Half-Life 2 Footage

[Seska]

http://www.happygun.com/halflife2_pce32003_2dn_qt.mov


Go get it. You know you want to.

[Renegade X]

Oh yeha, I want it, along with Matrix and Middle Earth Online. God I can't wait for X-Plays showing of the E3 show floor.

[Alucard]

Oh my god did you see all the awesome things? Pushing things to block doorways, destroying parts of the area.. This game is going to definately win game of the year. I haven't been this excited for a game in ages. Except Thief3..

.. Just noticed the IGN insiders have access to a 20min clip. If anyone knows where this can be downloaded then give me a pm!

[mackensie]

omg 8) 8)
that is nuts.
if every level is as interactive as that one, that is absolutly astounding.
valve was actually able to use the physics engine to dramatically affect the gameplay. and did you see some of that AI? ahah this just jumped ahead of doom3 on my most wanted list.

[insteefy]

Omg, thats beyond amazing. Its outstanding. Jezus Christ, sweet Lord, this game is everything!!

The A.I is GREAT! they run behind u, shoot through walls, smash open doors, o m g. This is almost as good as sex, maybe even better, omg.

:eek:

[Renegade X]

Mmmmm, half life 2.... mmmmmmmmm Halo 2, aHHHH!! the FPS goodness is just way too good this year... Half Life 2 just sky rocked up my most wanted list for the PC. Plus, the good thing about Half Life 2, is that we know we'll have it before the 5 year anniversy of Half Life, which is this year.

[Alucard]

How you can remember Halo 2 existing after watching the HL2 clip is beyond me! This is the only game thats got GOTY written all over it for 3 straight years. Can anyone picture Counter Strike like this? Someone throw a bucket of ice over me quick!

[insteefy]

indeed.

Counter Strike and Day of Defeat (ww2 fps) with the HL2 engine. Just, too damn sweet!!

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Alucard
How you can remember Halo 2 existing after watching the HL2 clip is beyond me! This is the only game thats got GOTY written all over it for 3 straight years. Can anyone picture Counter Strike like this? Someone throw a bucket of ice over me quick!

Easy, I don't see Gordon Freeman jumping into a Warthog and taking down Covenant drops ships nor do I see him looking like he's about to get mowed over by a Ghost only to end up latching on to the front and eventually taking out the driver and laying down some smack on dropships and other Ghosts, nor do I see Gordon taking out 5 Shield Barers with a grenade, nor do I see him steeping up to a mounted chaingun an causing mass car and covenant destruction. Oh and my personal favorite, I don't see Freeman whippin' out the duel machine guns and laying down some smack either. So you tell me how I can remember Halo 2 after watching HL2.

Half Life 2 looks good, I'm psyched about it but Halo 2 is really one upping it.

[Cobi*]

oh man! i've been trying to find a trailor to this game but none of the links seem to work. if anyone can link me to one that does i'd be most grateful!

[Alucard]

Originally posted by Renegade X
Easy, I don't see Gordon Freeman jumping into a Warthog and taking down Covenant drops ships nor do I see him looking like he's about to get mowed over by a Ghost only to end up latching on to the front and eventually taking out the driver and laying down some smack on dropships and other Ghosts, nor do I see Gordon taking out 5 Shield Barers with a grenade, nor do I see him steeping up to a mounted chaingun an causing mass car and covenant destruction. Oh and my personal favorite, I don't see Freeman whippin' out the duel machine guns and laying down some smack either. So you tell me how I can remember Halo 2 after watching HL2.

Half Life 2 looks good, I'm psyched about it but Halo 2 is really one upping it.

Theres no comparison! Freeman did way more freakish things in the first game. So I'm pretty sure this ones going to have some more surprises in store that aren't as generic as what you'd find in Halo. Shooting at enemy after enemy in different ways is all good and fun and can be done in many games as is like Doom 3 or the current Unreal 2. But to be able to interact with your surroundings...now thats a true feature. No game is that detailed. No matter how many gattling guns a character can hold at once.

