With all the games we have on Linux now, let’s not forget some of the defining classics like Half-Life 2 which I have finally finished.
Yes, ~13 years after release I have finally finished it. Although, let’s be fair, it’s only been ~3 years since it released on Linux and I have had a lot of other games to keep up with. Still, I wanted to see what all the fuss is about and why people want Half-Life 3 so badly, so I powered through the entirety of Half-Life 2 during a few livestreams.
I played through using the Half-Life 2: Update standalone mod which arrived on Steam last year. It’s the exact same game in terms of story, but with improved visuals and some bug fixes. I felt that was the best way to experience an older title with maximum possible enjoyment. It makes an old game look sharper, shinier and just better overall. It's also perfection on Linux, I didn't encounter a single issue during my entire play-through which is incredible.
If you haven’t seen it already and fancy a laugh, check out the video Samsai stuck together showing off some of my fails during the livestreams.
What an incredible all-around experience Half-Life 2 truly is. The first hour or two didn’t really hook me in. While it was fun for sure, the start felt like it lacked a bigger push. Once you get past that — wow, the game truly does start to come together. The amount of effort that was actually put into this game is mind blowing when it opens up some more. I can see where so many games, even games still coming out, take some inspiration from. Half-Life 2 has such varied gameplay and some really fun enemies, it’s quite surprising given how old the game is.
The varied locations, ranging from an open-world style game where you’re driving a buggy and you’re able to get out and look around at any point, to dark and gloomy caves filled with creepy crawlies where light plays an important role in the immersion. The dark sections were probably some of the most tense I’ve played in any game, as sometimes you would see nothing but dead bodies leaving your mind to wander, sometimes zombies and so on. The atmosphere the game creates is testament to the Valve of old that made great single-player experiences.
During livestreams the game would repeatedly make me squeal with surprise and fear when enemies jumped out at me. One of the enemies will stay with me for a long time! An enemy not too unlike the Xenomorph type aliens you would find in the Alien series of films. They run, climb buildings, they jump and they scream at you as they come for you. A lot of butt-clenching and panicked firing happened whenever they were around, one of the best enemies I’ve ever faced in a game.
There are so many moments in Half-Life 2 that are memorable, from being chased by a helicopter while powering across the land in some sort of small hovercraft, to running through dark alleys hoping head-humpers don’t jump out at any moment causing me to wildly panic and employ my trusty "spray and pray" shooting style.
Half-Life 2 has well and truly left a lasting impression on me for sure. I can see why so many people speak highly of it, as it stands up to the test of time for absolute certain for so many reasons. Sure, some parts of it were Valve showing-off their Physics engine, but even today it’s still vastly better than what we see in a lot of games with much bigger budgets.
Seeing the Combine forces battle against zombie-like humans with headcrabs on them was also surprising. There’s many surprising moments like that, from seeing the remains of larger battles in rooms full of turrets and blood, to setting up your own turrets as wave after wave of Combine soldiers bear down on you.
The AI, while not amazingly smart, is again still better than a lot of the AI you find in shooters today. Enemies will find cover, throw grenades, wait for you to come to them and not just run directly at you all the time. There are times it falls flat, like when you have a bunch of companions near the end and they repeatedly block doorways, but for the most part the AI in Half-Life 2 is still impressive today.
Like a lot of games, the ending battle was a bit of a letdown. Really though, that’s probably the only part of the game that was a letdown. It reminds me of Dying Light, a fantastic single-player campaign with an ending where you don’t really do much. You’re just firing balls at a tower with your Gravity Gun and in a few minutes it’s all over.
To think, when the game came out the PC I had at the time could barely run it, now I’m running it at around 300FPS with graphical enhancements, all on Linux.
It took me around 12 hours to fully finish it, which is a pretty decent length. It’s not so long that the story drags on, but not so short as to leave too many things out. The way the story is presented is brilliant too. You’re not repeatedly given cut-scenes, as the story unfolds literally as you’re playing and makes the action and the story blend seamlessly together in a way not many developers are able to achieve.
