Half Life 2. Where's the plot?
 

So I finally got around to installing the game lastnight. My initial impressions are that the game and graphics completely rock.

I'm moving forward into the game though, mabye 45 minutes into it, and I'm already killing things without knowing my purpose in the world. Did I miss something, or is it supposed to be a "you're lost and trying to find out what's going on type of plot..."? I didn't play HL1 all the way through and it was years ago so by now I forget any of the original storyline.

Can someone help me out here? :thumbsup:

-T

PS: the graffics really do rock!

aliens and people shooting at you = bad. shoot them.

happy gaming!

You play the first game? Because knowing the back story helps. Also, the more you play, the more that is revealed. Particularly towards the end. Obvious, yeah I know.

edit - after reading your post I see that you have. Well, I'd suggest playing the first game over. that's what I did. It's decent on the Source engine.

This was my one complaint with the game, I think the Combine is connected to the aliens you fight from the first game but they never really go into it.

Does HL2 pick up directly from where HL1 left off? It really seems that there should be some more story in there.

And does HL1-Source come with the basic HL2 package? I think I only got HL2 and CS-Source.

Thanks guys

I bought the Silver package from Steam, it came with lots of goodies. You buy the retail version?

And yes, HL2 does pick up after the events of HL1. It's kinda hard to go into without revealing too much, but I thought it was adequately explained during the course of the game (edit - mostly at the end). I felt the same way, and then I finished the game. Can't wait for Half-Life 3! :thumbsup:

I'm probably in the minority here, but everytime a cinematic scene comes up in a game I press the button to skip it. While you're killing the baddies, are you honestly thinking to yourself, "I'm doing this to save the human race from aliens! WHAAAA!!"? or whatever those silly storylines entail. I see something trying to kill me and toss a grenade up its ass. End of story.

Sorry if this sounds like an angry post, but I'm just sick of that damn hovercraft. Does this shit ever end?

I'm quite the opposite. I really try not to spend too much time playing video games recently so I try to play them maybe like I would read a book. Rather than mindless entertainment, I'd assume take part in storyline of some sort.

Check out this link It covers the whole HL universe, even before the "Black Mesa Incident".

http://members.shaw.ca/storage_4/hl2story/

dont play HL1 over, just play the last scene of HL1, load half life source and start the game at the last chapter, all it is in the Gman setting the stage


i cant wait for HL3, HL2 has another cliffhanger ending.

HL2 is after you step into the portal at the end of HL1 there is no gap in time. its amaizing this guy never needs to shave...

Yes, there is a time gap. Just not to Freeman individually because of things stated above (see link). HL1 starts, Earth is normal. HL2 starts, Earth is beset by the Combine. Time did elapse.

That cleared a whole lot up, thanks.

... ok ....

Simply. Zen was controlled by Combine. Combine went mmmph, whered my ZENNIES GO! They find still open telleleeleleporters, and they come through and try to take over earth and steal its flashy lights

Gman: Oh-o... better get Gordy. Gordy get out of bed. The world neeeeds savng

Gordon: *pulls pants on* this better be worth it, because id rather have a sleep in the SLOW TIME TRAP which freezes me in TIME until you want me to GET OUT to SAVE THE WORLD from the EVIL forces of COMBINES and POLITICS.

G-man : *points over there* shoot boy, shoot!

Meanwhile humans are in little citadels fighting against the aliens, their power has run out so they are now throwing sticks at the advanced race... suprisingly humans arent winning

Gordon: Bam Bam Bam your dead. Oh wait I blew UP THE GODDAMN REACTOR THING EXPLODO BAM BAM Thing

humans: *dull look on their face*

Gordon: Thats bad

*BLAMMMMMMOOOOOOO* people flying through the air, Alyx, a hot random chick is half dead

CLIFFHANGER

WOW!!!! Its like you're inside the head of the Valve development team! :crazy: :p

Yah, the story was cool, too bad the game did a horrible job of delivering it. I think I had more fun reading that timeline than I did playing the game. *sigh*
back to waiting for another game to satiate my lust.

Thats for the link omega2K4. Hope Half-Life 3 doesn't take 6 years to develop.

....

Who says im not

...

*reading on*

ARE YOU INSULTING HOW I REPRESENTED IT BY COMPRING IT TO THE GAME WHICH ALTHOUGH IS A LOT OF FUN HAS THE EQIVILANT STORY TELLING ABILITY AS THAT GORILLA WHO KNOWS SIGN LANGUAGE

...

(thats an insult)

...

I'll say it once and I say it again , the only good thing about the plot is the invention of Alyx... and maybe my favourite crab, Dog or whatever his name is

Hopefully they'll release a expansion where you play as the crab, and therefore everything has to be explained slightly better... hopefully

I think it's silly that people play a shooter for a story. If you want a story, play an RPG or an adventure game. Shooters are about blowing shit up. The story is a loose framework to justify said shit blowing up.

As was posted elsewhere, the only story you get is what Freeman gets. You never are out of his POV in the game, ever. There's a reason for that. And a damn fine one, too.

Well said. However I think Half Life 1 was so successful because of the story. Here people were expecting more of the same and when it ended up being almost 'just another FPS' storyline they were disappointed.