Once again, Halo is just a pretty Tribes ripoff. But exclusive. Had it come out on the PC I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have garnered this much attention. Dont misunderstand me though, I'm sure Halo 2 will be a great game. But I still dont see how anyone can say its one up on Half Life 2. That is just THE game.

[Seska]

I'll have to agree with Alucard on this one, while Halo 2 does look okay, it doesnt either look as graphically accomplished as HL2, nor does it boast such a truly pant-soiling enemy AI or in-game physics engine. The problem with Halo is that its all been done before, either in Halo 1 or Tribes or other games. Twin machineguns? Wasn't that done in Blood like a decade ago? :p Heck, even those pods slamming into the ground reminded me of FFX. :D

The level of envioronment interactivity in HL2, however, is nothing short of groundbreaking, and for that alone it will probably get GOTY. No doubt about it.

[ScornedGod]

:crying: Can't Download:crying:
Is the link correct, cause i get a message saying the file doesn't exist:crying:

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Seska
I'll have to agree with Alucard on this one, while Halo 2 does look okay, it doesnt either look as graphically accomplished as HL2, nor does it boast such a truly pant-soiling enemy AI or in-game physics engine. The problem with Halo is that its all been done before, either in Halo 1 or Tribes or other games. Twin machineguns? Wasn't that done in Blood like a decade ago? :p Heck, even those pods slamming into the ground reminded me of FFX. :D

The level of envioronment interactivity in HL2, however, is nothing short of groundbreaking, and for that alone it will probably get GOTY. No doubt about it.

Ok, one, I don't know what footage your guys are watching, but I'd like to see it because it'd just like to run down a little list of what I saw in the Halo 2 trailer:

--Great Graphics
--Allied AI controled Vehciles, that didn't suck mind you.
--Enemy AI dropping down on vehciles and causing them to go out of control.
--Cars being used as effective bombs when shot at.
--Enemy AI actually showing some co-op (Shield Covenant in V formation)
--The ability to jump onto a vehicle and take it over in real time. (Definately a first)

This is what I saw in Half Life 2
--more realistic enviroments from the first
--Great Graphics (H2 and HL2 are par with each other, I beg you to nitpic)
--Story could be interesting, but can't say till it comes out.
--Another run of the mill one man army with a armory built into his body somewhere, the only game I know that can effenently explain the huge amount of weapons they can carry is Star Trek Elite Force.
--Enemys and the AI look very simplifed, almost mimic the last game.

Thats about it of course, I have another reason for not getting to psyched about Half-Life 2.... this is Valve we're talking about... who has consistently delayed their best titles. As of right now, visually and potentally, Halo 2 rules the FPS scene, which by the way doesn't include Thief III or Deus Ex Invisiable War because their more than just FPS's. Half-Life 2 just doesn't have the umph of Halo 2.

[Alucard]

Oh oh! I'm gonna be the first to respond to all the points! I feel rather special now...

Originally posted by Renegade X
Ok, one, I don't know what footage your guys are watching, but I'd like to see it because it'd just like to run down a little list of what I saw in the Halo 2 trailer:

--Great Graphics
--Allied AI controled Vehciles, that didn't suck mind you.
--Enemy AI dropping down on vehciles and causing them to go out of control.
--Cars being used as effective bombs when shot at.
--Enemy AI actually showing some co-op (Shield Covenant in V formation)
--The ability to jump onto a vehicle and take it over in real time. (Definately a first)


Lets see... Great graphics, sure. AI conrtolled vehicles are all good and lovely for gameplay. All this having been done before, but by no means a bad thing. Definately needed in more games. But this next part where you mention cars as bombs, done in many FPS games on the PC already so its not a new feature. NOLF did it as an example.

Enemy AI working together. To this day I dont think anything matches the AI in games like HL-Opposing Forces. They'd all hide behind cover and throw grenades at you, meanwhile distracting you as their friends ran round behind you to surprise you. Delta Force had excellent AI. Unbelievable. Always working together. Theres dozens of games really. But like I said before, this sort of feature should be everywhere.

