Ketamine

I could do a poll but really don't care about numbers but instead would like discussion. I have played all though still am working my way through Far Cry. Overall I think HL 2 wins hands down but wanted to know what other people think.

Doom 3 visually was great and played like a horror movie, but really just wasn't that fun. Seemed like it was a monster pops up, side-step, shoot, and move on. Many good things about this game but game play was hurt by basically all indoor environments with little room to move. I actually liked the fact that you couldn't use weapon and flashlight at the same time which added to the scare factor in this game. Overall, just not much to this game other than atmosphere and graphics.

Far Cry is beautiful and open play is good to a point. Major downfall of this game is the lack of ability to save the game where you want to do so. I hate it when I spend 5 minutes+ sneaking around only to get killed and have to do it all over again. Sure, it adds to realism but I would really like to be able to save when I want instead of wasting my time crawling around only to have to do it again 3-5 times per level. Other than that major problem, it is a fun game though I prefer the fights and variety of bad guys in HL2 (though I wish there were a few more, especially main boss characters).

HL2 is beautiful visually, in-game scripted sequences are awesome, and multiplayer and valve support(new weapons, maps, levels, etc) are great. It is very linear so replay value may not be as good as games like Far Cry which allows you to attack each level in so many different ways. At the same time, I like it being linear since you know what you are supposed to be doing and it progresses like you are playing a movie which is a plus. It is hard for me to put my finger on it but the "fun factor" is just much higher in HL2 compared to the other 2 games IMHO.

Please discuss why you agree or disagree with me on my assessment of these games.

DVDsAreMyLIFE

Overall HL2 wins. Their physics engine just blows away Doom 3 and Far Cry. I personally think Far Cry shouldn't even be put in this discussion, it doesn't compare to either of these games. Doom 3 was great for the scare factor and the graphics were stunning, but my vote goes to HL2.

fumanstan

Out of all 3, Doom 3 was the only one i finished. Far Cry was decent, but i just couldn't get into it at all. Some flashy graphics, but nothing else that impressed me. I couldn't get in to Half Life 2 either. Played it for a few hours, and while the physics engine is amazing, i was bored playing it. Nothing about it engrossed me with the story at all. There's plenty for me to complain about with Doom 3 as well, but of the 3 it held my interest a lot better.

Ketamine

Give HL2 a little more time and see what you think. Did you play the original Half-life?

Ketamine

There is actually a long thread over at steampowered.com about Far Cry vs HL2 which is really what got me wanting to start a thread here. Thought people would be a little less biased here rather than elsewhere. Why doesn't Far Cry belong is the discussion? It beats Doom 3 in my view though I need to finish it to see where it ends up on my list,

Trigger

HL was one chapter too long and HL2 was one chapter too short. Doom 3 is too scary for me to play, so I haven't really played much of it. Graphically, it's really splendid though. Far Cry was awesome and rather difficult. Near the end it felt like Duke Nukem.

Jackskeleton

I liked HL2 out of the group. I loved the physics engine and even though, like trigger, I felt it was to short, I wanted to play it over and over again.

BeanDip0001

i think hl2 was probably the most polished of the three, but i had more fun with doom and hl2 than i did with farcry. and the best thing is with hl2 counterstrike source and the hl deathmatch. cool stuff. all 3 fun, but my vote goes to hl2.

Corvin

I don't think I can disagree any more. Far Cry does deserve to be mentioned with HL2 and Doom 3. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Doom 3 should be the game that isn't mentioned. It looked great, but wow, way too repetitive.

HL2 has a great physics engine and great graphics, but I didn't like how it was all scripted.

So I'd say, overall, I like Far Cry the most.

Centurion

Wow, really?
These are the kind of games (and movies) that I enjoy. Scary to a point without being ridiculous.
I'll give it a try on the Xbox since my PC doesn't have the muscle to pull this thing together. Maybe the 5.1 sound will help enhance the atmosphere of the game.

vd0man

In a nutshell...

Half Life 2:

Pros: Incredible physics engine, great story

Cons: a little on the short side, overall the game is pretty easy even on the hardest setting.

Doom 3:

Pros: Great graphics, dark and scary atmosphere

Cons: the darkness shtick gets old after a while, gameplay and level design is very repetetive.

Far Cry:

Pros: Huge, wide-open outdoor level design often with multiple pathways. Best enemy AI of the three.

Cons: Really generic storyline and bad BAD voice acting.