If like me, you still haven’t set aside some time to play Half-Life 2, you seriously should. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about it since forever, then take my advice and download it right now. I’m going to take a look at the episodes next, so I can finally see if I need to join the ranks crying out for Half-Life 3.
Just be sure to play Half-Life 2: Update. It’s the exact same game in terms of story, only with some graphical enhancements done to bring it up to date a bit more.
Oh and who the hell is the man in the suit? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Yes, ~13 years after release I have finally finished it. Although, let’s be fair, it’s only been ~3 years since it released on Linux and I have had a lot of other games to keep up with. Still, I wanted to see what all the fuss is about and why people want Half-Life 3 so badly, so I powered through the entirety of Half-Life 2 during a few livestreams.
I played through using the Half-Life 2: Update standalone mod which arrived on Steam last year. It’s the exact same game in terms of story, but with improved visuals and some bug fixes. I felt that was the best way to experience an older title with maximum possible enjoyment. It makes an old game look sharper, shinier and just better overall. It's also perfection on Linux, I didn't encounter a single issue during my entire play-through which is incredible.
If you haven’t seen it already and fancy a laugh, check out the video Samsai stuck together showing off some of my fails during the livestreams.
What an incredible all-around experience Half-Life 2 truly is. The first hour or two didn’t really hook me in. While it was fun for sure, the start felt like it lacked a bigger push. Once you get past that — wow, the game truly does start to come together. The amount of effort that was actually put into this game is mind blowing when it opens up some more. I can see where so many games, even games still coming out, take some inspiration from. Half-Life 2 has such varied gameplay and some really fun enemies, it’s quite surprising given how old the game is.
The varied locations, ranging from an open-world style game where you’re driving a buggy and you’re able to get out and look around at any point, to dark and gloomy caves filled with creepy crawlies where light plays an important role in the immersion. The dark sections were probably some of the most tense I’ve played in any game, as sometimes you would see nothing but dead bodies leaving your mind to wander, sometimes zombies and so on. The atmosphere the game creates is testament to the Valve of old that made great single-player experiences.
During livestreams the game would repeatedly make me squeal with surprise and fear when enemies jumped out at me. One of the enemies will stay with me for a long time! An enemy not too unlike the Xenomorph type aliens you would find in the Alien series of films. They run, climb buildings, they jump and they scream at you as they come for you. A lot of butt-clenching and panicked firing happened whenever they were around, one of the best enemies I’ve ever faced in a game.
There are so many moments in Half-Life 2 that are memorable, from being chased by a helicopter while powering across the land in some sort of small hovercraft, to running through dark alleys hoping head-humpers don’t jump out at any moment causing me to wildly panic and employ my trusty "spray and pray" shooting style.
Half-Life 2 has well and truly left a lasting impression on me for sure. I can see why so many people speak highly of it, as it stands up to the test of time for absolute certain for so many reasons. Sure, some parts of it were Valve showing-off their Physics engine, but even today it’s still vastly better than what we see in a lot of games with much bigger budgets.
Seeing the Combine forces battle against zombie-like humans with headcrabs on them was also surprising. There’s many surprising moments like that, from seeing the remains of larger battles in rooms full of turrets and blood, to setting up your own turrets as wave after wave of Combine soldiers bear down on you.
The AI, while not amazingly smart, is again still better than a lot of the AI you find in shooters today. Enemies will find cover, throw grenades, wait for you to come to them and not just run directly at you all the time. There are times it falls flat, like when you have a bunch of companions near the end and they repeatedly block doorways, but for the most part the AI in Half-Life 2 is still impressive today.
Like a lot of games, the ending battle was a bit of a letdown. Really though, that’s probably the only part of the game that was a letdown. It reminds me of Dying Light, a fantastic single-player campaign with an ending where you don’t really do much. You’re just firing balls at a tower with your Gravity Gun and in a few minutes it’s all over.
To think, when the game came out the PC I had at the time could barely run it, now I’m running it at around 300FPS with graphical enhancements, all on Linux.
