The Orange Box (PC/PS3/360)

[MattyD]

Maybe a return of the 'must videogames be fun' debate would be in order. Is it more important that a set piece be 'fun', or that it expresses something about the game world, about the character, and makes the players feel that? I thought the waterboat section was the defining part of HL2 because of the desolation and decay of the setting and the arduous, solo nature of the journey. It is 'The One Free Man' alone against an enemy that has ravaged the world world.

I think tweaking its length or whatever to make it more 'fun' might detract from the player's ability to identify with these feelings on a personal level rather than just looking around and saying "OK, the designers clearly want me to notice that the rivers are empty and there's nobody much around."

[capcom_suicide]

Maybe a return of the 'must videogames be fun' debate would be in order. Is it more important that a set piece be 'fun', or that it expresses something about the game world, about the character, and makes the players feel that? I thought the waterboat section was the defining part of HL2 because of the desolation and decay of the setting and the arduous, solo nature of the journey. It is 'The One Free Man' alone against an enemy that has ravaged the world world.

I think tweaking its length or whatever to make it more 'fun' might detract from the player's ability to identify with these feelings on a personal level rather than just looking around and saying "OK, the designers clearly want me to notice that the rivers are empty and there's nobody much around."

Great post Matt.

I was the same, I enjoyed the water section as I felt I was "Running scared" to get to the rebel base, and that the whole world had been overtaken. The loneliness and then fear as you run for your life!

It was a chore in some respects, but it was supposed to be. Alex even talks about that when you arrive, "Wow you made it this far on foot" or whatever.

HL2 is not just about game dynamics and weapon shifting. It was the first FPS I remember that really gave me a feeling of being in a story, playing a part in the fantasy world.

I decided to have a quick blast 3 days ago, and now find myself in

->Open Spoiler<-

Ravenholm.

In normal circumstances it would be unusual to play a game I have finished for a repeat when I have EP2 to play, but today when I have no less than EIGHT 360 games and 1 PS3 game on the shelf, it says an awful lot about the game and my priorities. It's so damn good!

Graphically I honestly think the game is gorgeous, and way ahead of it's time. The glass/water/fire effects still amaze me today.
I also think the achievements are brilliant, and with the chapter based system, I look forward to replaying for missed points one more time!
An experienced HL2 player can run through the game at a fair pace, and it feels so damn fresh every time.

Last night we plated TF2 and I must say, it is a brilliant frag game. Every class has been lovingly designed to be fun.
At one stage Spatial101 had disguised as me, and I saw myself at HQ and said, "That's me, how can that be?" Before realising his dirty tricks! Then I started to attack, only for my team to come and start attacking me! "No no, I'm the real CapcomSuicide, he's the impostor" Genius and hilarious.

Kevvy Metal was building a proper base with pimped gun and health machine too. Then we had the medic/heavy combo which seems unstoppable at 100%. The gestures and animations are brilliant too! "KaaaaaBooomb" indeed.

Next off Portal. I'm half way through, and again it's fantastic! I can see me replaying this one. I really love short but "Sweet" games, and my lifestyle is in tune with "Episodic content"

As most of us are now in our 30's, maybe this is the right way to go? Let us enjoy brilliantly designed 4 hour games, at an appropriate price, so we can feel that we have completed something and had 4 amazing hours gameplay, instead of 20 hours gameplay with 5 amazing hours spaced out?
Portal is an indication of how things may go I think.
It won't be for everyone, but it could be a good market for young mummies and daddies.

EP2 I played for 60 minutes, and I'd just like to say how enjoyable it was to see the way the visuals have matured and improved. For gaming fans to get the chance to play so many games and experience so much for 40 quid is mind boggling.

It's not 5 9/10 games being a 10. It's got HL2 as a standalone 10, then you get short but some sweet extras in Portal and TF2. I can see Fortress being another Team Grawsome regular too. Sometimes you just need to be with familiar folk to have a proper laugh and relax on a night. Fortress is one of those "Full of moments" games where you can't quite describe it afterwards but it had you screaming with laughter at the time.

