just how good is HL2?

[forizzle111]

just wondering how good would you rate half-life 2?

[Dark Nova]

9/10, its insane. i really liked it, unfortunatly i dont own the game yet, but played many times with it

[flawedreality5]

The game itself gets an 10 out 10. I don't care for how the game is installed and has to decrypt itself through the internet before playing as I've said in a recent discussion.

[Hi Ho]

I love it. It is definetly one of the best FPS games of all time. Not only are the graphics beautiful but the gameplay is very immersive. The sound, physics, and visuals are stunning. The AI Is very believable. Graphics aren't everything and many games either have pretty graphics or good gameplay. This game has both, a lot of both. I definetly recommend it! I downloaded the demo the day it came out and I was hooked. I bought the game the next day.

[flawedreality5]

I forgot to say about how good the graphics are. I think they are as good as FEAR's. If you max out the graphics in HL2, some of the lighting in the rooms looks completely realistic. The storyline is just so immersive and unreal but real at the same time. If you haven't played it, you need to. I think it's up there in my top 3 favorite games of all time.

[Snod Blatter]

I thought it was exactly the same as the first HL: Overrated. Good, but overrated.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Ya, it's way overrated. Too gory for my taste.

[tigstah]

i loved it.
all i can say is ravenholm.....and the gravity gun.
its a must play....if you have the horses to run it.

[theyosh]

This game is definitely gory but it's a very good game. If you want to appreciate the story line better I would play the original HL first before you play HL2. If you love fps games then you're going to think this is an awesome game but if you're more of a all around player that really plays any type of game then you're going to think it was overrated. This is just my personal opinion of course and this is just what I saw by listening to what my friends had to say about it.

theyosh

[blue60007]

all i can say is ravenholm.....and the gravity gun.

Eww, that was definitely the goriest level.

[flawedreality5]

Canal was the best level I think with the hovercraft.

[TwoRails]

I found it to be one of the better games I've played. The eye candy and physics were fantastic. Game play was good, and it has good re-play value. The puzzles were just right for me, meaning not too hard, and not too simple. The variety of vehicles / equipment to operate was a blast. A good variety of map types, too.

[sgtspector]

You cant have any more fun than the grav gun and tossing the bad guys at each other. When you grab one and toss him down a hallway and knock over 4 or 5 bad guys like bowling pins it's funny as hell.

[juppy]

I'm stuck on the Half-Life games right now and HL2 I'd rate 10 of 10. And I'm only running it on a Radeon 7000 and the graphics are still great. And yeah, I gotta agree, when you finally get the blue gravity gun, that rocks. First time I realized you could actually pick up the guards with it, I kept pointing it straight up in the air and launching this guard like 60 feet or so skyward then stepping out of the way to watch him thud back to the floor. I know, that sounds stupid, but hey, I'm easily amused sometimes. :D

[tigstah]

I'm stuck on the Half-Life games right now and HL2 I'd rate 10 of 10. And I'm only running it on a Radeon 7000 and the graphics are still great. And yeah, I gotta agree, when you finally get the blue gravity gun, that rocks. First time I realized you could actually pick up the guards with it, I kept pointing it straight up in the air and launching this guard like 60 feet or so skyward then stepping out of the way to watch him thud back to the floor. I know, that sounds stupid, but hey, I'm easily amused sometimes. :D


sometimes its the simple things that amuse us......

[TwoRails]

Oh ya! I have a ball with they gravity gun. The first time around, I didn't realize all you can do with it (and other things in the game), so I played it again and had much more fun the second time :)

[ghost2003]

all i can say is ravenholm.....and the gravity gun.
Is that the one with the sawblades and the zombies? If it is thats a great level :D

Ive had HL2 since the day it came out and im still not even half way through, I just never got into playing it all that much but its very good. I still prefer the original though, not enough barney's in the new one.

[tigstah]

Is that the one with the sawblades and the zombies? If it is thats a great level :D

Ive had HL2 since the day it came out and im still not even half way through, I just never got into playing it all that much but its very good. I still prefer the original though, not enough barney's in the new one.

yup thats ravenholm....very spooky

[Turbo91Bird]

awesome game. WELL worth the 30-40 bucks.

