Valve opens release Date for Half-Life 2!!!!! (1 Viewer)

[James T]

Damn. With Halo2, I almost wished Half-Life 2 came at a later date.

Halo2 seems to be damaging my social life....it can't get much worse with the addition of Half-Life 2

 

[Shawn C]

That sounds like something Duke Nukem fans should be saying to George Broussard.

 

[Raymond_H]

Wow!

Thats pretty sums up the first couple of hours playing Half Life 2.

Despite my low-midrange system, it runs nicely with some hiccups, but the atmosphere is incredible.

So far THIS IS the GAME.

Ray

 

[Allan Petersen]

I'm pretty awestruck. It was definitely worth the wait...

Favourite parts so far:

- Reaching the rooftop in the beginning and looking towards the Citadel and seeing thousands of drones being dispatched. All of them searching for YOU!
- Combine snipers: the laser sight effect was just a neat touch
- Train bridge: I'm not especially afraid of heights, but crossing the girders underneath gave me the chills. The sound of the wind blowing through the steel latticework was perfect and eerie
- "Dog"

Also, I'm really impressed with the way the facial animation system paid off. It makes a real difference when you watch Alyx, Barney, and Kleiner interact.

 

[Nick Sievers]

Will I be able to play this game with the following:

P4 2.4
1 gig DDR RAM
Geforce Ti4200 (getting very old now)

Loved the first one but don't want to get into this game if it will be extremely choppy.

 

[Matt Stone]

Definitely, Nick. You could use a new video board, but the game is very scalable. I was even able to load it up at 800x600 on my mom's old machine (AthlonXP 1900+, Geforce 2Ti).

What a fucking amazing game. I stayed up until 7:30 playing it, and then I got a migraine and had to go to sleep

...back to playing

 

[Nick Sievers]

Cool, hopefully i'll find the collector's box. Would love a copy of CS: Source.

How is it compared to Doom 3 and Halo 2 single player? To me those are the biggest disappointments of the year. Just run and gun with little interaction with characters and environments.

Now to go video card shopping.

 

[Allan Petersen]

AFAIK CS:Source is the multiplayer component of HL2 no matter which version you buy.

Also, Doom 3 was a "back to the roots" kind of game. HL2 is more interested in throwing set pieces at you while serving up an engaging story. If you liked the first game odds are you'll like the sequel.

 

[Nick Sievers]

I LOVED the first game.

 

[brentl]

Love the game so far, only about 90 minutes in though.

Some stuttering at the beginning(station) and every now and then.

How do I may it able to play in offline mode?? I'd love to exit everything in the background so I can give the game everything my computer has?

Looks great, but I get lots of stair stepping on straight lines.

Athlon 2200
768MB ran
Radeon 8500
SB live 24bit
Xp home

Brent

 

[Matt Stone]

Half-Life: Source and DoD: Source, as well as a poster and t-shirt. I paid for the silver version on Steam which contains HL:Source and DoD:Source...I plan on playing through HL after I finish up HL2.

Definitely not like Doom 3...which I liked. I was expecting a kill-fest, so I was happy with what it delivered. The focus of HL2 is definitely character and environmental interaction. Just like the first.

I'm able to get 70fps consistently at 1600x1200 (all settings high) with my setup:
Athlon64 3000
1024MB PC3200 DDR
Geforce 6800GT

So far the game is absolutely amazing. Just as good as the first.

 

[Nick Sievers]

I just ordered the same video card a couple of hours ago.

If I bought the game via Steam it would take forever to download on my dial-up connection (no broadband in my area ). I ended up buying the collector's box, didn't realise DoD was included. I wouldn't be caught dead in a PC game shirt.

 

[Raymond_H]

Hey now! It isn't that bad,

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/41998...qBtmBBUmWlF6Lr

Playing Half Life 2/Halo 2 has a major effect on my left eye.




Ray

 

[Max Leung]

Hmm, I picked up Half-Life 2 Collector's Edition, and it didn't come with a poster! However, it didn't mention a poster on the box. Just the T-shirt, DVD-ROM, and Prima strategy guide (which was disappointingly tiny! WTF?)

 

[Matt Stone]

You'll be pleased. I know people are saying that HL2 is built for ATI, but I'm running the game at max everthing (aside from only 4xAA and 8xAF) and it plays perfect.

Just got done playing for like 4 hours. I've got a headache. Time to take a break

 

[Nick Sievers]

The game rules. I've been a bit disappointed with the hyped games like Doom 3 and Halo 2, but this one exceeds all expectations. It sure looks purdy even on my relatively old system. Maybe for HL3 they will give Gordon a voice box, it adds more character to a game. I've shot up enough Combine for the night. I can only play a FPS for an hour or so before I start getting a headache, they move too fast for me.

So far this gets a big from me. Just hoping it doesn't end too quickly.

 

[Matt Stone]

I've put in about 7 or 8 hours so far, and it's still terrific. I finally got to the Ant Lions. Wow. Very Starship Troopers.

Glad to hear your liking it, Nick!

 

[Steve Deacon]

It is a great game. Only 2 things are spoiling it for me at the moment (or 3 if you count the flakey Steam issues), both audio related.

The first is the stuttering, which to judge by the number of complaints isn't restricted to any particular hardware.

The second is surround sound not working properly. I have an nforce2 motherboard, with soundstorm audio, but I get stereo sound cloned into the surrounds even with 5.1 selected.

Apart from that I have no complaints. The only downer is that it'll be finished soon.

 

[Allan Petersen]

I just finished the game. It took me about 16 hours of playing time to get to the end. What a great ride!

Hopefully we don't have to wait another 6 years for the next episode.

 

[Matt Stone]

I just finished it. Took me about 15 or 16 hours as well. The most amazing aspect to me was the realistic combat. Especially when you had squads following you in the destroyed city. It felt like real urban combat. Frantically running and ducking behind cars, getting off a couple shots and moving to the next location...all hell breaking loose. Really amazing game design coupled with a strong physics engine. The graphics weren't as photo-realistic as Doom 3, but they didn't need to be. The realism of the actions and environmental interaction made the game much more "realistic" overall than anything I've ever played. I've read some complaints that the story isn't explained enough, and that may be true, but I applaud the game for not over-explaining everything. The sense of amnesia (in this and the first Half-Life) is one of the strongest aspects.

Bravo to Valve on a hell of a job. I can without a doubt say that this is the best PC game I've ever played. It was innovative, and expanded on all elements of Half-Life 1. Unlike id releases, this game represents a perfect harmony between design and technology. A++