Half-life 2
 

http://www.eurogamer.net/content/ss_half-life2_pc


Wow. The game looks pretty damn crazy if you ask me. I wonder if there will be an updated CS surge after this? ;)

Looks badass... In my top 5 most anticipated games... along with STALKER, Doom 3, Duke Nukem Forever, and Deus Ex 2... it actually looks alot like STALKER.

I really like the way all the textures look gritty. Some games lose realism points by making everything look polished and smooth.

Is there any word on the story yet? Some of the locales make it look like they are in some kind of industrial factory or something. I'm guessing that they will be getting out of Black Mesa this time.

Head crabs! Man I really do hope this is coming out this year like all the rumors say.

Valve did an excellent job of keeping secrets... They didn't release tidbits after tidbits like 3drealms only to say "when it's done" and take Forever to finish the game. They just secretly worked on the game until it was close to completion and then unleashed it all at once. Hell, many people thought Valve wasn't even working on HL2 or anything at all.

Now the real question is if they are even working on TFC2? ;)

I remember reading a quote from a 3D Realms employee WAY back when that basically said "Half Life is cool but DNF kicks its ass".

I hope so. TFC is one of my all time favorite mods. So much so, I used to belong to a clan. Many hours of "free" gaming pleasure.

I really like the fact that they were able to keep things under wraps for so long. I think I'm going to try to avoid reading any of the press/impressions of the game until I am able to play it for myself.

As far as TFC2 and CS2, I'm half expecting to release those two with the HL2 perhaps.

I wouldn't count on it. If TF2 would sell on its own...which it would...why would they pack it in with another game that would also sell incredibly well on its own?

http://money.cnn.com/2003/04/23/comm...ming/index.htm

cnn article about it with new pics..

Just for Synergy.. if there is such a thing. I think the release of all 3 at the same time, even as seperate purchases, would raise the hype a little bit. I know i'd buy all three. Plus it would act as an excuse for them to finally get TF2 released...

I'm hoping for the release of all 3 at the same time, but i know its not going to happen.

:drool:

this should make trigger drool some more. ;)

http://www.gamer.nl/images/content/C...51095942_0.jpg
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http://www.gamer.nl/images/content/C...1095942_12.jpg

-eek-

Those pics look incredible. Damnit. I was really hoping i could coast through the next year without upgrading.

PC only?

SCSIMan

Yup PC only, for the time being, then again do you know any system that could even dream of running this game?

I heard it will be ported to PS2, but all character models will be reduced to stick figures to keep the framerates up. The sky texture will require all of the PS2's memory, but will look killer.

What engine are they running? Modified Unreal, Unreal Warfare, Quake 3+, Lithtech, other?

What is that supposed to mean? It looks amazing, but nothing some of the best looking Xbox games aren't doing. The character models don't look any better than Halo 2 models (check out the marines in the OXM preview). The environments don't look like anything out of the realm of what's possible on the Xbox. The polygon count doesn't look staggeringly high. The lighting system looks like it won't even be as advanced as Halo 2's. Hell, according to that big magazine preview the engine is scalable to run on some relatively old PC systems. Even if a couple minor downgrades were required for a port, to say there are no systems that could "dream" of running this game is pretty ridiculous.

The game looks amazing, but let's not kid ourselves here. I wouldn't be surprised to see it announced for Xbox at E3. Ed Fries did say in the interview in the last OXM that Valve is a major partner with MS this year.

Brand new. They started working on it, get this.....right after Half-Life shipped.

"Yup PC only, for the time being, then again do you know any system that could even dream of running this game?"

Um, sure…

“Rather than aim of DOOM III-Level specs in order to guarantee Doom III-Level “oh-my-god” visuals, the plan is for it to run on a Pentium 700 with a DX6-class videocard.”

Now, no one can argue that the current consoles would be able to present the game’s graphics to their fullest, I would think that the game could be ported to the XBOX, a dedicated gaming system that has GeForce 3 (or GF 3.5 or GF 4, depending on who you ask) level graphics could certainly best a low end PC with a DX6 videocard, right?

Regardless, I will be picking this one up and probably upgrading the videocard in September! Though I will still fantasize that I can play it with an Xbox controller on my 50in HDTV Dolby 5.1… Ah, that sound must be the screams of the PC gaming elite yelling BLASPHEMY! :) Yeah, I’m one of those lamers that prefers console gaming. Never could get the hang of the mouse/keyboard thing.