Without HL1 I think HL2 would have a hell of a lot less criticisms, however it would of course also make no sense so screw that idea.
;)

If you had been held in stasis by the G-man then sent to battle in the streets of a world on fire by an Alien Invasion, don't you think you'd be asking the many NPC's "WHAT THE SHIT IS GOING ON?!" instead Freeman says nothing at all. In fact, the NPC's don't care to explain anything to him.

Personally I think it's terrible story-telling, some great gameplay mechanics but that's all. And the Cliffhanger didn't really piss me off either, mainly due to the fact that I didn't care about any of things I was doing throughout the game because I didn't know WHY I was doing any of them. Still, I'll get HL3 but I doubt my opinion will change.

As stated before; well at least on that website that displays what happened, NPCs think that you know. Say in the September 11 Attacks if you were right outside when it happened, and it killed a couple of family members and stuff. Half a year down the track, after your family goes into extreme debt because of lack of working person/s that were killed, Half a year down the track would you when asked about the attacks give a full details, reliving the pain and suffering that you were subjected to.

Imagine this, except on a higher scale, because the world has been forced into about 6 or 7 cities, you can no longer contact friends and family, you have no idea whos dead and whos alive, your being controlled by the 'Taliban' or whatever. That is why NPCs do NOT tell you

Also they think you know it, they dont know you were in a Slow - Time Trap. Also when your Gordon, he's smart enough to really know that he was let out for a reason. He sees Xen and probably thinks; same enemy, different faces.

And to finish my rant, some people just dont ask question. If you don't like it, make a mod where you can ask questions, or a mod where you can sit down talking to NPCs when Humans are being killed...

Oh great, more people expecting games to feed stories in beautifully pre-randered movies that never exceed their attention span.

Perhaps I could just dislike the games form of story-telling? I am entitled to do so aren't I?

I'm actually extremely surprised to hear back from so many people who also missed a story line. I mean cmon, in a small group such as TFP, if x% people miss the overall plot of a huge videogame, there's got to be something wrong. I'm surprised I didn't read about it before I got the game. The only thing I heard complaints about was the ending while every other comment was in extreme favor.

Hmm... i never played the first one, never read about it, know nothing about it. That said i really enjoyed the 2nd one, but the ending puzzled me. Spolier Maybe: Spoiler: Is this "G-man" who everyones talking about the guy who shows up at the end and talks to you before the credits? Honestly i thought that was supposed to be god or something, i was very confused. I took it as i was about to die and god saved me or something. Anyone care to explain what really happened?

uh yeah, you should really play the first one to understand...

HL2 has no storyline... it's just killing. you learn NOTHING throughout HL2. If you're lucky you'll comeacross things pinned to walls and little clues here and there, piecing them together still renders you completely ignorant. And the ending to the game was total agony. I felt so cheated when I had finished the game.
After reading this, I hope the game isn't ruined for you :P
I have to admit though, the gameplay and graphics were insanely awesome.

Yes, G-man is that guy. At the end of the first game, he makes it clear that there are Larger Forces at work, and makes Gordon an offer of employment on the strength of the great job he did dispatching the baddies in that game. HL2 is apparently Gordon's next assignment, and a few years have gone by in the interim while Gordon "slept" or was otherwise held in some kind of time-freeze until he was needed. There are a few different theories as to exactly who G-man is, but clearly he has some pretty nifty technology at his disposal, especially with regard to freezing time and teleporting. And in both games he can be seen several times in the distance, interacting with other game characters and/or observing your progress. So he is involved at a much deeper level than simply Spoiler: the guy who shows up at the end to keep you from dying.

Half Life 1 is my favorite game, I was hooked from the minute I saw the the movie style credits while taking the tram ride into the Black Mesa facility. The game play itself and the enviorment it took place in is what made the game in the end. Listening to guards as they conversed, getting in three way fire-fights between troops and aliens, the crowbar :love: and ofcourse CRATES! Finally a computer game that made you laugh at your friends with consoles.

The story itself was certainly nothing ground breaking; just a re-mix of Doom and Aliens, with a shake of the X-Files. The end too was a bit weak. Xen was kinda cool in it's tripy style, but it was mainly a disappointing "jumping" game like Mario Brothers or Tomb Raider. The main boss was that stupid giant baby creature, bleh.... then the G-man bit.

Like several posters in this thread, it's all about the game play. Really, what was Pac Man's story? Let's face it, Pac Man didn't even have a crowbar or frag grenades.

Ok this is my take on G-man; Hes not human. I mean who is human and has that ugly a mug? Anyway I reckon hes some super duper alien race sent here to stop the combine becoming more powerful. Not unlike the Andalites from the Old School book Animorphs.

The combines are a lot like parasites, they go from planet to planet, using their technology, resources and their DNA. Each World they go through they get stronger, and the more powerful.

G-man just wants to stop em, and I think hes hot... in a platonic way

Very true, in the end the gameplay is all that matters. Its a shame that the Gameplay in HL2 was horrible. Just my opinion, but I think Valve just got lazy since the release of the first HL and thought they could rest of their laurels for this one and rake in the cash.