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Half-Life: Alyx (formerly: Half Life 3 is coming??)

13468931

Comments

  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Help & Feedback Category Moderators Posts: 25,506 CMod ✭✭✭✭Spear


    The full dumped list is here:

    http://pastebin.com/Hm1dpcvX

    but it includes things like Bovril, CoffeeSnobs, Cries Unheard, Thugz4Life, Warhammer for Men and the curious "WUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUB_EWEWEWEWEWEWEW_GAGAGAGAGAGA". So I'm thinking it doesn't mean much that there's a group in there.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 39,561 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Hmm, maybe its time I actually download and play half life 2. Is it really that good huh

    Not particularly. It's a solid, cliched shooter that pales in comparison to the wonderful original.

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 34,633 CMod ✭✭✭✭CiDeRmAn


    Spear wrote: »
    The curious "WUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUB_EWEWEWEWEWEWEW_GAGAGAGAGAGA".
    I think that's coming out on the CDi....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,223 ✭✭✭✭briany




  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,724 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    Not particularly. It's a solid, cliched shooter that pales in comparison to the wonderful original.

    I'd totally use the Phoenix Wright 'objection' jpeg here if I wasn't pretty sure I've used it in this thread already somewhere in response to a similar observation.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    Half life 2 is incredibly overrated.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,835 ✭✭✭Falthyron


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Half life 2 is incredibly overrated.

    HL2 was released November 2004. I challenge you to go back and look at the FPS games that came out in the preceding two years. Nothing comes close and for many years after HL2, it was untouched when it came to graphics, game-play, physics, storyline, character development and atmosphere.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,732 ✭✭✭Magill


    Its just not pokemon.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    Falthyron wrote: »
    HL2 was released November 2004. I challenge you to go back and look at the FPS games that came out in the preceding two years. Nothing comes close and for many years after HL2, it was untouched when it came to graphics, game-play, physics, storyline, character development and atmosphere.

    Too bad its not 2004, its 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyones socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 36,711 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Too bad its not 2004, its 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyones socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.

    I take it you don't think much of Half Life 1 then? Because having played it (semi) recently, it holds up much, much worse than HL2 does.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    I've only played an hour or so of the first half life, on the ps2, so I wouldn't be one to comment :pac:


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 23,556 ✭✭✭✭Sir Digby Chicken Caesar


    i actually think hl1 holds up much better than hl2....


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,732 ✭✭✭Magill


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Too bad its not 2004, its 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyones socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.

    Thing is.. a lot of people have been playing games since before 2004... and therefore their opinions are based from when they actually played it... do you want people to replay a game every year just so they can update their opinion to ensure they don't overrate a game based on current standards ??

    People are hyped for HL3 because its likely that it'll be another great game from valve. Im mostly hyped for it because with HL3 will probably come a new Engine... boom ! mod heaven.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 39,561 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Falthyron wrote: »
    HL2 was released November 2004. I challenge you to go back and look at the FPS games that came out in the preceding two years. Nothing comes close and for many years after HL2, it was untouched when it came to graphics, game-play, physics, storyline, character development and atmosphere.

    I only played the original Deus Ex about 6 years ago and the original Half Life a few years ago. Immensely enjoyed both. A good game will stand the test of time. I can still enjoy classics such as Final Fantasy VI as well as modern greats like Mass Effect.
    Half Life 2 wasn't bad, just lacking. It's very sold and incredibly slick. For me the only thing special about it is the mods that are available. The story is dull while the gameplay is gimmicky and forgettable.

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 36,711 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    i actually think hl1 holds up much better than hl2....

    I dunno; even if you ignore the elephant - or should that be Gonarch? - in the room that is the entire god-awful Xen portion, much of the level design in HL1 was quite lacklustre & could be pretty frustrating & meandering at times. While the gunplay's still pretty tight & the pacing an upwards curve (until Xen), many of the levels felt like something out of a mod map-pack tbh.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 29,724 CMod ✭✭✭✭johnny_ultimate


    I genuinely can't take of any game since 2004 that has achieved such a perfect relationship between gameplay, narrative and world building. The mechanics are exhilaratingly robust, the engine so accomplished even developers today can work wonders with it (it does finally need an upgrade, granted).

    Playing through Half Life 2 (and Episode 2 - not so much Episode 1) was an experience I wish I could 'forget me now' just to experience fresh again. Really, nine years on, it's remains effectively peerless, only a handful of titles operating on the same plain of imagination and mechanical mastery. I personally don't think I'd feel much different if it had have only been released a year ago. The only disappointment, IMO, is that some of the design evolutions - particularly its seamless flow and pace - have only barely filtered into the wider medium.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,904 ✭✭✭✭Zero-Cool


    I don't think HL 1 didn't hold up as well as HL 2 but still fantastic to play with Source. HL 2, years on is still class. Ravenholm is better than most full 'Survival Horror' games


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,223 ✭✭✭✭briany


    Both of those games are amazing for their time and you could go back, play either one and have a great time. Doubly so now with the release of Black Mesa.