It took me around 12 hours to fully finish it, which is a pretty decent length. It’s not so long that the story drags on, but not so short as to leave too many things out. The way the story is presented is brilliant too. You’re not repeatedly given cut-scenes, as the story unfolds literally as you’re playing and makes the action and the story blend seamlessly together in a way not many developers are able to achieve.
If like me, you still haven’t set aside some time to play Half-Life 2, you seriously should. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about it since forever, then take my advice and download it right now. I’m going to take a look at the episodes next, so I can finally see if I need to join the ranks crying out for Half-Life 3.
Just be sure to play Half-Life 2: Update. It’s the exact same game in terms of story, only with some graphical enhancements done to bring it up to date a bit more.
Oh and who the hell is the man in the suit? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Quoting: liamdaweThe way the story is presented is brilliant too. You’re not repeatedly given cut-scenes, as the story unfolds literally as you’re playing and makes the action and the story blend seamlessly together in a way not many developers are able to achieve.
Totally agree. This is the sort of thing that is the essence of good game design, but unfortunately seems to take a back seat in many games. HL2 is, fundamentally, trekking through a long and winding sausage, shooting things, but it doesn't usually feel that way. I have nothing against cut-scenes intrinsically, as they can help flesh out stories and ensure the gamer has important information, but many games use them in a way that completely breaks the immersion or game experience. Even worse, some games are beginning to resemble interactive movies, where you only occasionally have any form of control ( can I please take out a contract on the individual that invented Quick-Time Events? ).
Quoting: liamdaweLike a lot of games, the ending battle was a bit of a letdown.I'm not really a fan of boss battles. They have been around since the likes of early CRPGs and Wolfenstein and have mostly become boring at best. Even in a shooter, it shouldn't be a requirement if the game is well structured for the ending to involve working out the arcane loophole that allows the boss to be invincible or a bullet-sponge; IIRC I died 4 times playing Mass Effect 2 before I could stop laughing at the giant baby cadaver that constituted the boss ending, and felt no sense of achievement in killing it.
Hmm, maybe I need to go play Episode 1 and 2 now...
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Quoting: RussianNeuroMancerHL2 was and still Steam-only ....
Unfortunately. Else I'd for sure immediately buy it....
SCNR
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slaapliedje Mar 5, 2017
Quoting: etonbearsI quoted your whole post because it can't be said enough... Quick Time Events are terrible. I was pissed that the boss dude in Dying Light was one. The game was otherwise fantastic! Playing through The Following now..Quoting: liamdaweThe way the story is presented is brilliant too. You’re not repeatedly given cut-scenes, as the story unfolds literally as you’re playing and makes the action and the story blend seamlessly together in a way not many developers are able to achieve.
Totally agree. This is the sort of thing that is the essence of good game design, but unfortunately seems to take a back seat in many games. HL2 is, fundamentally, trekking through a long and winding sausage, shooting things, but it doesn't usually feel that way. I have nothing against cut-scenes intrinsically, as they can help flesh out stories and ensure the gamer has important information, but many games use them in a way that completely breaks the immersion or game experience. Even worse, some games are beginning to resemble interactive movies, where you only occasionally have any form of control ( can I please take out a contract on the individual that invented Quick-Time Events? ).
Quoting: liamdaweLike a lot of games, the ending battle was a bit of a letdown.I'm not really a fan of boss battles. They have been around since the likes of early CRPGs and Wolfenstein and have mostly become boring at best. Even in a shooter, it shouldn't be a requirement if the game is well structured for the ending to involve working out the arcane loophole that allows the boss to be invincible or a bullet-sponge; IIRC I died 4 times playing Mass Effect 2 before I could stop laughing at the giant baby cadaver that constituted the boss ending, and felt no sense of achievement in killing it.
Hmm, maybe I need to go play Episode 1 and 2 now...
Weird thing is, I KNOW I played through all of Half-Life and had even started Black Mesa, but damn if I can remember Episode 2. I remember most of HL2, and most of HL1.
By the way, for those that don't remember... Steam and HL2 were basically released at the same time. You absolutely had to have both installed.
