JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 (edited) Finally! Half Life: Episode 3 Alyx. Wait, what? Apparently not the conclusion to the series and it's exclusive to the SteamVR platform? Seriously went from 100 to "meh" in two seconds flat upon reading the details. More details will be forth coming in the next couple weeks. As much as I want to play a new Half Life installment, I have virtually (pun intended) no interest in purchasing virtual reality hardware to experience it. VR is merely just OK in my book, and as cool as it sounds, I'm always pretty let down by the overall presentation. Anybody with Oculus or HTC gear excited for this? Can I come over and check it out if you get it? Edited November 20, 2019 by JamesRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuNKeY | 241 Posted November 20, 2019 Share Posted November 20, 2019 aww sheese lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,724 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 I'm officially a crusty old man, because I see a Half-Life side story with a bunch of gimmicky motion controls. I mean, I'll play it, but I'm not flipping my lid. Valve made this to cash in on a VR platform, it's not the "passion project" Half-Life 3 we'll never see because all the Half-Life guys are already gone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH | 5,206 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Half-Life died with Sierra. I'm not saying it won't be a good game but... yeah. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted November 21, 2019 Share Posted November 21, 2019 Valve's time as a developer has come and gone. Now they're just the Walmart of digital games. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeppelin03 | 314 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I'm open to tryinf this out with my Vive. it doesnt get used currently and a full game experience might change that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloves | 12,251 Administrator · Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 Never played Half Life, don't plan to, so... Meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster | 124 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I also never played any of the Half Life games, so I am not broken up about this. Are they actually really good games, or are they like meme games? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,724 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 39 minutes ago, Rooster said: I also never played any of the Half Life games, so I am not broken up about this. Are they actually really good games, or are they like meme games? They're fantastic. Half-Life is the first FPS I remember that starts you out having a normal day at work, and not straight into a shoot out or training level. The game plays as one long narrative with a mix of of scripted exposition, puzzles, and shooty shoots. While that's pretty damn normal now, at the time the average FPS was Quake II, a series of individual shooty shoot levels. Half-Life 2 made similar advances in narrative, graphics, and physics that were mindblowing at the time. I don't know anyone who would say it doesn't hold up. Edited November 22, 2019 by DefaultGen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster | 124 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 31 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: They're fantastic. Half-Life is the first FPS I remember that starts you out having a normal day at work, and not straight into a shoot out or training level. The game plays as one long narrative with a mix of of scripted exposition, puzzles, and shooty shoots. While that's pretty damn normal now, at the time the average FPS was Quake II, a series of individual shooty shoot levels. Half-Life 2 made similar advances in narrative, graphics, and physics that were mindblowing at the time. I don't know anyone who would say it doesn't hold up. Okay fair enough. I think I might own Half-Life 2 on steam, but not Half-Life 1. I'm not sure. I'll check later and maybe give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pendragonx | 119 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 This actually looks like it could be pretty neat imho .. Then again, I don't have VR.. but I loved HL2 and the episodes that came after... A shame we'll never get HL3, but this could be an interesting side story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 Man. You guys are bringing me down. I know the truth but I don't want to admit it. Still, the trailer looks pretty rad. Maybe one day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 2 hours ago, Rooster said: I also never played any of the Half Life games, so I am not broken up about this. Are they actually really good games, or are they like meme games? Yeah pretty darn great, though I haven't played em in years. Have you played the Portal games? Top notch to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster | 124 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 30 minutes ago, JamesRobot said: Yeah pretty darn great, though I haven't played em in years. Have you played the Portal games? Top notch to be sure. I actually haven't played a ton of valve games aside from left 4 dead and TF2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teh_Lurv | 254 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 13 hours ago, Rooster said: I also never played any of the Half Life games, so I am not broken up about this. Are they actually really good games, or are they like meme games? Half Life 1 was pretty revolutionary at the time. It was one of the first narrative driven FPS games and was called "the thinking man's Quake". All the stuff in Half Life that was new or novel at the time has since become bog standard in the FPS genre, so you're probably not going to be blown away by anything. But at it's core it's still a solid 90s FPS game and it's worth checking out to see the origin of a lot of tropes and mechanics common in modern video games. Half Life 2 was also revolutionary when it was released. It was one of the first big games that implemented real lip syncing and facial expressions, physics based environments, and graphical technology like HDR. All that is wrapped up in a tight narrative and polished & varied FPS gameplay. The first sequel, Episode 1, is a solid follow-up but falls a bit short of HL2. The next sequel, Episode 2, is much more ambitious with gameplay mechanics and technology Valve had been working between 2004-2007 thrown in. HL2 and the sequels are games I fire up and replay through once every other year so. The big reason why Half Life fans (like me) have been suffering about the drought of more Half Life and the Alyx announcement is because Valve ended Episode 2 on a cliff hanger with no plans on resolve the game's narrative. It's like if George Lucas release Empire Strikes Back, then chose to end the series right there and retire from film-making. Having the series end on a down-note cliff hanger it a poor end to such a great franchise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a3quit4s | 4,345 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 I was always more about the mods - Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress. I think I played through the original half life and that was it for the single player for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,266 Posted November 22, 2019 Share Posted November 22, 2019 22 hours ago, DefaultGen said: I'm officially a crusty old man, because I see a Half-Life side story with a bunch of gimmicky motion controls. I mean, I'll play it, but I'm not flipping my lid. Valve made this to cash in on a VR platform, it's not the "passion project" Half-Life 3 we'll never see because all the Half-Life guys are already gone. If Valve nails VR, I see this *easily* as being comparable to the jump from 2D to 3D. If Valve fails this...well, then I'll say that VR is a gimmick. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,724 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Half-Life 1 and 2 (and lots of classic Valve games) are a buck right now on Steam for those who haven't played them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 9 minutes ago, DefaultGen said: Half-Life 1 and 2 (and lots of classic Valve games) are a buck right now on Steam for those who haven't played them. Might have to replay... Then again, I'd probably just set myself up for a let down again. Ah what the hell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,691 Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 Fun fact: I've only played the original Half-Life on PlayStation 2. Less fun fact: I didn't think Half-Life 2 was particularly amazing. Portal is the shit though. If you've never run through the developer commentary mode, you're really missing out on some cool insider info. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 6,026 Events Team · Posted November 29, 2019 Author Share Posted November 29, 2019 Picked up the complete Half Life and Portal bundles for under 8 bucks total. Bit on the Steam controller too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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