    I love the atmosphere in HL2. It's portrayal of a sci fi dystopia is worthy of a feature film. It's eerie and it doesn't insult your intelligence either. The effects of the offworld rulers are insidious and I like that the game breathes to allow you to take in the carefully crafted world. Actually, for an FPS it's definitely on the lower end of the action scale and it allows you to go and explore while not being a sandbox, strictly speaking. There is great action too but it's not what the game's about. It's a game that wants you to look around and appreciate the little touches, and you should, because there's lots of them.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 816 ✭✭✭Opinicus


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Half life 2 is incredibly overrated.
    cloud493 wrote: »
    Too bad its not 2004, its 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyones socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.


    Pong is incredibly overrated.

    Too bad it's not 1972, it's 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyone's socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,835 ✭✭✭✭cloud493


    Opinicus wrote: »
    Pong is incredibly overrated.

    Too bad it's not 1972, it's 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyone's socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.

    Not really the same thing is it/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,835 ✭✭✭Falthyron


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Too bad its not 2004, its 2013. I'm sure when it came out it blew everyones socks off, but these days it does not hold up as well as the internet would have you think.

    But you can say that about anything. The Matrix film brought us bullet-time (technically Max Payne did :P ), which has been since bested by other special effects films. Even The Last of Us will be beaten on all fronts by another game in a few years and it will age.

    The point is; Half-life 2 can be seen as a reference point in the development of computer games. A reference to a leap towards realism in terms of visuals, encompassing other mediums like literature (Orwell's 1984), and delivering in interactivity that had never really been achieved before (physics and manipulation of world objects). Battlefield 3's amazing Physics could, quite possibly, be traced and inspired by what Half-life 2 delivered upon.

    Of course the game ages. Of course it doesn't fit in with what has become expected of FPS games today, but that is what makes it unique. It never fit in. Half-life 2 was something that hadn't been done before, and the internet renown you speak of is testament to the impact it had on the gaming industry at that time.

    We remember Half-life 2 for what it brought, what it changed, and how nobody had seen anything like it at that time. If you think people will be calling The Last of Us 'timeless' in 2023 you would be greatly mistaken. However it remains to be seen as to what kind of impact it has and will have on games to come over the next few years.


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 10,087 Mod ✭✭✭✭marco_polo


    cloud493 wrote: »
    Not really the same thing is it/

    You could say the same about the terms "overrated" and "I didn't like"


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,689 Mod ✭✭✭✭stevenmu


    The only disappointment, IMO, is that some of the design evolutions - particularly its seamless flow and pace - have only barely filtered into the wider medium.

    I agree, this is hugely disappointing. Valve did a great job of weaving the story into the gameplay, so the plot developed and story elements were revealed while you actually played the game. Sure, sometimes they locked you in a room until some NPCs had finished talking, but for the most part it felt pretty natural.

    I had to give up on Assassins Creed 3 half way through. Despite the huge open world, it felt like the game spent more time playing itself than I did. For an hour of "gameplay" I got about 10 minutes where I was in control, and 50 minutes of either cutscenes, or that stupid restricted thing they do where all you can do is walk slowly in a fixed direction, and if you're lucky you get a QTE at the end to trigger another bloody cutscene.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭Radiosonde


    Not played it since maybe 2005? If I did again, bet I'd still love it . Delivering the 'cut scenes' while leaving the player in control was great. I want a good story but I don't want to watch little movies every five minutes. Didn't really like ep1 and never played 2.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 39,561 CMod ✭✭✭✭ancapailldorcha


    Radiosonde wrote: »
    Not played it since maybe 2005? If I did again, bet I'd still love it . Delivering the 'cut scenes' while leaving the player in control was great. I want a good story but I don't want to watch little movies every five minutes. Didn't really like ep1 and never played 2.

    Give episode 2 a try. The plot is even worse than the original game but it ends with a really enjoyable open section.

    The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:34



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,276 ✭✭✭readyletsgo


    Hmm, maybe its time I actually download and play half life 2. Is it really that good huh


    Must say when I started to get back into gaming 3 years ago, a frined was banging on about HL2 for ages, so I got a copy. My god, it was one of the best games I've played.

    Totes recommend it to you.

    Just got a PS3 today so going to get a copy of HL2 for it to play again.

    Buy it, play it, enjoy the story to it and then move on with your life cause I dont think HL3 is coming anytime soon lol.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 33,733 ✭✭✭✭Myrddin


    Clicks into thread to see when Half Life 3 is coming.
    See's its still not coming.
    Leaves thread again.

