The Orange Box (PC/PS3/360)

[domsalvia]

Its only the same two people over and over so wouldnt worry much. They will get over it sooner or later.

Yeah, it's just a shame no one has made the time time to articulate exactly what is so marvelous about the game and why I should consider rating it as an all time classic yet.

But you are right, it going to be very hard for me to get over asking what I am missing in a game in the hopes of seeing what others are seeing, as I finish it and move on to something else.

[Spatial]

Yeah, it's just a shame no one has made the time time to articulate exactly what is so marvelous about the game and why I should consider rating it as an all time classic yet.

eh? Why should anyone have to persuade you? You either like it or you don't and neither of those is a crime.

This thread and the other one in General Gaming have both shown that some peoples minds won't be opened no matter is said, so I know I gave up bothering.

And overall it's more reflective of these forums now. Most people are more interested in if it's region free, if there's tearing, where's the cheapest, mine's arriving on Thursday etc etc than posting full on game impressions.

I still post about my gaming experiences (along with a quite few others) but some people can't manage more than two lines going "it's bloody brill!".

Nothing wrong with that either. Not everything has to be a 60 paragraph breakdown of an emotional roller-coaster.

[vanpeebles]

eh? Why should anyone have to persuade you? You either like it or you don't and neither of those is a crime.

This thread and the other one in General Gaming have both shown that some peoples minds won't be opened no matter is said, so I know I gave up bothering.

And overall it's more reflective of these forums now. Most people are more interested in if it's region free, if there's tearing, where's the cheapest, mine's arriving on Thursday etc etc than posting full on game impressions.

I still post about my gaming experiences (along with a quite few others) but some people can't manage more than two lines going "it's bloody brill!".

Nothing wrong with that either. Not everything has to be a 60 paragraph breakdown of an emotional roller-coaster.

I agree with all of this but also what Dom was trying to say. It feels like if you dont write up some kind of wordy verbose 6th form english language essay then your view just doesnt count or just swept aside. Its like *SNORT* look at me I can knock a great game,I must be a legendary critic.

[Dezm0nd]

You got a city in your version? I got a square I think and maybe one street.

You must've downloaded a mod for the PC version. When I played the City 17 chapter I had countless fights in a huge engrossing city.

[Yoshimax]

I agree with all of this but also what Dom was trying to say. It feels like if you dont write up some kind of wordy verbose 6th form english language essay then your view just doesnt count or just swept aside. Its like *SNORT* look at me I can knock a great game,I must be a legendary critic.

What you'll find VP is you can write a full page diatribe but depending on :

a) Who you are
b) Who is reading it

it has a good chance of being passed over for the more bite-sized posts - How many times have you seen someone post a question and it be followed by "we've covered that 10 times already" or "two posts above mate".

When I come to first play I don't want to read somebodies "experience" with a game per-se same as I don't need to hear about somebodies "experience" on a trip to Amsterdam - I just need them to tell me the hookers looked good, the grass was the **** and the beer was reasonable (though poorly poured) - I'm happy with that I don't need to know exactly what they did with said hooker/blow or bevvy.

[rmoxon]

Yeah, it's just a shame no one has made the time time to articulate exactly what is so marvelous about the game and why I should consider rating it as an all time classic yet.

But you are right, it going to be very hard for me to get over asking what I am missing in a game in the hopes of seeing what others are seeing, as I finish it and move on to something else.

Well you could you know, read one of the many, many, gushing reviews for the game/games online. I'm sure you will find somthing in at least a few of them that will tell you why its generaly well loved. Then you can stop expecting us to write a thousand word essay on it too.

[Brats]

I agree with all of this but also what Dom was trying to say. It feels like if you dont write up some kind of wordy verbose 6th form english language essay then your view just doesnt count or just swept aside. Its like *SNORT* look at me I can knock a great game,I must be a legendary critic.

Talk about getting it completely wrong.

It's just people debating a game, nothing more than that. I'm not going to apologise for trying to back up my point.

