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Source SDK Released Soon, HL2 High in Gamerankings

Posted by Zonk on from the gift-for-the-community,-gift-for-the-developers dept.

Biomemetic writes "Valve announced yesterday that they'll be releasing the Source SDK next week, along with a "surprise for the community". Incidentally, the sound stuttering bug (actually three bugs, to do with texture loading problems), has been solved and an update released through Steam." Relatedly, Highpriest writes "According to gamerankings.com, Half Life 2's average review is higher than Halo 2's. Half Life 2 has recieved a 96.6% overall rating wheras Halo 2 came in with a 95.1%."

11 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. The game got high rankings, but... by Grave · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I felt it was a huge let-down. If not for CS:S and DOD:S being included in the package I got, I would've considered it a huge waste of money. The game was over much quicker than I expected, and the plot was not as in-depth or well told as it could've been. They seemed more interested in setting us up for the third iteration of the Gordon Freeman story than telling a genuinely good one.

    Maybe my expectations were too high, but when magazines bandy about the phrase, "Greatest game ever," it's hard not to expect at least a game worthy of $60.

    1. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Tobias+Luetke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think if HL2 was a letdown to you than you are probably done with computer games.
      While i'm not saying that HL2 is the pinnacle of games forever I certainly belive it is currently.

      There is only so much you can get out of a medium, if you don't enjoy the game most people call the best game ever made all things considered than thats a good indication to find a new hobby.

    2. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by stratjakt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Just because most people say something, doesn't make it true.

      I played HL2 at a friends for a few minutes. It was just another FPS to me, with prettier graphics. But then, it seems graphic quality is the sole yardstick for measuring a games value these days.

      It didn't do anything for me, just another entry in a pretty stale genre.

      I liked the huge open maps of Far Cry, or the vehicles in Halo. In fact, after Far Cry, I don't think I can play another on-rails FPS.

      HL2 and Doom 3 both came off as tech demos to me, something you go ooh and ahh and would expect to get on the bonus CD that shipped with your graphics cards.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    3. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      I have to agree with you. Yes, the game has nice graphics (not the best ever, though) and very cool physics. But the story wasn't all that in-depth. You spend 90% of the game going from one place to another, for no real purpose other than because someone at one place says "you should go talk to blah" then you spend 20 minutes driving around or running through buildings to get there. Then you do it agian. And again. And again.

      Not to mention, the game is far too short. I don't know if I've ever beat a game in my life - if I have, it's only been one. Until Half-Life 2. I beat it in two days, playing about five hours each day.

      For $60, I'd like more than 10 hours of game play. It's a really expensive game for what you get. And considering how half-assed CS:S currently is, that doesn't (yet) compensate.

      The only reason HL2 is going to sell so many copies and be ranked so highly is because everyone who wants CS:S has to buy HL2 to get it. So they're really able to combine the numbers to pump their "sales". It would be like saying "You can buy Halo 2 and get GTA:SA with it for free!". Well, everyone who likes Halo 2 will buy the package. Everyone who likes GTA will buy the package. So you're doubling the sales figuers for both, which will boost future investments and industry notice.

      Personally, I would rather have been able to just spend $10 or $20 and have CS:S by itself.

    4. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Lisandro · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The last FPS i truly enjoyed was Painkiller. Top notch graphics, physics engine (you can kill enemies in pretty funny ways), and sound, huge levels, enviroment, and a shitload of enemies. What's not to like? And, unlike others in the genre, is downright fun and doesn't take itself too seriously. Much like the Serious Sam series, but on steroids.

      It also has some great multiplayer modes.

    5. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Cochonou · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've played all the way through, and I'm disappointed.
      The game is really good, but it felt short on my expectations. Maybe they were too high...

    6. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Zorilla · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Painkiller's physics were absolutely perfect. That game made me wonder why everybody was praising the physics in Half-Life 2 when it still managed to carry over weird control issues from HL1, like getting stuck and having to duck or jump to get going again.

      At least you don't have to duck-jump anymore.

      The only thing I had against Painkiller was the lack of continuity in the music. It would go from really nice ambient music and simply fade in metal without any real transition.

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
    7. Re:The game got high rankings, but... by Zorilla · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I liked the huge open maps of Far Cry, or the vehicles in Halo. In fact, after Far Cry, I don't think I can play another on-rails FPS.

      At the most, the path only branches off into two or three subpaths and always converge at the next checkpoint. You ever tried straying off the path in Far Cry? You usually either end up getting gunned down by really big weapons or see the terrain gradually become more simple (as the map designers had not intended you to go that far) and you hit a steep hill or invisible wall.

      Also, you can tell Far Cry's openness has its limits, as the developers decided to just print the fly-through of the island, which appears at the game menu, to video, as opposed to Unreal, which used a live-rendered flythrough of the castle.

      --

      It would be cool if it didn't suck.
  2. HL2DM? by katanan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    there are rumours floating around of HL2DM so we shall see.

  3. Lag problem by *s.panzer* · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I'm surprised valve hasn't even recognized the fact that many (much closer to 5% than the stuttering bug) people are having problems playing all steam games. Ever since I installed HL2, All of my games have started to lag horribly, with a ping of 200-2000

  4. Hmm by XellDx · · Score: 3, Interesting
    According to gamerankings.com, Half Life 2's average review is higher than Halo 2's. Half Life 2 has recieved a 96.6% overall rating wheras Halo 2 came in with a 95.1%."

    As a point, Half life 2 has 29 reviews, while Halo 2 has 67.
    As with any percentage, the more chances of change the different the outcome
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    X