HALF-LIFE 2 on XBox - Page 2

I also like how, during the 'exposition' moments, if you look at something or move somewhere the characters will say things specific to that. For instance, during the 'Black Mesa East' level in Dr Vance's lab, if you walk over to a noticeboard with Dr Breen's picture on it you'll get told some more about him. And when you walk past the tunnel entrance to Ravenholm, and Alyx says "we don't go that way anymore", if you walk down the tunnel she'll follow you and say some more, like what Ravenholm is: "that tunnel is sealed for a reason". Awesome stuff.

And Antlions rule.

You are all right, and I was a damn fool for even doubting this game. It's fucking awesome. I just got to Ravenholm, and so far so good.

My main pet peeve... this is yet another game that doesn't support the memory card. I've taken the game over to two friend's houses, just to let them check it out, and it's a real pain having to start from the beginning each time.
Unrelated to the thread, but anyway... are the memory cards on the 360 good for anything? I understand not being able to use them when the game files are simply too big, but memory cards are something that should be standard to a system.

*edit- it's not exactly portable, but I just remembered the hard drive is detachable.

It is the best game I have ever played on any platform, and I agree with all the praise, but the game has a big problem, which is that the last level is far, far too easy. It was a big let down from the tense excitement of the rest of the game.

After having played the game twice through, I think my favourite level might be the first combat level, when it's just you and the pistol. I love the beautiful simplicity of that level. There is also nothing quite like recieving your first automatic weapon. I also love the level with the snipers, where you control your squad on the streets.

tip/spoiler: If you're having problems with those buzzsaw fuckers, I find that the gravity gun provides adequate catharsis. I never thought to use it until my second time through the game, at which time I struck my testicles against each other in embarrassment. end tip/spoiler

The Xbox version does seem to be a lot easier than the PC. The Sandtraps section was sheer murder on the PC. If you set foot on the sand, that was it - you had about a 5% chance of not being royally fucked. Playing on Normal on the Xbox, I found you could just run across the sand, using your shotgun to blast the antlions with one hit. The Highway 17 section seemed epic on the PC, with each stop and shootout a real trial. This time I breezed through.

At first I thought it was because I'd played the game before that I just knew what to do, but the combat is definitely more forgiving.

I'd be tempted to start over again on Hard, but having finished it once before I'm playing it more as a fun reminder than a challenge this time.

I actually, in the PC version, used the console cheats to turn stuff on and off so I could just enjoy the enviorements at my leisure.
Anybody else get a little freaked at that great gibbering sound Zombies make when you set them on fire? Truly one of the most unearthly sounds I have ever heard in a game.
The Grav Gun is an absolute blast.It is not only fun it is a great way to conserve ammo. Usually there is something around, even if it is not real obvious like sawblades,you can use as a weapon with it.
Dan, They usually do make First Person Shooters a little easier in the console versions because of the controller issue. I admit that going through the Sandtraps segment with a Console controller instead of Mouse and Keyboard could be real,real,frustrating.
One of the major issues in any game like this is deciding when something stops being challenging and just becomes frustrating. The threshold is probably different in Shooter games using Keyboard and Mouse then for Console controllers.
But I am glad they seem to have changed as little as possible in porting the tame. If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It is sometimes good advice.

It's probably also better than the story mode for Halo 1 as well.

Bump.

You need Garry's Mod.

http://gmod.garry.tv/

You don't have to make your own weapons and game modes, you can just use the physics engine and welder to build working cannons, catapults, and flying machines as well. Or set up massive battles between 20 combine soldiers, 20 resistance members, 100 manhacks, and as many antlions as your heart desires. When I got it, I spent two or three hours making railway cars fly by attaching hundreds of ballons.

Basically, any conceivable thing you'd like to manipulate or make in HL2, it lets you. It's good fun.

Your words bring warm feelings to my heart.

I bought and played this on my PC...loved it! Probably my fav game of all time. When I heard the Xbox port was so good, I threw it on my GameFly queue immediately. Now i think i might just go for the "purchase option"...gamefly is offering $35 for it. sweet. and i get a copy that doesnt completely overtake my entire computer.

Another favorite bit which some people miss:
In the crane scene in "Highway 17" when you have used the crane for the purpose of moving stuff to create a bridge over the gap, you can grab crates and other things and drop them to crush the Combine troops to death. A lot of fun. You can even get them to run back and forth by postioning the load over them and not drop it ...yet. A fun feature.

Sadly my interest in this game still plummets once you reach the final stages. As soon as they take your weapons away and you're left with the (admittedly cool) Super Gravity Gun, it loses something. There's no tactics or subtlety after that point - you just hammer away at the bad guys.

