Half-Life 2 is overrated. Dull game, poor pacing.

I don't think it's as good as everyone says it is. It's okay. You don't see me making topics about it though.

timmy00

Sorry, always wanted to use that pic :P

A few days ago, I decided to play HL2 again, since I haven't touched that game since I beat it in 2004. At the time, I liked the game, but I didn't love it.

Ten hours in, I quit. I didn't care about the Combine on my back, the repressed citizens of City 17, or Alyx Vance (who is only fascinating because of her lack of oversexualization). Midway through the level "Nova Prospekt", I decided that I had seen enough. The gunplay wasn't keeping on the edge of my seat, either. Slogging through those canals was an exercise of frustration because the narrative progressed like mollasses.

To start off, the writing. It sucks. There is nothing captivating about the dialogue. My issue with the characters, is that they act less like characters and more like questgivers. They have no hopes or dreams, they just have a job for you do and that is all they will tell you. Of course, while it's implied that most of them dream of an Earth liberated from the Combine, few of them (except maybe Eli and Alyx) explicitly mention this. They have no quirks. They have no personalities. They are just a bunch of talking dummies, all of them.

Secondly, the gunplay also sucks. The guns are mostly weak peashooters with dinky sounds to boot. For example, on normal mode, it takes at least five pistol shots to down a mere Metrocop. The gunplay is further aggravated by artificial ammo limits, forcing the player to conserve ammunition and shoot as little as possible, taking the point of a first person shooter game out of the window. It's no fun to keep running to an ammo box in the middle of a fight against a Strider because you've run out of rockets.

Thirdly, playing the game is like watching mollasses flow. You would slog through long sections, killing aliens and taking names, and your only reward would be a very brief one-sided conversation with Alyx, who tells you that you need to head to location X and kill some more Combine before they do something terrible. This repeats itself ad nauseum until the end of the game.

Furthermore, supposedly "dramatic" moments in the game, defining moments that were supposed to change the flow of the game, like when they tell you that Alyx has been taken to Nova Prospekt, inspire so little emotional reaction on part of the player because the scenes are poorly acted and lack proper gravitas.

The only reason this game won so much praise was because it lived in the shadow of game that preceded it: Half-Life. Half-Life broke ground. It did things that other games like Quake and Doom refused to do. It told a story. The AI was awesome. The guns were awesome. It was awesome. Unfortunately, when Half-Life 2 did the same things again, this time, with souped-up graphics, the impact was not as great, because we have seen this all before.

But, there is hope. Portal 2 is proof that Valve can put together a game with excellent writing, gameplay, and pacing. Let's hope they extend this knowledge to Episode 3, or Half-Life 3, whichever game comes out first.

The_Capitalist

[QUOTE="timmy00"]

I don't think it's as good as everyone says it is. It's okay. You don't see me making topics about it though.

FrozenLiquid

Sorry, always wanted to use that pic :P

I recently tried to play it and I agree with the OP.... Thank God I am not the only one

I recently tried to play it and I agree with the OP.... Thank God I am not the only one

juliankennedy23

This is 2011. In 2004 HL2 was incredible. I don't see the point of all this HL2 hate. It's like me saying that Ocarina of time is trash because it's over 10 years old and better playing games have been released since. Your logic fails.

[QUOTE="mems_1224"]yea its overrated. still a good game but extremely overrated. just like everything else valve doesvtoshkatur

Like I said earlier, how can a game be overated if were still talking about it 7 years later?

Poor pacing? The pacing is one of its strong points. I love the way both Half-Life games play. You can play them for hours because you always want to see what comes next.

[QUOTE="juliankennedy23"]

I recently tried to play it and I agree with the OP.... Thank God I am not the only one

vtoshkatur

This is 2011. In 2004 HL2 was incredible. I don't see the point of all this HL2 hate. It's like me saying that Ocarina of time is trash because it's over 10 years old and better playing games have been released since. Your logic fails.

You play a game that is legendary and you find it slow and plodding and the physics are making you seasick and one might understandable wonder what is wrong with me.... There are plenty of older games (Kings Field, Zaxxon, B-17 Bomber, Metal gear Solid) that I have great memories of but I am wise enough to avoid today less I ruin that good feeling.

