Half-Life 2

oh i see, you're a gas drinker

ya

  On 7/22/2009 at 1:47 AM, messiaen said:

tis some good sheet. ive been playing counterstrike on and off since i was 16 now, and im still amazingly into it. popping skulls on counterstrike just feels amazing.

you play 1.6?

you should come play with me and my mates, i'll pm your vent info if you're game.. for a PCWWWWWW

  On 7/22/2009 at 8:23 AM, Braintree said:

I used to be really into Counterstrike and Day of Defeat [more so DoD], and I could never run HL2 on my PC, but I have an intel Mac now and am seriously thinking of installing windows just to play games.

did you used to clan dod?

when i was 15 i got into clanning, when i was 16 or 17 i was playing for the best UK team and top 8 in europe, man that was great fun...

geeky x10000 but so much fun.

  On 7/22/2009 at 1:45 AM, Iain C said:

*awaits My Usernames Always Really Suck post*

Another quality post from Iain C!

honestly i was never that hooked by HL2. i couldn't run it when it first came out so maybe its just cause i never played it when it was new and revolutionary or whatever but yeah. the physics based puzzles got old quick and the combat really did nothing for me. whats the deal with not being able to look down the barrel of your gun for precision aiming? maybe i'm just spoiled by cod but i felt like the combat was too conducive to just running and gunning as opposed to splitting motherfuckers' wigs like a badass. the shotgun was cool, and ravenholm was fun i guess (saw blade through your motherfuckin FACE!) but other than that i was pretty underwhelmed.

also, the level where you're drivin around on the water forever was the opposite of fun.

i dont like the engine on these types of games. there is only 2 great FPS engins i love thats R6vegas (what a lush game) and cod4 (nuff said)

  On 7/22/2009 at 10:06 AM, lumpenprol said:

I know what you mean, but I don't think that's really true. I mean, I'm a huge fan of Clive Barker's Undying,

Oh man, I've not heard anyone mention that game in years. I absolutely adored it - brilliant atmosphere and b-movie storytelling. But I thought it fell apart both gameplay and plot-wise towards the last couple of chapters. I was really hoping Jericho might be in a similar vein but I played the demo and wasn't impressed at all.

yeah I agree, it's one game i really wish they'd remake...just thinking about it puts me in an unusual mood. I disagree that it sagged or meandered near the end - I thought going back to neolithic times and fighting the witch was actually done really well and reminded me of the book Mythago Wood (which you should read if you haven't) - however the final battle was indeed shit, unfortunately.

Jericho was not at the same level as Undying, however it was quite good as well, definitely an underrated game. The squad dynamic was extremely original and well balanced, and the environments and atmosphere were great overall. You should try playing it through, it picks up a lot after the first few levels. The ending is also a huge lol/head scratcher, probably the biggest "wtf?" moment ever in games, and I'm not saying in a bad way.

  On 7/22/2009 at 12:55 PM, chris moss acid said:

i dont like the engine on these types of games. there is only 2 great FPS engins i love thats R6vegas (what a lush game) and cod4 (nuff said)

so you like the quake3 engine then

cod's engine has always used q3's, and cod4 is the same, just updated.

  On 7/22/2009 at 3:19 AM, viscosity said:

might install Portal again, I remember that being challenging

Have you tried Portal Prelude ( http://www.portalprelude.com/ ), that's even more challenging-er

You Portal fangirls might be interested in ASCIIpOrtal, it's a 2D interpretation of the portal concept (not strictly rendered purely in ASCII I don't think but close enough)

I've got a huge nerdy hard-on for text-mode games and I'm very excited about this.

  On 7/22/2009 at 2:08 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 7/22/2009 at 3:19 AM, viscosity said:

might install Portal again, I remember that being challenging

Have you tried Portal Prelude ( http://www.portalprelude.com/ ), that's even more challenging-er

thanks, I downloaded this a while back but never got around to trying it. will def give it a go

it's insanely hard

Yeah it's pretty darn tough - The learning curve is pretty weird though, it starts of nearly impossible and seems to get easier as it goes on. Unfortunately I never got to reach the very end (from youtube I'm about 5 mins from finishing it) as my laptop kept on repeatedly crashing out ....

  On 7/22/2009 at 2:16 AM, goffer said:

if ya'll have episode 2... check this mod out, it's awesome!

 

http://www.moddb.com/mods/research-and-development

Cheers for the link, once I finish the Coastline to Atmosphere mod ( http://www.moddb.com/mods/coastline-to-atmosphere ) I'll definitely check it out.

there's also portal: the flash version map pack for portal

HALF LIFE 2 is one of the greatest pieces of entertainment ever created... and HALF LIFE 2 : EPISODE 2 is the greatest.