So yeah, any HL2 key is a steam key.
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Quoting: PitI don't know if this makes a difference, but HL2, the episodes and at least the first portal are actually DRM-free. You need a steam account to download them, but they'll happily run without Steam.Quoting: RussianNeuroMancerHL2 was and still Steam-only ....
Unfortunately. Else I'd for sure immediately buy it....
SCNR
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Quoting: tuubiI don't know if this makes a difference, but HL2, the episodes and at least the first portal are actually DRM-free. You need a steam account to download them, but they'll happily run without Steam.Yes, I actually know (there's this list of DRM-free stuff on Steam).
Unfortunately I'm too consistent (stubborn?) in my No-Steam policy.... But HL2 is one of the titles really testing me on this :D
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Quoting: PitQuoting: tuubiI don't know if this makes a difference, but HL2, the episodes and at least the first portal are actually DRM-free. You need a steam account to download them, but they'll happily run without Steam.Yes, I actually know (there's this list of DRM-free stuff on Steam).
Unfortunately I'm too consistent (stubborn?) in my No-Steam policy.... But HL2 is one of the titles really testing me on this :D
I don't think anyone really likes DRM; even the companies that use it would probably prefer not to waste time and effort on it. Unfortunately, as digital content is so easy to pirate on both a personal and commercial basis, without DRM a lot of companies would not ba able to produce the games they do. If, say, DRM were outlawed, you would probably find that many games would switch to something like a free-to-play model with an awful experience unless you shell out for bucket-loads of micro-transactions.
Prior to Valve announcing their Linux client, the only reason I had a Steam account was to activate Civ V, and I had a very negative view of digital distribution because of the possibility of losing all access to the games you have paid-for. But since valve started supporting Linux, I was willing to give them a chance, and now I get my games on Steam as a matter of preference. Valve/Steam are by no means perfect, but I have found that download/update ( for me ) are much more convenient that physical, I personally have experienced almost no Steam issues, and although I know there is usually some DRM there, I find it non-intrusive compared to the horrible DRM that used to be inflicted with physical media.
I admire your principled stance, but I haven't been able to envision, nor have I seen any credible suggestion for, a DRM-free model that would satisfy everyone's needs; so I guess we are each stuck with accepting what we personally consider the least bad option.
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@etonbears:
Thanks for your detailed reply. We probably shouldn't go into another pro-con discussion here (it's OT anyhow), but I think music industry has shown that the without-DRM-we're-dead paradigm isn't true after all.
Steam or not steam is not (only) a question of DRM. It's a question of monopoly. Having to have Steam to be able to play games (on Linux) is not a whit better than having had to use Windows for it (which I never did either). It's all about freedom and choice, which is why I started using Linux 23 years ago. (For me) no game is worth it to bespeak this conviction(*).
But I'm not enforcing my credo on anyone. I'm just mentioning it now and then, and keep pushing GOG, to have some alternatives around. Just like I've been doing with Linux the last 2 decades...
(*)BTW., part of this conviction is also no-piracy-period. In that respect, if more people had my attitude, DRM would just not be needed.... ^_^
Thanks for your detailed reply. We probably shouldn't go into another pro-con discussion here (it's OT anyhow), but I think music industry has shown that the without-DRM-we're-dead paradigm isn't true after all.
Steam or not steam is not (only) a question of DRM. It's a question of monopoly. Having to have Steam to be able to play games (on Linux) is not a whit better than having had to use Windows for it (which I never did either). It's all about freedom and choice, which is why I started using Linux 23 years ago. (For me) no game is worth it to bespeak this conviction(*).
But I'm not enforcing my credo on anyone. I'm just mentioning it now and then, and keep pushing GOG, to have some alternatives around. Just like I've been doing with Linux the last 2 decades...
(*)BTW., part of this conviction is also no-piracy-period. In that respect, if more people had my attitude, DRM would just not be needed.... ^_^
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Pit@etonbears:
Thanks for your detailed reply. We probably shouldn't go into another pro-con discussion here (it's OT anyhow), but I think music industry has shown that the without-DRM-we're-dead paradigm isn't true after all.
