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HALF-LIFE 2 on XBox

post #1 of 83
11/13/05 at 12:34am
Thread Starter 
9.4 on IGN.

Apparently most if not all of the complaints people had about the preview build have been fixed. The same old Far Cry/Doom 3 comment pops up again (looks awesome for an XBox game, but the graphics of the XBox are insignificant next to the power of the Forc--er, that is, a high-end PC), but otherwise, the port is a complete success.

We finally get to play what PC gamers have been ejaculating over for a year now.

Now all we need is for someone to announce a port of F.E.A.R. and I can go back to not giving a crap about PC games.
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post #2 of 83
11/13/05 at 2:10am
I already reserved my copy Saturday. I can't wait.
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post #3 of 83
11/13/05 at 2:58am
Multiplayer, yes or no?
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post #4 of 83
11/13/05 at 3:17am
It's just the game. No Live or anything.
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post #5 of 83
11/13/05 at 4:21am
I can live without the multiplayer, especially since I'm not a fan of Counter-Strike.

I'm really happy to hear that all the goodness of the PC original has been retained. Screw the next generation...this is my most anticipated game of the season, hands down. I just wish it wasn't coming out on the same day as my *other* most anticipated game, Mario Kart DS.

Between these games and A Feast For Crows, this is going to be a good week to be a geek.
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post #6 of 83
11/14/05 at 7:51pm
I'm looking forward to hearing what those of you who never played the pc version think of the Xbox flavor.
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post #7 of 83
11/14/05 at 8:01pm
This will be the last regular Xbox game I buy. I've been waiting a long time for this, and I wasn't even a huge fan of the original. Just called around in search of an early release copy but no luck.
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post #8 of 83
11/17/05 at 4:38pm
Having an absolute blast playing this, I die constantly just to go back and try things differently. Just in the few hours I played last night there were so many times I just had to smile at how freakin' cool some of the shit you can do is.

Gravity Gun. Heard the stories, didn't really believe them, had things like this in games before and they always suck. Not this time. I could have played catch with dog for an hour if I wasn't wanting to move on to "We don't go there anymore" area.
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post #9 of 83
11/17/05 at 4:42pm
I really need to get this game. I've worn out my copy of the demo.
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post #10 of 83
11/17/05 at 5:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otisthecat
I could have played catch with dog for an hour if I wasn't wanting to move on to "We don't go there anymore" area.
Meeting Dog for the first time is one of the best iconic moments in gaming in recent memory.

He has another showstopping scene later in the game. You'll know it when it happens...
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post #11 of 83
11/17/05 at 8:57pm
Jacob. did you enjoy "We Don't Go To Ravenholm" as much as I did on the PC version.
Great,great,level.
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post #12 of 83
11/17/05 at 9:01pm
You bet. The main reason? Two words: saw blades.
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post #13 of 83
11/17/05 at 9:20pm
God I love Ravenholm. Best horror sequence in gaming since Eternal Darkness*. I've spent hours finding inventive new ways to toast zombies and headcrabs in the fire traps.

* Originally cited Clive Barker's Undying... changed my mind.
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post #14 of 83
11/18/05 at 1:29am
So are the framerate issues exaggerrated?
I'm a big FPS fan, but have never played either Half-Life game. I keep hearing way too much good shit. I was thinking about giving in to Far Cry: Instincts, but is this game the real deal(as in worth 50 bucks)? Keep in mind the last 3 games I payed full price for were Resident Evil 4, DOOM 3 and Timesplitters: Future Perfect.
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post #15 of 83
11/18/05 at 1:37am
>I'm a big FPS fan, but have never played either Half-Life game.

I stopped reading there, as I'm so offended.
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post #16 of 83
11/18/05 at 1:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Domingo
>I'm a big FPS fan, but have never played either Half-Life game.

I stopped reading there, as I'm so offended.
Cut me some slack, my PC practically crashes when I play solitaire...
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post #17 of 83
11/18/05 at 2:04am
This kicks Doom 3's ass in every way. I played the game on the PC, and assuming the XBox version doesn't introduce any serious technical issues, it's a definite buy. Easily worth $50.

Last year, 2004, saw a whole pile of incredible games- GTA:SA, Ninja Gaiden, MGS3, WoW, Halo 2 (some would say), and others... and this was easily the best game of the year. I really can't praise it enough.

It's the best FPS I've ever played.
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post #18 of 83
11/18/05 at 4:55am
Loving this. A lot.
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post #19 of 83
11/18/05 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexus-6
Keep in mind the last 3 games I payed full price for were Resident Evil 4, DOOM 3 and Timesplitters: Future Perfect.
If it's even half as good as the PC version, that still makes it at least twice as good as Doom 3 or Timesplitters.
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post #20 of 83
11/18/05 at 3:54pm
I remember X-Play summing up the PC version nicely, over a clip of a zombie getting bifurcated by a sawblade:

"If you didn't think that was cool? You're in the wrong hobby."
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post #21 of 83
11/18/05 at 3:58pm
All the above love for Half-Life 2 is making me want to pick this game up this weekend and take it off my Christmas list.
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post #22 of 83
11/18/05 at 4:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexus-6
So are the framerate issues exaggerrated?
There are framerate issues, but they aren't that bad. It tends to stutter for a second when you first move after a loading screen, and large explosions stutter, but nothing that hinders gameplay (like the constant jitters in Killzone).