Now the vehicle thing taking it over being a first... no. You could do this is many games before. Operation Flashpoint. Battlefield 1942 you can drive anything from planes to tanks to battleships. <I think this came out before Halo, or at least was being made forever.> Also Hidden and Dangerous. Grand Theft Auto 1-3. Theres much more I'm sure, but I dont remember them at the moment.


This is what I saw in Half Life 2
--more realistic enviroments from the first
--Great Graphics (H2 and HL2 are par with each other, I beg you to nitpic)
--Story could be interesting, but can't say till it comes out.
--Another run of the mill one man army with a armory built into his body somewhere, the only game I know that can effenently explain the huge amount of weapons they can carry is Star Trek Elite Force.
--Enemys and the AI look very simplifed, almost mimic the last game.


Ok, now this is where things get shady. Definately great graphics, HL2 and H2 both are excellent, though trying to choose one as better then the other is something I wont do because they're seriously just much too different form each other. Ones more gritty and modern day, while the other is more fantasy futuristic and metallic. The story I already expect to be great, considering Half Life was the game that really showed you how to put a great story into an FPS game. Honourable mention to System Shock 1 before I continue..

Your next 2 points confuse me muchly! You say Freeman is another run of the mill guy with an arsenal. Isn't the guy in Halo like, uber armoured, compared to Freeman? And enemy AI looking simplified and mimic the last game? Hell no. The last game had awesome AI. And you find me one other game where you bar down the doorway and the enemy gets friends to shoot at you through the windows while they bash the door down. You wont find one. HL2 currently seems to show the best AI of any game I've seen. Theres just no comparison. Although I would like to point out that Halo should be more compared to Doom 3, not Half Life 2. While one is more a strategic realistic type game, the other is more hardcore throws dozens of enemies at you that just keep pouring forward and you shoot and run backwards with heaps of health. Much different.

And I will completely disagree with how you say Halo 2 rules the FPS scene graphically. Doom 3 looks much better then Halo 2. Much much better from everything from character models to lighting and shadows. Destructive surroundings, and just about as many other things that make Doom 3 much much more graphically then Halo 2. Though to me I love the look of HL2 more and the feel and style of game that will bring me. Its like asking why some people prefer to play Counterstrike instead of Quake 3. Different feel.

[Twelve]

Will someone post a link to the video that works?

Hmm...well, I guess I'll have to go hunting for it myself...


12

[Alucard]

http://www.fileplanet.com/files/120000/123787.shtml

This one isn't as cool as the one previously posted where you see the marines and everything. That was damn cool and I hope its somewhre else. I'll try to find it also. But this other clip is different. Shows more of the town and also the aliens. The moment I saw the War of the Worlds style creature I pretty went OHMYGOD.

But yeah, this clip is no where near as impressive as the other one for enemy AI and stage interaction.

[Seska]

I heard there was a 20 min trailer available only for IGN Insiders. Damn bastards! At one point or another it HAS to show up on usenet, I am sure. :p

[Renegade X]

Well I will say this, I think the trailer I saw of HL2 was only about 3 minutes so I can't really say much, but I did read a article on GameSpy last night, apparently there is controlable vehciles in HL2 after all (so far only a buggy is known but you know they'll be more) and apparently Human Expression and a Interactive Enviroment are the main focus... but still right now with what I've seen, Halo 2 is winning out because I know a little about the story.

[Seska]

Or rather Halo2 is winning because you are naturally biased to like the game. Sorry bud, but STORY? You ran out of arguments there. :p

[Alucard]

Wheres that 20min clip damnit!!

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Seska
Or rather Halo2 is winning because you are naturally biased to like the game. Sorry bud, but STORY? You ran out of arguments there. :p

Yeah story, there is two books based on the Halo universe, I kid you not.

Plus, Pretty much Half Life and Halo have the same basic stories, save that the heros are different.

