Half-Life 2 vs. Halo 2

I'm so sorry, I jusy had to do it now that they are both released.

Please post with every vote, I don't want fanboys posting here and saying things along the line of 'Halo 2 is shit' and 'Half-Life 2 blows' etc.

Give reasons for your answers.

My personal favourite is Half-Life 2, I find the story scarily submersive. Whilst progression in the game is actually fairly linear, I feel that it is done in such a style that it doesn't fell like you are following a set path.

The graphics and sound ARE the best I've ever seen/heard. The system I played it on wasn't the pinnacle of gaming machines either, but it did meet the preferred(not minimum or recommended) requirements. The shear variety of sound is good, and it makes full use of surround sound (5.1 at least, not sure about higher sound formats). I won't go on about the graphics lest you have a few hours to spare reading my ramblings.....

Counter Strike: Source is THE best online FPS I have played. My repetoire of games played online includes; UT(all), halo 1 + 2, Deus Ex, BF1942, SW:Battlefront, and more (sorry if I missed any obvious ones, these are the first that came to mind).
It combines the fast paced/frantic action of UT with the necessity for tactical awareness on games such as Halo and SW:Battlefront.

But most importantly-the game engine. The physics really are like real life, the first time I played it, I dragged a rusting bicycle up the stairs of an appartment block (while scraping the walls) and smashed some poor man's window in his flat with it. I then pulled his TV out of the socket and threw it out of the window, where it smashed on the street below, genius! 8)
The way that barrels roll, pipes burst and interactive scenery behaves, it's like objects have AI.

If you disagree, then argue your case for Halo 2, but remember everyone's opinion will differ.


BTW, I'm not a salesman working for Valve, honest! :p

Since I don't own and Xbox I can't really say which I prefer and I have yet to purchase HL2

Originally posted by jmmijo:


Hopefully any opinions posted here will persuade you to get HL2.

BTW, I really like Halo 2 aswell, I just prefer HL2, I sounded a bit biased earlier.

Single-Player

Half-Life 2

Multi-Player

Halo 2 (Since Counterstrike isn't an option......)

It might be the best FPS in your type of genre, but I don't quite think bunny hopping would work in real life. And not one game you put in your list could be considered a sim. Most are disguised frag fest games. What you should try are any of the Rainbow Six games, Ghost Recon, America's Army, and belive it or not, Vietcong (WHEN its working online). Call of Duty, MOH & MOHPA, Men of Valor, are not a true sim, nor is any of the BF games. But now if you want to try something different, and even the Army uses it for training, and its on both the PC and X-Box - they try Full Spectrum Warrior!

Oh, and I voted for HL2! I bought Halo2, and its just sitting here collecting dust already.

I can only say HL2. I've not got an XBox so I'll wait for the PC version of Halo 2.

I agree completely with Waffler on this. I think above all else, the game is the single most polished release I've played to date. Everything in it exudes quality.

Just to mention the physics system. It actually does make things behave like they would in real life. To have to manipulate the environment around you in order to progress through it makes it a worthy inclusion for once. Other games like Max Payne 2 (another one of my favourites btw) have only used physics to give them that extra visual panache, and although it’s still fun shooting bottles off a shelf, HL2 goes far beyond this and has IMO, the best implementation of physics yet.

Everything else is up to the same high standard. The graphics and presentation are excellent, the audio (especially the NPC dialogue) is outstanding and the narrative keeps you engrossed. The only bugbear I have with the game is the quite frequent loading delays, but that can’t be helped I suppose.

I could have written an essay ‘bigging up’ HL2. Just play it if you haven’t already done so (Steam problems not withstanding) and let the game speak for itself.

Oh, and I voted for HL2! I bought Halo2, and its just sitting here collecting dust already.[/quote]


So your saying that your Halo 2 is collecting dust?? hmmmm... well look! I m Rich! i have all systems and almost every game i feel like buying! i went and bought halo 2 the night it came out. it was totally awsome! the online play is incredible! dont make a mistake but using keyboard and mouse is pretty gay! how are you gonna feel like your shooting a gun? hey hey now! i can shoot you in the head for more that 10 times in the row in halo 2! just because its a controller, and just because you suck, you dont have to hate halo 2.

and one more thing... half life's online play was not fun at all!!
i know people play counter strike, but it gets boring for just repeating the same crap over and over.. ( kill the team, plant the bomb) or ( kill the team and rescue hostges) ! it gets really boring after a while. but halo 2's CTF, slayer, odd ball, teretories, and lots of options, these stuf make the game fresh and fun. so i think you should actully wipe the dust off you halo 2 and play.!

This was exactly the kind of childish post I was trying to get away from.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

OMG, classic.

half life 2..
because of the greate mod oppertunities and i like cs source..
there are coming cool mods to hl2 as we speak and they include all the original DM from HL 1 .

i like that alot.
half life 2 has alot, and i mean ALOT better graphics..
IMO at least..

and yeah.. i HATE, and now i seriously mean HATE , fps and third person games on consoles.. specially fps games..
need a mouse and keyboard..

anyone know when the launch of halo 2 pc version is out?

Best regards.
ES

Originally posted by Waffler:



So your calling me a child?
Listen you PC freak! PC's are NOT ment for FPS period!!
In case you dont know... halo 2 had 10 out of 10, where half life 2 had 9.5 out of ten in the magazine ''gameinfomer'' check www.gameinformer.com to make sure!. i know it doesnt mean anything, but it's sad to know there are still idiots that say FPS is better on pc blah blah blah. The only PC games I play are games like Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, and all those other strategy games. and by the way.. half life 2 is coming on xbox soon for you non-readers.

Plonking plonking I smell a fanboy plonking.

Select your type from this list:

http://www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame1.html

WORLD OF WARCRAFT!

JK

I finsished Halflife 2 and I can honestly say the single player is the best ever, minus another enigmatic ending.

