Will we ever get a video game this impressive again?

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Still waiting for pic related

No
inb4 people post bioshock, dark souls, tlou, whatever that are clearly all post-hl2 games.
it was a game changer, almost as much as Another World.

>>386444280
Waiting? That game is out. You can play it.

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Freespace 2 is flawless in terms of gameplay, story and aesthetic.

>>386444351
How was HL2 a gamechanger in a way that DaS wasn't?

>>386445442
>Impressive and fun physics that played into the environments well
>High-fidelity facial animation and truly next gen graphics
But more importantly, it all came together so well. The level design is godlike, the art direction masks the level design (e.g. fakes it to look practical) impressively, the gunplay is satisfying thanks to the sound direction, the music is great, the writing is great, designs are on point, the set-pieces and scripted portions are memorable, the vehicles are fun and tactile and the whole thing has a fantastic pacing that really nails that adventure spirit.

What exactly did Dark Souls add over Demon Souls?

>>386446392
meh

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>>386446392
>Impressive and fun physics
WOW AMAZING 10/10 BEST GAME OF ALL TIME

>>386446519
obviously you're too young to understand.

>>386446519
I knew someone would mention the see-saw puzzle, like oh fuck I have to stack bricks for about eight seconds, this game suxx0rs. Nevermind you can just run and jump it.
But hey if you actually played Quake you'd know that up to that point games were pretty dang static and rigid when it came to physics. These simple physics puzzles are meant to train the player, veterans, that this game empowers you to think of gravity as a tool. If you do something you think should work, it will work. That's the point of the see-saw.

When will this meme stop?
Or this fashion, perhaps?
The game is average, nothing special at all. Especially if played now.

>>386446392
Graphics yeah but the physics was a gimmick that pretty much no game has used effectively since.

>Half Life 2 is praised for not having cutscenes
>Meanwhile you have to stand around a fucking room as people talk to you
>It's also almost entirely linear

>>386446392
>truly next gen graphics
Far Cry and Doom 3 had better graphics

>>386446957
yeah this

it wasn't really a step above most "movie-games" today

>>386444183
>tech demo for a shitty outdated engine

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>>386446957
Reminds me of how Half-Life 1 fans say it invented in-engine storytelling when Goldeneye already did it

>>386444183
2bh the best thing about this game for me, is its atmosphere. there's something so surreal about half life 2, like the background sounds and the physics and how life like it seems. I get the same vibes from css too though. I really loved the countryside part of hl2, when it's all quiet and you're going through empty houses and you find dead people and can piece together how they died and what not. I guess I loved the little details above all.

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>>386446839
>physics was a gimmick
You should play past the canals. You get this really neato gravity gun that lets you fling things at enemies! It's pretty crazy. Suddenly the physics are a deadly tool for taking out enemies and a core part of the game. I mean, I guess you could ignore it if you were stubborn and played on easy. But--
>pretty much no game has used effectively since
Wait, is it a gimmick? Are you praising the game now

>>386446957
They are pretty much exactly cutscenes, but it does make a difference. HL2's cutscenes feel like moments of leisure. You're hanging out with characters. You can play around with trinkets in the environment. It's just slightly less restrictive and it feels better because of it.

>>386446990
>Far Cry
Are you joking?
>Doom 3
If only I could see the graphics. Even then, thanks to the art direction, it looks worse.

>>386447374
>that Far Cry water
You could have found a picture which didn't have the settings turned down.

It's also worth remembering that Half Life 2 received an engine update in 2007 which retrospectively improved the visuals.

>>386447374
>Suddenly the physics are a deadly tool for taking out enemies and a core part of the game.
Gimmick.

>>386447669
What do you want, Boom Blox?

>>386446392
But none of what you said made it a game changer. The things you say are exclusive to HL2. Not good level design, or physics, but no game since HL2 except for Homefront 2 looks like HL2 (and Dishonored but that's a different kind of game). No game has the physics interactivity like HL2 does. No engine has the facial animation technology Source does. Dark Souls wasn't really a game changer either. Though the invasion aspect is something many, many games should adapt. FoBs were a good concept in MGSV mangled to shit by the lack of customization of bases. Watch_Dogs tried for it but I never heard anything about how it plays.
>What exactly did Dark Souls add over Demon Souls?
A big interconnected world, more weapons, more armor, more everything.

