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NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2024 16:00:56 +0000
From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: Half-Life 3 Confirmed! For real!
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2024 11:00:55 -0500
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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. ;-)

>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.