[juppy]

Oh ya! I have a ball with they gravity gun. The first time around, I didn't realize all you can do with it (and other things in the game), so I played it again and had much more fun the second time :)
Same here. I went through it once with everything normal like it's supposed to be, but the second time through I activated the cheat console and started messing with some of the gravity gun's settings. It's pretty cool to change the pulling force to a higher level......you can go around chunking trash dumpsters at the enemies! :D

[TwoRails]

That sounds like even more fun, juppy :) -- How / what did you change?

[juppy]

Hey TwoRails. I'm not sure if you already know how to load the cheat console and just need the codes or whether you need the whole shmeer, so I'll go with the whole shmeer. :D

To load the cheat console
Right click on the HL2 icon on your desktop and select Properties. At the end of the Target line insert "-console" (without the quotes). Apply that and exit. (One thing here.....I always leave my internet connection off and tell it to start in offline mode because the cheats aren't supposed to work with server play). When you launch HL2 then it should load with a box that lets you type in codes. Just press the ~ (tilde) key to close this box out and go ahead and load your saved game or a new game. (If you do cheats before loading the game they get ignored and don't work)

After you've loaded the game
Okay, when your game gets loaded, hit the ~ key again (this is always how you open and close the cheat console) and it will pause the game and bring up the console. First, to enable cheating, you have to type in
"svcheats 1" (without the quotes). There's alot of codes you can type in to change stuff, so instead of typing them all, I'll just give you a link to a list of 'em. CLICK HERE FORE THE CODES. (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/hints.html) The codes you're wondering about for the gravity gun are right at the first of that page....they're the ones that say physcannon, then something else behind it. In the line on the console beside where it says "Submit" is where you type the code in. The ones I messed with were the physcannon_maxmass# and physcannon_maxforce#. When you go to change it, you should be able to see what it's currently set at because right below where you type it tries to list things that are matching what you're typing and if I remember right the current value is in there (I could be wrong about that because I'm just going off the top of my head with what I remember here.....it's in there somewhere though). So, for instance, say the maxmass number is set at 4000. To change it you would type in
"physcannon_maxmass 20000" without the quotes, and whatever number you want to set it at; 20000 was just an example. I don't know if there's a limit on how high it can go.....never tested that. About the only other codes I use when just messing around with it are God (gives invincibility), impulse 101 (all weapons), and noclip (lets you walk through walls or wherever). Be careful with that last one because you can end up out in the middle of nowhere real fast and be lost as to how to get back. It's nice if you get stuck between a couple rocks and strangely can't move though. Just noclip, walk out, do noclip again and it'll turn it back off again.

[juppy]

I just realized, where you put in the svcheats thing, it needs to be "sv_cheats 1" without the quotes. I forgot the little _ sign. Oops!

[David M]

Brilliant game...the only downfall are the controls for the fan boat. I could never get used to steering it with the keyboard and not the mouse. I have all the features turned on with a 1200x1900 monitor with 5.1 sound..and it is very immersive.

The cheats are LOTS of fun and absolutely hilarious at times.

[flawedreality5]

I have all the features turned on with a 1200x1900 monitor

What kind of monitor is that? Sounds like a tank.

[TwoRails]

Hi juppy! Thanks for the good, detailed post; very informative :) Also, thanks for the link (I'm printing it out now). I'll be giving all that good stuff a tryout soon!

[spartan015]

10/10 The plot is sooooo interesting and like immersive... and best of all u can have a mid range comp and it'll run pretty smoothly unlike FEAR.

beautiful graphics... awesoem story and since it comes with CS Source... neat!

[enhanced08]

My all time fave game!! My uncle got my hooked on the original HL game years ago and I fell in love! lol I now own every HL game out there! The graphics in HL2 are crazy and I only have a 9800Pro! 10/10

[juppy]

Brilliant game...the only downfall are the controls for the fan boat. I could never get used to steering it with the keyboard and not the mouse.Same here. First time through it, I had to totally take my hand off of the mouse in order to not try steering with it. I'd end up with the boat going one way and my view facing the side angle or the back of the boat! :D I've gotten a little better since then though because in the second part of the fanboat part you get the gun mounted to it so you pretty much have to be able to drive with the keyboard and fire the gun with the mouse at the same time. Definitely not for those that have trouble with doing two different things with their hands at the same time.