Going to Blockbuster tonight to rent a copy to burn onto the HD. The Wife is out tomorrow night, so HL2 goodness awaits. Has anybody had any problems with burning it so far?

Seems like this will be the last great game for the Xbrick.

One word: BLACK

Eh?

Looks very impressive.

These last-generation xbox games look like they could be playing on the 360: ninja gaiden, half-life 2......Black.

Any idea when its out over here Dan? Can't seem to find a release date.

February/March the last I heard. Everyone I know who's been hands-on with it has come back drooling.

"Gun porn" is the phrase that keeps being used. If Criterion can do to the FPS genre what they did to racing with Burnout, then I'll be happy.

Ta. Commencing preemptive drooling.

I'm on the third to last level (follow freeman) and the game just keeps upping the stakes.They need to freshen up the first one's graphics and bring it over to the XBOX.

Setting up the auto-machine guns and settling back to sip my beverage while they did their thing was pure bliss. The most jaw dropping moment for me was when I first used the crossbow. I zoomed in on the annoying sniper, let the bolt fly, and pinned the combine soldier to the wall. He hung there limply, gently swaying back and forth. I couldn't believe what I had seen, so I climbed up. Sure enough, I had nailed him to the billboard. Pure awesome.

I'm going to hunt through the various threads, so forgive me if this has come up before....but what's up with the ending to Half Life 2? I found it thematically engaging, unique, and really, really awesome. That being saiid.....I feel like I'm missing something.

Maybe it's because I haven't played the first one. Is there some recurring theme with this crazy suited dude that I'm missing here? Don't get me wrong, the game was fantastic. In fact, the last two levels were pure "ART", and the Half-Life 2 experience is the most epic, breathtaking video game I've ever played. But still....what's going on here? Hopefully a sequel will come out soon.

I never played the original either, but from what I could gather:

The G-Man saves Gordon from another dimension at the end of Half-Life, in exchange for Freeman going to work for him. This "work" apparently consists of going into stasis until the G-Man decides he has a need for his particular skills.

Whatever the G-Man actually is, and his ultimate motives, we're left to guess.

The plot was my huge problem with HL2 really. I didn't love the gunplay that much - it was a bit too laggy to enjoy - but the game has a fantastic scope in terms of story. However, they don't tell you what the hell is going on most of the time, or why.

An add-on is in the works and progressing as we speak.

For me, that was the beauty of the story. You only know as much as Gordon does.

Gunplay too laggy? I found it to be smooth as silk. Too smooth, at times, as those feckless Combine elite kept sneaking around on me.

I just read that the G-man makes ten or so appearances in HL2, and I somehow managed to miss every single one of them. Great. I'll have to see if I can go track them down at some point.

Is HL2 even slightly xbox live enabled? Is there any hope of additional content?

When facing a bunch of combine soldiers there was a definite lag in response time to aim. I was playing it on a 360 though, so maybe it was a problem in emulation. I encountered a couple very serious bugs during play which I chalked up to that. One made you unable to destroy those three generators near the end, and the other turned floors on the last level slippery. (Which, when you have to jump on that little rotating platform, makes things very comical. It would fling you off into space the second it moved.)

Nothing on Xbox Live for it yet.

Yeah, they really aren't designed for him to be obvious at all. Most of the time he's just standing in the distance, watching you. He'll walk off before you get a chance to spot him unless you make a habit of checking the horizon and other remote places where a person might stand.

Okay, I need some advice re: the original.

I know there is a PS2 version out there. Any hope of it being ported over? I've scoured the internet (translation: typed in numerous phrases in google) and I don't see it coming it to the XBOX. I've yet to win an ebay bid for a Dreamcast, but I will eventually. Unfortunately only an "unofficial" (translation: leaked development bootleg) copy is available, and I hear that it has some significant problems.

For numerous reasons, I don't want to play it on the computer. Why release counter-strike and HL2 but not the original?

I realize I'm pretty late to the game here but holy shit! This is by far the greatest first person shooter I've ever played. There are so many amazing sequences that I don't even know where to begin...The gravity gun, the helicopter chase, the physics engine, the graphics...My God. I had no idea the X-box was capable of something this beautiful. Sorry for the pointless rambling but I just had to express my utter awe at how amazing this game truly is. Wow!

I was thinking about picking up Black and remembered that Half-Life 2 was still out there. If I had known I would enjoy it this much, I wouldn't have waited this long to pick it up. I really don't know why I didn't believe the accolades folks were giving it.

Just rented this today and HOLY SHIT. The only reason I put it down was that I had to get something to eat. Love this.