway, I was under the impression that Portal revealed something big about the HL universe, did I miss something because I didn't see it at all
 
KarishBHR said:
Anyway, I was under the impression that Portal revealed something big about the HL universe, did I miss something because I didn't see it at all
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Around the end of Episode 2, Aperture Science is mentioned. The Borealis ship was theirs. So it seems logical that in Ep 3, we'll learn more about Black Mesa's rival
 
Revengeance said:
Is anyone else having freezing problems on the Benefactor level of HL2? My game freezes at nearly the same point everytime. (I'm playing on the 360)

After 4 restart tries last night I gave up, and let the Box rest, but today it was the same story. This is my first play through of Half Life 2, and I was REALLY into the story, so I went to Blockbuster and rented the game, thinking it might have been a problem with my disc. Nope, frozen in the same spot. The odd thing is, I can play through any other part of the game no problem. I haven't tried the episodes yet, because I'm trying to stay spoiler free, but Portal worked just fine.

So pretty much, multiple restarts, clearing the cache, new disc, none of it worked. This is really frustrating - I'm so close to the end!! I'm about to give up on 2, read the wiki and move on to the episodes :(.

Anybody know what's up?

edit: solved it - restarted from the beginning of the level, and it worked. Must have been a corrupted save file or something.
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I've had some freezing issues, and it keeps happening unless I move really slowly up to the part where it freezes, and then its ok. Also helps if I go back to another save.

Only happened in 2 spots so far.
 
ah shit, different person.

anyway, spoilers for EP2/tie in

Borealis and its dock dissapeared, I'm guessing it was "Portal'd" somewhere to hide it.
 
Just bought this. Looking forward to playing Portal and Half-Life 2. Everyone I know who has played Portal so far has said it's GOTY.

I can't believe how many games I've bought in the last few days.. This, Jericho, Goku Makaimura Kai, Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, Silent Hill Origins, and Guitar Hero 3. Literally in the space of 3 days. What a great time to be a gamer.
 
Druz said:
FEARs AI intentionally gives the illusion that it's smart courtesy of scripting.
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fun fact, the marines in the original HL1 used scripting as well. which is funny since so many people say the marines from Hl1 kick the shit out of HL2 combine's AI
 
Mar_ said:
Just bought this. Looking forward to playing Portal and Half-Life 2. Everyone I know who has played Portal so far has said it's GOTY.

I can't believe how many games I've bought in the last few days.. This, Jericho, Goku Makaimura Kai, Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles, Silent Hill Origins, and Guitar Hero 3. Literally in the space of 3 days. What a great time to be a gamer.
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God, if you'd waited a week or two I would have sent you my promo copy of Jericho to save you buying it.

Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for you online, and we'll play some TF2 sometime.
 
Ferrio said:
Don't kill her so fast. If you sit around and wait for her to talk you'll hear things!
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I waited a long time on my commentary run (to keep her from saying stuff when I was trying to listen to the people) when she kept saying things about the ball, that I shouldn't touch it. She certainly didn't say it then. So it must be while the time's ticking. Yeah then I just went for the kill :p
 
Darunia said:
I waited a long time on my commentary run (to keep her from saying stuff when I was trying to listen to the people) when she kept saying things about the ball, that I shouldn't touch it. She certainly didn't say it then. So it must be while the time's ticking. Yeah then I just went for the kill :p
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Every time you smack her she starts talking new lines then she'll start repeating, then you should smack her again
 
Ferrio said:
Every time you smack her she starts talking new lines then she'll start repeating, then you should smack her again
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oh ok thanks. I did get the best lines though I think, like the
"you're adopted and nobody likes you" stuff

btw what I don't get about Portal is how
subjects end up in the facility in the first place, when you know it's completely deserted and it seems to be excluded from the rest of the world
 
Darunia said:
oh ok thanks. I did get the best lines though I think, like the
"you're adopted and nobody likes you" stuff

btw what I don't get about Portal is how
subjects end up in the facility when it's completely deserted and it seems to be excluded from the rest of the world
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several theories. one chell is an android, two chell was abducted and held in that egg cell until portal starts, and other generally goofy stuff

go to halflife2.net and check out their forums for various theories
 
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