Steam or not steam is not (only) a question of DRM. It's a question of monopoly. Having to have Steam to be able to play games (on Linux) is not a whit better than having had to use Windows for it (which I never did either). It's all about freedom and choice, which is why I started using Linux 23 years ago. (For me) no game is worth it to bespeak this conviction(*).
But I'm not enforcing my credo on anyone. I'm just mentioning it now and then, and keep pushing GOG, to have some alternatives around. Just like I've been doing with Linux the last 2 decades...
(*)BTW., part of this conviction is also no-piracy-period. In that respect, if more people had my attitude, DRM would just not be needed.... ^_^
@Pit
Hi there.
It's certain that if everyone took your stance on piracy, DRM would not be necessary, and probably would not exist. Sadly, most people don't think that way. It's not that most are intrinsically bad or malicious ( some obviously are, but not the majority ), it often simply doesn't occur to us look past our own immediate wants or needs to the impact on others.
Not quite sure what you mean with the music industry. Their stance ( good or bad ) was mainly about protecting their revenue and that of their artists. The failure to do so had exactly the effect they expected, and the royalty revenues for recorded music crashed. This has caused changes in industry models, reverting to a greater reliance on live music revenue streams; hence the current glut of Sexagenarian/Septuagenarian rock dinosaurs creaking their way around the world's stages. Not that I have much sympathy for them, or any at all for the music industry executives that lived well off their works. The main beneficiaries have been dishonest consumers that can basically get whatever music they want without paying, and companies like Apple who get music revenue from honest consumers. Not sure that's progress; personally I'll keep buying CDs.
Also not quite sure why you think Steam is a monopoly. It is the largest download service, but with the exception of content that is created with the Source engine ( a cost-free developer choice, not a requirement ) or other Steam-related tools, as far as I know, games can be freely sold in other digital stores, boxed, or indeed sold on other platforms if they are ported. I'm certainly wary or the potential for silos of control to spring up given the record of companies like Microsoft and Apple, but I wouldn't even class Valve along with them at this point...
...However, I wouldn't be surprised to be proved wrong on that in the end :)
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Ah Half-Life 2, I bought it a month after it released here in Germany, 12 years ago. That is why I have the Steam badge "12 years of Service" since December 2016. (Yeah I was a windows gamer at that time :D, but who wasn't right? ).
Finished it multiple times, played Episode 1 & 2 multiple times either, amazing game, amazing story, and boy what a cliffhanger at the end (Where is the Borealis?). Can recommend it for anybody who wants a good shooter with good narrative. Although the story of Episode 2 becomes a bit stale with Magnusson as the new herald (where does this guy come from?) but overall it has an amazing story.
I can't wait for Black Mesa to be finished, played the first half of it already, and bugs aside, the team did a great job. They not only made a copy&pasta version of HL1, they reimagined the levels with new layouts, new secrets, new triggers etc. Overall there were pleasent surprises for a HL veteran like me. And for all the Xen haters, the new version will be much better then the original, although I liked Xen back in the days.
Maybe I start a Black Mesa stream the next days, we'll see :D
Last edited by Grimfist on 6 March 2017 at 8:59 am UTC
Finished it multiple times, played Episode 1 & 2 multiple times either, amazing game, amazing story, and boy what a cliffhanger at the end (Where is the Borealis?). Can recommend it for anybody who wants a good shooter with good narrative. Although the story of Episode 2 becomes a bit stale with Magnusson as the new herald (where does this guy come from?) but overall it has an amazing story.
I can't wait for Black Mesa to be finished, played the first half of it already, and bugs aside, the team did a great job. They not only made a copy&pasta version of HL1, they reimagined the levels with new layouts, new secrets, new triggers etc. Overall there were pleasent surprises for a HL veteran like me. And for all the Xen haters, the new version will be much better then the original, although I liked Xen back in the days.
Maybe I start a Black Mesa stream the next days, we'll see :D
Last edited by Grimfist on 6 March 2017 at 8:59 am UTC
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