Thanks for the good, detailed post; very informative Also, thanks for the link (I'm printing it out now). I'll be giving all that good stuff a tryout soon!You're welcome TR, no problem. Just be sure to add in that extra thing I posted below it too about the sv_cheats having that _ sign in it or it won't work.

I tried to make it detailed because it took me forever to get 'em to work. None of the guides I found ever seemed to tell that you had to load your game first and THEN put in the codes. The console comes right up when you load, so I was trying to do the codes there. :o Very few sites told how to make the console load either......they'd just say "hit the ~ key to open the console". I think I just about wore my ~ key out trying to get it to work until I finally found a site that gave the directions in better detail.

Oh, one more thing.....I said you could throw trash dumpsters around.....you can, but there's some exceptions. It's the smaller green dumpsters with the black tops that I've been able to make this work on. There's some huge blue dumpsters and I can't move them no way no how. The green ones won't move either if they're in a certain position for a reason, like if you have to jump up on the dumpster to reach a ladder or something.....that type is glued to the ground or something! :D Hope you get 'em going and have fun with it. :cool:

[rackham]

HL 2 is awesome. Good story, graphics, gameplay, sound, voiceacting, its all there. Not to mention all the official and unofficial mods. Garry's Mod anyone?

[Darth Revan]

My all time fave game!! My uncle got my hooked on the original HL game years ago and I fell in love! lol I now own every HL game out there! The graphics in HL2 are crazy and I only have a 9800Pro! 10/10
only the 9800Pro you say... Man that card is still a beast. Just upgraded from it though...
I loved HL2, but definitlely play HL Source first. (10 USD through Steam)

[myrgo_31]

hehe i absolutely love halflife 2.. although im stuck on the part where at the end of chapter 10 all those marines and guys just keep on coming in this one building... i cant seem to get past it... but other than that, so far the game has been, hell, over a 10/10 as far as im concerned

oh, and about ravenholm... i couldnt wait to get out of that level... definetly one of the scariest in the game so far, and im 17 lol

[forizzle111]

well i just ordered it last night, and i havent ever herd anything bad about so i posted this thread to see and im confident that my money was well spent(i dont have a lot of it)thanx:D

[forizzle111]

how well will HL2 run on my system? ~specs in signature~

[juppy]

It'll should run okay if you keep some of the shaders set to lower levels and keep the resolution down a bit (it'll recommend the "best" settings in your options with a * sign - those are usually pretty close to what you need to be set at). Most of the things I've read on it recommend at least a 9600 Pro video card whereas you're running a 9250. I'm running it fine on an Athlon 1600+ with 512M of ram and a Radeon 7000 video card. Most of the settings are set to low or medium on mine, but the game is still gorgeous. The fact that you have 1 Gig of ram will help out alot too. HL2 loves ram. So basically, are you going to be able to max out all the settings? No way. With a little lower detail though, it'll still be very playable.

[Hi Ho]

Half Life 2, some how, seems to run on just about anything. That is one thing I really like about the Source graphics engine. It is very efficient. I wish more games would use it. HERE (http://gear.ign.com/articles/567/567437p1.html) is a very good comparison of the game on different levels of hardware. The biggest differences seem to be texture quality, polygonal complexity, and water quality.

EDIT: After looking through that article more closely I don't think it is the most acurrate representation. They used an X800 for everything. I cannot find the comparison I am remembering where they used different cards and compared the results. The differences were much more dramatic.

[forizzle111]

i got it today!! i got the game of the year edition with: half life:source, counter strike:source, and half life:death match, its an amazing game the graphics are the best any game has looked on my system and i ahvea weak 9250. and the game play is addictiing for sure

[tomster2300]

I played a quarter of a way through it and stopped - I kind of lost interest. Perhaps I didn't get far enough for the plot to really take off. The visuals are wonderful and it's a fun fps, but it just didn't hook me like it did to many others. I love fps's, don't get me wrong (BF2 - yes, technically a fps - and Doom III are wonderful). I do plan on returning to it though now that I have my new audigy. Now I can take advantage of its surround sound - perhaps it's even better.