Oh, forgot to mention:

Thanks for the great article scans Jack! Good reading!

This is gonna sound really silly, but how is the first Half Life? I bought it to play Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Deathmatch Classic and have never even touched the Half-Life portion of it.

That's pretty amazing that you haven't touched it. It's one of the best single-player FPS games ever made. It's incredibly immersive and intense. Some people find the third act kinda lame, but most people love this game. Play it before HL2 hits shelves.

Man, why can't this game come any sooner?!?!?!?


http://www.newtechnix.com/Webmasters...f-Life_2_2.jpg
http://www.newtechnix.com/Webmasters...f-Life_2_3.jpg
http://www.newtechnix.com/Webmasters...f-Life_2_4.jpg
http://www.newtechnix.com/Webmasters...f-Life_2_5.jpg http://www.newtechnix.com/Webmasters...f-Life_2_6.jpg
http://filebox.vt.edu/users/jeftekar/HL2_8.jpg

DAMN, those look good. can't wait til E3.. hopefully some hands on action with this and doom 3 :)

I'm glad to read that it's going to be long. That's one thing I really appriceated about the first game, was it's length.

And those graphics look :drool: I'll have to get a new video card before the end of November I guess. I think my Athlon 1700+ should work okay, but I only have a geforce 2 video card ATM.

I'm really looking forward to this game. I just finished playing though Half-Life, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift again. Great games. The only problem is that they make me more impatient for Half-Life 2. :) I haven't been into FPS games for a while, but I guess I picked a good time to get back into them. Oh well, I'm off to play Thief 1 and 2 again so I can get all hyped for Thief III as well. ;)

I have to say that I'm very excited about all three of the big shooter updates that inch toward release around the end of this year (Doom III, DNF), but I'm by far most optimistic about Half-Life 2. Valve as a whole are designer's designers, and gamer's gamers, if you follow me. :) They really get into the hows and whys of what makes games work, and they deliver. The screenshots don't look quite as sharp graphically as the others, and frankly, I think that's a good thing. I believe it means that Valve is concentrating on the overall experience, and the minimum requirements of the rig to run it will be more realistic.

I'm starting to get the feeling that DNF actually is gonna end up standing for Did Not Finish.

"We're confident that DNF will be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, game of 1998. And this confidence is not misplaced." - Scott Miller, 1997

"Duke Nukem Forever is a 1999 game and we think that timeframe matches very well with what we have planned for the game." - George Broussard, 1998

"Trust us, Duke Nukem Forever will rock when it comes out next year." - Joe Siegler, 1999

"When it's done in 2001." - 2000 Christmas card

"DNF will come out before Unreal 2." - George Broussard, 2001

"If DNF is not out in 2001, something's very wrong." - George Broussard, 2001

"DNF will come out before Doom 3." - George Broussard, 2002

Man those graphics look great! I like all the curved pipes and amazing texture work.

This is another area where Valve just comes out looking smarter. Compared to the others, their pre-release hype has been nil.

:lol: That should be my sig on the DNF forum... not that I ever visit there.

I've seen the Half Life platinum pack at stores and I am always picking it up, then putting the box back down.

Mainly because I have it in my mind that it is mostly a multiplayer game (online gaming is just not my thing).

But, then I read that it's the best single player game.

So, what exactly is Half Life? An awesome single player game, or an awesome multiplayer game? Or both?

Are the add ons with the Platinum edition all multiplayer?


And what is TFC2 and CS2?

Thanks

The original Half-Life is, IMO, the best single-player plot oriented shooter ever made. If you're a gamer at all, you owe it to yourself to check it out. There are at least two different downloadable demos that you can check out to see if it's for you.

One of the great things about the design of HL is its high degree of customizeability if you're willing to learn the editor. CounterStrike (hence, CS2) was originally a fan-made multiplyer modification (mod) of Half-Life that became a franchise in its own right. Team Fortress and Team Fortress Classic are also multiplayer mods that are based on the Half-Life engine, hence TFC2.

Demos? Damn, y'know I always forget about demos. Of course I never thought to look for a demo since Half Life has been out for a while now.

And, I'm glad I didn't get the Platinum Edition. Looks like the rest of the package is multiplayer.

Thanks for the info

The Platinum edition is great. If you want single-player, it has Half-Life, plus Opposing Force and Blue Shift. That's plenty of single-player goodness. Then, if you want to get your multiplayer on, you have TFC and Counter-strike. Great deal IMO.