Now that Portal 2 is out, will Valve please concentrate on Episode 3?, It's been three and half bloody years. Options

[Tanegar]

I think somewhere along the way Valve forgot that the entire goddamn point of episodic gaming is to release smaller games at more frequent intervals. I would really, really, really like to see the end of the story now plzkthx.

[Kagetenshi]

Are Episodes 1 and 2 as awful as HL2 was?

~J

[Fix-it]

Are Episodes 1 and 2 as awful as HL2 was?

~J

if you didn't like HL2, you obviously won't like the followups.

[Fix-it]

I think somewhere along the way Valve forgot that the entire goddamn point of episodic gaming is to release smaller games at more frequent intervals. I would really, really, really like to see the end of the story now plzkthx.

btw, they dropped the whole "episodic" part when they realized that their quality control and ability to iterate got flushed down the toilet. they are back on valve time/its done when its done.

[KarmaInferno]

Anyone else finish P2 yet?

I got to the final time you use the Portal Gun and was like OMG, no wai.





-k

[Doc Chase]

Haven't even played it yet.

[Kagetenshi]

if you didn't like HL2, you obviously won't like the followups.

That's not obvious at all—sometimes flaws are fixed, and the problems that killed HL2 weren't obviously the kind that required engine-level or otherwise high-effort changes to fix.

That said, your reply suggests that the gameplay is pretty similar, so I guess it didn't happen.

~J

[Adarael]

F that. I want more content for Alien Swarm. I want more content for Alien Swarm so bad, I have resorted to *building my own damn campaign for it.*

As for if EP 1 and 2 were as "awful" as HL2, that's a tough question. I didn't think HL2 was awful - far from it. I didn't think it was the second coming, either, though. I would say that I enjoyed Episode 1 and 2 far more than HL2, however, because the pacing was better and there were less interminably annoying sections. The graphics were better, as well, due to improvements to Source.

[Mr. Mage]

Anyone else finish P2 yet?

I got to the final time you use the Portal Gun and was like OMG, no wai.





-k

Yes...I am speechless...
Still trying to get a buddy to do the coop stuff tho...

[Faraday]

Yes...I am speechless...
Still trying to get a buddy to do the coop stuff tho...

Totally gonna get my GF to play this with me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Tanegar]

Is the portal gun supposed to be, er...

[ Spoiler ]

malfunctioning

...when you get it?

Edit: N/M, fixed it.

[CanadianWolverin...]

I think somewhere along the way Valve forgot that the entire goddamn point of episodic gaming is to release smaller games at more frequent intervals. I would really, really, really like to see the end of the story now plzkthx.

I am with you on this, truth be told, when I heard Portal 2 announced I yawned and wondered where the HL2 Ep 3 announcement was. Heck, even the Portal 2 ARG held things that teased at HL2 references related to the Black Mesa, Judith Mossman and the Borealis (IIRC).

The advancement in the Portal 2 timeline for its main character also has some interesting implications in its relation to HL2 Ep 3 and its references to the end of civilization - surely that reminds someone other than myself of the 7 Day War that is part of the HL2 story describing why the Combine were the bad guys running the show the humans aka rebels were up against.

Oh, for those who didn't know, Portal and Half-Life verses are considered to be the same with references and convergences, as supported by statements made by their developers.

Are Episodes 1 and 2 as awful as HL2 was?

~J

I do not share your point of view, HL2 was a great success, a triumph even, in gaming and I loved it and its predecessors. I'm always surprised by opinions like these, because they are so rare, statistical outliers, the 2% that didn't enjoy the game in its review scores - but perhaps it is how some classic games come to be viewed when seen through the lens of current game experiences that were influenced by these great games of bygone years.

F that. I want more content for Alien Swarm. I want more content for Alien Swarm so bad, I have resorted to *building my own damn campaign for it.*

Seeing as it is free and developer time is not, I wouldn't hold my breath on more content that isn't community produced or by yourself. That's why they released the tools they did immediately with it on its launch after all. Its very likely they are testing the waters on how much free games on Steam have impacts on the number of users they can have viewing and possibly purchasing games from their store once they have experienced the free demo game of what Steam is capable of. Are they still patching/tweaking Alien Swarm and its tools/SDK?

[phlapjack77]

Put me down as another HL fanboi. In the genre of 1st-person shooters, the HL series (imo) has the best combination of gameplay and story. Story, story, story. Only thing that could be argued to be better were SystemShock, or even better, the Marathon series.

Now to fire the ole' PC up again to play Portal2, if only for the HL crossover.

[Blade]

While I enjoyed HL and HL2 (and episodes), I still don't understand why people are so fond of these games. To me they are good FPS but no better than a lot of other FPSes out there.