[flawedreality5]

I couldn't stand Doom 3. I lost interest about 2 hours in. The levels were just so monotonous, I got bored and gave up.

[tomster2300]

I couldn't stand Doom 3. I lost interest about 2 hours in. The levels were just so monotonous, I got bored and gave up.

I did lose interest initially, but it was because I only had 512 mb of ram at the time. I started over after I got a gig and replayed it in its entirety. The ending stinks.

[flawedreality5]

I had the same stupid guns for the entire time killing the same things in the exact same enviornment. It was a terrible experience. I played through Half Life 2 first so I wasn't all that impressed with Doom 3's graphics after that.

[TwoRails]

Ya, I'm glad I played DooM first, as playing it after HL2 would have made it more less fun.

[kingsownall]

hl2 got in my opinion sum of teh best lighting effects in any game. the game lets u play even with the crappiest vid card. which is good for teh consumers. steam engine is probably the best thing that came out swiss cheese. expecially with lost coast. i couldnt get my eyes off the dam windows and shadows!!! hl2 ending is weird but in a good way. pretty good story in opinion

[FireByyrd]

Recent FPS games have really really, really bad endings.

FEAR, take for example.. the ending ruined it for me (not telling).

DOOM 3, was just... ummm what? this is dumb.

HL2, errr what? .

That's just my opinion..

[tomster2300]

I enjoyed Doom when I first started playing it. It scared me and the graphics were great. It was also bundled with my 6800 GT - which meant it was free - and that made it even better. But yes, it did get monotonous, I agree. The reviews said "Hell" (the place) was the best part of the game and made up for everything else, but no...not by a long shot. I think Hell was one of the worst parts of the game. It was just like the research station except now it was stone corridors with background images of sizzling flames (yes, background images) instead of the dark, metallic corriders. Then the ending just sealed the deal. I didn't really expect all too much though by that point. It's uselessness didn't blow me away - it was just par for the course.

Even after bashing it, I still think it's worth playing for anyone who is a fan of good looking fps's, or the horror genre in general. Just don't expect too much more after you beat the first level. The enemies get a little bigger, stronger, and harder to kill, and you get some more powerful guns that you only really need in the last levels. That's it.

I did find myself much more adept at killing imps though by the end of the games. Especially the infinite amount thrown at you in the last levels. *Jump backwards, shoot down, dodge fireball, jump, shoot, dodge, jump shoot dodge, switch weapons, repeat. Find cover, reload, repeat*.

[FireByyrd]

If you figure out near the end... you just take down all the macho guys with the soul cube... and you can take down sarge with the soul cube (:

[David M]

What kind of monitor is that? Sounds like a tank.

It's a Dell 2405FPW 24 inch.

[flawedreality5]

Wow. Can you smell my jealousy?

[tomster2300]

If you figure out near the end... you just take down all the macho guys with the soul cube... and you can take down sarge with the soul cube (:

I initially thought Sarge was just another new villian when I first came up on him due to the fact that he died from a number of rockets and a couple of rounds from the BFG. I unloaded on him before he could even fire back at me. I finally figured it must have been someone special since his lower body was composed of tank treads. I wouldn't think spawns of hell would have tank treads as body parts, but that's just me.

The Soul Cube has to recharge and ends up not being worth using in a fight. (You must kill 5-8 guys before you can use it to kill 1 guy? Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been awhile).

[DragonNOA1]

HL2 is one of the better games for the PC. I loved it.

But since this is turning into a D3 thread, I'll just add that I enjoyed the D3 expansion much more than I thought I was going to. It had little to no monster closets and it just let you get to the fight. Gamespot Review (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/doom3resurrectionofevil/index.html?q=doom%203).

[tomster2300]

Yes, I kind of hijacked this thread and turned it's focus to Doom. I apologize for that. Let's get back on track and talk about if HL2 is worth its salt.

[Briab Guy]

I am 50 yrs old and have been playing games since DOS. And its the best game I ever played,