Halo2, I had to restart twice cause my xbox crapped out on me, but it too is epic in scale, though it's not quite as engaging as Half-life 2

BOth games are better than any other FPS out there so you would enjoy either one.

I'd have to give the edge to hal-life mainly because the attention to detail and the source engine and all it's glory

However, I am truly amazed at how good Halo 2 PLays on a 57" Widescreen HDTV.

Can't go wrong either way.

You guys need to understand that ''XBOX have Limited Hardware capability'' but some times its the other way around. Dont get me worng but the halo 1 port for pc was the gayest ever!! the graphics went a lot worse.

Another important aspect is that which is more important ? single player or multiplayer ? I think you guessed that one.
if you check my first review, you can tell that im talking about ''MULTIPLAYER''.
Halo 2's multiplayer is BETTER than half-life 2. But im pretty sure there is going to be a new counter strike on the way.

well.. if we look at history and presence..
who has most online gamers? Half life 1and 2 or halo 1 and 2?
there is no doubt..
many millions play hl 1 and 2.. halo cant even get past 15 percent of that.. maybe 10 on a good day.
so, when we look at the worlds oppinion HL is the winner by far.
and the reason halo 1 sucked on pc was because they didnt use enough time to convert the game to pc. which is because the engine is designed to run on an xbox..

My two pennies...

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

I must agree here, the Halo port to PC was abysmal (and I'm sure many people will agree). Lets hope they do a better job with the sequel.



Neither aspect is more important IMO, many games ship with single and multiplayer modes so to appeal to as many people as possible; it's all down to personal preference.

And how can you compare Halo 2's multiplayer to Half-Life 2, seeing as HL2 doesn't have a multi-player mode as of yet? As for your comments that the PC is rubbish at FPS games, exactly how much exposure have you had to FPS titles on the PC, it would be interesting to know.

And just for the record, the greatest online shooter is Unreal Tournament 2004.

Having played both games many times and owning both i would say that Halo 2 is a better game.

Both games have its good and bad bits such as

Halo 2 is too easy to finish but is a big step from Halo 1. It has better graphics and bigger levels.

Half- Life has a great story line but i dont like the game play. That is my suggestion only.

About my Exploration'' in PC FPS, I did play lots and lots PC fps.

first fps i ever played was Doom'' << i dont remmber which one was it. Then i played quake 1 which really got my attention. Then duke nukem which was totaly amazing. Then finaly half life ( the orange ) virsion. After half life 1 i bought xbox then ps2 and i fell in love with halo for its amazing Lan Party play, and now halo 2!

Look... after i started playing consoles I really started hating mouse and keyboard. I gotta admit, I think that half life's 1 single player was better than halo 1 but in multiplayer, i never stop.

*sigh*

Halo 2 is boring, Xbox game just like the original. Graphics ain't all that. Gameplay is very boring. Limited maps similar to the old Halo1. Characters? Same, just a few new looks. Can't even control the CPU team members like in Unreal Tournament, but we'll stick to subject. Sound quality is excellent, but you can't beat PC custumizable sound, even if your Xbox's sound is channeled to a receiver.

Half Life 2 has more options 'cuz it was released on the PC. Better graphics and a way better story. Better, why? Because you get to flush out the most hellish graphics with your machine. Crank up the sound with an Audigy card, and what the hell do you have? Live action! Cinematics are better than Halo2.

Half Life 2 is seriously better in my opinion. Halo is really old. Even the 1998 Unreal Tournament is better than the first Halo and second Halo put together. Halo is limited to a game console, it's game console product. It's for parties where people don't have money to buy high-end PC's to play Half Life 2 or other such games. It's an honest answer. I'm not rich, but I also can't play Halo2 because it's hella boring. The multiplayer sucks for Halo2.

My last words, "look beyond Halo2."

Originally posted by arkonmx:


Halo 2 is boring?? what about the other 5 million or mabe more sold? do you think your right? did u play multiplayer?...
see i have some thing for you... If you live in a closet with no one to play with and not xbox live! Then half life 2 is totaly yours to love! but dont be hateing on a game that has LOTS and LOTS of fans....

Originally posted by Waffler:


and about you waffler.. why the hell did you even open this room if ur gonna disagree with every review I make? Ill tell you what, when half life 2 comes on xbox (with online play) then ill start comparing. *sigh* looks like 90 % are PC freaks and wouldnt spend a penny on a console. Just let me tell you some thing.. When i wanna play a game, I like to sit on my leather sofa, with cold drinks next to me,with a 54 LCD Flat screen TV, and a nice ass xbox controller with ( VIBRATION ), PC?? when I sit on PC for a long time you start feeling like ur starting to grow a hunch back! I dont give a Monkeys ass if key board and mouse are classic, it DOESNT simulate the real feeling of shooting a gun. If you think Xbox doesnt have nice graphics, then wait for Xbox 2!

Um, the XBox controller doesn't simulate firing a weapon either.
Unless the "VIBRATRON" gives it a kick like a mule that nearly dislocates your shoulder if you hold it in the wrong position.

Now don't get me wrong, I have an XBox and enjoy playing Halo but I can't be bothered playing multi-player. However, I still play HL and a few others in both single player, multi-player and bot match (actually the original Unreal bots remind me of the Quake 1 Reaper Bots).

Personally I think it's a little unhealthy to get so wound up over any "toy" and just accept that some people like the unlimited configurations of the KBD/MOUSE combo and some like the restrictive, right-handed bias of console controllers.

felix is 100% right about that.
im in the army and i know that the vibration on xbox is more like holding the tail of a mouse.. (if the mouse is still alive).
but the thing is that you got more aim with a mouse than with consoles.. there is a reason why counter - strike is on pc..
i dont hate consoles, but lets just say that youll get more from your money if you buy Half-life 2.
half life 2 is out, and have been for some weeks now (in europe around 2 i think).
and there are lots of lots of mods and addons for half-life 2.
which make the online experience more exciting than ever.
yes i know that only source is bundled, but then again.. isnt there already a hl2 dm mod out?
you get my point?

that is why i love the pc. its freedom. give or take..
i know you can mod your xbox, but then its just like a pc.. the only thing you lack is a keyboard and a mouse..