The first time you have to fight striders in the courtyard, with the bazooka, will be something I remember for a long time. I really felt during those moments completely immersed in the experience. I can't wait for 3D and head-tracking and all that... get ready to enter a new generation of video games and virtual reality.

unrelated but "avatar" footage tomorrow probable... yay

holy fuck I love this game. Easily one of the best game experiences I've ever played in every single aspect. I can't fucking wait for episode 3

Everybody probably remembers how much I loved Resident Evil 4.

I still don't think Half-Life 2 is better yet, but it's damned close.

This ranks up in the top ten easily though, of all time.

I have just been getting back into Day of Defeat:Source. I missed playing it so much. I'm kind of suprised at the following it still has. No where close to CS but still pretty good. Anyone else play?

  On 7/22/2009 at 2:08 PM, mcbpete said:

  On 7/22/2009 at 3:19 AM, viscosity said:

might install Portal again, I remember that being challenging

Have you tried Portal Prelude ( http://www.portalprelude.com/ ), that's even more challenging-er

  On 7/22/2009 at 7:56 PM, mcbpete said:

Yeah it's pretty darn tough - The learning curve is pretty weird though, it starts of nearly impossible and seems to get easier as it goes on. Unfortunately I never got to reach the very end (from youtube I'm about 5 mins from finishing it) as my laptop kept on repeatedly crashing out ....

 

  On 7/22/2009 at 2:16 AM, goffer said:

if ya'll have episode 2... check this mod out, it's awesome!

 

http://www.moddb.com/mods/research-and-development

 

Cheers for the link, once I finish the Coastline to Atmosphere mod ( http://www.moddb.com/mods/coastline-to-atmosphere ) I'll definitely check it out.

With this and the flash map pack

I think i know what i'm doing for the rest of today

  On 7/22/2009 at 11:39 PM, Hautlle said:

I have just been getting back into Day of Defeat:Source. I missed playing it so much. I'm kind of suprised at the following it still has. No where close to CS but still pretty good. Anyone else play?

hell yes. I havent played that game in years

I'm not gonna get into how much I love the game. I want to talk about one tiny thing that always bothered me about HL2 and that is the lack of damage feedback from an enemy when they get shot. It really takes me out of the game when my enemies are getting riddled with bullets and aren't even flinching. They just keep attacking relentlessly. The opposite of this quality is a game like Resident Evil 4. No doubt part of the reason that game engine was so much fun was the tension of 6 enemies bearing down and you and your ability to make intelligent shots that can impede their advance. This adds a nice layer to the combat that makes it much more fun and whole lot more personal. The lack of damage feedback in HL2 made the game not as fun for me at times due to the enemy's relentless assault. Mind you there is a good kind of relentless enemy and a kind that makes it frustrating at times.

I also wanted to touch on the first Half Life. What I really enjoyed about this game is the sense it gives the player of taking a creative path through the facility. As Lumenprol said, the game is a linear adventure that gives the illusion of being non-linear. As you make your way through the Black Mesa facility you are doing so by climbing up obscure ledges and around obstacles that you always kind of feel are not the way that the level designers intended you to proceed it. The brilliance of this design, though, is that these are often the only way that you can actually get to the next place, yet they feel natural enough without obviously being the correct way to do things. It is for this reason that I feel HL and HL2 have some of the best and most fun level design around.

Wow, I could not agree more about what you're describing as damage feedback. There has been something bothering me about the behavior of enemies in HL2 and you've nailed it. When you tag something with a shotgun, it shouldn't keep coming at you without so much as flinching. One of the other problems in HL2 that relates to this damage feedback is the size and accuracy of the hit box for enemies. I often find that I've shot something right in the head, which should have been a one shot = one kill but instead, I can tell I've only wasted ammo and missed completely. Sometimes, it takes 20 rounds of headshot to kill something, sometimes 5. It really is inconsistent and hampers the game's fun factor.

Great post, Wall Bird.

Oh, forgot something that's critically different about RE4 for purposes of comparing it to HL2.

In RE, you have the classic "stop, pivot, and shoot" mechanic which is incredibly silly theoretically but makes for excellent games ironically enough. So, impeding the advance of enemies is essential to survival.

In HL2, you have the classic run-n-gun combat where impeding enemies with strategic aiming would make the game incredibly easy. However, I think there has to be a happy medium. They could make up for the difference in HL2 with improved movement and aim from the AI. Nonetheless, it's more fun to kill enemies with the physics of the game. Eg. In Ravenholm, ammo is sparse so it's very important to kill as many enemies with physic as possible (flame barrels, canisters, the preacher's traps, etc.)

  On 7/22/2009 at 11:39 PM, Hautlle said:

I have just been getting back into Day of Defeat:Source. I missed playing it so much. I'm kind of suprised at the following it still has. No where close to CS but still pretty good. Anyone else play?

me me i do