    Pops back in to post this, & to state HL1 & HL2 were hugely influential games, Johnny Ultimate is spot on with his comments about them.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,268 ✭✭✭✭MadYaker




  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 35,100 Mod ✭✭✭✭AlmightyCushion


    Radiosonde wrote: »
    Not played it since maybe 2005? If I did again, bet I'd still love it . Delivering the 'cut scenes' while leaving the player in control was great. I want a good story but I don't want to watch little movies every five minutes. Didn't really like ep1 and never played 2.
    Did any one else spend all of the time during the "cutscene" just hitting people in the face with the crowbar.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,980 ✭✭✭wyrn


    Every.single.flippin.time I fall for this. I know it's only going to crush me but I can't help it.

    Anyway, I quite liked Half-Life 2. My favourite part was the bridge scene. I remember the first time I played it, being blown away by the scenery and atmosphere.

    Think this sums it up pretty well. Blah blah blah Mr. Freeman


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  • Registered Users Posts: 866 ✭✭✭LuckyFinigan


    I'd rate Half Life 2 as one of my favorite games, probably 2nd just behind MGS. I still throw it on every now and then and enjoy it just as much as when it first came out. I can understand why some people might think it overrated, I remember hearing about what a brilliant game Halo was and I finally played it and it was dullest thing I've ever played.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,997 ✭✭✭Grimebox


    I played it in 2008 I think. Given the hype, I was disappointed to be honest. It is certainly good but it didn't leave any lasting effect on me. Don't listen to me though, I have gone off single player games in a huge way over the years, especially fps games.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,286 ✭✭✭✭CastorTroy


    So remind me, why did he push that thing into the machine at the beginning of the first episode? I remember doing it just because it's all I could do. But what was the story reason?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,403 ✭✭✭✭Vicxas


    God damnit OP. dont do that to me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,182 ✭✭✭Genghiz Cohen


    They was testing a very rare material. It was Gordons job to handle events inside the testing chamber, thus the HEV suit that allowed him to survive.

    The test material on the day of the Black Mesa Incident, was very very pure and so the provider demanded much better results. The scientists involved decided to push the Anti Mass Spectrometer to very high energy levels and caused a Resonance Cascade. It tore open portals between Earth and the Zen. It also signalled the Combine to the location of Earth.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,286 ✭✭✭✭CastorTroy


    Ah, of course.

    :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,556 ✭✭✭✭Skerries


    pfft! obviously <..< >..>


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 3,093 Mod ✭✭✭✭ktulu123


    STOP BUMPING THIS THREAD!!!!! I hate having to look in here! I also hate myself for posting in this. Sorry :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭Radiosonde


    ktulu123 wrote: »
    STOP BUMPING THIS THREAD!!!!! I hate having to look in here! I also hate myself for posting in this. Sorry :(

    Why, we still haven't reached the OP's predicted release date of 2015...made in 2011? ;)

    Seems the first ever mention of hl3 by a poster on this site was made almost nine years ago. The poster looked forward to seeing what Unreal 3 could do and what hl3 might look like running on it...how young and foolish we all were, I wonder if by the time it comes out if the PS4 will be able to run it on it's creaky, cobweb-ridden tech :P


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 23,213 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kiith


    I hate that i've been waiting for so long for this, yet still get excited every time a HL3 thread gets bumped. I guess it shows just how big an impact the previous games had on me. Seeing people say it's overrated...baffles my mind.

    Its weird, but if it were anyone else other than Valve, i'd probably never forgive them.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,227 ✭✭✭RobertFoster


    Was there meant to be an Episode 3 at some stage, or has that morphed into a full game? Anything I've ever read about HL3 was fan rumours, what's Valve's official stance?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,835 ✭✭✭Falthyron


    Was there meant to be an Episode 3 at some stage, or has that morphed into a full game? Anything I've ever read about HL3 was fan rumours, what's Valve's official stance?

    I believe they had planned to switch to episodic content because the development of Half-life 2 was a very long time since the original. The plan was to release a new episode every year so fans would not be kept waiting. However, Episode 1 wasn't released until June 2006 (a good 20 months after HL2), and Episode 2 wasn't released until October 2007 (16 months after Episode 1).

    While both were well received, the biggest backlash came from the fact that each episode was only really 4-6 hours long, but fans were waiting more than a year. It didn't add up and Valve recognised this. It would seem Valve chose to abandon this method of development...

