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Post by Ex on Jul 9, 2019 23:23:25 GMT -5
I haven't spent much time with UU1, only played it briefly long ago. However I spent a lot of time with UU2. I enjoyed UU2 quite a lot, extremely immersive stuff with surprisingly deep gameplay. I never finished it though. Someday I'd like to go back and complete UU1 and UU2. I agree with 20thcenturygamer that the first UU is absolutely astonishing from a technical perspective given its release date.
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Post by iaretrogamerdad on Jul 10, 2019 0:31:14 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. Sadly I don't do any PC Gaming. I am unable to afford a decent pc and have a labtop thats 10+ years old with no sound (screeches loudly whenever I turn the volume on) I have been looking at maybe getting the Orange Box on the 360. Who knows... OG Xbox and 360's Orange Box isn't entirely too expensive since I dont mind buying used. Thanks for all the info guys! I'll keep an eye out for these games and hopefully can put it somewhere up in my backlog. Haha
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 10, 2019 6:41:43 GMT -5
Yeah if you've got a 360, in that case I think the extra bucks for the Orange Box will be well worth it for all the additional stuff you get, Episodes 1-2, and Portal if you haven't played that.
I'd also recommend the BFG Edition of Doom 3 on the 360 over the Xbox version. The BFG Edition includes the expansion and has Doom 1-2 on there. But I played the Xbox version first back in the day, I didn't have a good PC for most of my upbringing either.
All that said it is pretty impressive they got Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 on the Xbox.
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Post by Sarge on Jul 10, 2019 20:27:01 GMT -5
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Post by anayo on Jul 14, 2019 20:18:28 GMT -5
I wasn't getting anywhere near the full impact.
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.
I played Half Life in 2004 and thought it was "OK". I played Half Life 2 in 2009 and it knocked my socks off.
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Post by Ex on Jul 14, 2019 20:38:58 GMT -5
I played Half Life in 2004 and thought it was "OK". I think if you'd played Half-Life in 1998 when it first released, you'd have thought a bit more of it. I certainly did.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 15, 2019 0:48:13 GMT -5
Half-Life 1 was an insane experience when it came out and I'm glad I got to play it when it was new. I like 2 way more thesedays but can never deny the magic 1 had.
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Post by Sarge on Jul 15, 2019 10:55:58 GMT -5
Given my lack of overall FPS experience, I suspect if I played it now, I'd get a fair amount out of it. I also liked DOOM a lot, but then again, that game seems to be timeless.
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Post by Xeogred on Jul 15, 2019 11:25:50 GMT -5
I've actually only beaten Half-Life 1 once, but I don't really care about dropping out as I do when I replay it... I think the last chunk of the game (Xen) is horrible. I also always take issue to the Tram level a few hours into the game, whenever I go back to it now... it feels like that portion of the game drags on for hours. I don't think it does, but it's pretty boring and takes forever. The game goes in interesting directions the further you get though. Would be curious to see some new fresh reactions to it from someone playing it for the first time now.
Back in the day, I loved how it felt a bit like a Metroid game. You spend hours in some giant underground laboratory out in the desert, so it has a lot of good lonely vibes and atmosphere.
I think the Black Mesa fan remake fixed the pacing issues I used to have, I'll probably just be playing that version going forward. Had a blast playing the latest build a year or two ago. Even people that don't like Half-Life 2 should still give it a shot. Xen is the only thing they haven't finished still but it's still like 10+ hours of content at this point. Maybe they can redeem Xen.
Doom is perfect.
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Post by Ex on Jul 15, 2019 11:38:04 GMT -5
I think the last chunk of the game (Xen) is horrible. I'm one of those weirdos who enjoyed Xen. But I don't mind platforming in FPS, so that helped. That's how I feel about the airboat canal stuff in HL2. Hated that junk. HL1 has some truly memorable scenario designs, I'd still recommend it to this day. You know what else I'd recommend? The unique co-op campaign called Decay that you can only play in the PS2 version of Half-Life. It has two new protagonists and a completely independent adventure (like Blue Shift and Opposing Force). I had a lot of fun beating Decay back in 2004 with my (now ex) girlfriend's brother.
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