You still didnt get the idea....
Im so good with controller man! every game i get between 10 - 20 sniper head shots PER GAME!. There is some thing called ''learning''.

tell me what stuff you didnt like about halo 2.

halo 2.. bad graphics.. bad physics..
half life is opposite.
well.. you think your good, but if you playd halo 2 agains a equally skilled person who used mouse and keyboard you would have lost..

and yeah.. halo2 on console got some "aid" helping you shoot.. as every fps in the console world.

well. i get the feeling you havent played half life 2.

EH!! any way I want a favor...

In half life 1 ( the orange virson ) with Mr. gordon on the cover of the box, I need to know what happens in the end! I remmber playing till we had to go to the aliens world. then i met with this huge monster and took me so long to kill him. after he died, portals started going out of his head, but i didnt know what to do. i kept trying to jump on his head and try to land on one of those portals but it wouldnt work,so i was stuck with a monster blowing portals out of his head lol. well any way that was long time ago, I uninstalled the game and didnt bother with it at all. But i still wanna know what happens in the end.

yeah i once got 50 kills in counter strike with a auto sniper (cs militia as a terrorist). With a mouse you have more control over where your crosshair is so you can move it instantly to where you want it however aiming a sniper rifle in console games is a bit hit and miss. also im left handed and so it means that halo 2 multiplayer is instantly out of the question for me.



well halo 2 is a case of been there done that. its gameplay is a bit stale and its nothing that hasnt been done before.

oh and ive got bad news for people who think halo 2 multiplayer is better. half life 2 deathmatch has just been released and its so fun (just try chucking a toilet and see what i mean).

Ok, here we go ... Half Life 2 vs Halo 2.

Why did I choose Half Life 2?

Half Life 2 does SOOO much to improve on Half Life. The environments are greatly interactive. I can do a LOT more now than flush a toilet. The graphics are top notch. I haven't spotted any pop-in on the level of detail of characters when I get close. The water looks wonderful. The AI reacts smarter and more realistically - of both your teammates and the enemies. The physics of the vehicles are fun. Um ... I think the only vehicles you got to 'drive' in the first Half Life was those stupid trolly things. The physics are fun with everything! Oh yeah, and they did take a way a lot of the stupid jumping games.

Halo 2 does not do that much to improve on the first Halo. I feel like I am re-embarking on basically the same adventure. The re-use of textures is amazing (sarcasm). The AI of the enemies and of your teammates is a very canned feeling. The graphics are good and I can understand why they aren't better than HL2, BUT there is one thing that I would detract from the score here on. There is this horrible horrible pop-in - that is especially witnessed in the cutscenes. I would rather have a slightly lower level of detail without pop-in. The pop-in is so jarring! Gameplay is fun - hell I like to shoot stuff. You get to wield two weapons - which is an improvement over the first that is a LOT of fun. The physics on the vehicles and ragdoll are nice - just like the first Halo. Multiplayer is just a bit more exciting than the first Halo. BUT, I would have to give Halo 2 the props for having a built in new multiplayer from the start, rather than HL2 which depends on the mod community and updated version of the old multiplayer. BUT, if we are going to argue about multiplayer I would also have to say UT2004 is the best. But, we aren't arguing about multiplayer, we aren't even arguing, we are just giving our opinions on what we think is better and why.

Conclusion. I think Half Life 2 is better because of the fact that it does so much to improve FPS's all together and because it is extremely polished. While, Halo 2 on the other hand does a lot to improve on, but then has some things that detract from my opinion on it - like the pop in and the fact that it seems to re-use some of the first Halo too much.

note: This is aside from the kbd/ms vs console controller war. I have played many PC and Console games and like most of them. I'll just list FPS's here
PC: Doom, Doom II, Duke Nukem, Decent, Sin, Half Life, Quake, Quake II, Quake III, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, UT 2004, Tribes, Tribes 2, Tribes Vengence, Half Life 2
Console: Goldeneye, Forsaken 64, Duke Nukem 64, Quake II, Medal of Honor, Timesplitters 2, Halo, Halo 2, Riddick

If you really want me to explain the ending of Half Life, e-mail me at swingler@gmail.com.

I would love to tell me the ending and actully how could I passed that big monster '' in here''.
In half life 1 ( the orange virson ) with Mr. gordon on the cover of the box, I need to know what happens in the end! I remmber playing till we had to go to the aliens world. then i met with this huge monster and took me so long to kill him. after he died, portals started going out of his head, but i didnt know what to do. i kept trying to jump on his head and try to land on one of those portals but it wouldnt work,so i was stuck with a monster blowing portals out of his head lol. well any way that was long time ago, I uninstalled the game and didnt bother with it at all. But i still wanna know what happens in the end.

AWNSER ME GOD DAMIT!! WHY NO ONE IS POSTING!!! HURRY UP!!

JHC, keep your shirt on. There is only one NTC staff member, and that's Phillip. Everyone else posts when they feel like it/have time, so don't go around demanding people help you.

That being said.

At the end of HL you need to use the jump pads and ledges to get as high up as possible, then use the final jump pad to jump into the big baby's head after it opens. At this point you should have shot out the 3 yellos crystals that recharge him and done significant damage so his head will open.

There will be a green portal. Jump through that and you be taken to another location (battlefield) on Xen where GMan tells you that humans are winning then you get zapped to an Osprey flying in space/another dimension where GMan makes you an offer you can't refuse. Either you work for him, or he sends you to a valley where there are hundreds of the wasp-launching three armed things that get very cranky. Depening on which of these you choose you get a "Deceased" or "Awaiting Assignment" message and then cut to credits.

thx Mr.flix. also can u tell me some thing mysterois that i never had the chance to find out since that i was 6 grade when i played half life 1, while i was playing, some times i see a man walking with a blue suit and a suit case, actuly if you plz tell me the whole story of half life 1, Im not american, i came to united states 4 years ago, and i played half life with acutlly no attention to story. I will really appricate it if u help me, thx!!!

