Hl2 First Impression

[sparhawk]

So I gave HL2 now a try and I must say - I"m not THAT impressed by it. It suffers the same problem which I didn't like in the first installment. That is a long intro sequence where you couldn't do anything jsut the credits being forced on you. The face animations are really good, but that's about it. Another issue that it has is that I again (just like in the HL1) I run around this train area and don't really know how to get the actual game started. I climbed through that window and are now on that plaza and that's it.

 

Technically I don't see why there is such a hype about it. The plaza looks ok, but when I take a closer lookt at the textures, I must say that Painkiller does a much better job in creating dirty and scratched surfaces that look like a run down place. Just take a look at the factory or the seaport to see what I mean. The physiscs systems is nice in HL2 but I already found many quirks with it. And when I look at certain houses, they look rather flat and washed out to me. In Painkiller in City on Water there is a similar house and I must say that it really looks thousand times better. Painkiller gives me the impression that the area was really in use and has been abandonded while HL2 doesn't achieve this.

Compared to D3 I don't see why HL2 shold be so much better, because the engine seems better to me. Gamewise HL2 will probably be better. This happened also in HL1 to me. Once the game started it was pretty immersive, but technically it was not that hot.

 

And just to make this clear. I didn't buy HL2 as I"m still boycotting it, I borrowed it from a friend (which this is perfeclty legal here, no matter what the EULA says ) so I can take a look at it. I won't pay for this game until steam is removed (which will never happen anyway).

[Renzatic]

Once HL2 gets going it really gets going, I found it to be a kick in the pants from beginning to end. I even liked the intro sequence...all you could do was walk around but it did an excellent job of setting up the mood and style of the story.

 

It doesn't have the technical wow factor that D3 had right out of the box, but it's still an impressive looking game simply cuz it had such a cinematic feel in places. That bit when you exit the tenement buildings near the beginning comes to mind.

[sparhawk]

Yeah. As I said. Gamewise it is really good. I just found out how to continue and now I'm chased and this is already quite nice. But still. Apart from the characters t is not THAT exciting technically. Well, I usally prefer gameplay over eye candy so I have no problems with this.

[Dram]

And just to make this clear. smile.gif I didn't buy HL2 as I"m still boycotting it, I borrowed it from a friend (which this is perfeclty legal here, no matter what the EULA says smile.gif ) so I can take a look at it. I won't pay for this game until steam is removed (which will never happen anyway).

 

Damn straight!!!

[Subjective Effect]

I've only played the demo but the physics and the grav gun make for some great moments. There is so much potential with it. Death by flying wardrobe, LOL! And those new head crabs (I now count 4 different types) freak me out.