I was just surprised to see this OP as I experianced the same with the game only a few months ago.

I completely agree, I played it on Xbox and the game wasn't half as good as HL1.

No.

[QUOTE="SPYDER0416"]

So you are saying you liked a 7 year old game much more back when it was modern and you don't like it as much today?

What a shocker! In fact, I played Goldeneye 64 the other day, and I thought it was terrible compared to today's level of polish.

Must be a conspiracy of some sort.

The_Capitalist

I liked it then, but I didn't love it. I didn't love it as much as the first Half-Life. But remember, my objectivity during that time was suspect. I was only 13 years old. I was also a big Half-Life fan at the time. Furthermore, everyone else was so excited by the idea of Half-Life 2 coming out, so any real criticism was brushed aside because, hell, this was Half-Life! And it was back!

Half-Life 2 has excellent production values, great setpieces, and pretty graphics. But if I hear one more time that Half-Life 2 had great gunplay, I suggest you try playing the game again, in case rose-tinted glasses have tainted your memory of the game and how it played.

Hmm, I don't remember saying any of that at all? How shocking!

But yeah, I didn't play Half-Life 2 until 2007 with The Orange Box, when all the hype died down and I still loved it. If you're still talking about it, then its not overrated.

It wasn't perfect (the AI and gunplay were a tad secondary to the plot, pacing and atmosphere), but pretty much this is a pointless blog type topic about you telling us what you think of an old game. Its almost a troll topic since you made it intentionally disparaging a widely celebrated by fans and reviewers franchise that helped Steam become as big as it is, and is on Game Informer's top 5 games of all time.

Come to think of it, that seems very trollish.

you guys be getting trolled, this guy always say something that goes against popular opinon and then he abandons his threads

That game is incredible. dull? bad pacing? are you sure you just arent a boring impatient individual?

Half Life 2 has poor pacing? :lol:

Half Life 2 is one of the greatest games of all time. The amount of variety in level design for an FPS is incredible. The characters, artstyle, atmosphere, pacing, everything is perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK2IFmuUgnA&

Haters gonna hate.

Agree with TC. I didn't find anything extraordinary about it, I was hearing all this stuff about the orange box and I was thinking, this sounds like 5 great games in one, I should get it. What I get is an average games with its expansions, a (good) distraction in portal and TF2 which was fun while it lasted, but I no longer play it, as well it has been basicaly been aboned (dev wise, thanks to MS).

The only charecters I found a reason to bound with was Eli and DOG, I didn't care much for Alyx, seemed like they tried to force pairing with her a bit too much, Barney was more like a partner from a buddy cop movie that poked back into the story every once in awhile, and G-man is just an interesting enigma for diehard fans to solve. The story was lackluster and not memorabe, I would find myslef returing to the game after a few days to simply ask myself, why the **** am I fighting these guys. Its a basic tale of free people from being imprisoned/enslaved from an oppressor that doesnt stand out, in fact nothing except Ravenholm (?) stood out to me...and the gravity gun.

Now to everyone saying, its released in 04 of course its aged....I'd rather play Halo 1, then HF2. If anything that game has aged better, now before I get called out on something and ake this a thread of halo v. half life...which its not, thats my persoanl preference. I played through HF2 didnt enjoy it, and dont plan on going back. I would enjoy going back to Halo 1, I have fond memories of the story, and pacing, and a breathtaking alien world, of course someone else could say how they enjoyed C&C Red Alert more then both would play that over anything, point is its opinion, and while I too tire of hearing how great this game supposdly, its all opinion, I played it didnt enjoy and its not my game, if its the grestest shooter they ever played, more power to them, its just a differenc in taste.

[QUOTE="Slashless"]

We eagerly awaited your opinion on a 7 year old game.

Androvinus

Saw the title. Didn't read your stuff. Know your wrong

Nice blog post. Guess what......nobody cares. You don't like the game. Good for you. What do you want us to do about it?AmazonTreeBoa

I really liked the pacing in the game, in fact I would say it's one of the better parts of the game.

FPS games these days lack decent pacing, it's just clear enemies... move to next area and do the same. I get really burnt out on that sort of stuff super quickly.

In Half-Life 2 you had to solve puzzles, platform and travel between fights as well as the steady stream of new gameplay elements being introduced like gravity gun, antlions, vehicles and squads.