It's a pretty limited context, but the level design and character design take it above the standard, and put it in a whole different place. Would I play it every night? No. Would I like to have a game on occasion for laughs? Absolutely.

A fine fine gaming package, and I hope Valve make a mint, they deserve too.

[Team Andromeda]

Great post Matt.

I was the same, I enjoyed the water section as I felt I was "Running scared" to get to the rebel base, and that the whole world had been overtaken. The loneliness and then fear as you run for your life!

It was a chore in some respects, but it was supposed to be. Alex even talks about that when you arrive, "Wow you made it this far on foot" or whatever.

HL2 is not just about game dynamics and weapon shifting. It was the first FPS I remember that really gave me a feeling of being in a story, playing a part in the fantasy world.

I decided to have a quick blast 3 days ago, and now find myself in

->Open Spoiler<-

Ravenholm.

In normal circumstances it would be unusual to play a game I have finished for a repeat when I have EP2 to play, but today when I have no less than EIGHT 360 games and 1 PS3 game on the shelf, it says an awful lot about the game and my priorities. It's so damn good!

Graphically I honestly think the game is gorgeous, and way ahead of it's time. The glass/water/fire effects still amaze me today.
I also think the achievements are brilliant, and with the chapter based system, I look forward to replaying for missed points one more time!
An experienced HL2 player can run through the game at a fair pace, and it feels so damn fresh every time.

Last night we plated TF2 and I must say, it is a brilliant frag game. Every class has been lovingly designed to be fun.
At one stage Spatial101 had disguised as me, and I saw myself at HQ and said, "That's me, how can that be?" Before realising his dirty tricks! Then I started to attack, only for my team to come and start attacking me! "No no, I'm the real CapcomSuicide, he's the impostor" Genius and hilarious.

Kevvy Metal was building a proper base with pimped gun and health machine too. Then we had the medic/heavy combo which seems unstoppable at 100%. The gestures and animations are brilliant too! "KaaaaaBooomb" indeed.

Next off Portal. I'm half way through, and again it's fantastic! I can see me replaying this one. I really love short but "Sweet" games, and my lifestyle is in tune with "Episodic content"

As most of us are now in our 30's, maybe this is the right way to go? Let us enjoy brilliantly designed 4 hour games, at an appropriate price, so we can feel that we have completed something and had 4 amazing hours gameplay, instead of 20 hours gameplay with 5 amazing hours spaced out?
Portal is an indication of how things may go I think.
It won't be for everyone, but it could be a good market for young mummies and daddies.

EP2 I played for 60 minutes, and I'd just like to say how enjoyable it was to see the way the visuals have matured and improved. For gaming fans to get the chance to play so many games and experience so much for 40 quid is mind boggling.

It's not 5 9/10 games being a 10. It's got HL2 as a standalone 10, then you get short but some sweet extras in Portal and TF2. I can see Fortress being another Team Grawsome regular too. Sometimes you just need to be with familiar folk to have a proper laugh and relax on a night. Fortress is one of those "Full of moments" games where you can't quite describe it afterwards but it had you screaming with laughter at the time.

It's a pretty limited context, but the level design and character design take it above the standard, and put it in a whole different place. Would I play it every night? No. Would I like to have a game on occasion for laughs? Absolutely.

A fine fine gaming package, and I hope Valve make a mint, they deserve too.

And let me just say that's a great post mate . Spot on , on all counts . This game is unlike anything else I've played . Its like taking part in a living , breathing world , the game feels alive . Best game I've played in ages

[cavalcade]

I thought the waterboat section was the defining part of HL2 because of the desolation and decay of the setting and the arduous, solo nature of the journey. It is 'The One Free Man' alone against an enemy that has ravaged the world world.

I just thought it was boring and lasted too long.

It seems games have become art after all.

[Soi]

It is 'The One Free Man' alone against an enemy that has ravaged the world.