Originally posted by arkonmx:


it was really 1999..



AMEN


i cant chose either 2 b/c
the greatest singleplayer game was "Quake II"

and the greatest multiplayer game was "Unreal Tournament"

Rekyrts, *sigh* STFU you dumb ass, ur a noob that dont know what a good game is, half life 2, wait, actully half life 1 was better than quake 2 and ur cheap ass UNreal STFU!!!

NOw can u tell me half life 1 story, felix tell me story dogg!

and can any one tell me how can i become a seinor member, cause i dont like just the word ''member'' next to my amazing awsome name! MUTASEM SEMAKIEH

This is a post to compare Half Life 2 to Halo 2. If you really want to talk about the story of Half Life I suggest you open up a new thread because there are many questions about that game that could be discussed.

Also, sorry I didn't answer your question about the ending of Half Life, but if you read my whole reply, you would have realized you could have e-mailed me about it.

hmmmm.... would u just tell me plz? i swear i wont post another comment ! just tell me plz plz plz

and excusme me .. I dont need any tips, i played the game and was about a second away from finsihing it. I just need the story!!!! AND WTF IS A IMO???? AND WHY DO U THINK HALO 2 HAS MORE POP UPS THAN HALO 1??

Mutasem,
Basic story of HL is your standard conspiracy thoery.
The guy in the Blue Suit (GMan) is the administrator of the Black Mesa facility (supposedly with Gov't links ie Area 51, CIA, NSA).

So, these scientists work out that using some new fangled gizmo they can teleport, but only using a triangulation of a co-ordinate on the Xen world. As a consequence, the Xen dwellers get mighty pissed off about this interuption and the fact that earth is much nicer than Xen, so when the cascade failure occurs (during the sample testing) they take the opportunity to have a hunting vacation on earth. Actually GMan likely knew this would happen and ordered the test to continue regardless.

Then Freeman decides that he doesn't like the new neighbours and begins to ask them to leave and GMan decides that this is quite nice, but has the military go in anyway as there are always more soldiers to fight.

Basically GMan is the equivalent to "Smoking Man" from X-Files who attempts to control/influence both sides to his own ends, which is why you can't shoot him, ever.

Wow THX man, Amazing!! When I was playing half life, i didnt know how to speak english at all lol!! any way thx a lot man, because its funny that now im a sophmore and still get those thoughts about who the hell was that man. But dang man!! I feel like going right now and buyinh half life 1 again!! lol. ok have fun guys.. Just dont be harsh on halo 2. BYE!!

Ill still be checking this site sometimes but Im not posting ! :p

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

That can only be a good thing after posts like this:


Anyhoo. I've just this minute finished HL2 and what I said before still holds true; first class right until the end.

BTW - Make sure you watch after the credits.

What was wrong with my posting?? HE WAS WRONG AND U KNOW IT!!!

And can any one help me ?? My Gf is pregnant!!!!!

Originally posted by ross_aveling:



Amen to THAT

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

In My Opinion

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

When you say 'pop ups', are you in reference to the post I submitted about pop-in? I don't think there is more pop-in, I know there is more pop-in. Newer games are doing it a lot more often now. Some games do it better than other games and you don't notice it, but Halo 2 does it pretty badly, especially during cinematics. Star Wars Galaxies and Killzone are pretty bad too. Even my friend who is a Halo fanboy is disgusted by the bad pop-in of Halo 2. In order to save on framerate, programmers have developed a means of detailing ... What happens is, as the camera gets closer to an object, the object will swap with bigger better versions that have higher poly count and higher texture detail. So, when a camera does a cut from across the room to suddenly next to the shoulder of a character, the character's higher detail model swaps and that is where you see the pop-in. There are things you can do to make this better like calculate ahead of time to see if the camera will be there and swap before the camera moves, but Halo 2 doesn't do that and therefore you experience the visually jarring pop-in. It isn't as evident during gameplay because the camera isn't doing cuts from one place to another. Nonetheless, there is jarring pop-in in Halo 2.

Does half life 2 have any kind of pop ups or pop ins ??

and can you tell me why do programers trying to save the frame rate and other shit like that?

and can you explain the reason why most of games wasnt able to fix the zik zacks problems when u look at hard corners or a face in a game

and can you tell me about ur carrers in makign video games?

and can u sign me ur auto graph ?
8)

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:


you dont know a good game when you see it... and no IMO HL sucked i didnt see what the big deal was... it do not show anything new graphic wise.. and i thought the game play was like every other shooter out there... unless you love the opening cart ride that took FOREVER... and let me Guess you hate DooM1,2,and Final? or how bout Wolf3D. b/c if you cant see how good quake2 was... then you do not need to play another FPS...(did you ever play quake2)

I did play all quakes BUT quake 3....
so whats ur point? quake 2 right now is more fun to play than halo2? or half life 2?? who gives a damn about an old classic game huh??
WHATS UR GOD DAMN POINT??? I DONT GET PEOPLE THAT THINK LIKE YOU!!! QUAKE 2 IS OLD ..... GET OVER IT!!!! GOD DAMN!! ''EVERY GAME THAT IS WAS GOOD LONG TIME AGO IS NOT AND I REPEAT ITS NOT BETTER THAN GAMES WE HAVE NOW!!! an ugly graphics game with the crappiest game play ever is NOT better than halo 2 or half life 2.... thank you.

