No Gamer Is An Island. Or: Why I didn't like Half-Life 2

[Angrist]

I have this theory:
When Half-Life 1 was released in 1998, it was awesome. Half-Life 2, released 6 years later, was basically HL1 but much better. But somehow it felt off for me. It took me a while to understand what it was: it made me feel so incredibly lonely. Walking through those abandoned buildings or dark caves... I hated it. It even made me feel a bit depressed and I couldn't play it for very long periods.

But: I never had that problem with HL1, even though it had even less story and characters! How is that possible? My theory: because it was launched in a time where gamers were still used to loneliness. Most adventure games had you walking around on your own. Whether you were a female bounty hunter in space, a tough marine fighting mutated monsters, or a mustached plumber: you were alone. (One of the few exceptions was the RPG genre, where you had many characters to talk to.)

But times have changed. We live in the time of instant messengers, of mobile phones, of online multiplayer, of MMORPGs. We are not used to spending an evening all on our own. If I look at myself, I feel pretty miserable when I haven't spoken or chatted with anyone all day. And it works the same way in games. I don't want to run around solving everything myself, I want to communicate every now and then! Most games have incorporated clever systems for this. You get radio calls which provide you new objectives. You meet people just for the sake of meeting them. Even the expansion episodes of Half-Life 2 do it right: you have a cute companion at your side most of the time. There's constant communication, constant interaction.

But Half-Life 2 did what the creators wanted it to do: make me feel like the last man on earth. Bah.

[Fox 6]

It was alright. Defs played better games, and worse games too. I can only play it once, its too linear and slow paced sometimes.

[Dyne]

What's wrong with that? It's a horror game.

[Combine 017]

You really arnt alone for that long in HL2. You might not be with the same person very long but your not alone. The only parts where you are completely alone is in the boat/car levels(which you said they were the ones you liked) and in Ravenholm(and even there you have Grigori checking up on you). Otherwise your with Alyx, Barney, Kliener, Eli, Judeth, D0G, a swarm of Antlions, or a band of rebels.

[Angrist]

Ok, apart from whether you're really lonely in HL2, any thoughts on my theory?

And Combine17, are we talking about the same game? I'm sure I've never teamed up with Judith or dr. Kleiner. And Barney helped me get through some doors, but that never lasted for long.
In HL2 it was at the most: "Hey Gordon, blablablabla, now do this and I'll take a much easier and faster path. Good luck!"

Dyne, some of the levels made me feel lonelier than in REmake.

[KillerGremlin]

Half-Life 2 takes place in this post-Apocalyptic world; it's supposed to be empty.

I prefer Half-Life 1 myself; I think it was more innovative for its time and I thought the environment/location was much cooler. Half-Life is a 10/10 for me, best FPS game I have ever played. It suspended my disbelief, absorbed me, kept me interested, and surprised me from start to finish. Very few first person shooters have done that. No One Lives Forever is right behind Half-Life 1 in my opinion for best FPS games ever.

Half-Life 2 is like Half-Life 1 with a better physics engine and a gravity gun.

That said, Half-Life 2 is what it is; a linear single-player game based around you, the superhero character. I could see why you wouldn't like it, but it's still a great game.

[Professor S]

To me, HL2 didn't live up to the hype until Ep. 2, which is EXCELLENT. But the first two episodes failed to meet expectations or even really keep me playing.

Also, people talk about Halo being repetitive, but I found the original Half Life 2 to be terribly repetitive in gameplay. The fanboat section alone should have been 1/4 the time that it was. I just wanted that section to be OVER so I could move on.

[Angrist]

I really learned to hate the linear path all the time.

After I saw a HL1 speedrun (under 30 minutes, not bad), I realized that HL1 wasn't half as dark as 2.



But again.... do you guys think my little theory makes any sense, apart from Half-Life 2??
Have gamers and most games become more social? Do we feel lonely when playing older games?

[KillerGremlin]

Originally Posted by Angrist

But again.... do you guys think my little theory makes any sense, apart from Half-Life 2??
Have gamers and most games become more social? Do we feel lonely when playing older games?

I think it depends on the game. Some games still emerge me and I completely forget about the real world. And, the "lone hero" is an age-old gaming thing that is not going to go away.

Social gaming = online gaming = TF2. nuff said.

Otherwise...games like Zelda with very active environment probably would work for you. But, sometimes you just have to roll with the post-Apocalyptic world.

Do yourself a favor, Angrist, and check out No One Lives Forever.

[Jason1]

I disagree completley. I mean, I agree with combine...for instance, compare HL2 with say Metroid Prime...you tell me which game is the lonely game...

But both games are absolutley superb games, I actually cant decide which I prefer, HL2 or Metroid Prime...

They are both without question in the top 5 shooters ever made.

Oh, and I really dont understand the hate for the fanboat section...I thought it was great. If you like mindless shooting, go play Halo. If you want to play a real game, play HL2 or Prime.

[Null]

HL2 / ep1 / ep2 is one of the very few 'single player' games that can keep my interest enough to finish it actually. i thought the game kept me interested the whole way through, and i liked the way the storyline wasnt spoon fed to me all the way through like others.

i'd like to go back and finish bioshock. but honestly, from what i can think of the HL2 series and Zelda games are pretty much the only single player games i finish.


now multiplayer games like TF2 i'll play for years to come.