I liked your post above a lot, but I want to comment on the quoted part.

I didn’t feel that “man against the world” thing. I found the linearity and the lack of explanation for what I was doing extremely stifling and lacking freedom.

The main character of HL2 is a blank canvass. He doesn’t say or provide any input –you have to guess at his motivation for his actions. That is a great idea. But in HL2 (as opposed to say Oblivion, where your character is similarly blank) you do not have any control over his actions. Worse for me was that also you have very little explanation as to why you are doing what you are doing.

HL2 felt like I was dumped in a game world that I knew nothing about and then put me on a convoluted, yet linear quest that from a purely personal perspective I wasn’t that interested in going on. I wanted to hang around the city, but no –I had to get on a water bike and dodge falling bombs for an hour.

[Charlie]

I'm another who found the hovercraft section sublime. The hovercraft v gunship battle, in particular, was a defining moment of the game as far as I'm concerned and I was genuinely sorry to leave it behind parked on the river when heading into Ely's lab.

One thing that struck me whilst playing last night, I noticed the entire story and entire game including all cut scenes are seen through Gordon's eyes and I feel that's why the game creates such an incredible sense of immersion that very few games can equal.

[Concept]

Well, the falling bombs are only in two five minute segments really, but yes, I would agree that those moments are probably the weakest parts of Water Hazard.

Maybe a return of the 'must videogames be fun' debate would be in order. Is it more important that a set piece be 'fun', or that it expresses something about the game world, about the character, and makes the players feel that? I thought the waterboat section was the defining part of HL2 because of the desolation and decay of the setting and the arduous, solo nature of the journey. It is 'The One Free Man' alone against an enemy that has ravaged the world world.

I think tweaking its length or whatever to make it more 'fun' might detract from the player's ability to identify with these feelings on a personal level rather than just looking around and saying "OK, the designers clearly want me to notice that the rivers are empty and there's nobody much around."

With regards to the fun angle, I approached Water Hazard and Highway 17/Sandtraps in the same way that I did Shadow of the Colossus (i.e. that of disassociating the usual expectations of gaining enjoyment through mechanical reward). A lot of the involvement and immersion depends on how connected and involved you feel to the environment and that's an entirely personal thing. It's probably why those sections in particular don't gel with everyone.

I know I'm a little late to the party, and everyone has said their piece about HL2's graphics. Sorry. But here's my thoughts.

I was amused to see how everyone (reviewers, forumites) had completely different ideas about what they were seeing, when they looked at HL2 on the 360. Some say it looks amazing, some say it looks rough. Some say it has obvious graphical improvements, some say it looks worse then the PC. Who is right?? I did a side-by-side comparison.

Despite a lack of AA and the 30fps framerate cap, I firmly believe the 360 version is the best-looking version of the game, with all the PC's highest graphical assets, plus some new effects.

I'd agree with this, though up close it doesn't look quite as sharp as the PC original over component (perhaps because I'm sitting four feet away as opposed to the two I was on the PC version). The other effects you mention do contribute in other areas - particularly the motion blur and HDR, which as you say is both subtle and well handled. I'm surprised I forgot to mention the self-shadowing earlier - it's one of the more notiable things about the port, though it occasionally looks a little odd.

Despite these criticisms, it's still a great game. I only intended to play around with it to check out the new graphics, but somehow I've found myself in Ravenholm. I just couldn't stop. I think the characterization is the best videogaming has to offer, and I still think the facial modelling is yet to be bettered.

This can't be over-emphasised. The lip synching in particular still amazes me in terms of its precision and smoothness.

[Concept]

Last night we plated TF2 and I must say, it is a brilliant frag game. Every class has been lovingly designed to be fun.

At one stage Spatial101 had disguised as me, and I saw myself at HQ and said, "That's me, how can that be?" Before realising his dirty tricks! Then I started to attack, only for my team to come and start attacking me! "No no, I'm the real CapcomSuicide, he's the impostor" Genius and hilarious.