Half life 1 was a lot more challenging and more fun than quake... I remmber some parts in HL 1 that i still wanna play even though the game sucks by now. and I LOVED DOOM... I LOVED QUAKE 1.. I LOVED DUKE.. but I didnt get to play quake 2 till after I played half life 1... and i gotta admit that half life 1 was a kick ass. ehh im done... im gonna go beat San Andreas.

Feel free to qoute me if u want

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

what does age have to do with it??? just b/c its 'new' doesnt make it awsome or better.... i got board in half-life 1... theres more to a game then gfx... all gfx do is over hype a game... and yes im saying quake 2 is better then them... but its my opion not yours...

Wow. Proper grammar (however the heck you spell it) is a thing worth using.

Are you ok?? I just played quake 2 to see what ur talking about.. and its totally useless... you still play quake 2 more than half life 2?? HALO 2??!!! If games dont tend to improve graphics... then whats the point of playing? games are ment to simulate real life, amd if a game fails to that then even if it has great game play, it will suck, and who told you halo 2 doesnt have great gameplay? halo2 online is amazing, non stop action, using cars,tanks,hovercrafts, rifels, duals, sowrds, and all that great team work with amazing graphics. where was I? oh quake 2 here,, ammm it sucks!!

I'm not going to argue most of those points, because to be honest you seem narrow minded and a fanboy, this isn't a personal dig, but your coments are extremely biased.

However u say games are meant to simulate real life? where does the dictionary say that?


Main Entry: 1game
Pronunciation: 'gAm
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English gamen; akin to Old High German gaman amusement
1 a (1) : activity engaged in for diversion or amusement : PLAY (2) : the equipment for a game b : often derisive or mocking jesting : FUN, SPORT <make game of a nervous player>
2 a : a procedure or strategy for gaining an end : TACTIC b : an illegal or shady scheme or maneuver : RACKET
3 a (1) : a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other (2) : a division of a larger contest (3) : the number of points necessary to win (4) : points scored in certain card games (as in all fours) by a player whose cards count up the highest (5) : the manner of playing in a contest (6) : the set of rules governing a game (7) : a particular aspect or phase of play in a game or sport <a football team's kicking game> b plural : organized athletics c (1) : a field of gainful activity : LINE <the newspaper game> (2) : any activity undertaken or regarded as a contest involving rivalry, strategy, or struggle <the dating game> <the game of politics>; also : the course or period of such an activity <got into aviation early in the game> (3) : area of expertise : SPECIALTY 3 <comedy is not my game>
4 a (1) : animals under pursuit or taken in hunting; especially : wild animals hunted for sport or food (2) : the flesh of game animals b archaic : PLUCK c : a target or object especially of ridicule or attack -- often used in the phrase fair game
synonym see FUN


Note the synonym is FUN, therefore games should surely be something that one finds a fun diversion or fun form of amusement. Hence ur opinion of 'games should be realistic' is relative only to people of that opinion.

You mention that quake 2 is 'totally useless', it is a game which is meant to entertain, and it does this job, so hadsn't it filled all the requierements for it to be classed as a game?

The point of playing games that 'don't improve in graphics' is perhaps better gameplay, a old favourite, fuller storyline, better soundtrack, more longevity, or perhaps even nostalgia. I often have to stem a tear when I break out my Mega Drive 2 and play on Streets of Rage 2 and Desert Strike. Why? Because this is my personal preference and they were some of the first games I really got in to.

Halo 2 gameplay IS good, but all you need is a quick trigger finger and a pair of opposable thumbs to complete the game, because gameplay is repetitive and once the 'style' of combat is aqquired, then it all becomes the same. Yes, many games are like this, but they often break up core periods of gameplay.

Halo2 online is good, but definitly not amazing, yes there are lots of vehicles, and as a pro in halo and halo 2, only n00bs (people either new to halo or players who are unchivalric and do anything to win, EG killing their own teammate so they can 'capture the flag' and get much more points) use vehicles because it requires less skill to kill some one in a vehicles as it does with other weapons.

Team-work? games such as halo 2 don't require team work at all, and most players dont work as a unit anyway. Amazing graphics? Yes, they are good graphics (if a bit on the shiny/glossy side- lots of bright colours all the time)but they aren't groundbreaking or awe inspiring, since they are limited by the xbox's technology (not that this is sub-par in gaming nowadays).

However, I am not slating Halo 2, as I like, enjoy and think it is a very good game, but I am doing this to try and open ur mind just a tiny bit.

"looks like 90 % are PC freaks and wouldnt spend a penny on a console"

Why do fanboys like these, think PC gamers can't afford a console?

High end PC = $3000 range

Xbox = $200

Which one is cheaper, I wonder

And with PCs you can customise the graphical power you want to suit your taste

WAFFLER...
your review was fine till I read the part where u saying ''halo dont require team work'',,,!!!!! let me just tell you that your %100 worng on that. first, I never play with people that i never played with, i dont just go to matchmaking, and to put me with noobs that dont know shit! when i play, i bring the people that ive played with to my room, then we all get ready and play games like ''team skirmish'' or ''team slayer'' ! we dont kill each other for the points. when ur talking to me, ur talking to a really professional halo player. we as a team, and of cource me<< are pretty good halo 2 players that dont play with levels lower that 20 or so. Let me guess... your a noob arent u?? dont be mad, theres nothing worng with being a noob in a game. as u said before.. your a keyboard and mouse player, and those people never get to beat people like me or my clan. my account is VEGAMO send me a friend request in xbox live so ill teach u a lesson that u will regret.

and could some one tell me wtf is that review above me means??
I have a PC you dumb ass, my pc can run half life 2. But no matter how good ur pc is, u will always have crashing problems or other problems that dont have to do anything with ur PC power. Im gonna wait till half life 2 comes on xbox then play it. try to re-read some thing before you start making comments. its still early for consoles to be compared in (hardware) with PC's, but give it a couple more years and see how pc is gonna be left behind in gaming. alot of people right now are starting to quit on their Pc's and starting to play consoles, soon you will see how its all gonna turn the other way around and consoles will rule the world in gaming. I think that I dont like to wait Installing a game, I dont like crashing problems or any other file problem, I dont like typing to my friends while playing, I dont like to wait for windows to come up in order for me to play, I dont like that we cant rent pc games, we bought a 2700$ PC 5 month ago, and I played small games like diablo 2 and STILL crashed on me! wtf?? dude take ur pc and get the hell out of here. Right now, there are more console players than PC players, soon you will see whats gonna happen.

