DunDunDunpachi
Patient MembeR
Share your stories of the landmark title.
Share your opinion as to whether it holds up after 15 years.
Share your theories as to G-Man's role and identity.
-
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Happy 15th Birthday, Half Life 2
- Thread starter DunDunDunpachi
- Start date
Share your stories of the landmark title.
Share your opinion as to whether it holds up after 15 years.
Share your theories as to G-Man's role and identity.
Weilthain
Banned
I bought an overpriced dell gaming laptop so I could play this game at college instead of doing work.
couldn’t afford it at all but I went for it anyway.
half life 2 was ground breaking. The physics especially was pretty mind blowing how things would fall and roll about.
I was pretty good at the multiplayer. My finest moment was when I was playing online with a work friend and I launched a toilet across the room like a quarterback throw and nailed him on the head I will never forget that
couldn’t afford it at all but I went for it anyway.
half life 2 was ground breaking. The physics especially was pretty mind blowing how things would fall and roll about.
I was pretty good at the multiplayer. My finest moment was when I was playing online with a work friend and I launched a toilet across the room like a quarterback throw and nailed him on the head I will never forget that
The Janitor
Member
I remember playing this on my old ass PC before I even knew what drivers were. There was a graphical glitch which caused chunks of certain textures to become invisible. I played the whole game like that. In Counter Strike Source it even gave me an advantage because I could see through walls lol. It wasn't until a year later I discovered a simple driver install fixed it.
Hudo
Member
Still am pissed. Steam is a fucking gatekeeping tool, nothing more. Anyway, happy birthday Half-Life 2! Shame that we'll never see another one.
I remember the "big" debate about whether Half-Life 2, Far Cry or Doom 3 had the best graphics.
"Epistle 3" from Laidlaw (after he left) is better than nothing, I guess...
DunDunDunpachi
Patient MembeR
The sound design / soundtrack in this game was truly next level. The physic weren't really all that special to me and in fact some of the puzzles were pretty annoying and/or simple-minded. Getting into firefights was where this game really shined for me.
Helios
Member
GlassAwful
Member
This thread is like throwing a birthday party for a friend that died.
It's just sad and strange. Seek help OP.
It's just sad and strange. Seek help OP.
Orta
Banned
Played the original HL years after it came out and didn't like it so I was hesitant about this, fortunately it has since ended up as one of my top 5 games of all time. I don't think there's a single aspect of the game Valve didn't get right. The story, the environment, the weapons, vehicles, physics, ai, graphics, sound, it still holds up beautifully today.
Slings and Arrows
Banned
15th birthday
5 letters in Steam,
5 divide by 15 is 3
Half-life 3 confirmed!!!!
5 letters in Steam,
5 divide by 15 is 3
Half-life 3 confirmed!!!!
lame gag1990
Member
Still remember how special this game was and how exciting it was to see previews and such. It was so cool to get Counter Strike: Source with it too.
Werewolf Jones
Gold Member
You remembered because Valve didn't.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
❤❤❤❤❤❤
bilderberg
Member
It's so easy to lose track of time and play through most of this game in one sitting. I think anyone who says the game has poor pacing just has ADHD. Every level brings something new.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Half Life series made a dent in gamers hearts, how bout we celebrate its 16th birthday also?
Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
I first played it at a friend's house on his Xbox and remember thinking it looked really impressive. Years later, I replayed it on Steam and I still replay it from time to time along with Half-Life: Source, Opposing Force and Counter-Strike: Source. I always liked the sense of time passing within Half-Life 2 and think the graphics have aged well and the physics are fun (not firing a single bullet in the Ravenholm level and instead making use of environment props with the gravity gun to kill enemies).
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Kadayi
Banned
What was really interesting about the ingame Physics was that Valve added actual weight to objects. A few titles were already putting physics into their games, but there was no real weight to them . With Remedy's Max Payne, for instance, I can recall Max just sending chairs flying everywhere if he so much as brushed them. no so the case with HL2.
Also, I remember that they themselves released the first trailers via BitTorrent, which was pretty crazy at the time.
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Hero Of Gallowmere
Member
Half-Life 2 got me into PC gaming so it has a very special place in my heart.
Too bad Valve doesn't seem to care anymore.
Makes me angry and sad.
Too bad Valve doesn't seem to care anymore.
Makes me angry and sad.
Sybrix
Member
I was first introduced to PC gaming with Counter Strike 1.4 all those years ago.
Got my first job at 16 years old and with my first pay i bought Half Life 2 for PC, was immediately hooked, such an amazing game nothing like i'd played before, it started me on my PC gaming fix and to this day am still going!
Also love this version of Triage at Dawn:
Got my first job at 16 years old and with my first pay i bought Half Life 2 for PC, was immediately hooked, such an amazing game nothing like i'd played before, it started me on my PC gaming fix and to this day am still going!
Also love this version of Triage at Dawn:
shaddam
Member
I dont remember if I played this on my mx440 or on my radeon 9600. I clearly remember how huge was the update when I could choose higher than dx7 
BTW the Hungarian Gamestar fucked up really bad the HL2 review. They made a small extra little book with tips and details. However they used the leaked version as a source, so they put a gun in the book, which is not in the released game. I couldnt understand for years.
In 2011 they gave the full version with the magazine however somebody fucked up because it was the cracked version
BTW the Hungarian Gamestar fucked up really bad the HL2 review. They made a small extra little book with tips and details. However they used the leaked version as a source, so they put a gun in the book, which is not in the released game. I couldnt understand for years.
In 2011 they gave the full version with the magazine however somebody fucked up because it was the cracked version
Shadowstar39
Member
I remember buying hl2 and vampire 2 bloodlines at around the same time. I didn't dig into hl2 til a few weeks later as bloodlines had me hooked. Both used valves new at the time source engine.
