Half Life 2 - Episode One...

[MinionZombie]

Anyone played it yet? I'm gonna try and download it, apparently it works, cos I certainly ain't paying £20 for less than 6 hours of gameplay, and that Steam thing is just the biggest asshat, I'm not dragging my gaming PC downstairs and plugging it all in again just so it can get hijacked by spyware and viruses just so I can register an overpriced, short arse game. I bought HL2, but £20 for Episode One and you STILL have to register the bloody thing online? Fudge that. I'd like to play it, so hopefully the download will work, but apparently it's just more of the same, picking up where you left off.

[Danny]

ooh you bandit, "breakin' the law!". i STILL havent got it for the xbox ,that said i only got half life for the ps2 about a year and a half ago.

[CoinReturn]

Its ****ing excelent. Well worth the $20, cheapo.

[EvilNed]

Even though I'm dead against downloading, I also hate Steam.

[general tbag]

ooh you bandit, "breakin' the law!". i STILL havent got it for the xbox ,that said i only got half life for the ps2 about a year and a half ago. if you have the choice play the pc version of half life 1 . the ps / dc version lacks the add on, and is just a better play . opposition force is a worthy play. the xbox version is decent considering the specs of the xbox vs pc . yes steam is a 'asshat ' but in all fairness without steam games like cs and such would of died. the amount of cheaters b4 steam was out of control. i wonder if episode 1 will just be just the original hl2 b4 it was hacked

[MinionZombie]

$20 wouldn't be so bad ... I'm talking twenty POUNDS. That's $37 ... for 6 hours max play time, no fudging thanks. And Steam is a huge dick-blow, why should I be forced to register online, many people don't have their gaming rigs connected to the internet, in fact many PC gamers have two computers - one for gaming and other such stuff and another specifically to surf the internet. With so many viruses and sh*t flying about you can't afford to connect your main computer to the internet these days. Also there was an interesting thing I read somewhere a while ago, it was an interview with somebody about software such as "Starforce" (which is currently on it's last legs, *PC gamers the world over unite in celebration*). He was talking about a game (forget the title) which had no security except the standard CD key and it had SOLD millions of copies - because it was a quality product. Besides, I'm earning - on average - about £20 a month. Trying to get into the Film/TV industry is hard as kryptonite frozen in ice and then moulded in concrete, and my current line of work experience etc doesn't really allow for a job - there's certainly no job flexible enough to accomodate my current work experience, so therefore there's no mula coming my way yet, which means I've had to seriously curb my spending BIG style. I literally can't afford to drop twenty quid on 6 hours of HL2. When I'm rich and famous I'll pay for everything, but for now I'm getting what I can get for free ... for free. Sorry, I felt ranty just then...

[Danny]

if you have the choice play the pc version of half life 1 . the ps / dc version lacks the add on, and is just a better play . opposition force is a worthy play. the xbox version is decent considering the specs of the xbox vs pc . my pcs an emachines 3240 so its hard to fnd a cheap graphics card that'll play it. bizaare thing is neverwinter nights crashes my pc, but it plays black and white without a hitch!

[general tbag]

my pcs an emachines 3240 so its hard to fnd a cheap graphics card that'll play it. bizaare thing is neverwinter nights crashes my pc, but it plays black and white without a hitch! if you find half life 1 u need a comp with 133mhz and 24 megs ram. doestn require a high end pc at all . about 233-266 with even onboard video will do you fine. hell i play 1.6 for years on a 333 with no issues other than having a dial up disability . it just seems to play better overall. and with the amount of mods, and such for 9.99 in most stores new it a steal for hours played. if not mistaken half life anthology is like 20 bux and has all the expansion plus mods.

[MinionZombie]

Got this beyotch downloaded now, got it unzipped, and it WORKS. Was playing it just now for an hour or so, the first bit when you're just running around the Citidel sucks, it's oh so very "so what". I mean it LOOKS pretty, but it's just running through corridors with some combine now and then ... and those bloody bridges ... and that bloody lift with falling debris ... bloody bloody bloody buggery says I! I'm now snooping around that big ball of stuff now, so hopefully it'll get good when I'm out of the bloody citidel (it was my least favourite bit of HL2 as well anyway). HDR is looking rather nice though and my computer is dealing with it fine, a slight slow down, but nothing to cry over. However, what is with Gordon Freeman walking around with ice shoes all about - the dude slips and slides all over the bloody place like an idiot. That's something that has really, really annoyed me about Half Life actually...and it's still annoying and I don't know how to make his shoes less slippy!

[Neil]

I think I might wait until all three bits are out, and hopefully they'll do it at a discount...

[tkane18]

I thought I read that Episode 3 won't be out until late 2007. Can you wait that long, Neil?

[Danny]

i just got half life 2 for the xbox 2 days ago im at the bit were your breaking eli out of prison and the 2nd time you set up mounted guns. overall its a big game but slow at parts and sometimes a little too varied. the "we dont go to ravenholm" chapter was awesome, i ran out of ammo surrounded by 20 zombies, those ones that look like the predator, and those ones covered in black haed grabbers ...*sniffs and wipes tear from eye* that was awesome...

[MinionZombie]

HL2 ... "too varied"? I'd have said the opposite. When I first played it I was soon bored by "oh man, we're STILL on this bloody boat thing?" and then later "oh man, we're STILL in this bloody car thing?" - those went on far too long. Some of the chapters drag a bit, although you do get a good spread of the world I guess, but I think you're given too much of them in one chunk, which to me makes it feel less varied, as well as a bit draggy. Episode One is damn short, the first chapter sucks dick but after that it picks up, yet still - again - no variation. You basically spend the rest of the game in and around City 17 seeing nothing you haven't seen before. And they go all Doom 3 on us with a chapter of essentially total darkness ... which was damn scary in the wee hours of the morning when I was blasting away with the shotgun, my flashlight fading on me. At least Alyx is fit as, and she's involved in the game a bit more, and they add a bit more humour to the game with her dialogue. Oh and HDR lighting rocks, although for some reason the game lags and goes all stuttery at certain points (e.g. when a light in the ceiling explodes and sparks fly forth - or in the train ride out of the Citidel). Perhaps the update will sort that?

[Danny]

yeah the baot bi was way too slow but i liked the highway 17 chapter, im currently at the area were your weapons get chavved (nicked) and all ive got is the powered up gravity gun. its surprisingly easy, especially compared to the origional half life that made halo on legendary a walk in the park. still i played through we dont go to ravenholm again and damn thats scary but a lot of fun. speaking of zombies i got a job lot for a tenner ,half life 2 gta san andreas ,farenhiet and house of the dead 3. house of the dead is like the first 1/10th of house 2 its so short and easy, BUT its got a trailer for house of the dead, the film, and i kid you not it opens with "introducing the greatest film of all time", and it goes downhill from there.

[MinionZombie]

"Chavved" ... you must have a variation in your parts, 'round my parts ... or with my mates anyway, it's "chaffed" ... to "chaff" something is to steal. Yeh Highway 17 is better than the boat bit, and Ravenholm scared the bejesus out of me too. But a chunk of Episode One when you're basically in the dark all the time surrounded by zombies - and ZOMBINE (running zombie Combine with grenades!), that sh*t me right up. Waiting for the elevator in a totally dark warehouse type place was especially creepy, they went beyond Doom 3 with the darkness factor there, nothing spookier than illuminating your path with a flare...