I'm going to say it right now. As far as I'm concerned, the best FPS ever, on either PC or Console is Deus Ex (the original).

Best story & gameplay plus new adaptations of the genres, not to mention a great redesign of the unreal engine. Even if it is a little long, treated as episodes, it has great replay-ability.

Now with this argument that is getting very silly - consoles do have major advantages, however in order for them to remain viable games have to be written in older technology or you upgrade your console entireley and put the old one in the kids room or use as a boat anchor.

PC games are able to take advantage of new technology and older technologies can use the games by turning down the details etc.

Now, for people who don't play FPS but rather RTS or TBS or solitare a console is not the go. This is why PC still is the best all round games platform as it is not limited to shoot/fly/drive/fish etc games.

That being said, i'm still waiting for prices of HALO2 for Xbox on eBay to come down to the $AU40 that I'm willing to pay for any games.

So because you play with people you know, and you play with people as a team, that means that team-work is a pre-requisite does it?

No, it doesn't.

I don't have xbl, so I can't although I do play around my friends house every now and then and do pretty damn well. I'm not argueing about who is a better player, it seems to me that you want to play me at halo and beat me because I have a differing opinion to yours. Or perhaps it's to cover up the fact that you realise your comments are immature and you want to 'beat' me at something else?
Again, I could argue with all of your points, and I hope that the mature people on here will agree, but I'm not going to due to frustration caused by you. The controller vs. m+kybd has nothing to do with my arguement.

Deus Ex is hell of a game, and still grabs my attention now, but saying it is the best fps ever? to be honest, I think that's kind of an overstatement. One of the best? yes. An all time classic? definitely. However, and I am sorry to say this, Deus Ex just doesn't cut it against the 'big boys' anymore. Saying that, Deus Ex 1 over Deus Ex 2 anyday!:P

I may have gone a little over the top with "best FPS ever" to the point where I sound like a 16yo fanboy.

I'm playing it again for the sheer fun. My absolute favourite weapon is the fully upgraded sniper rifle which gives you point and click assasination power with no sound, recoil or sway.

Favourite levels are the New York ones because of the real feel of them. Having been to some of these places when I was on holiday makes it even cooler. Same feeling I get playing Max Payne.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:


LOL! This has been stated as early as the SNES (at least to my memory). PC's are still here and still going strong. Your statement about people quitting PC's is wrong too. Really. What are they going to do? Throw out their PC and just play console? NO. In reality the one's who do "switch" to console will play most of their games on console and still play some games on PC. When their PC get's old, they buy a new one, with improved CPU and graphics power they then may primarily use PC, use both console and PC equally, or still use console primarilly.

It is still quite a ways away until the "console" "replaces" the PC.....and the PC equivalent will always be around no matter what kind of "console" you have in the living room.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:


I think there are more games for the PC than all the consoles combined man. Besides, most console games get ported to the PC anyways ROFL.
And crashing problems? My PC doesnt crash. Your PC must have bad sectors on its HD or isnt a clean install.
Know where to get your hardware man. And PC's will never get left behind, because thats where the consoles get their technology from. The Xbox has all the workings of a PC. Heck, you can even use the XB hardisk on a PC. Consoles and PC will always improve, but I doubt what you said of "consoles taking over" will materialize .

Because I am PC user, I choose Half-Life 2.
+: Havok physics engine. Awesome graphics.
-: some Steam problems with offline mode at first and decrypting took ages...

Big plus was it actually worked smoothly on my computer, even it was below minimum requirements.

Yeh, there is hell of a lot of tweaking you can do to make HL2 run on lower-end PC's. (I got it working on 128mb ram, 64mb intergrated gfx, 1.5ghz processoer 8) )

But am I the only one who doesn't have problems woth steam? I think it works well considering the massive load on their servers, and decrypting only took around 30 mins. Which for several Gb's of files is acceptable IMO.

However, as I understand it some people were not fully aware of the requirements of HL2. IE an internet connection.

I read in some gaming forums a while ago that some guy bought HL2 without knowing this so cant play it. And in another forum, someone brought a brand new 56k modem, because they are d/lding the entire game of steam (a US buyer).

We worked it out, and it would take 12 solid days to d/l it all.
This may seem skinda funny to some of u, or perhaps that it is his own fault bcoz he didn't fully research into it.

However, imagine (I AM stereotyping here, and I AM NOT using a real situation to my knowledge) if a single mum went out and bought that for her son, thinking she was giving an amazing present, only to find out that this isn't a very good internet speed to d/l HL2. So her son can't play on it. (well it lightly plucked my heart strings if it has happened!)

I think they neede to be more active with their supply of information regarding the whole HL2/steam thing.

Originally posted by Waffler:

254mb ram, 64mb agp, 800mhz.


Agreed.
/* abit offtopic..
I tweaked my hl2 with this tweaking guide:
http://www.tweakguides.com/HL2_1.html
*/

Im not talking about HL2 here. In my entire life of playing on pc.. I get some crashing problems like. #55934jt missing file or some other DLL kind of shit.. U know what i Mean>? on consoles u dont get that. BUt guess what?? I quit playing on my pc because of those boring games they starting to make... what about games like Metal Gear Solid 3... what about GTA san Andreas? let me guess.... dont u think later consoles will support keyboard and mouse and be able to play games like warcraft ? I think its possible. my point here is that consoles are getting closer to Pc's capability! couple more years you will see xbox 2 might be able to browse the internet! download mods! or all that other shit. any thing that prevents a game from crashing on him just because of a file acting up.

not even gonna try..... x) :x

Originally posted by Waffler:


Well u better not!!!