And I'm not biased, I'm just giving my opinion of what I've seen and read, right now their even mechanics wise their pretty even. But personally I'm looking more forward to Halo 2. But thats just me.

[Alucard]

RenedageX, all preferences aside, I was just wondering if you ever got to play Half Life 1 at all in the past.

[Seska]

Originally posted by Renegade X
Yeah story, there is two books based on the Halo universe, I kid you not.


Wow! Books based on Halo! Are they as good as the books based on Doom? There's one or two of those too! :D


And I'm not biased, [snipsnip] I'm looking more forward to Halo 2. But thats just me.

Well, you contradict yourself in pretty much in the same sentence. The reason you look more forward to Halo 2 is simply because you enjoyed Halo 1 a lot, and theres nothing wrong with that. But technically speaking and comparing both games, you have no arguments other than personal favor.

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Alucard
RenedageX, all preferences aside, I was just wondering if you ever got to play Half Life 1 at all in the past.

Yep, I have... and to be honest I never understood the Half-Life craze until I actually started playing the player made MODs, the game itself I would have to say is one of the best FPS games, but to me it's what the player's put back into the game that made it great franchise, not the game itself.

And Seska, I think your just looking for a argument right now, I'm looking forward to both, but with Valve's reputation with games (Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike Condition Zero (which is the only two games they've "worked" on since Half Life) both being delayed constantly) it's just really hard for me to get excited... about it.

Regardless of that, when Half Life 2 does come out (which I doubt Valve would mess up for a 3rd time) I will be putting in some quality time. I'm just saying right now, if both of them where to come out the same day, Halo 2 would be first one I played, because I've seen it actually in action, I can't say that for Half Life 2(damn closed door policy). I'm really am looking forward to both, but even I have my tastes, I can be looking forward to both you know but have a preference.

[Alucard]

You mean you've seen Halo 2 running in person and not Half Life 2? Did you go to E3 or something? And if you happen to come by any Halo 2 clips online, dont be shy about sharing them. I'd like to see a little more of the game to see if its actually gotten its own style.

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Alucard
You mean you've seen Halo 2 running in person and not Half Life 2? Did you go to E3 or something? And if you happen to come by any Halo 2 clips online, dont be shy about sharing them. I'd like to see a little more of the game to see if its actually gotten its own style.

I've seen the press convernce footage... and yes that was actual game play if you didn't know... now I've only seen the footage that File Planet posted up on it's site (for those of you who don't know that would be www.fileplanet.com ) And from the footage I saw of both games, that I have access to Halo 2 showed more than Half Life 2 did, but I'm to understand that the bulk of Half Life 2 wow factor was shown behind closed doors. There was a running version (one level dubbed "Prison") that I read about on GameSpy, which I personally feel is by far the best source for E3 info this year... So like I said, my source could be limited at the moment because their trying to get all the content of E3 out... but they do have some good movies up. So my source is the entire GameSpy coverage... other sources to me are half full. Plus anybody who provides live streaming interviews from E3 rule in my book.

[mackensie]

I fail to understand your point.
Halo 2 is mearly Halo with better graphics, new levels, new enemies, and new weapons/vehicles. It is an update on Halo.
Half-Life 2 seems to be a fundamental shift in fps gaming. the briefest of videos (<2 min), showed 1. Incredible A.I., he tries to go through the blocked doors, fails, shoots through first window, then moves to second window and fires through that window, while his buddy kicks the blocked door in. 2. A physics engine unsurpassed by any modern game. The last game to try something on this level of a dramatic physics level was Red Faction with its destructive terrain (which they failed to use beyond anything more than a toy in levels, it was a mediocore game). This physics engine as shown will be at least just a nice addition to the game (like the shades shooting up, wow), to at most a dramatic fps step towards interactivity. 3. Incredible graphics to boot. Sure there are exceptions, like how the crowbar breaks the wood, but on the whole the video, even though it was shot through a crappy video camera, is simply astounding. 4. Possiblity for mods. Valve from the bottom up designed this game to be easy for modders (as i read from interview), and i'm sure it'll be as big as HL was for modders. HL is the defacto standard for mod makers (even tho there are/were better engines out there, UT, Q3, etc). HL2 i'm sure will be the next standard.