Gosh just talking about it makes me want to play.

: (

Well atleast this game gives you the choice to quit ten hours in. What FPS these days has a campaign that lasts that long ? Rage, but I can't think of another one.

I'm also replaying HL2 right now with the Cinematic Mod and I love it as much as I did in 2004, the game doesn't feel 7 years old. Not hard since there has been a total stand-still in the FPS genre.

I somewhat agree. Wouldn't call it a dull game, but I don't get why people call it the best FPS still either when it is the shooting element that is so weak in this game. As you pointed out, the gunplay plain sucks (except for the Gravity Gun - but you can't use it everywhere), as does the AI. This may not be entirely fair, though, as we must keep in mind that HL2 released a year before FEAR, which basically set a new standard for AI in linear first person shooters.

The pacing actually is my biggest gripe with the game. After a certain point, the game just runs out of new tricks but keeps dragging on forever. The sleep-inducing hours you spend in City 17 later in the game nearly made me give up on my first playthrough, because I was just getting sick of the endless fights against decerebrated combine soldiers and bullet-sponging striders you had to kill with the "fire rocket, find cover" tactic.

I still think it was a notable game for its time with quite advanced storytelling (mind I said storytelling; the story itself is actually quite poor), physics and graphics. But best FPS ever? Hardly.

I somewhat agree. Wouldn't call it a dull game, but I don't get why people call it the best FPS still either when it is the shooting element that is so weak in this game. As you pointed out, the gunplay plain sucks (except for the Gravity Gun - but you can't use it everywhere), as does the AI. This may not be entirely fair, though, as we must keep in mind that HL2 released a year before FEAR, which basically set a new standard for AI in linear first person shooters.

The pacing actually is my biggest gripe with the game. After a certain point, the game just runs out of new tricks but keeps dragging on forever. The sleep-inducing hours you spend in City 17 later in the game nearly made me give up on my first playthrough, because I was just getting sick of the endless fights against decerebrated combine soldiers and bullet-sponging striders you had to kill with the "fire rocket, find cover" tactic.

I still think it was a notable game for its time with quite advanced storytelling (mind I said storytelling; the story itself is actually quite poor), physics and graphics. But best FPS ever? Hardly.

DraugenCP

I thought the later half of the game and Strider fights were epic :D, but I was so absorbed in the game and atmosphere... I played through it in one sitting lol :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe-qu4CNIRE&#t=0m35s

And the way they introduce the Hunter in Episode 2 is masterful gaming craftsmenship. :)

[QUOTE="glez13"]

We have known this for like 7 years now. Next.

vtoshkatur

Have you even played HL2???? I mean it's avalible for your console. I suggest you actually try it peasant.

I think the story is overrated, but I love the gameplay. The guns feel great to me, the blood splatter and sounds help alot with that. The shooting is fun, there are some great set peices. And come on, using the Super Gravity gun at the end is pure joy.

turtlethetaffer

Half Life 2 was great for its atmosphere. Probably one of the most memorable game atmospheres in recent years. FF7 had a great atmosphere as well. Same with Morrowind. Moody, bleek, and depressing atmospheres that were very colorful, lush, and beautiful at the same time.

HL2 is a little dated but still the best FPS ever made quite frankly.

- First of all the story is not TOLD to you thru a bunch of dumb dialogue, you PLAY the story and it becomes self-evident by seeing what's happening in the game. This I think brings the immersion to max level, you are no longer "playing a game" you are there.

- The level-design is ingenious, part puzzle, part shooter.

- The gunplay is great from the perspective that Gordon Freeman is a scientist, you find clever ways of going thru the map, it is not your job to hunt down every combine or use every scrap of ammo. Sometimes you can use the gravity gun to saw people in half, or turn on machinery to kill your enemies. Cycle thru the guns and use what you have the most ammo for.

- It is a rather "old school" game so I don't expect the "new breed" to like it.

I disagree.It's a lot of fun.

Yes, but the gravity gun is the only good thing about this game! And the physics.

Again, it's not a bad game per se, it just receives too much praise on account that it was the successor to one of the best FPS games of all time. That should never be the case, for any game. I am happy to see that a few other people agree.