Overall, I'd say Half-Life 2 is the best. It may be short but it's a helluva lot of fun. Far Cry definitely gets an honorable mention, though. The large open outdoor levels were like a breath of fresh air and the AI is good enough to make you regret it if you don't stop and plan out your attack. I had a great time playing through Far Cry and it's certainly deserves to be ranked up there with Half-Life 2 and Doom 3.

vhgong

Having played all three.....i think Far Cry is the best. Why? Simply because the AI is simply fantastic. Far Cry's AI beats Doom 3 and Half Life 2 anytime. Love it when there is a few guys looking out for you and you play hide and seek with them....
Would love it if someone would create a game with
1) Half Life's level variety...
2) Doom's Satanic theme and creatures
3) Far Cry's AI

Graphics wise......all three games is unique in their own respect
I prefer Doom's atmosphere though coz it did scare the bejesus out of me and i am a sucker for cheap scares!!!!

fumanstan

I played through a lot of Half-Life, but never finished it. For some reason the game made me dizzy, although i did end up playing... maybe 15 hours worth of the game. I'm not sure i will give HL2 more time... there's just been nothing appealing about the story and gameplay for me to keep playing. The story doesn't interest me at all, and the puzzles were more annoying then interesting. Just driving around that boat annoyed the bejesus out of me.

sfsdfd

Interesting topic, guys.

I've played Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 through to completion, and some of Far Cry.

First: What's most interesting about all three of these is that I have absolutely no incentive to play through them again, ever. That's a really tragic result for "flagship" games of such high production quality (and cost.) I find myself playing Counter-Strike a lot, but that's about it. OTOH, I played Unreal Tournament 2004 for like six straight months.

So it seems that these games are making incredible strides in graphics and cinematic quality, but oddly, they're not much more fun than previous games. It's the same old (tired) gameplay in new clothing.

Anyway, compare and contrast:

Graphics: Half-Life 2 certainly wins. My god, the natural environments often border on photorealistic. Doom 3 comes in a near second, because its effects were too gimmicky - the light effects stood out as neato graphics demos. Far Cry tanked because it ran at like 3fps on my machine, for some completely inexplicable reason.

Atmosphere: I think I've gotta go with Doom 3 here. The feeling of being trapped in a dark base on Mars with a bunch of hell demons was very well-executed. Yeah, it ran way too long (I can't believe they had a good chunk of game left after the trip to hell and back.) Half-Life 2 and Far Cry tie for some novel environments, but neither was really a cohesive game experience. In fact, HL2's frequent environment shifts work against it here - the "let's break up the monotony of Black Mesa-style adventuring with a long countryside drive" thing was great for graphics, but disruptive for mood.

Story: Half-Life 2 has a really interesting backstory. Doom 3 and Far Cry both blur into the typical videogame genres (after all, D3 is a complete rehash of Doom.)

Overall: I'd rather play Halo than any of these.

- David Stein

msdmoney

Still haven't played these but am looking forward to trying all three, great to hear comparisons.

victant

My thoughts exactly! However, with D3 on the xbox, I've been reading as much as I can about the entire gameplay and experience. I'm still not sure if it's worth picking up at $50 or maybe just waiting until it hits $30 or below....

Trigger

Well, I'd probably burn through Doom 3 on the xbox without feeling too scared - even with my 5.1 and a 65" tv. I find PC games have more effect on me that way - it's quite intimate since I'm sitting close and I usually turn the lights off and such. It draws me in and gets my heart racing.

sfsdfd

It's extremely repetitive. You basically fight the same five types of monsters throughout. They even reuse the same tricks over, and over, and over again. You come up to a door, you open it, and an imp jumps forward at you... expect that to happen like 19 times.

The environment is cool. It's worth it for that. But seriously, it's one loooooooong dark corridor after another. Wait until it drops below $30 - that's my advice.

- David Stein

Corvin

I have to agree. I wish someone gave me the same advice for the PC edition.

Centurion

I will definitely wait on getting Doom 3 on the Xbox once prices have dropped. For now, I've got my eye on a different title (Forza).

Centurion

As for the Halo comment...

This would be an interesting comparison for me since it is the only game I've played among the games mentioned. For those that have played Halo 2, where does it fit into the mix when thinking about the topics that have already been discussed? Namely, the atmosphere, story, graphics, and AI.

AGuyNamedMike

Funny, HL2 gives me serious motion sickness. I had a very hard time getting through the airboat and sandrail maps because I would break out in a sweat and get nauseous after only a few minutes.

Chris_D

I had the same problem with the airboat in HL2 although I was hung over at the time. Basically I need to be in good health to play HL2 .

Ketamine

I have not played Halo 2 as I have to wait for it to come to the PC. On G4 TV, Judgement Day did a show on these two games and they thought while both games were great, Half-life 2 was better. That was before HL2 had multiplayer other than CS and I think that was basically their only complaint about HL2.

SpacemanSpiff

as far as single player, halo (or halo 2) cant even hold a candle to the hl2 or far cry