Ravenholm was great, I really liked it, but I didn't think it was as creepy as some have made it out to be. I actually think the little abandoned huts along the side of Hgwy 17 offer better tension moments.

The giant bridge was awesome.
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post #23 of 83
11/19/05 at 5:36pm
This is an astonishing conversion. Anyone who never tried the PC version, get this now.

Gripes: It does seem slightly easier than the PC version, I'm not a fan of how the "sprint" button is the one that's hardest to keep pressed down while using both thumbsticks and the "Press Y to go up ladders" is a bit clunky. Oh, and it's a shame there's no new content or online play.

Other than that, it's just astonishing. The physics, the water effects, it's all there. I just played through the Water Hazard level and it's still one of the best action gaming sections of all time.
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post #24 of 83
11/19/05 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Whitehead
I'm not a fan of how the "sprint" button is the one that's hardest to keep pressed down while using both thumbsticks
You can toggle that in the options menu so you only have to press the button once (same deal for crouching). Works a lot better, especially when there's a giant goddamn helicopter on your ass.

Ravenholm was a blast. I just got to the big bridge, and I'm already sad that I'm nearing the end (I think..?). Just a brilliant game.
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post #25 of 83
11/20/05 at 12:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slater
You can toggle that in the options menu so you only have to press the button once (same deal for crouching). Works a lot better, especially when there's a giant goddamn helicopter on your ass.

Ravenholm was a blast. I just got to the big bridge, and I'm already sad that I'm nearing the end (I think..?). Just a brilliant game.
If it's the big bridge I remember from the PC version, you've got nearly half the game left.
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post #26 of 83
11/20/05 at 12:26am
I'm interested to hear what the XBox players will think of the ending.
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post #27 of 83
11/20/05 at 1:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Count Floyd
If it's the big bridge I remember from the PC version, you've got nearly half the game left.
Now that's what I like to hear.
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post #28 of 83
11/20/05 at 2:15am
Man, I hated the bridge level. Not that I thought it was badly designed, or that it wasn't fun, but because I had the most horrible sense of vertigo the whole time.
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post #29 of 83
11/20/05 at 3:24am
The game just turned into TREMORS. Fucking A.
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post #30 of 83
11/20/05 at 4:40am
I just finished Ravenholm and I'm now at the beginning of Highway 17.

If you play through Ravenholm and aren't freaked out in any way, then you are a better man than I am.
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post #31 of 83
11/20/05 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slater
The game just turned into TREMORS. Fucking A.
That's another highlight. One of those rare gaming moments that sticks in your memory the same way a great movie scene does.

And it gets better. You get to have a lot more fun with ant lions later on.
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post #32 of 83
11/20/05 at 8:51am
I played the PC version, and Ravenholm was one of the greatest gaming experiences of my life. I never thought a shaking gutter could be so damn scary. Glad to see the Xbox folks discovering this amazing game.

And Dan, spot-on about the ant lions. Just awesome.
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post #33 of 83
11/20/05 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Whitehead
You get to have a lot more fun with ant lions later on.
Yeah, I found the Squishy Grapefruit of Death. Tearing through Nova Prospekt now with Bitey, Stabby and Rapey in tow. So much fun.

I have to say, even though I still vastly prefer Halo 2's multiplayer and gunplay, so far this game absolutely *creams* Bungie's shooter when it comes to the overall single-player experience.
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post #34 of 83
11/20/05 at 8:57pm
Thread Starter 
No man's life is complete until he's stood on the edge of a rooftop, grabbed a barrel of explosives with an anti-gravity gun, and shot it just right to set an entire street full of zombies on fire.

I love this gun. I love this level. I love this game.
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post #35 of 83
11/21/05 at 6:14am
And just think, you haven't even got to the tripods yet...
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post #36 of 83
11/21/05 at 6:22am
I won't get the Xbox version, but I absolutely loved the beach houses alongside Highway 17. Created a true sense of dread, just with the sky and how abandoned the houses looked.
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post #37 of 83
11/21/05 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slater
I have to say, even though I still vastly prefer Halo 2's multiplayer and gunplay, so far this game absolutely *creams* Bungie's shooter when it comes to the overall single-player experience.
Half-Life 2 takes out its cock, and gently, almost contemptuously, mickey-slaps Halo 2 across the face. It then pats Halo 2 on the head in a really patronising way, turns and walks off, chuckling derisively.
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post #38 of 83
11/21/05 at 3:48pm
Just got the game. It's breathtaking. I almost want to just sit around and fiddle with items in the game world. I picked up a television and threw it through a third story window, while people were watching it!