[nezumi]

I loved HL, enjoyed HL2, but I've only bothered replaying the first. Never tried the two episodes. I wouldn't mind a new HL. Frankly, I wouldn't mind HL1 if they just updated the graphics! But I probably wouldn't go for a continuation of HL2.

Haven't played Portal 2 yet either ... waiting for the price to drop. Cooperative play sounds interesting. My eldest son is 7. I wonder if he'll be good enough to play? (And if we'd need to buy two copies of the game - ugh).

[Bigity]

Never played HL, HL2, or Epside 1/2.

Dunno if they are bad, but they've never had the draw for me.

I played the crap out of Tribes 1/2, and Rainbox Six games (the real, PC ones), System Shock 1/2, and AVP.

From there I went straight to Borderlands and Bad Company because I didn't do much FPS games for awhile.

[Doc Chase]

While I enjoyed HL and HL2 (and episodes), I still don't understand why people are so fond of these games. To me they are good FPS but no better than a lot of other FPSes out there.

Because HL was one of the first FPS that had a true immersive story and much better flow on levels. Before then, you had Doom 1/2/Final, which was "kill demons, something about hell on earth", and Duke Nukem 3D which was "alienz stealin' our wimminz." HL also had an AI that took more 'human' reactions, such as people calling out where you were to hunt you down, or running away from a grenade when you threw it.

It heralded a marked change in the FPS market where people started paying attention to engaging the player via a storyline rather than just clicking at pixelated mobs and watching them fall down while looking for a switch to load the next level.

Not to mention it also spawned Counterstrike and Team Fortress and Day of Defeat.

[Mr. Mage]

Frankly, I wouldn't mind HL1 if they just updated the graphics! But I probably wouldn't go for a continuation of HL2.

http://www.blackmesasource.com/

[X-Kalibur]

Not to mention it also spawned Counterstrike and Team Fortress and Day of Defeat.

I'm gonna have to stop you right there. CS was not a good game. TF and DoD were amazing, and I give them all the credit due. But CS just makes me shudder to even think about it. I have Rainbow Six games... (okay, game. Raven Shield/Athena Sword were great, not so much with R6:Vegas) if I want counter-terrorism with good multiplayer, both for co-op and head to head.

[Mr. Mage]

personally, I prefer the original Quake Team Fortress over any of Valve's versions. Can't beat running around as a Homer Simpson Spy.

[Tanegar]

So I finished Portal 2's campaign.

[ Spoiler ]

Does anyone else find the Enrichment Center even creepier after going through the older, abandoned chambers and seeing the history behind the place? It was bad enough to think that someone could build something so monstrous, but that it went on for so long just makes it worse. It's like a colossal tumor in the earth, a dream that somehow turned in on itself and metastasized into something corrupt and evil. Seeing the size of the place at the end was pretty horrific, as well. The end of the first game hinted at it, but when you get out into the spaces between chambers and see the cyclopean machinery stretching farther than you can see (or at least farther than the engine can render), so high you can't see the ceiling or floor that you know must be there... who builds on such an inhuman scale? Was all of that built by humans and GLaDOS just a caretaker, or did she expand it once the research staff were dead?

Either way, it's a terrifying place. I really hope we see more of Chell, though. I wonder what she and Gordon Freeman would make of each other.

[X-Kalibur]

So I finished Portal 2's campaign.

[ Spoiler ]

Does anyone else find the Enrichment Center even creepier after going through the older, abandoned chambers and seeing the history behind the place? It was bad enough to think that someone could build something so monstrous, but that it went on for so long just makes it worse. It's like a colossal tumor in the earth, a dream that somehow turned in on itself and metastasized into something corrupt and evil. Seeing the size of the place at the end was pretty horrific, as well. The end of the first game hinted at it, but when you get out into the spaces between chambers and see the cyclopean machinery stretching farther than you can see (or at least farther than the engine can render), so high you can't see the ceiling or floor that you know must be there... who builds on such an inhuman scale? Was all of that built by humans and GLaDOS just a caretaker, or did she expand it once the research staff were dead?

Either way, it's a terrifying place. I really hope we see more of Chell, though. I wonder what she and Gordon Freeman would make of each other.

Try the co-op. Get to the end. Muwahahaha.

[Kagetenshi]

Because HL was one of the first FPS that had a true immersive story and much better flow on levels.

*Cough cough*

~J

[Fix-it]

http://www.blackmesasource.com/

if anyone wants to bitch about release dates or "valve time"... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohplease.gif)

[Whipstitch]

I'd rather they start working on a Portal 3.