Re: Half-Life 3 Confirmed! For real!

On 07/11/2024 00:42, Zaghadka wrote:

On Wed, 6 Nov 2024 10:18:17 +0000, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, JAB
wrote:
 

On 05/11/2024 16:00, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

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. ?

>
I think they did a good job with Black Mesa as instead of trying to just
replicate HL:1 in the source engine they instead went for keep the
essence of it but tighten up some of the levels and also remove some of
the more frustrating aspects (jumping anyone?). On a Rail no longer
drags and the finale of Blast Pit isn't an exercise in quick save/reload
until you finish it.
>
HL:2 obviously didn't standout as much as HL:1 but I still think it's a
good example of how giving levels a different feel keeps the interest
going. Another more minor aspect I like about it is how it's a tutorial
through play instead of press this key messages. Who didn't like getting
used to the gravity gun by playing fetch with dog?

 IMO, HL2 put its graphics so far ahead of level design that levels were
extremely limited and it became essentially a corridor shooter, with a
few open levels that didn't go anywhere except to another corridor.
 It was very impressive to look at, at the time, but the gameplay was wash
rinse repeat. So it aged very poorly.
 

I still enjoy it even though yes, like HL:1 it is essential a corridor shooter. It's not that I dislike more open world games but to me that often feels that they aren't that much different from a corridor shooter expect that it takes five mins to get from the one you've just finished to the next one and you have a mini-map to tell you where it is.