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LEFT 4 DEAD: NOT YOUR STANDARD ZOMBIE GAME
Posts
maladroithim
1495
maladroithim
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Closeauthor=Nightblade link=topic=3093.msg61422#msg61422 date=1234428054
If you haven't tried half life 2 because you hated 1 (I couldn't get through 1 personally.) I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend you at least give half life 2 a try.
I played through half of Half-Life 2 before I gave up. It was really boring. The level design was not really that creative and all of the puzzles were really bad. The puzzles were particularly bad in the beginning, when they were obvious tech demos for the Havok physics engine (I recall stacking cinderblocks on one end of a see-saw - COME ON). I am not understanding where this "great writing" meme always comes from, because I didn't see it? Whenever the scenario would be something more creative and novel - like the zombie or the insect army stages - I always thought that it was sloppy and kind of juvenile or something.
Really, the feeling I got from it was the same kind of feeling I get when I am playing a bad amateur game for review. I felt like I was obligated to play it because it was popular, but I was not having any fun. It was a chore.
Yeah so I don't know man I am convinced that the Half-Life 2 following is like the entire internet playing a trick on me because I don't really see it. It makes more sense that everyone on the entire internet has agreed to play a trick on me and pretend they like it a lot more than they did.
Neophyte
155
I thought everything on the internet was a trick. :(
Yeah Half-Life 2 did not have clever puzzles, and they obviously were just throwing those into the full game so they could say LOOK INNOVATION!
But you have to take the other things into consideration. There was nothing truly like the Gravity Gun before Half-Life 2. It's not seen as an impressive weapon now since many games now have replicated it, but 5 years ago it was pretty amazing. Many FPS games did not have a decent story other than the Half-Life games (well there's Deus Ex and maybe a few others but it is rare). It has very good pacing, with new weapons and enemies appearing every so often so things are never really stale. The game doesn't necessarily have exceptional writing, you don't see it. However, the voice actors know their characters personality, and they pull off how they act flawlessly. I can't stress how important this is, because they really do a good job. They show emotion, there is no doubt about this (see: HL2 Episode 2). There is also a very good distinction between the characters, and it is much better than standard FPS games where you have a captain yelling "GET TO THE HELIPAD, BLOW THIS UP, ETC" or Bethesda voice acting. The fact that most of the scenes unfold while you still have control of your character (like Nightblade said) is something that few developers know how to do correctly. It isn't perfect, but you grow attached to these rag tag bunch of characters who are rebelling against all odds. And when something bad happens, you feel for them.
Lots of people don't like Half-Life, but I don't think you can deny that it did a lot of things right for the FPS genre. It has a really unique feeling to it when you play it. But I think it might bug some people because this feeling is so different from other FPS games. I think that's a good thing, though!
I've got a good group of L4D friends now. We usually don't even have enough room since there is more than 8 of us, but at least they know how to play and have fun. I also have too many friends that have added me through very close, fun games. But I can't play with anybody else really, there are too many quitters and people without mics in the game. It can take 30 minutes just to set up a decent game, and it's just impossible to get through a whole versus mode if you're playing with pubs.
Yeah Half-Life 2 did not have clever puzzles, and they obviously were just throwing those into the full game so they could say LOOK INNOVATION!
But you have to take the other things into consideration. There was nothing truly like the Gravity Gun before Half-Life 2. It's not seen as an impressive weapon now since many games now have replicated it, but 5 years ago it was pretty amazing. Many FPS games did not have a decent story other than the Half-Life games (well there's Deus Ex and maybe a few others but it is rare). It has very good pacing, with new weapons and enemies appearing every so often so things are never really stale. The game doesn't necessarily have exceptional writing, you don't see it. However, the voice actors know their characters personality, and they pull off how they act flawlessly. I can't stress how important this is, because they really do a good job. They show emotion, there is no doubt about this (see: HL2 Episode 2). There is also a very good distinction between the characters, and it is much better than standard FPS games where you have a captain yelling "GET TO THE HELIPAD, BLOW THIS UP, ETC" or Bethesda voice acting. The fact that most of the scenes unfold while you still have control of your character (like Nightblade said) is something that few developers know how to do correctly. It isn't perfect, but you grow attached to these rag tag bunch of characters who are rebelling against all odds. And when something bad happens, you feel for them.
Lots of people don't like Half-Life, but I don't think you can deny that it did a lot of things right for the FPS genre. It has a really unique feeling to it when you play it. But I think it might bug some people because this feeling is so different from other FPS games. I think that's a good thing, though!
I've got a good group of L4D friends now. We usually don't even have enough room since there is more than 8 of us, but at least they know how to play and have fun. I also have too many friends that have added me through very close, fun games. But I can't play with anybody else really, there are too many quitters and people without mics in the game. It can take 30 minutes just to set up a decent game, and it's just impossible to get through a whole versus mode if you're playing with pubs.