I just don't see how you can choose a rehash over a completely new and innovative (results are unseen, yes) game. At its core, i'm simply more excited by HL2 because it is trying something dramatically new, while Halo2 is just a Vice City (it'll probably be an excellent game, but excellent doesn't mean new and exciting).

[Renegade X]

Well now that E3 is over, it seems GameSpy is finally rolling out the good stuff... as of right now I'm DLing the 500mb(25 minutes long) Half-Life 2 Gameplay footage, too bad just like IGN, it's for FilePlanet Subscribers only. If anybody has Kazaa I'll try and put it up on there later and just leave my computer running while I'm at work this afternoon. I'll post the file name I'm going to use after I get it DLed and viewed.

And mackensie, Halo 2 is just a little more than just a updated Halo, we haven't even seen the multiplayer component. Also just in case anybody would like to know, the reason why Halo PC has been delayed is because Gearbox has been working hard to add more content to the multiplayer aspect of Halo (ie, more maps, adding aerial vehciles, adding more vechiles( the only vehicle you have in the XBOX multiplay is the warthog) and their also wanting to make sure to have a set of mod tools to ship out with the game).

Update:

Ok, 25 minutes of watching half life and 3 minutes in I"m converted, Halo what? Whats this Halo? All I wanna know is, what where they using to run the game when they made that footage because if people where complaining about having to upgrade for Doom 3 then I'd hate to see how much most of you are going to complain now...

[Alucard]

I just got to watch the 60meg Halo 2 clip. And to be honest its just too hard to try to compare Halo 2 and Half Life 2. Booth games are just way too different. Its kinda like comparing Gran Turismo to Need for Speed. Both car games but fundamentally different and just not comparable by normal people. I love the sim style of realism, but the arcade style bores me with its easy difficulty and handling.

Some things I wasn't too sure about Halo 2 though. Perhaps it was the clip for a few things.. It definately looks very nice, watching the ingame movie clip happening and seeing them lan and stuff. But once the action starts I sort of got lost there. Unlike HL2 with its gritty look and very detailed textures on everything, Halo 2 was very metallic and bland. Ofcourse one needs to remember its futuristic. So what are you expecting? Ofcourse its gonna be metallic. But it seems to take away from the game cause of it. And the insane amount o flasers.. Thats just too much. I'm going to assume the guy playing is in God mode. But theres still ALOT of lasers flying at him, which means he'll get hit heaps of times before he finally dies.

The car handling amused me some. Whenever he turned slightly the car would turn as if it were on a rounded slab of ice. Those tyres have some sad grip. I know this might sound a little tetchy, I just sort of expect it to move a bit better then that if its made for such a high quality game. The last thing that really let me down was the explosions. At first they looked pretty spiffy. But all they are is white and blue flashes. Theres no flames, no dozens of flying debri <it could just be the clip>, but it really looked fake. Ofcourse this is only 1 level of many, and I'm sure the others should be much nicer..

Anyway, like I said at the beginning its just wrong to try to compare both these games. They're so completely different. Engine wise HL2 is better in my book. Though comparing games together I think Halo 2 and Doom 3 should be the ones mentioned. HL2 is just...more realistic. If you get my meaning. Though all the games look like though should be fun. And I WANT that 25min HL2 clip! Gonna go crazy!