The game changers are:
Doom
Quake
Super Mario 64
Quake III
Metal Gear Solid
Halo
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare
Battlefield 1942 (large multiplayer battles)

You could make the argument that Half-Life 1 was a game changer with its lack of cutscenes and focus on set pieces, but this was only aped sporadically in various games like CoD1, Quake IV, etc. Note: Being a game changer does not make it the end-all-be-all. For instance: Unreal is better than HL1. Halo 1 has shit level design. Etc.

>>386447968
Some other ones:
Super Mario Bros. (the less rigid jumping and movement compared to contemporaries)
Gears Of War and Resident Evil 4 (popularization of over-the-shoulder shooters)
Anyone think of others?

>>386447968
>>386448092
Q3: Multiplayer only? (that's not new)
MGS: What? A bunch of cutscenes? The gameplay is just Pac-Man.
CoD4: Is this a list of game changers like mechanically innovative or just industry-standard switching? That's two very different lists.

>>386448560
>Q3: Multiplayer only? (that's not new)
Presentation, execution, verticality, what it did for competitive FPSs, etc.
>What? A bunch of cutscenes?
Yes. Though now that I think on it, MGS is in the same boat as HL2 and DaS with features endemic to it alone. Nobody has really tried to do MGS like MGS, what with all the themes and shit. And yeah the stealth is pretty bare-bones. I'm willing to retract that one.
> Is this a list of game changers like mechanically innovative or just industry-standard switching?
Good point, but then if that were the case CoD4 is the only one that doesn't truly belong. Though correct me if I'm wrong, I don't remember multiplayer shooters like CoD4 at the time of its release.

>>386447528
i played the original xbox version of hlaf-life 2 and it is still my all time favorite. i could literally put those blue oxygen barrels under that big seesaw thing and use it to ramp that airboat all day.

>>386448920
>Presentation, execution, verticality, what it did for competitive FPSs, etc.
What exactly did it do that Quake 1 didn't?

>>386444183
We still get clones every 6 months and they're just as bad as the original.

>dark souls changing anything

just another testament to how the series is mostly popular with people that never experienced the ps2 era

I've never played Half-Life 2, but I watched my friend play it, and I played a lot of other Source games.

>>386450157
Uh, that's nice.

>>386449861
lol did you read the posts?
>Dark Souls wasn't really a game changer either.

>>386450157
It's like the other Source games, only it's not fun to play, it dumps exposition on you every 30 seconds, keeps constantly switching gimmicks each being worse than the last and does nothing interesting at all with physics.

>>386450417
>it dumps exposition on you every 30 seconds
(not true by the way)
> keeps constantly switching gimmicks each being worse than the last
Elaborate.
> and does nothing interesting at all with physics.
???

>>386447374
This looks much better than any HL2 outdoors area. Not a single loading screen as you get from one end of the map to another.

>>386450496
>it's not exposition if you're stuck in a place but can move around
Okay.
>Elaborate
Vehicles, turrets, antlion, physics """"""puzzles"""""".
>???
Name one way in which physics were unique and integral to the game.

>>386450978
>it's not exposition if you're stuck in a place but can move around
No I was specifically calling out your hyperbole. HL2 has a fuckton of gameplay.
>Vehicles, turrets, antlion, physics """"""puzzles"""""".
You did not answer my request.
>keeps constantly switching gimmicks each being worse than the last
How are vehicles worse than turrets or vice versa? What's wrong with antlions? What's wrong with the vehicles? What's wrong with the puzzles, of which they are few and far between.
>Name one way in which physics were unique and integral to the game.
I'll give you two: Ravenholm and the citadel.

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>>386450730
Far Cry just looks tacky and over-saturated. Like one of those sample wallpapers you'd find on a fresh install of Windows. Meanwhile Half-Life 2 has lighting direction and gives half a shit about its color palette.

>>386452464
>Meanwhile Half-Life 2 has lighting direction and gives half a shit about its color palette.
This is all from the HDR update that came years after the original release, dude.

>>386452464
This is not an open area, this is a corridor with extremely obvious walls. Look at this lack of grass, FFS. Far Cry actually has bushes and grass (though grass disappears at a distance, still beats HL2).
>over-saturated
Go outside during a sunny day some time. Btw, you can select different filters in Far Cry menu, including a "cold" one.

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>>386452520
You can boot up your old Xbox copy. The game will still look fly. Considering.

>>386452640
>This is not an open area, this is a corridor with extremely obvious walls.
Yup.
>Look at this lack of grass,
Foliage. Needs more ferns, huh?
>Go outside during a sunny day some time.
I dunno last I checked the sky and the ocean don't blend into each other like that. Also if it's supposed to be a picturesque bright day, why is there fog? If you want fog you should have a weary day to justify it. That's art and graphical limitations going hand in hand. They gotta work together.

