I have yet to play this game, but I still think doom3 is better, its just so much more prettier.
I’ve not played half life 2 yet either but I have played VtM: Bloodlines which uses its engine and its awesome so far, its like Deus Ex but you are a vampire with cool powers and its also got a great storyline too.
(It also has Malkavians which is the bestest kind of vampire!)
It’s actually just as good looking as Doom3 in my humble opinion (IMHO).
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-1.jpg”>
Zombuhs
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-2.jpg”>
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-3.jpg”>
Hot female lead
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-4.jpg”>
with a nice booty
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-5.jpg”>
and then you take LSD
<img src=“http://members.cox.net/chembot/random/hl2/hl2-6.jpg”>
Hey! That’s nothing like ANY of the times I’ve taken LSD.
hehe, i especially like that last image, classic.
Any one wana buy a MxO beta account? =p I need money for hl2… lol
So I’ve beaten the game. Now here is my mini review.
It’s a fun game that has some rough spots and a few poor game design choices. There’s also an insane amount of waiting while it loads a new map section every 5 minutes or so. Here’s what I didn’t like:
load times - gah! very anti-climactic and often times just when you’re starting to get excited
very uneven gameplay - throwing non-sensical puzzles at you in the middle of action sequences, etc.
often times it’s unclear as to what the hell you’re supposed to do next or where to go - you’ll often times have to investigate every corner and navigate every passage before you find the right way to go
did I mention load times? on my high end computer with a RAID 0 array, it still takes 1:30 to get to the menu and 2:15 or so to load into a level. Alot of that is due to the next thing I didn’t like.
reliance on Steam - you have to launch and log into steam before you can play the actual game. not just to authenticate the game originally, Steam has to be running every time you play HL2. this slows down the launching of the game, sometimes significantly, and eats up precious resources. if I ever find a crack or patch that gets around this, even though I own the game, I’ll apply it in a heartbeat.
the ending - wha? huh? zuh?
what I did like:
plenty of traps set for dispatching a group of enemies - exploding barrels, heavy objects held up by cables above enemies, etc.
cool weapons - it’s disorienting to scroll through all the weapons you pick up, but they sure come in handy when you need to mow down a mob.
graphics and sound - cranked all the way up, the game looks and sounds fantastic.
it’s rewarding - some parts are super difficult, but you get a sense of accomplishment when the pile of bodies gets as high as you are tall.
physics - very realistic environments, and it’s fun to watch dead bodies flop around
All in all, it’s a pretty darn good game. I don’t think it’s game of the year, but it’s in the top 10 I’d say. Valve needs to release a HL2 patch that addresses the glaring gameplay issues, and makes it, ya know, fun to play.
I hated the bridge how it was so set up for you, i was getting across it knowing exactly what would happen on the way back.
and the ending, wtf, when’s the next one coming out?
It looked to me like it was hinting more towards an expansion pack than a full sequel. Speaking of which, I wonder if the Doom III expansion pack will be any good since it’s not being made by id directly.
Man oh man half-life 2 deathmatch is so much fun.
I will be buying Half-Life 2 soon, mainly to play Counter-Strike: Source.
I wonder if it’ll be worth getting thge normal version or the metal tin version that comes with Half-Life: Source.
I have the orginal Half-Life, so is it worth getting the Source engine version?
Ohhhh the questions running through my head.
Half-Life: Source is just regular Half-Life except with a different engine. It looks and plays no different that the original, except that it might run better with a more modern engine.
But it’s ubber pretty, right?
I wouldn’t mind playing through Half-Life again if it’s as pretty as Half-Life 2 and then playing through Half-Life.
points
What’s the point in that?
Damn Vavle.
For those that never played it before, now they can play it with an updated engine. That’s about it. They’ve been milking Half Life for what, 8 years now? You think that they’re going to stop wehn they can still sell more copies?
It may be fun for nostalgia, but that’s prolly about all.
So far I’ve played about half of HL2 at my friend’s LAN center, and I’ve gotta say that pretty graphics + sufficient lighting sure beats pretty graphics + next to no lighting (Doom3).
I also agree that HL1 needs to be put out of its misery. I stopped toying around with it more than 2 years ago, and it’s not gettin’ any younger 
Then again, this is coming from a guy who’s making maps for a game using Quake 2’s engine. Ah, irony.
Well here’s a kicker, if you get the base, there is no way yet to add on the hl:source or anything else included with the plus version.
I might want to play Day of Defeat: Source…
Damn Valve.
Oh hell, my social-life is gonna go back down the toilet if we can start playing old HL1 mods in the HL2 engine.