[Renegade X]

The 25 minute clip is the clip that show goers had to stand in line for 5 hours to see. And it was worth the wait if you ask me... the presentation is awesome... a basic run down is they showed off the range of emotions of the in game character, then the showed off how amazing the enviroments are, like how water, stained glass, metal and one other object I can't remember, they showed how they make objects more realistic (ie, barrels don't float in water anymore) like how when you shoot at wood how it will particle like wood and all that and the showed off the weapon I've personally dubbed, The Grapple Gun (it can just about grab any object in the game and send it flying in the direction you point it at). They then showed off the game in action, regardless to say, it's obvious what Valve has been doing these past 5 years. They showed off two awesome trap (one a I beam used to take out what seemed to be the equivent to the military in HL and the other was a fan blade which was used to take out a squad of Headbittens (the form those spider things turn into after they latch on to a human) then they just went on to show how when you have allies, none of it's scripted, they all think for themselves, also they showed that humans aren't your only allies. I think their biggest accomplishment this time around with HL is Smart AI Allies, which is something I've always felt need to be seriously addressed. Anyway, the rest of the presenation was just showing off the game's enviroment which I must say, just looking at it creeps the heck out of me. Cudos to Valve. Now just don't screw up and delay the game or only have it be 20 hours long! Sorry, did I just snap there, heh. Anyways, the 25 minute trailer is by far the best.

[Alucard]

I'm worried about the game length also. I would adore for it to be about 50hours. But I'm thinking 20hour average is what we'll most likely see. They'll just whore out expansion packs.

[mackensie]

anyone have the bit torrent link for that 25 min hl2 clip?

[ScornedGod]

Originally posted by mackensie
anyone have the bit torrent link for that 25 min hl2 clip?
Bit Torrent!!?!?That system is so bad:irked"
Basicly its 500 people trying to get files off of 5 people. It just seems like IMesh(much better, though I haven't tried Kazaa) except its system of leaving downloads open to allow others to download is stupid. It's meant to be a new system but its just another P2P. Slow AND inconvenient.
o.k i'm done :o

[mackensie]

maybe for you in australia, but on bit torrent the stuff i've gotten comes at about 200kbps.

edit:
found the bit torrent link ;)
http://torrentse.cx/download.php?file=half_life_2_full_gsi.zip.torrent

[Seska]

Originally posted by ScornedGod
Bit Torrent!!?!?That system is so bad:irked"
Basicly its 500 people trying to get files off of 5 people. It just seems like IMesh(much better, though I haven't tried Kazaa) except its system of leaving downloads open to allow others to download is stupid. It's meant to be a new system but its just another P2P. Slow AND inconvenient.
o.k i'm done :o

Wow, you have iMEsh isntalled on your system? That P2P program is the biggest load of trash I ever had the misfortunre to install once, a long time back, on my system. ITs chock full of adware that causes popups on your desktop even if you have a ad blocker or regardless of wether you are running IE or not.

Bittorrent on the other hand, is a simple and efficiant way of downloading the files you need. I use it to watch TV programs that I dont have access to here in Spain (like Buffy, Angel, 24, Alias, etc). While at the beginning whe you download, only 5 people may have the file complete, it doeesn't matter because you are downloading chuks of the same file from absolutely EVERYONE using the same torrent.

This results in very high download speed with virtually no queue waiting time (like in Kazaa/eMule/iMesh). By the time you start to download the chunks that less people have, these will have already been distributed to a whole lot of others connected, so its like downloading the file from 500 sources, not 5.

The only downside to bittorrent is that since its success is driven by the people who use it, you wont have much luck downloading stuff thats a week or more old. Fortunately theres websites that post the latest torrents the minute they come up, so its easy to grab eps of your favorite shows the minute they pop up on the net!

[ScornedGod]

Is it friendly for 56k?? Cause I'm getting downloads of 2k on it. On Imesh i get 6k downloads and can download all the latest movies/tv shows.
Highest BitTorrend d/load speed:3k
Average Imesh d/load speed:5-6k
Again, it's much more unwieldy for users of BitTorrent because you have to keep open your download after your finished to help others. On Imesh you just keep your files in your download folder,which means older files are still there, and turn Imesh off if you dont want others to d/load.Simple & fast

[Seska]

The reason it goes faster is because everyone is forced to share SOME of their bandwidth. On my cable link, I share 3k/s and download at 35. And whats this of "You have to leave it up after you finish?" If you want to help out the BT community you do, if you want to be a rat leeching bastard, you just close the finished download and thats it. Yo are already helping the community out by merely downloading it,a s you are sharing the chunks of data you have with others who dont. Thast why its far more efficient than iMesh, not to mention free of crappy adware.