    So now we play the waiting game... :P Having said that, Half-life 2 was released November 2004. Next year is the ten (yes, TEN ) year anniversary. Maybe, just maybe, if we don't get HL3, GabeN might actually deliver a timetable or some sort of announcement.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com/172604/valve-episodic-game-plan-may-not-last/


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 29,286 ✭✭✭✭CastorTroy


    Maybe Half Life Episode 3 is being made by the people who make Red Dwarf since there are such big gaps between the series finale and the next episode. :)

    So updated ending to Half Life 2 next year then?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 613 ✭✭✭Radiosonde


    CastorTroy wrote: »
    Maybe Half Life Episode 3 is being made by the people who make Red Dwarf since there are such big gaps between the series finale and the next episode. :)

    I think it's more like the Star Wars prequel of video games...ten to twenty years of rumours and speculation, and just when you think they're never gonna do it, they announce it, you get all psyched, and it'll turn out ****.

    I'm a glass half-empty sort of person!


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,689 Mod ✭✭✭✭stevenmu


    Be careful what you wish for (vaguely relevant)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,580 ✭✭✭✭Riesen_Meal


    Absolutely
    Could there be anything to this?

    Steam support on Twitter just responded to the HL2 Update:

    WARNING: The most recent HL2 update has some issues. We're working to fix this, you can pause the update for now. 예측하지 못한 결과에 대비하라...

    Translation: Prepare for unexpected results.

    https://twitter.com/Steam_Support/status/349678346688405505

    I hate to bump this bloody thread but here goes :

    http://kotaku.com/half-life-2-just-got-all-messed-up-and-people-are-frea-578836197

    Half-Life 2 Just Got All Messed Up, And People Are Freaking Out
    Normally, when a game is updated and things break, it's cause for concern. When a Valve game updates and things get weird, though, people get excited.

    Ever since Portal 2 was announced via updates to Portal 1, people have paid extra close attention to any changes made to Valve games, and after a big one to Half-Life 2 this morning, those people are going a little crazy.

    A patch sent out over Steam earlier today - for some people hundreds of MB in size, for others over 1GB (sometimes even over 3GB) - has made some weird alterations to the game. Many people's versions, for example, now feature Korean audio, even though their game settings specify English. Like mine. I can't even change the language, it's stuck on Korean. Some people are also reporting broken save game files.

    It's probably an error, and we've contacted Valve to be sure. But when it comes to Valve games, there's always hope stuff like this is something more, even if it is a fool's hope...

    UPDATE - While we're yet to hear back from Valve, the game, like other Source Engine titles, was recently converted to the "Steampipe" file system, so it's likely an error with how that handles your update downloads.

    UPDATE 2 - Valve tells us it "should be fixed now".


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,835 ✭✭✭Falthyron


    Fieldog wrote: »
    Could there be anything to this?

    Steam support on Twitter just responded to the HL2 Update:

    WARNING: The most recent HL2 update has some issues. We're working to fix this, you can pause the update for now. 예측하지 못한 결과에 대비하라...

    Translation: Prepare for unexpected results.

    https://twitter.com/Steam_Support/status/349678346688405505

    I hate to bump this bloody thread but here goes :

    http://kotaku.com/half-life-2-just-got-all-messed-up-and-people-are-frea-578836197

    Half-Life 2 Just Got All Messed Up, And People Are Freaking Out
    Normally, when a game is updated and things break, it's cause for concern. When a Valve game updates and things get weird, though, people get excited.

    Ever since Portal 2 was announced via updates to Portal 1, people have paid extra close attention to any changes made to Valve games, and after a big one to Half-Life 2 this morning, those people are going a little crazy.

    A patch sent out over Steam earlier today - for some people hundreds of MB in size, for others over 1GB (sometimes even over 3GB) - has made some weird alterations to the game. Many people's versions, for example, now feature Korean audio, even though their game settings specify English. Like mine. I can't even change the language, it's stuck on Korean. Some people are also reporting broken save game files.

    It's probably an error, and we've contacted Valve to be sure. But when it comes to Valve games, there's always hope stuff like this is something more, even if it is a fool's hope...

    UPDATE - While we're yet to hear back from Valve, the game, like other Source Engine titles, was recently converted to the "Steampipe" file system, so it's likely an error with how that handles your update downloads.

    UPDATE 2 - Valve tells us it "should be fixed now".

    You didn't think all those nuclear tests in North Korea were actually nuclear tests, did you? 'They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber...'


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,856 ✭✭✭Clover


    Falthyron wrote: »
    'They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamber...'


    Classic :D

    Giggling like a school girl here , apart from yesterday when I built my first pc . Half Life 2 was the last time I was like this.


  • Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 17,135 Mod ✭✭✭✭cherryghost


    2 Valve Employees
    No ARG, sorry. I mucked up.

    and
    There is nothing interesting going on..

    There's a second full stop there, so there's definitely something happening. NEW TF2 ITEMS CONFIRMED.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,556 ✭✭✭✭Skerries


    maybe it's a microdot containing HL3 information


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