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Post by iaretrogamerdad on Jul 9, 2019 2:02:40 GMT -5
So I've never played Half Life 2 and everyone's been telling me I NEED to. I found a copy of it on original Xbox (which I've been playing a lot of lately) and was wondering if anyone knew if it had both episodes on it?
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 9, 2019 6:48:28 GMT -5
Sadly it does not. The Orange Box release that came out on the 360/PS3 does include both episodes though, along with Portal and Team Fortress 2 (I imagine console versions of this are dead now).
Episode 2 in particular is really good, so hopefully you can still play them somewhere else eventually!
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Post by Ex on Jul 9, 2019 9:32:57 GMT -5
I found a copy of it on original Xbox The Xbox version is functional, but watered down graphically with a questionable framerate. I strongly recommend playing the PC version. The best way to get Half-Life 2 in its entirety, is via The Orange Box for PC. It includes Half-Life 2 and both of its expansion episodes. You can find used copies of The Orange Box online inexpensively (eBay). Or buy it on Amazon new for $28. If you don't mind digital downloads, it's on Steam for $19.99. And yes, Half-Life 2 is a must-play. But if you've not played through the original Half-Life yet, you really oughta do that first. Edit: I missed Xeogred mentioning ToB already. But yes, I agree with him... and besides PS3/360, it release for PC as well.
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Post by Sarge on Jul 9, 2019 12:14:47 GMT -5
I've played through neither of them, so at some point, I should fix that. I would want to start with the first game, though, and I probably would want to do The Orange Box. I'm surprised at how well that has held value, though. Usually games of that type go well under $20, but it's kinda hung around that price point for forever.
(I have played both, though. Just not for terribly long. Also, HL2 was a gigantic pain in the butt back in the day with Steam and a dial-up connection. Oof.)
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Post by 20thcenturygamer on Jul 9, 2019 13:52:47 GMT -5
I played HL2 very, very late, which was a mistake, I feel. All the things that were so exciting about it when it dropped (the physics engine, gravity gun tomfoolery) all feel like completely average video game type stuff today. It's still a much better time than playing, say, GoldenEye 007 for the first time in 2019, but I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere near the full impact.
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Post by Ex on Jul 9, 2019 16:15:46 GMT -5
I wasn't getting anywhere near the full impact. I think you're correct in that belief. It is rare for me to play a game when it first releases, I'm usually considerably tardy to the party. However, in the late '90s and early '00s, I often played FPS games when they first released. PC FPS games anyway, because during those years PC FPS was my #1 genre.
As a result I played both Half-Life and Half-Life 2 around their respective release windows. I can assure you their impact was considerably monumental. And I don't just mean as someone experiencing them during that time period. I mean their impact on the FPS genre for years to come.
Often times when folks who've never played HL1 or HL2 go back and try them, they can come away a bit underwhelmed. It seems like they've seen all these tricks and techniques before. They may find the hype seemingly inflated and misplaced, as they play from one genre trope to yet another FPS cliché. But the factual truth is, Half-Life and Half-Life 2 single-handedly invented all those tropes and clichés. So yeah, maybe you had to be there.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 9, 2019 16:53:06 GMT -5
Maybe, but Half-Life 2 is one of my favorite games of all time and continually impresses me each time I replay it every few years. I think it's held up tremendously (not to mention Valve has continued to support it with some small updates over the years, visually it's still great). I think the Xbox version is fine if that's the best version iaretrogamerdad can get access to. I played that version, then the 360 one, then PC and only do the PC one now.
I don't really worry about age much myself usually. I played System Shock 2 (and 1 even more recently), Unreal, the Thief games, etc, all in the mid 2010's for the first time and they completely sucked me in.
I'll admit I think console FPS's from the 90's and early 2000's have aged very poorly though with the capped framerates and chunky controls.
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Post by Ex on Jul 9, 2019 20:37:03 GMT -5
I played System Shock 2 (and 1 even more recently) I don't recall; did you finish SS1?
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 9, 2019 21:10:13 GMT -5
Yes. I liked SHODAN and some of the later enemy types looked super cool. Hated the rapid high level respawn rate for the enemies and some of the music seemed awful (but some of that might be varied depending on old hardware or versions). I played the Enhanced Edition. It was good but I had a better time with Ultima Underworld, though that one I didn't beat because I got stuck in one of the last levels that required a lot of platforming/levitation spells over lava pits. Seemed kind of ridiculous it turned into some Mario thing.
EDIT: I wish SS1 was in the Dark Engine.
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Post by 20thcenturygamer on Jul 9, 2019 22:36:40 GMT -5
Ultima Underworld is one of this games I could talk about forever. It's easily one of the top five most important games of all time for me personally. As a D&D loving kid, it seemed just too good too to be true. The level of immersion they achieved at such an early date is wild. Plus, Bethesda would be nowhere witout the ability to essentially remake UW every few years with shinier graphics.
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