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:


Must be nice to be able to spend your money on what ever you want.
Nice setup.
But playing the same game on a pc or xbox, the pc is gonna win everytime for me. I do have a MAME pc setup in my living room, with PS2 controllers, and sidewinder joysticks
I also have an N64 (Goleneye & Zelda rocked), but don't use it anymore (unless I'm ill sometimes, and I want to be transported back to the land of Zelda). I do play round my bros on his xbox, and I enjoy it, it's great for when all the lads get together witha few guinnesses etc.
I just can't justify spending all that money on a console, when I spend what I do no my PC.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

You can do that already with a modded Xbox. (An xbox is a barebones pc anyway)

I just think you need to chill with the comments man. Everybody has their own views on what they like. No-one is wrong.
I like both, but prefer PC, but I aint gonna ram it down your throat.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:

I've seen many PS/Xbox games completely hang requiring the machine(s) to be re-started. Fair enough, it may not happen as much as some PC games, but once is enough. At least on the PC you have the ability to patch the game and fix the problems in most, if not all cases.

I bought Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly for the PS2 and it was the most bugged (read un-finished) game I have ever come across; on any system too. That cost me 30 UK pounds and there was no way I could make the game playable. The shop wouldn't refund my money, as in their mind, the game was in the proper [non] working condition as supplied from the publisher. Thank God for eBay.

As for stability on the PC, I have never had any problems with any of my games, Half-Life 2 included (and I've probably bought over 20 in the last year). I'm sure if you asked many of the seniors on NTC, they'll probably say the same thing... funny that!

EDIT - Going back to the HL2 vs Halo 2 thing. Let's just say that they are both very good games in their own right. The important thing to remember is that Halo 2 will be way better on the PC than it's XBox dwelling counterpart. 8)

Grrrrrrrrrr
thats it i fucking quit

I'm not into consoles mostly because what I play (FPS) works better with a mouse and keyboard better than a control pad. I also like to tinker, so the consoles don't give me that much. I think for some stuff like fighting (Street Fighter, Soul Caliber, etc) a console is more suitable. I don't think that PC > Console is always true, nor vise versa. Now I did play Halo on the Xbox, and it seemed to be pretty good, but the controls just weren't familiar to me. I did like how you didn't have to push three buttons to do one thing (my main beef with FPS on consoles) and it wasn't really confusing either.

All this, and i think they were pretty close, but my vote goes to HL2.

Reasons:
Halo2 was the biggest single player let down in history. It works up that really great story line and drops you right at the most climactic point. I was like... wtf? That's it?

Ok, i DON'T Want to be an elite. I want to shoot them and watch them scream and cry. I don't want to be one. I could just kill some poor elite bastage and steal his sword.

I don't want grunts on my team. I want to kill them. I want to hear them cry for mercy
"Oh god, he's everywhere"
"Leader dead! Run AWAY!"
"fire In the... oh crap!"

Half-Life 2 kinda had me riled up for Counter-Strike. I played HL all day yesterday (HL1) so i could get the storyline down for HL2. CS, just kick the poo out of the Halo2 Multiplayer. You can't deny it. It just does.

Originally posted by Waffler:

OK, just started playing HL2 now, man the eye candy is so sweet, I love the water reflections and physics now. Looks so much more real then just a couple of years ago. It helps to have one of the nextgen gfx cards too, an X800 Pro

I voted for HL2 only because I don't own an Xbox console, nor any console for that matter.

Besides I think when/if I do purchase an Xbox I'll be picking up Fable first

hehehe, another man is converted!

Honestly though? You ARE missing out on having a console, as in general the games for them are much more 'pick up and play' but they also have hardcore games for proeper 'gamers' and basically anything in between aswell.

Fable? Great game, not played it myself but heard about it from friends who I tend to agree with in gaming opinions, looks pretty sweet aswell.

Anyway, as long as you're enjoying gaming, its all good! :p

ps. played counter strike source yet?

Originally posted by Waffler:

Nope, I've not played any of the Counter Strike: Source multiplayer yet. I'm sure I will, however it will not be as fun as it was a few years ago when some co-workers of mine got together for a huge LAN party and played until we were exhausted This was the original CS of course...

i have to say i like both games. I played half-kufe 2 the day it came out and loved, it is as close to perfection as a game can be. However i hav just finished playing halo 2 on my mates xbox, we finished it on normal in about 5 hours and although it is very enjoyable it is not as great in terms of innovation, and player inclusion as HL2. It feels like halo on steroids. with the new features just added on to the original halo formula. But it is not as good as HL2 it adds hardly anthing new apart from the multiplayer (which is great). my only real pro for halo against HL2 is that it is alot of fun when playing with a m8 in coop, halflife 2 cant touch the xperience of helping each other take down hunters it is sooo much fun:) but when sven 2 cmes out even this will be inquestion. in my opinion anything halo 2 can do halflife 2 can do better.

CS source, is awesome. The memories were bought back playing in de-dust. Although Im waiting for Jeepathon and Jeeprally to come out since the new physics engine will ensure you dont fall off your jeeps and die for no reason ;p

and thus more fun

Hehe

Guys who use consoles are freaks afrer all. They are obviously retarded and don't get it right: PC ALWAYS ROCKS. Consoles always SUCK.

Originally posted by Alexeyl:


Hmm, that's a pretty blanket statement there, it's also completely false in that there are pros/cons to owning both types of machines

Hell I know a few that own them both, I myself am thinking about this very thing, getting an Xbox so I can play Fable first then perhaps the Halo series

My vote HL2. It DOES have multiplayer, there are now several MODS popping up for it, 1000s of maps already, and you don't have to own a console. Some of the mods i have alpha tested are going to be pretty darn cool.