I need to get into TF2 and I'd rather play with some peeps from the forum than have the experience soured by the usual Live trashtalking. I take it you guys will still be playing for a few days?

Next off Portal. I'm half way through, and again it's fantastic! I can see me replaying this one. I really love short but "Sweet" games, and my lifestyle is in tune with "Episodic content"

As most of us are now in our 30's, maybe this is the right way to go? Let us enjoy brilliantly designed 4 hour games, at an appropriate price, so we can feel that we have completed something and had 4 amazing hours gameplay, instead of 20 hours gameplay with 5 amazing hours spaced out?
Portal is an indication of how things may go I think.
It won't be for everyone, but it could be a good market for young mummies and daddies.

I'm fully against most publishers selling full price games with four hour single-player content on the back of a multiplayer mode that generally only a small fraction of their audience ever touches. That isn't the case for Team Fortress 2 at all, but I was left distinctly underwhelmed by the likes of Lost Planet and GRAW 2 earlier in the year. Sometimes the 'but it has multiplayer!' execuse really annoys me. It's becoming too prevalent in covering minimal and underdeveloped single-player and the press, by and large, are letting publishers get away with it.

If however you mean should companies split development up and offer a variety of bite-sized chunks in single-player and multiplayer in one package, then yes, the Orange Box has made me a convert. These are games (with the exception of Half-Life 2/Team Fortress 2) that if you want, you can finish in a single sitting, and due to the way they're structured encouraged repeated replay to gain achievements based on their individual chapter systems. It's a smart and undaunting way to get into what is a very large offering, although I do think The Orange Box is an anomaly though which we probably won't see again any time soon.

With regards to Portal, the purity and focal point on its main idea means that it probably would have suffered if it had been longer than 3-4 hours. I'd like to see Valve release some 'best of' maps DLC over Live though if they can't let users somehow create their own mods somewhere down the line on the console versions.

[Kotatsu Neko]

Despite a lack of AA and the 30fps framerate cap, I firmly believe the 360 version is the best-looking version of the game, with all the PC's highest graphical assets, plus some new effects.

Personal preference perhaps, but the 360's jaggies and frame rate rate issues alone make it look rather inferior compared to the PC version, even if the rest of the visuals were identical.

[Kevvy Metal]

TF2 could well be the finest online fps i've played....It's so less stressful than Halo3. Not encountered any assholes playing either (so far). I do love Halo3 multi...but people take it FAR too seriously...It's so competative and unkind to inexperienced players. Lots of people really don't understand the ranking system on Halo 3....the numerical rank is totally different to your exp rank...

any ways....OB deserve a 10? you bet it does...even when judged on it's individual components.

I would considered HL2 and it's episodes one big long fat game.....(that still has to be concluded) which is without a doubt deserved of "full marks".
It's the pinicle of Digital Entertainment imo.....I would maybe distinguish it from the common notion of a "videogame" this is more of a unique experience derived from multiple influences...its more than a "game".

I love it and three years on...its still incredible...yes its far from perfect but you could pick hole and moan and whine about pretty much anything.

Portal is deserved of "top marks" a unique Idea, made the focal point in a game with a perfect length to sustain that idea.....It really worked with such a short length....truely on of the best games this year...even when judged on its own.....

and TF2.....as said, it's a competative & co-op online fps and really could be the most fun thing i've played online...

....please Valve get that patch out!!!! (it is coming).

[rmoxon]

If by sublime you mean "lasts 20 times longer than it needs to" then yes, it is sublime.

I feel it incredably strange that such a consistantly Inventive and immersive game as Half-Life 2 is getting complaints from people that its too long, when many other less varied or intresting games aways get noted being too short. Funny thing is if you look how long it took you to finish the game once its complete 6 hours or so isnt an amazing length for a game anyway.

The Water Boat section is about 15 minutes long if you play it stright through without dying, so im not really sure how it can be 20 minutes too long.