The reason you might be getting a slow download is because you are sharing too much bandwidth and user connections. Get the experimental bittorrent client (google it) and try it out, you can set your download to a 56k protocol where you only share 3k and allow only 2 connections.

[Cobi*]

Originally posted by mackensie
maybe for you in australia, but on bit torrent the stuff i've gotten comes at about 200kbps.

edit:
found the bit torrent link ;)
http://torrentse.cx/download.php?file=half_life_2_full_gsi.zip.torrent

thank you calvin! :D

and i completely agree with what seska said about bit torrent. but about the older files; it really depends on where you look and how patient you are. so far *keeping fingers crossed for shaman king* i haven't had too much trouble getting older files off of bit torrent... my alternative to if i can't find something on bit torrent is winMX and so far so good :cool guy: i really can't complain, the most important thing is to be patient.

[Alucard]

http://www.fileplanet.com/download.aspx?f=123983

Heres another place where you can grab the 25min clip. Bit of a wait, but full speed once you get in. And do use a download manager cause you will stab someone if it cuts out at 400-500megs.

[Cobi*]

good lord!! :D i'm a believer!!!

sorry renegade x but, half life 2 > halo 2


thank you alucard! :cool guy:

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by cobi40-50
good lord!! :D i'm a believer!!!

sorry renegade x but, half life 2 > halo 2


thank you alucard! :cool guy:

I was a believe before you where Cobi... so no need to apologize to me.

[mackensie]

very interesting editorial on halflife (http://firingsquad.gamers.com/features/e3_2003_half-life2/)

it details how valve most likely tricked us in the hl2 demo, and what this could mean for the software industry.

[Seska]

They didnt "trick" us, really, they jsut showed us how a game with a properly implemente physics engine can work. I would hardly call Devastation a good example of a game with a proper physics engine, you could knock over only selected items, touching them would propel them like 5 metres away, and youwould walk through knocked over bottles, not to mention barrels and such would get stuck to walls in a very buggy manner. And Trespasser - ugh. No comment on that travesty.

Half-Life 2 certainly isnt the first game to use a physics engine. Hell, System Shock 2 and Deus Ex did it before, even Thief 2 did to a certain extent. The point is, that on mentioned games like Devasation or Deus Ex, the physics engine is merely a gimmick, while in HL2 is a quintessential part of the gameplay. THAT is what hasn't been done before.

If you want to go into semantics and call it evolution or revolution, the simple fact is that its going to add a new dimension to FPS games and change the way we play them.

I don't see how that is tricking the audience of E3.

[Renegade X]

Originally posted by Seska
If you want to go into semantics and call it evolution or revolution, the simple fact is that its going to add a new dimension to FPS games and change the way we play them.

And not just FPS games, Vampire the Masquarde Bloodlines is using the HL2 source engine (at least thats what the host of X Play said) so who knows what this could mean... Once Valve puts the HL2 engine out, it could spread into third person games, Action orented RPGs, and of course developers could tweak the engine and had even more dimision to it, I'd say this is a revolution more than evolution, the concepts where there, but they weren't implement until now.

[Drunken Savior]

Why can't you guys just say that both Halo Life 2 and Halo 2 will rock the gaming world like a drunk lady on prom night? I've never played much of Half Life, save for stoney dorm nights where I'd play CS until the sun peeked through the treets, but I'm excited to break in my new PC with both Half Life 2, Halo(Getting it twice is not a sin), and Full Throttle 2.

[Renegade X]

I agree with Drunken here... both games are going to rock the gaming world, Halo 2 console wise and HL2 PC. Halo 2 is more of the kind of FPS your going to see around for the next year because it takes a little bit from all the great FPSs. And nope, exspecially when Halo PC is going to have a killer multiplayer.