Maybe I’m in the minority, but it never even crossed my mind to shoot at civilians. You’re supposed to be the good guy, right?
You sir have no imagination! :P
No, Ergo, we’re operating in the world of moral equivalence here at Qt3.
Gordon isn’t the good guy. The brain-sucking aliens aren’t bad guys. They just have a different point of view.
So, what you were expecting was a random corridor and choke point mod for HL1?
MINOR SPOILERS
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I actually thought the design of the Buggy sequence was reminiscent of On A Rail, alternating “riding” sequences with pitched battles against Combine dudes.
I loved On A Rail too btw, in some ways it was even better than Surface Tension. Though it was initially a bit intimidating because it is the closest thing to a nonlinear level in HL and occasionally I was afraid I would go the wrong way. Pretty hard to get seriously lost though.
I loved that moment when you launched the rocket and the music kicks in. That was really a mini-climax for the game, establishing the midpoint of the action.
It’s just one of those things that you like to see a game handle even though it’s not important and not something you are “supposed” to do. Like turning on faucets, flushing toilets, shooting out lights, breaking mirrors. It gives it another layer of interactivity.
I tried hitting a civilian last night with my crowbar and nothing happened, and that’s kind of lame. Especially when the rest of the game world is so realistic. Civilians do react when you throw something at them however.
Considering some of the things I’ve heard you can do with and to the friendlies in Halo 2 and how they respond to the player, it sounds like Half-Life 2 has a lot less interaction there.
–Dave
It’s not their fault that their instincts mandate them to suck brains.
True, but there is a key difference that makes it a different situation. In Halo 2 you can hurt or kill friendlies, but they are only your teammates. If you kill them, it’s not going to affect the story or anything. You are never able to kill anyone who matters to the story, because they only show up in cutscenes.
In HL2 if you were to kill Alyx, that would be a problem. There’s no way to really handle that because she is vital to the story. The game would have to end.
A compromise might have been to make certain characters untouchable, like Alyx. But let all the others be hurt/killed and retaliate against you if you attack them.
HL1 had whole mods devoted to whacking scientists :/
It really does suck, though I guess if I ever get barney or someone to fight with me he’ll be an invincible sheild for me?
Anybody who says that is wrong and obviosly hasn’t actually played the game.
Anybody who says that is wrong and obviosly hasn’t actually played the game.[/quote]
This is a great point, except for the fact that it’s completely wrong. Halo 2 does have more interaction with friendly characters. I don’t know why anyone freaking cares about this, but it does. No, you can’t shoot Alyx in the face. Why would you want to? Although I enjoy throwing chairs at civilians and having them calmly tell me to “hey, watch out, okay?” It’s funny.
As to Bob’s comments, yeah, you’re out of your mind. Half-Life 2 is the closest thing to a flawless single player game I’ve played in years. Literally the only complaint I have is that I would like to be able to pick corpses up with the gravity gun. Otherwise, it’s sheer brilliance. The boat sequence plays much like the On The Rails stuff, actually. Drive, drive, drive, stop and clear a building/checkpoint to open the way, back in the boat. The game never gets monotonous, and just when you think it’s going to, it changes things up with a level like Ravenholme or the even more divergent later levels.
No, you can’t shoot Alyx in the face. Why would you want to?
I always like to have more freedom in a game, although in something as tightly scripted as Half Life 2 they probably, and understandably, worried about players “breaking” the game by killing friendly NPCs.
Maybe I’m atypical though. I once killed about 1/2 hour trying to wound a HL1 scientist just enough so that he would actually die when I bounced a grenade off of him (not from the grenade blast mind you – from the impact of the undetonated grenade as it bounced off him).
And best not to mention the Barney I happily led across an electrified rail before putting 3 or 4 tripmines onto his face and chest…
I don’t think these things come from sadism so much as just a desire to muck around with the boundaries of the gameworld. I get a lot of good gaming that way…
The main problem with shooting Alyx in the face and having nothing happen, though, is the same as the problem with coming across one of those invisible walls at the edge of a level. However briefly, it weakens suspension of disbelief and reminds you that you are in a totally manufactured experience. Of course all games are totally manufactured experiences, but I like it when this is hidden with some artfulness.
Which hides the boundaries of the gameworld better though? Putting an invisible shield around Alyx and other NPCs or having to reload 20 times because Alyx dies at some spot?
Personally I’ll take a the shield rather than the escort mission, which is what you’d end up with.
I’m also in the “HL1 was completely mediocre” camp.
In HL2 if you were to kill Alyx, that would be a problem. There’s no way to really handle that because she is vital to the story. The game would have to end.
So why not handle it that way? You kill Alex, story ends, mission failed, whatever. You goal is not to kill Alex, so you punish the player for doing so by making him restart that particular level. I doubt you would want to waste your time on it more than once.
Kind of like how SA does it? Or, you know, every game?
Anybody who says that is wrong and obviosly hasn’t actually played the game.[/quote]
This is a great point, except for the fact that it’s completely wrong. Halo 2 does have more interaction with friendly characters. I don’t know why anyone freaking cares about this, but it does. No, you can’t shoot Alyx in the face. Why would you want to? Although I enjoy throwing chairs at civilians and having them calmly tell me to “hey, watch out, okay?” It’s funny.[/quote]
No its not. Halo 2 doesn’t have any more interaction. You have your usual cutscenes. The occasional talking with NPC’s like the girl AI program and some one-liners with NPC’s during fights. HL2 has that(I’ll admit you are on your own more in HL2) also except its always done within the game. No pull out to widescreen stuff. Something I personally like better as I’m getting tired of all the wannabe film makers in game development land(Not just tring to knock Halo 2 here either as I loved the SP game overall).
Will say the little things I keep finding the game are pretty neat. Seeing the effect of a paint can being tossed at a zombie guy was a good chuckle moment.
MINOR SPOILERS:
On the buggy missions, if you use the gravity gun to knock the buggy into the ocean from a cliff the game ends because “Critical Equipment lost”. Just do the same thing if you whack an important NPC - “Critical Personell lost”
JD