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Retail Packaging
This is my main gripe about what I paid for when
I purchased this game, and after talking to Dan, we totally
agree. First off, they are charging $55 instead of the 'usual'
$50. (There are other versions for sale too, the collector's
edition, and 3 versions online that you pay then download, but
this one is the cheapest) Doom 3 also jumped the $50 mark to $55
when it was released. I like games at $50, no need to get greedy
fellas! Ok, with that in mind, since you are now paying an extra
$5 for the game, when you open this is what you get, honest to
god...5 installation CDs all individually wrapped in those paper
CD sleeves, an $20 ATI coupon, and a HL2 quick reference card.
That's it. No instruction manual, and No CD jewel case to hold
all FIVE of these CDs. You'd think with the extra money they
tacked on, something like that would be included.
Half-Life 2 Installation
Retail version comes on FIVE CD's, took about
1/2 hour to install. After installation, put in CD Key found on
the back of CD One, connected to my Steam account, linked that
key to my account. Finished pre-loading a few files from Steam,
and now must wait till 2am (midnight Pacific time), when
activations go into effect.
Got the activation done. Started at 2am, it
finished at 2:30am. I think the reason for the long wait was
because everyone else in the world was trying to do the same
thing.
Startup
What is this, a Playstation game? Talk about a
LOT of loading time! One thing you REALLY need for this game is
a fast processor. My video card is pretty decent, and I have 1GB
of RAM, but my processor is 1.73GHz, while the minimum
requirement for processing speed is 1.2GHz, with 2.4GHz
recommended. It does lag a bit at the beginning of each level
for like a second to load it all, but it's very smooth now that
I updated my video driver, (HL2 yelled at me about doing so
beforehand. I didn't at first, and it was a lot more laggy than
it is now.) But for what I got, it runs VERY well. It kind of
reminds me of when I first played the first Half-Life on my
300MHz PC. I should time how long it takes from when I open HL2
till when I'm actually playing...it's got to be 2 or 3 minutes.
Gameplay
Unbelievable. The quotes I've read saying, "The
best game...ever", and "Nothing will ever be the same", and
"This changes everything", are so true. When I played Doom 3, I
thought it was amazing, but after finishing the game, I've never
played it since. I know this will be the new game that I will
continue to play for 5 more years, like I have done with the
original Half-Life.
I'm still getting the hang of it. I have noticed
that whenever you see a yellow half-life symbol around
somewhere, go check it out. It means that there are powerups or
ammo nearby, usually in a hole in the wall that you would
normally pass by.
There are a few new monsters in the game as
well. It does have the headcrabs, but there are also a new breed
of headcrabs in this one, black headcrabs. These puppies are
deadly. I think they are poisonous, because whenever I get
nailed by one, my health goes from 100 to about 5. Luckily my
HEV suit kicks in and gives me back some health, but they are a
total pain to deal with. The zombies are back, but there is also
a new breed of those, fast zombies. You can see them jump from
roof to roof and climb the wall to try to get to you. It does
make for a scary experience. But my tip with zombies, shoot them
in the head with the shotgun, preferably. That way you kill the
zombie AND the headcrab. If not, the zombie goes down, and the
headcrab detaches and comes after you!
The 2 parts where you get to drive a fanboat and
the dune buggy are very cool. They are a lot of fun to drive and
make the game interesting. Sometimes it may seem that those
levels go on a little to long, but after they are over you will
miss them.
The parts when you go through the city and have
a squad with you seemed really cool at first, but turned out to
be a total pain in the ass. Especially when you are in the
buildings looking in each room, the people ALWAYS get in your
way, and after awhile you want to shoot them in their heads. But
you can't in HL2, another thing I kind of dislike. When they are
in your squad, they are in one of two modes, either following
you, or going to where you tell them to, which doesn't always
work like you want it to. At one point, this one guy kept
pissing me off and going where he wasn't supposed to be, and I
basically let him die. Take that A.I.!
The ending of HL2 seems a little weird. On one
hand you are happy it's over, but on the other you are sad
because of the way the ending went. It is a very good ending,
but you are sad for your character in the game. I remember
reading in an interview how Valve said that people got really
attached to the other characters while playing Half-Life 1, like
when Barney was helping them fight aliens, but when Barney would
die, those people would be disappointed that they let that
happen. The players kind of got emotionally involved with the
characters in the game. This is true for the second installation
of Half-Life as well. HL & HL2 are the only games I have played
where you kind of care about the others in the game with you. I
have played other games where you can tell that the company that
made it WANTS you to "care" about the other players, but in turn
you just laugh and don't care that they end up dying. Like you
have a partner whole most of the game, and when he dies, it's
played out in a dramatic way, but you end up laughing and
shooting his dead body when it's over, hehehe.
Steam
One feature of Steam that I've never messed
around with is a Friends list. You can put other friends on your
list, see when they come online, and play in their same game.
Dan and I tried this out, but couldn't get it to work at all. If
anyone wants to add me to their Steam Friends list, my screen
name is 'djdingo69'. |
