Half-Life 2 (PC)

[Concept]

Oh damn man... Thematically, this game is just out of this world. I fell asleep after canning it something rotten and going through everything slowly but surely earlier on. (There's no way I can finish this game in a single sitting).

I woke up at 3am and I've been on it since then. I'm around 12 hours in now and up to (spoilers ahead, currently at Chapter 9) Nova Prospekt, which just gave me shades of Manhunt, albeit in a far more visceral style. Breaking in there with the ant lions by my side and gunning down the airships while chaos abounded all around was just beyond words. It really was one of the most cinematic and tense gaming experiences I've ever been through.

I love it how the game continually turns things on its head by turning an adversary into a friend, and the whole idea of that and how it's symbolised in the vortiguant allies who introduce the very concept to you through the ant lions. It kind of knocks the message on the head twice. That was an excellent touch.

Also the puzzle on the beach before getting to Prospekt where you had to get across, was exceptionally freeform and open to attacking the problem in your own way, as fast or as slow as you like. Just the simplicity, yet the ingenuity of it was outstanding. I also love it how when you progress through the course of the coastline section, a sense of time puts forward the progression you make through the slow darkening of the skies, and how by the time you get to Nova Prospekt, it's midnight. I love that and how it creates the illusion you've just moved through a whole day's worth of travel on the buggy and getting into this place from City 17.

Mystery. Horror. Adventure. Science-fiction. Urban dysfunction. Thriller. Action.

There are so many elements integrated into each other which differ widly, yet intersect to make sure the experience isn't fragmented or disjointed.

By far and away the best first-person game I've ever played of any sort, and probably up there with the true greats in any genre. Although when I go through the game a second and third time, I'll be able to get a better impression as to how all the elements layer and form to make the game what it is.

[Magnakai]

I've quite literally been playing this all night.
My gosh. What a masterpiece.
I'm up to the very, very beginning of Highway 17. The buggy is under my crosshairs. All I have to do is walk up to it and press E.
Ravensholm was possibly the singularly most impressive level in any game, ever. The masterful use of physics never ceases to delight. The constant "little touches" really win me over too. A headcrab almost reached a platform that I was standing on, and tried to grab the edge of the ledge, but lost it's grip and fell down. In any other game, it would've just bounced off the wall. Not this one.
The way that the shot of the shotgun appears to make indents in metal wall.
The way one of the propellers fell off, and turned into an extra deadly weapon.
The way I've spotted the G-Man a couple of times, and the feeling that I've missed him a couple of times too. The subtle but chilling storyline. The satisfaction of taking down the helicopters. The crazy priest.
Oh, and the gravity gun. Don't forget that
I'm just glad I played Halo 2 BEFORE Half Life 2. While I think Halo 2 has a better unscripted combat engine, Half Life 2's single player mode has single-handedly moved games forward a generation. They set the bar once, and they've done it again.

[Chadruharazzeb]

After the appallingly farcical and infuriating build up to actually playing the damn thing, I was pleased that it was worth it. Granted there's the sound issues (which seem random, sometimes the 5.1 works, sometimes not - didn't they notice this during testing?) and the fact that it still can't be played in Offline mode (will it ever ), but it's just so much damn fun to make you forget all the irritating ****e.

Graphically it's probably not as technically impressive as Doom3, but the games are clearly polar opposites in style: Doom 3 was all pitch black corridors and close combat fighting; HL2 is open expanses in a daylit city. I'm more than happy with the visuals though, one of the rare occasions when the thing actually looks just like the screenshots I've been drooling over for the last 12 months. The character models, animation, and ragdoll effects are superb, possibly the best ever. Physics seem a bit odd, equal parts realistic and absurd but always fun to mess with.

Sure it's a wee bit simple gameplay wise, and the number of time's I've wanted a "lean" button has been numerous and I'm not sure why there isn't one. Combat is nevertheless enjoyable, assisted in no small way by the superb sound effects of both the weapons and the expiring enemies (the explosions of those flying camera things are delightfully loud).

The whole is far more than the sum of it's parts though, and the word "experience" is going to be overused in peoples description of the game. It really IS a highly impressive experience and one I look forward to immensely (in about 9 fckin hours ).

Rah! Now sort the sound out, and the offline steam guff and it's pretty much perfect (apart from the bloody loading, but it wouldn't be Half Life without it)

[Spatial]

I was up until 1.00 this morning playing it, and here I am again about to go back

This game has not dissapointed in any way so far - except for the annoying sound issue. Still, I dropped the sound channels down to 4 speakers and its seems to have reduced ( but no removed ) the problem for me - its not 5.1 but its as good as.

Its funny, but when I couldn't get 5.1 to work and played it in Stereo there was no skipping of any kind in the audio. I wonder if the bug in the Steam engine just prevents 5.1 from working properly ?

But like Inertia said, at least Valve are aware of it ( they've probably had loads of US fanboys screaming at them about it ) and will sort something soon.

Personally I'm torn over this game. Part of me wants to speed through and see what happens, to unlock the next bit of the game and the next weapon / enemy. But another part of me wants to keep the difficulty ramped up on hard and draw the whole expereince out as long as possible.

When somethings this good you just don't want it to end !

[Number45]

What trouble are you having with the offline mode? I've got offline working fine, but then I did purchase through Steam? Is it a retail box thing?

[Number45]

Personally I'm torn over this game. Part of me wants to speed through and see what happens, to unlock the next bit of the game and the next weapon / enemy. But another part of me wants to keep the difficulty ramped up on hard and draw the whole expereince out as long as possible.

I know exactly how you feel. I've resigned myself to playing it through at a relatively brisk pace on normal, mainly because it seems as though the games wants you to play it that way, then ramping the difficulty up to hard and really exploring the incredible environments.

[Chadruharazzeb]

What trouble are you having with the offline mode? I've got offline working fine, but then I did purchase through Steam? Is it a retail box thing?

I've got the retail box, aye. Dunno if the other folk have, but it just keeps saying it's not ready for offline play yet. Meaning?

[Number45]

Weird. The offline mode showing as 'not ready' is apparently because the product authentication is not fully completed.

There's a support article listing some things you can try,

[Chadruharazzeb]

Thanks man, I'll try that later.

( .blob file )

[Number45]

Yeah, it's in the root of the Steam install folder. I'm going to assume that the extension was devised at a certain time of the month...

[Ciaran]

The steampowered forums are back up if anyone is looking for support.

[Nijo]

I was up until 1.00 this morning playing it, and here I am again about to go back

This game has not dissapointed in any way so far - except for the annoying sound issue. Still, I dropped the sound channels down to 4 speakers and its seems to have reduced ( but no removed ) the problem for me - its not 5.1 but its as good as.

Its funny, but when I couldn't get 5.1 to work and played it in Stereo there was no skipping of any kind in the audio. I wonder if the bug in the Steam engine just prevents 5.1 from working properly ?

I'm using headphones on my laptop (with everything set on stereo headphone mode) but I still get some problems. I've fiddled around with drivers too much already and I've got a gig of ram so I don't think it's that...
Annoying, but it only happens very occasionally.

I guess we're all used to console games...

[Chadruharazzeb]

Some clowns are already claiming to have finished it. So much for it taking 36 hours.

[Number45]

I think the IGN review suggested about 17-20 hours, if played on normal? I guess if you played it on Easy, and ran through the whole game, you could finish it in a new less than that. No idea why you would do that though, seems a waste of the experience.

[Nijo]

It's been at least 24 hours since the release, and I'm sure people here have already played 18 hours plus. Stick it on easy and run through... not fun but you get to be first to finish it \o/

Clowns indeed.