How is the first one? I hope they release it for XBOX, cause I can already see that one will not be enough.

I am much more impressed with this game than I was in Kong and Kameo, and it is much more fun to play than Call of Duty 2. The entire opening sequence was like being in a movie.
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post #39 of 83
11/21/05 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Whitehead
And just think, you haven't even got to the tripods yet...
I LOVE carrying those things around.

Dogs second appearance was fucking great, I just wish he would have stuck around longer.
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post #40 of 83
11/21/05 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
I only played the PS2 port of the first game. Deeply flawed in spots (most of them, I'd wager, are the fault of the PS2 in general), but I definitely saw the appeal.

As for an XBox/Xbox 360 port? Probably not. If they didn't do it when Counterstrike took off on Live, I doubt they're doing it at all. Although, I do remember reading that prior to HL2 coming out for PC, they released a remake of HL1 using the new graphics engine. If they plan on doing a Resurrection of Evil-style expansion for this game, that'd be a nice add-on.
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post #41 of 83
11/21/05 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otisthecat
I LOVE carrying those things around.

Dogs second appearance was fucking great, I just wish he would have stuck around longer.
I don't think Dan is referring to those little machine gun tripods...

Think bigger...
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post #42 of 83
11/21/05 at 4:18pm
The original is waaay too old now to show up on another platform. That having been said, if your computer is less than, say, seven years old? You shouldn't have any problems running it.

Some of its luster has dulled because much of what it did first has been copied; the visuals were only serviceable even at the time and are ancient now; also, having played it recently the controls are rather "floaty", and the final section is famously not-good.

All that having been said, it is still a tour de force, and the AI still has yet to be surpassed in a first-person shooter. (Though Legendary Halo veterans--not me--may be better qualified to assess that.) It exceeds the sequel more often than it fails to. Half-Life 2 is basically flawless, but nothing in it surpasses "Surface Tension" from the original.
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post #43 of 83
11/21/05 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otisthecat
I LOVE carrying those things around.

Dogs second appearance was fucking great, I just wish he would have stuck around longer.
No no, not the machine gun turrets (which are cool). Think War of the Worlds.
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post #44 of 83
11/21/05 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Overlord
The entire opening sequence was like being in a movie.
That's exactly it - but wait till you see what's in store for you. I felt like that for pretty much the whole game. Its a work of art.
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post #45 of 83
11/22/05 at 12:20am
Alright alright, I'm sold. I'm a poor bastard though so I'm in the process of ebaying some stuff off. Soon, soon... oh yessss... *rubs hands together* It willlll be mine...
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post #46 of 83
11/22/05 at 6:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Overlord
The entire opening sequence was like being in a movie.
What I love most about both Half Life games is the way that there's no interruptions. Once you're in the game, once you're in Freeman's head, nothing takes you out of it. You see what he sees at all times. Even the cutscenes are interactive to the point that you stop thinking of them as "Here comes the story part". You just meet people who talk to you, while you're free to look around, follow them, look where they're pointing etc.

So simple, yet so effective.

Having said that, has anybody else found the dialogue to be very quiet on the Xbox version? It's fine if I'm facing the person, but if I turn away they go so muffled as to be inaudible. I'm just wondering if it defaults to surround sound, as I've only got a stereo set-up on the Xbox.
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post #47 of 83
11/22/05 at 3:44pm
I have dolby digital playing it (along with a 480p HDTV), and I notice that if I'm not facing the person the dialogue distractingly becomes quiet and muffled....this is kind of like real life, but it's a little disconcerting the first few times. I changed it to two channel stereo, and the problem went away, but so did the six channel sound.

Basically I got used to the game and now run up to any speaking human to avoid the problem.

Man, this game rules. It's practically next-gen already.
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post #48 of 83
11/22/05 at 4:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Whitehead
Having said that, has anybody else found the dialogue to be very quiet on the Xbox version?
Most of my gaming is at night after the wife is in bed, so I use the subtitles option to keep the noise down a bit, there are times (usually when someone is talking over a PA, like in the train station) that I only know someone is talking because it pops up on the bottom of the screen.

***LAST TWO LEVELS COOL SHIT SPOILERS***
The super gravity gun, it's like Valve saying "we know this is what you've wanted to do for the whole game, here you go", just awesome.
***END***

Anyone else notice, in the first lab area you go (where you get your suit) to the right next to the door is a mini-telepotation device that you can actually use.

Absolutely loved every second of the game, started over on hard as soon as I beat it last night.
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post #49 of 83
11/22/05 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otisthecat
Most of my gaming is at night after the wife is in bed, so I started over on hard as soon as I beat it.
Christ, I'm immature.
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post #50 of 83
11/22/05 at 5:04pm
Tee hee!
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