Hl2 was revolutionary with its real physics and water effects. It was using a slew of cool shaders for shder model 2 (I think it was 2 or 3, and looked amazing for those shimmery surfaces compared to shader model 1 water seen in morrowind and nwn1.
I remember upgrading and trading in graphics cards 3x that year. Back then games were made for pc first and you needed to upgrade. It was expensive but it actually made a difference in looks, unlike today with the marginal ganes and no extra effects. I went from a GeForce3 to a 5700 and returned it for a 9600xe then sold ot and got a nvsia 6800 which finally ran hl2 at full spec with a new athlon64 replacing my athlon2xp. Think it was 2.8ghz for the a64. Regardless hl2, doom3, bloodlines, thief3, and far cry all looked stunning. 2004 was amazing for pc.
I just wish we still had valve. It feels like they died after getting rich off steam. They could of made 4 hl sequals by now and given them away and they would still be turning in profits. Begs the question, wtf is valve doing over there? Hookers and blow?
You would think some devs would actually make new games. Last real one we got from them was portal2 (that I remember).
Whats the official stance on hl3 or a new single player ip? I know gaben got ripped into the ms bs of "games as a service" and monetization with micros. Infuriating for a company who doesn't need it and can fund multiple concurrent projects. Again what the hell are they doing in there?
Hl2 was revolutionary with its real physics and water effects. It was using a slew of cool shaders for shder model 2 (I think it was 2 or 3, and looked amazing for those shimmery surfaces compared to shader model 1 water seen in morrowind and nwn1.
I remember upgrading and trading in graphics cards 3x that year. Back then games were made for pc first and you needed to upgrade. It was expensive but it actually made a difference in looks, unlike today with the marginal ganes and no extra effects. I went from a GeForce3 to a 5700 and returned it for a 9600xe then sold ot and got a nvsia 6800 which finally ran hl2 at full spec with a new athlon64 replacing my athlon2xp. Think it was 2.8ghz for the a64. Regardless hl2, doom3, bloodlines, thief3, and far cry all looked stunning. 2004 was amazing for pc.
I just wish we still had valve. It feels like they died after getting rich off steam. They could of made 4 hl sequals by now and given them away and they would still be turning in profits. Begs the question, wtf is valve doing over there? Hookers and blow?
You would think some devs would actually make new games. Last real one we got from them was portal2 (that I remember).
Whats the official stance on hl3 or a new single player ip? I know gaben got ripped into the ms bs of "games as a service" and monetization with micros. Infuriating for a company who doesn't need it and can fund multiple concurrent projects. Again what the hell are they doing in there?
AeonGaidenRaiden
Member
I got a hold of the stolen files when that hacker took them from Valve. It actually wasnt a big deal as a lot of levels had orange wall/floor (no texture). And then the real game came out and I knew my PC was not the best but I had to have it and probably played on medium settings. I called in sick for school.
ZehDon
Gold Member
Oh boy. Right from the opening sequence, you knew you were in for something special.
While I was never happy that the industry learned the wrong lessons about scripted sequences, Half-Life 2 is still a masterpiece, and required reading for any gamer.
On a tangent, in an age of forced sequels, always online services, and development models that are all about churning out content to conditioned players bereft of passion, it's such a strange juxtaposition that Valve, at the height of their tenure, seemingly just lost interest in the series and kind of just... stopped. Kudos for not churning out a lifeless sequel, I suppose. The great gaming tradition of waiting for Half-Life 3 continues.
While I was never happy that the industry learned the wrong lessons about scripted sequences, Half-Life 2 is still a masterpiece, and required reading for any gamer.
On a tangent, in an age of forced sequels, always online services, and development models that are all about churning out content to conditioned players bereft of passion, it's such a strange juxtaposition that Valve, at the height of their tenure, seemingly just lost interest in the series and kind of just... stopped. Kudos for not churning out a lifeless sequel, I suppose. The great gaming tradition of waiting for Half-Life 3 continues.
Ban Puncher
Member
Godzilla Emu
Banned
I jumped into this thread to post exactly this. I still have my physical retail copy that I bought on day one and my stance on using launchers hasn't changed
.What covers did you guys get on your boxes? I got G-man. I was initially disappointed not to score Gordon but I'm retrospectively happy now with what got on the day. It's appropriate.
"Wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up, and smell the ashes."
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CyberPanda
Banned
Such an awesome series.
Romulus
Member
The original Xbox port is downright fascinating. It chugs in many spots but it's incredible what they achieved. I played through it recently after the PC version, and it's very impressive on that machine.
To see those level of physics on an original xbox looks like voodoo, even when the frames drop.
To see those level of physics on an original xbox looks like voodoo, even when the frames drop.
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stranno
Member
The port is quite impressive but hardly playable, framerate dies every time some physics, explosions or enemies show up. The Orange Box (both PS3 and 360) also has heavy drops on physics/explosions, but the rest of the game is far more playable.
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Romulus
Member
I played through it about 2 months ago, it was rough in spots but nowhere near unplayable for me. Yeah, the orange box is better.
IbizaPocholo
NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Alexios
Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
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Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
Doom 3 better shadows
Hl2 better physics
CyRuZ
Banned
Unpopular opinion but personally I didn't liked HL2 'THAT' much. Wasn't bad but it didn't clicked with me like HL1 did. Yeah the physics were fantastic, but the gameplay felt sluggish coming from HL1/CS1.6. I remember that I was disappointed with City 17 as a whole and the plot was quite boring. Only good part was Ravenholm. Also hated the vehicle sections.
Gavin Stevens
Formerly 'o'dium'
Yeah I was much more of a HL1 fan myself. But HL2 is still a damn masterpiece, and it fucks me off no end it was left to rot...