Halo 1 sucked serious A$$ on the PC, the story was lame and the motion sucked. I wasn't at all impressed with Halo 2. The graphics kinda suck on xBox anyway, no FSAA etc. BTW I play my games on my PC with a nice HUGE widescreen monitor, a nice easy chair, surround sound and the CHOICE of keyboard and mouse or controller. Whoever has the superiority complex regarding consoles vs PC is an idiot. You must think all of us have 15" monitors, a crappy desk, crappy speakers and a mouse and keyboard...Nope. My games load faster, look better and are more enjoyable than consoles...I can either voice or text chat with other online players and I don't have to pay a monthly subscription IN ADDITION to my ISP's fees to play online!!! And I can still watch TV while I play, lol...

PCs will always be better for most games. Consoles are ok for some games, most people don't realize the graphics card in xbox is severely outdated, what is it like a GeForce 3? When the game is ported to PC it always looks and plays much better. When they ported over a very popular FPS to xbox a year or so ago i was so NOT impressed. The graphics looked very subpar and the features were dulled and dumbed down, like a "lite" version, pffft!

Nothing beats the responsiveness and accuracy of a nice laser mouse (in FPS) for aiming your crosshair while running your a$$ off in a map. Every tried to play Quake Arena with a controller? YEEEEESH!!!!

Let me just say that some of your statements were correct.... but halo's story DOES NOT suck ass...

Just read my name and see my opinion. I gave halo 2 a chance but when i heard a sequel to half-life was going to be released with awesome graphics, i put my halo 2 cd in the mic. Half-life 2 is so much better.

It has a real physics engine instead of half working on halo 2. I bet you halo 2 people dont know what the hell that is. Im sorry but you halo 2 people have to deal with analog graphics on the tv. We Half-life 2 people have somthing called digital grapchic and its not streched.

You know I created a profile just to voice my opinion. I hope you halo 2 people dont be ignorant and closed minded and only hate halo 2 because you dont have a PC (the master of all graphics) or your friends never heard of or played half-life 2. So think about before you post.

Just read my name and see my opinion. I gave halo 2 a chance but when i heard a sequel to half-life was going to be released with awesome graphics, i put my halo 2 cd in the mic. Half-life 2 is so much better.

It has a real physics engine instead of half working on halo 2. I bet you halo 2 people dont know what the hell that is. Im sorry but you halo 2 people have to deal with analog graphics on the tv. We Half-life 2 people have somthing called digital grapchic and its not streched.

You know I created a profile just to voice my opinion. I hope you halo 2 people dont be ignorant and closed minded and only hate halo 2 because you dont have a PC (the master of all graphics) or your friends never heard of or played half-life 2. So think about before you post.

Hmm well I'd think halo 2 is a whole lot more fun than half life or half life 2.

Sure, I know using a mouse and a key board is much better. I think the console controler sucks balls but its worth the trouble for a kick ass game like halo 2.

The missions on half life is better than halo, I mean a spartan trying to kill an alien armada and the flood? I mean whats that about? But multi-player on halo really kicks ass! Before I got halo for PC I plyed half life 24/7. I thought Counter-Strike and CS source was the best game ever made or ever will be made. I even thaught halo was a stupid game b/c i never actually plyed it. One day my friend got me to play halo on xbox I just fell in love with it right away. It was so much more fun than CS.

Cs and CS source is, well like a dude walking around then another dude pops out boom he kills him, walks on... boom he kills another guy!... walks on aw... he got killed.

Where as halo is an all out war between 2 sides and all these dudes everywhere running around killed the other team and tanks and warthogs etc. Its non-stop action everywhere.

When I actually got halo for PC I never plyed and half life games at all anymore. Except for once I let my friend borrow it and I got bored so I plyed a little CS Source and I realized how boring it was, I mean "terrorist wins!" "counter terrorist wins!" It was so repetitive!!!

And all those HL2 ppl never plyed halo 2 b/c all they have is a PC. I used to be one of you guys.

And the Console can be good too, I get to relax on my soft comfy couch with a nice refreshing six pack and my stereo turned up to the max with my 54 inch plasma screen TV. And invite a couple of my friends over and tell them to bring their xboxes and TVs and have a kick ass halo 2 night on xbox live. yep, I can have much easier all-nighters like that than sitting 2 feet from my little PC moniter all night/day.

When/If Halo 2 comes out for PC that would be so kick ass! I would be the 1st to buy it. Or when Halo 3 comes out for xbox 360 and i think we can plug a keyboard and a mouse into it, I would never leave my house again. I would have all the pleasures i talked about above and i would be able to use the PC controls.

In the end i just enjoy halo more. It has better graphics, physics, (I love how when a dude drives up in a warthog, u shoot it with a rocket laucher the warthog flips over a few times and the guy gets thrown out of the vehicle dies, and flies like 25 feet in the air. I also like how guns actually shoots a projectile unlike CS where you fire a gun and a little spark instantly appears where u aimed at. On CS you can shoot from like 200 miles away and a bullet hole will appear as soon as you hit the trigger, whats up with that? Yep so i like halo 2 better.
But if you want a better game you should try battlefield 2 =)

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh:


Hi. Did you know that Counter-Strike has been the most popular first-person shooter internationally for the past 6 years?

You should also note that Halo 2 is only a notably popular game in the United States of America. Not even in Japan is this game popular.

And you should really try not to like things just because everyone else does. Makes you look...incompetent.

I had to get in on this, IMO HL2 is better simply because i loved the physics engine and the story line + you get gravity gun which you gotta admit kicked major ass. Halo 2 i liked BUT i didnt find it as interesting and as fun to play as Half life 2. Also its not just graphics that make a game .

Regarding Mutasem Semakieh's argument that older games sucked, i like playing the older classics now and again, I only wish i had managed to get Unreal tournament 2004 while i could (damm ps2 games lol) i love playing games like doom2 because they always make me laugh and are good fun to play.