If anything i'm agree with the pacing, everything else i disagree with.

Anyway, Overrated, that little word again, i always ask this...how can it be Overrated when most critics as well as fans liked the game?

madsnakehhh

I am in the same boat. I feel the game just does not hold up very well. Maybe it's because I did not play the game when it was first released. I think it's one of those games that I had to be there for when it was released. But I was too busy playing games on PS2 at the time.

I played the game only a year after it came out. I felt the game was trash then and still is trash now. CSS was the reason I didn't regret my purchase.

All you complainers are missing the point, and that is that a game is reviewed to the standard of when it was released. Back in 2004, HL2 what game had better graphics, used physics as a main gameplay element, created such a detailed and immersive world?

I bet most of you have only played the game for the first time since many other games have come out, graphics have moved on and physics have become mainstream gameplay mechanics.

All you complainers are missing the point, and that is that a game is reviewed to the standard of when it was released. Back in 2004, HL2 what game had better graphics, used physics as a main gameplay element, created such a detailed and immersive world?

I bet most of you have only played the game for the first time since many other games have come out, graphics have moved on and physics have become mainstream gameplay mechanics.

DAZZER7

You are missing the point. I addressed the game's writing and pacing, mostly. These elements are timeless. Bad writing and poor pacing can't be excused by the "fact that HL2 is seven years old".

As for graphics, they still hold up very well. The setpieces are very pretty. The gravity gun and physics, awesome as ever. But the key things - good writing and proper pacing - are subpar. That was what I was trying to get at.

And I did play HL2 seven years ago.

[QUOTE="DAZZER7"]

All you complainers are missing the point, and that is that a game is reviewed to the standard of when it was released. Back in 2004, HL2 what game had better graphics, used physics as a main gameplay element, created such a detailed and immersive world?

I bet most of you have only played the game for the first time since many other games have come out, graphics have moved on and physics have become mainstream gameplay mechanics.

The_Capitalist

You are missing the point. I addressed the game's writing and pacing, mostly. These elements are timeless. Bad writing and poor pacing can't be excused by the "fact that HL2 is seven years old".

As for graphics, they still hold up very well. The setpieces are very pretty. The gravity gun and physics, awesome as ever. But the key things - good writing and proper pacing - are subpar. That was what I was trying to get at.

And I did play HL2 seven years ago.

OK then lets do this...

WRITING, it tells a very believable and haunting story of humanity's near exctinction and depicts a very (again believable) world that supports the story. The story has mystery in terms of the Gman, it has a silent protagonist but in terms of a video game this actually allows players to make a greater connection. The main characters are explored through their interactions with each other and simple things such as photos on the wall, of particular not is the relationship of Alyx and her father. So much so by the end of Ep2 you care for them both. The story has trajedy, betrayal, has a well told beginning of humanity's struggle, it has a building of tension through the middle with the lonliness of Ravensholm, the beginning of the climatic ending with an uprising/rebellion and then a clearly defined epic ending in the citadel confronting the main bad guy.

PACING, the game goes through several distinct stages that require everything from action packed combat sequences, to survival horror and even vehicle sequences with smoothly integrated boss sequences. You're never doing the same thing from one level to the next, and again its all so interwoven into the story of the protagonists journey through the utterly believable game world.

Its and epic game that still is not really surpassed. You'd have done better by picking on the fact it is linear.

[QUOTE="DAZZER7"]

All you complainers are missing the point, and that is that a game is reviewed to the standard of when it was released. Back in 2004, HL2 what game had better graphics, used physics as a main gameplay element, created such a detailed and immersive world?

I bet most of you have only played the game for the first time since many other games have come out, graphics have moved on and physics have become mainstream gameplay mechanics.

The_Capitalist

You are missing the point. I addressed the game's writing and pacing, mostly. These elements are timeless. Bad writing and poor pacing can't be excused by the "fact that HL2 is seven years old".

As for graphics, they still hold up very well. The setpieces are very pretty. The gravity gun and physics, awesome as ever. But the key things - good writing and proper pacing - are subpar. That was what I was trying to get at.

And I did play HL2 seven years ago.

I agree that the graphics still hold up but you should really try the Cinematic Mod. It gives the graphics a huge boost.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFwbLVCxD7M