[Brats]

With regards to the fun angle, I approached Water Hazard and Highway 17/Sandtraps in the same way that I did Shadow of the Colossus (i.e. that of disassociating the usual expectations of gaining enjoyment through mechanical reward). A lot of the involvement and immersion depends on how connected and involved you feel to the environment and that's an entirely personal thing. It's probably why those sections in particular don't gel with everyone.

They don't gel with me because they are too linear and too contrived.

'Oh look there's a big wall in front of me. No wait, it doesn't matter I can use these fallen logs as a handy ramp' or ' Damn I need a big weight to counterbalance this ramp. Oh look, how handy that there is a washing machine on top of that scaffolding that I can push into it'.

I don't believe in the Half life world because it's so false. I feel so forced down a path that although the world looks good from the angle I can see, I know that the illusion is paper thin and that beyond the bit that I can see, there exists nothing. HL2 takes the idea of the 'corridor shooter' to its ultimate conclusion. The riverboat section is nothing more than the old cliche 'the mine cart section' dressed up and made longer. The fact some say it is the defining HL2 experience speaks volumes.

Even though Bioshock was a linear experience, it still conveyed a better sense of a real world than HL2 imo. In fact, after the fervour had died down, wasn't the criticism against Bioshock that beneath it all it was just another FPS? Well at least Bioshock had the plasmids to play around with. HL2 just has a ten year old combat engine and that criticism applies double.

As far as the passive experience goes, HL2 is a 10/10 game. The art design, the lighting, the sound, the music, the graphics (for the time), the lip synching, the characters - all that stuff that you watch is great. It's just that the gameplay, the combat, the controls and even the level design (i.e. the interactive stuff) are old hat and has been done so much better elsewhere.

I often find myself saying about HL2 that it looks great or sounds great. I hardly ever say it plays great.

[Brats]

I feel it incredably strange that such a consistantly Inventive and immersive game as Half-Life 2 is getting complaints from people that its too long, when many other less varied or intresting games aways get noted being too short. Funny thing is if you look how long it took you to finish the game once its complete 6 hours or so isnt an amazing length for a game anyway.

The Water Boat section is about 15 minutes long if you play it stright through without dying, so im not really sure how it can be 20 minutes too long.

On first play, you could spend five minutes faffing around with each of the physics puzzles. I remember first time I played though on PC, I tried to destroy the wooden scaffolding that the washing machine was standing on as I had missed the ladder and I remembered Gabe Newell's quote that 'wood behaves like wood'.

Only after a while did I realise that this wood was made from patented ACME anti-destructo wood and no amount of bullets would make it collapse.

Anyway, for a 'minecart section' the water boat should be three minutes long, not an entire level. Sorry to bring up the comparison, but Halo gets it right with its last section - a three minute wheeze of driving the warthog against a time limit. And yet that race down the pillar of autumn gave more open gameplay than the entire water boat section of HL2 which lasts a hell of a lot longer.

[cavalcade]

I feel it incredably strange that such a consistantly Inventive and immersive game as Half-Life 2 is getting complaints from people that its too long, when many other less varied or intresting games aways get noted being too short. Funny thing is if you look how long it took you to finish the game once its complete 6 hours or so isnt an amazing length for a game anyway.

The Water Boat section is about 15 minutes long if you play it stright through without dying, so im not really sure how it can be 20 minutes too long.

You've made the mistake of assuming I wasn't exaggerating for comic effect, but in any case, as I've said before, Half Life 2 should be a third of it's current length, even if that left it at 3 hours long or something.

Then it would be astonishing.

As it is, whether in real time terms it took 20 minutes or not, by the end of the Riverboat section, if someone had handed me a gun I'd have gladly shot myself to relieve the boredom.

[Wools]

I started playing Episode 2 last night and it looks even better than previous efforts.

This is really reminding me of next generation GoldenEye. A beautiful, action orientated game with fantastic level design but mixed with brilliant, intelligent puzzles.

I'm now desperate to see what Episode 2's version of Coast is to play.