It was YOU who started knocking people for having an opinion, saying things like 'Its scandalous the amount of boring hot air and waffle in this thread' and 'Maybe you need to play more games instead of pulling spiders apart all day'.

Personally I think it was a really good thread. Whether you agree with my points on the game or not is completely academic, imo it's just good to have an interesting debate on these things. It's run its course now that people are jumping in and making jibes at people who happen to have a different view.

[Len]

Here's a quick recap of HL and HL2 for those who can't be bothered to read up/play 'em thru...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRsexrhbG8

[B1gBeard]

Talk about getting it completely wrong.

It's just people debating a game, nothing more than that. I'm not going to apologise for trying to back up my point.

It was YOU who started knocking people for having an opinion, saying things like 'Its scandalous the amount of boring hot air and waffle in this thread' and 'Maybe you need to play more games instead of pulling spiders apart all day'.

Personally I think it was a really good thread. Whether you agree with my points on the game or not is completely academic, imo it's just good to have an interesting debate on these things. It's run its course now that people are jumping in and making jibes at people who happen to have a different view.

Aye its been a good thread up until now.

[Dezm0nd]

I for one absolutely love the half life series. It doesn't have the best story telling in game, but the gameplay is sublime.

I just clocked Half Life 2 and episode 1 again and it's absolutely astonishing how Valve can put together this world and make it believable. I haven't seen a game world so convincing to be honest.

In regards to the story, I did have to read it up on Wikipedia and it makes sense but it's a shame the game doesn't explicity tell you whats going on. I guess it's a bit like Lost. You're plucked by the g-man and it's mystery after mystery with whats going on

[TheBlackLodge]

My two pennies worth: Never saw the big fuss about HL (completed both PS2 and PC versions), and only played HL2 on the Xbox, thus, again never saw the big fuss. But, am converted. Despite the contrived-ness (is that a word ? most likely not) of some of the situations (amusingly you'll find the same issue in pretty much every game known to man yet it gets highlighted here for some reason), tis a bloody cracking game and the expansions Ep's only serve to enhance the game. Portal's not bad as well.

[domsalvia]

eh? Why should anyone have to persuade you? You either like it or you don't and neither of those is a crime.

Well, if that not a fair point, and a well made one at that, I don't know what is.

I think I've stated, and possible restated a few too many times, my view on the game so I reckon I'll leave it now as I don't have much to add at this point other than I have enjoyed the game so far and I am looking forwards to blasting through the last couple of levels on Ep2 to round the game out nicely.

[Lebowski]

Late to playing episode two as i have been obsesed with portal.

So episode two well I'm very disappointed So Far, all the trailers promised a vast forest of striders and hunters and so far i have spent the last two hours in a cliche mine/antline hive level which i cant help but feel is just padding out the game.

Is epidsode 2 the same sort of scale as episode 1? if so i must be about a quarter of the way in and dragging myself through at this point in time, groaning at having to play through such cliches as slow moving lifts + loads of enemys = seen it before somewhere hmm.

the

->Open Spoiler<-

AntLion guardian twofer

battle i've just endured was terrible and couldn't of taken me more out of the half life universe if it tried a walled in arena of a boss fight which seemed to take far to long to complete and was lacking in any sort of real ammo to take down the bosses.

->Open Spoiler<-

I resorted to braying them using a piece of corrigated metal and a car engine to trudge my way through this battle (once the exploding barrels had depleted themselves) it also lacked any sort of urgency as the Guardian would run off to the other side of the level to leave me to stand about and await there return, at one point a car came flying half way across the level and landed right on top of me talk about a good shot

I'm out in the open at the moment so lets hope the game picks up from here and returns to the sort of levels that i loved in half life two, a return to the style of play that made the canal and the costal level such a joy are what I'm really after.

[jimmbob]

Just got the one free bullet achievement in episode one. Not as difficult as I thought it would be, however waiting for the elevator is still a bitch.

[Welrain]

Late to the party but I'm finally playing this. I played HL2 on the PC and Episode 1 but this still feels really fresh. Currently zooming about on the boat thingy and having the time of my life. wow!