Half Life 2 Expansion

kel · Post by **kel** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:54 pm 0

HGFB wrote:Oh yeah baby. This is ace. I like Eli's Bill Cosby impression.

I laughed my ass off at that, I almost expected him to start jazz-tap-dancing or something. Nice way to start the game.

Didn't really enjoy the first chapter but it really starts to warm up in chapter two, which I'm actually stuck on, well I say stuck, I died twice and decided to call it a day. I hate waiting for lifts

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:57 pm 0

Hl2 games need more Dog. That's all I'll say. No face and they still manage to get loads of expressions out of him.

I like it where Alyx says "He's a robot. He's done the calculations. You've done the calculations right?" and Dog just shakes his head sadly

GrapeApe · Post by **GrapeApe** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:27 pm 0

Dog is a work of genius.

Thumbs up to all the codemonkeys and pixel pushers at Valve.

skweek · Post by **skweek** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 11:55 pm 0

I've just finished it, awesome all the way through apart from the obligatory escorting bit.

Valve are cunts though

thalamus · Post by **thalamus** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:29 am 0

I've just started it

Aces so far, especially the bit in the car

Flabio · Post by **Flabio** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 7:59 am 0

Played it a few hours last night, it's more of the same but in a good way. Nice to have a full game with th HDR on as well, mm, shiny.

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:43 am 0

I'm enjoying it more than I did HL2. I think it works better when Gordon has a vocal companion.

kel · Post by **kel** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:29 am 0

It is good playing with Alyx but she's got in my way more than a few times and caused a few frustrating deaths, the bitch. Tends to happen most when one of those zombines makes a charge towards me, I'll tend to back track whilst shooting only to find Alyx behind me blocking my way, then before I've had the time to anything else the zombine has blew us both up, grrrrrr.

I would be nice if you could use your squad command to tell her to get the f**k out the way from time to time.

edit, Haha, don't know what happened there but I just loaded up steam and its decided to decrypt HL:E1 again, even though I was playing it last night, very odd.

kel · Post by **kel** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 1:49 pm 0

Finished, its ok, it's really really pretty but it is just more of the same, very refined though and with a few memorable moments, worth the admission fee though.

I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy episodic content to be honest, I have a feeling that I'll just get hooked into buying more episodes for the sake of the story rather than the enjoyment of the game, if that makes sense. I'm a whingeing bastard though.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 10:02 am 0

I'm getting a lot of white specks appearing when I play the game. The game recommended that update my drivers which I did after running it once and noticing the specks - it's the same with the new drivers. I've tried turning settings down and things like that but it makes no difference. I haven't experienced it in any other game. I wonder if it is the start of a terminal video card problem? Anyone got any ideas?

HGFB · Post by **HGFB** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:04 am 0

I had that with my Radeon 9800 and Doom 3. It's getting hot. Opening the case and pointing the fan at mine did the trick then.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:48 am 0

Aye, it's a Radeon 9800 XT that I've got. Trouble is, I've got a clamshell design desktop so I can't really open it up and have it on at the same time.

thalamus · Post by **thalamus** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 9:15 pm 0

(Spoilers Ahead...)

I really enjoyed that

From the openeing sequence, right through to the train ride at the end, it was a thoroughly entertaining experience. Also, I liked the way that it was a "Campbells Soup" version of HL2, with the intensity condensed into a shorter experience.

I can see what Valve are trying to achieve here; dipping their toes into the episodic content waters, trying to keep fans happy, and bridging the gap between now and HL3 (which is probably a long 4 years away).

The Developer Commentary also sheds a bit of light on some of the decisions they make (it's interesting to note that Dog shaking his head at Alex when she asks him about the calculations wasn't originally their intention

).

So: short, yes, but certainly rewarding; lots of solid shooting action with an NPC who really does watch your back made a nice change from the clumsy resistance fighters in HL2. And it actually felt good retracing my steps through City 17.

Memorable moments for me:

1. Car ride was aces, especially when hanging over the chasm (reminded me of the rides at Universal Studios).

2. Really nice Citadel sections - and the bit with that huge alien sliding under the floor completely freaked me out.

3. The sequence on the train, just after the crash

That scream will stay with me for a while

4. The section where you need to activate the switch and hop across the electrified water - pure HL1

5. Freeman vs. the Strider. Fucking. Ace. On. Toast.

6. The Ending: Valve are, indeed, cunts.

grue · Post by **grue** » Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:41 pm 0

Just started this, leaps and bounds better than HL2, especialy since it has no driving

Good gooood game

Ratsoap · Post by **Ratsoap** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 10:01 am 0

Yeah, definitley a nice few hours of play, zombines are a nice touch and it is nice to have a combat buddy who is less useless than the squads in HL2. You actually feel like you can leave Alex to cover your arse while you try to do other shit.

And the graphics during the end sequence are beautiful.