>>386444280
Releases date when?

>>386453265
No, grass. The grass in HL2 is just a flat green texture. Far Cry actually has grass sprites - they don't look too amazing up close, and they disappear too fast even on the modern PC because that distance is somehow coded into a map. Still better effort than HL2.
>fog
I don't see fog in Far Cry, at least not on this map. There are gloomy maps with fog, but it looks really bad desu. The pic you posted does have fog, though. Doesn't look very good either, those trees in particular.

I replayed HL2 recently, and I think the part where I noticed the age the most was ironically City 17. The buildings are just so... flat. The windows are all flat textures, it looks extremely bad and immersion-breaking. Some parts are still cool though, like the bridge.

>>386444183
>take good game
>remove half the enemies
>remove half the weapons
>halve the speed of the game
>halve the length of the game
>halve the amount of DLC
Why did they call it 2? They should have called it 1/2.

>>386454678
oh no, the weapons... my bee gun...

Death Stranding

>>386455186
well you had so many weapons there were always options, HL2, besides that bee gun had unlimited ammo in case you got stuck with nothing
Justify the pherapods that are only used for one section, huh? I'm waiting.

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>>386444183
In this day and age we would get a remake with a black/female protagonist, lootboxes and the crowbar is exclusive to preorder. I can't wait to watch my favorite jewtuber play it.

>>386455390
>with a black/female protagonist
But what about Alyx?

>>386455560
Remember we you looked up her ass while playing the first time ? ...too sexy/tainted can't have that in 2017 has to be a transgender orc or else.

>>386455357
Uhh, easy; the section is pretty fun and a great change of pace. Ordering the antlions around is a blast. Sure they could have easily removed it from your inventory, but seeing it in there reminds you of those moments you fought alongside your bugbros. It also can be used to stun combine.

>>386455758
Or they rushed the mechanic due to time constraints and never figured out a way to finish the idea, which is what they say if you listen to the developer commentary at that part.
The developers of the fucking game note the imperfection, but you're so retarded you believe everything is a feature.
Did you enjoy blasting NPCs with grenades and having them not react at all? I want to hear you say you enjoyed that.

I remember this game for its unique atmosphere and great levels like Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt. When people complain about the smaller number of guns it really feels like they're missing the whole point. Valve wasn't interested in making your run-of-the-mill sequel where they basically redo the first game just with more shit in it.

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>>386455743
...what timeline are you in?

You do know some twitter screencaps aren't the actual state of the industry right?

I'm scared for you anon.

>>386456424
yes clearly people complaining about weapon variety or quality are missing the point of a fucking FPS

>>386446519
I have and always will say that Half life 2 is the most overrated game of all time. But shit like this was at least kind of neat and creative.

>>386456327
All games have cut content, ya goober.

>>386456424
The problem is there's 2 good levels and the rest of the game is literally shitty driving portions with no purpose other than to show off the scenery or endless linear corridor shooting, occasionally broken up by a see-saw puzzle.

>>386456576
>people complaining about weapon variety
Lol variety means jack shit it's the fact that the weapons lack any punch in HL2 that is the problem.
>>386457902
>and the rest of the game is literally shitty driving portions with no purpose other than to show off the scenery
So you did not play the game.
>or endless linear corridor shooting
>So you did not play the game.
> occasionally broken up by a see-saw puzzle.
>So you did not play the game.
Lol you're just like this guy here: >>386450978
who refused to actually answer me.

>>386458347
>the weapons lack any punch in HL2
"or quality"

>>386444183
>F.E.A.R and Black were released in 2005 and 2006, respectively

>>386458458
The crossbow that fires heated metal rods that can ricochet and stick enemies to the wall is plenty quality. The magnum is pretty good. Pistol, SMG1, AR2, and shotgun range from shit to almost not shit (shotgun).

This is without even getting into the AI and enemy placements.

>>386458347
>>386450978 here, I know better than to waste my time with someone who asks what's wrong with one of the lowest points of the game that even apologists hate.

>>386458730
Shotgun is my favorite gun in HL2, desu.

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>>386458760
Yeah man sure I understood the first time that you're a worm who can't back up their points.

>What's wrong with the vehicles?
This is the retard you're amusing by filling captchas. Stop amusing him and let this shit thread die.

Half Life 2 is mediocre as fuck and its value is inseparable from the context it was released in. A game like Tetris is timeless. Half Life 2 is totally dependent on the year it was released.