Re: Half-Life 3 Confirmed! For real!

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Mon, 04 Nov 2024 22:49:41 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Mon, 4 Nov 2024 12:30:06 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>

JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote at 08:54 this Monday (GMT):

On 03/11/2024 16:05, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Honestly, despite this post, I can't really say I'm that_excited_
about this project. I'm done and over with "Half Life"; it just
doesn't excite me anymore. If it ever does come out 'for real', it
isn't a must-buy for me; that time has passed. Still, it's expected
release has been a running joke for so long (it's been 20 years since
"Half Life 2" came out!) that I can hardly be expected to_not_
comment on any news about it. ?

>
I kinda agree, I love HL:1+2 but times, including my tastes, have moved
on. I really enjoyed Black Mesa but no where near as much as the original.

>
>
I've never actually beaten either HL game..

>

I'd actually recommend the original "Half Life"; I think it still
holds up pretty well both as a game and as an experience. The visuals
can be a bit rough (oh god, Barney, what's with your face?!?) so
you'll need to get past that, but if you can (and you enjoy the style
of cinematic FPS that "Half Life" helped invent) then I think it
remains a very playable game.

>

I'm less enured with "Half Life 2". Visually it was quite a treat back
in 2004, and it helped to usher in modern physics engines in
video-games, but the story just wasn't as interesting or relatable,
and the gameplay was rather humdrum. (It had a number of really boring
bits, like the boat-ride and the prison). The later episodic DLC
improved things (Episode 2 added some much needed characterization),
but it's still the lesser of the two games overall.

>

I'm of mixed feelings about "Black Mesa", the semi-official "Half Life
1" remake. Visually, it's quite good looking, and it mostly recaptures
the feel of the first game. At least, it does with the portions on
Earth (the Xen levels, which take place in the second half of the
game) are very different. But overall, the devs 'amped up' the
gameplay just a bit too much for my liking; the original "Half Life"
was a bit slower and had better balance between the quiet moments and
the action; "Black Mesa" is like playing "Half Life 1" at 1.25 speed.

>

   [That said, I played Black Mesa shortly after release, and
    it's been under continual development since then so maybe
    that's changed]

>
>

All IMHO and YMMV, obviously. Taste in games is all subjective, after
all.;-)

>
I loved all of those. Same for Opposing Force, Blue Shift, HL2's episodes,
etc.

Oh, don't mistake me. I generally enjoyed the games overall. But some
are definitely better than others. The original "Half Life" stands
tall amongst its peers; "Half Life 2", not so much. "Black Mesa" and
the various expansions are somewhere in between.

But if you're new to the franchise and therefore have no nostalgia or
connection to the series? It'd be hard for me to recommend HL2, for
instance. Compared to modern titles (and even some of its
contemporaries) it doesn't really stand out. The original "Half Life"
was revolutionary and deserves a play-through. The latter games rely
heavily on that influence to make them worth playing.

TL;DR: we all should go replay the original "Half Life" now. ;-)

Black Mesa was basically a replay of the original. It was nice and fun. :-)

I haven't played that VR one though.

Just a note: there's a mod to play the "Half Life: Alyx" (a.k.a.,
"that VR one") without using a VR headset. Don't be tempted. It
seriously downgrades the experience to the point where it's really not
a very good game.

Of course, that's only to be expected, since you're ripping out core
functionality. But if you're tempted to experience the game and don't
have a VR headset, just watch somebody play it on YouTube or
something. You'll get a much better appreciation of what the game is
about than trying it without the headset.

I don't like wearing the VR stuff. :( I'll wait for the holodeck version. :-P
--
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