Halo 2 vs. Half Life 2

[Godly Paladin]

^^^^^

[Link Antilles]

Here's something to think about before you vote, folks.....

Say if both were on the PC:
Half-life 2 would most definitely win.

Say if both were on the X-box:
Halo 2 would most definitely win.


Now, I'm voting for Halo 2.... why? Multiplayer. Yes, I like CS, but that remake isn't enough for me. I also think this was the wrong time to debut Steam. Anyways, yes, it's very true that Half-life 2 has the better single player... in fact, one of the all time best in FPS.... even though, Halo 2 does have Co-op.

[blkmage]

Half Life 2.

Because it's actually a new game and not the same game with new weapons and storyline.

[Yojimbo]

Debut Steam? Steam has been around for a almost 2 years I believe.

[Blurb]

Steam has been around for a while, this is just it's first big stress test so to speak. Personally, I'm pulling for HL2 because I'm not a big multiplayer guy.

[Nate]

Hey!

There's no Metroid Prime 2 option!

I feel cheated!

*Walks away grumbling*

[Link Antilles]

Oops....I know, I know, folks.... what I meant to say was this is a bad time to debut a game through steam.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

half-life 2, even if it was on an nes... half-life is always better than halo

[Kenshin17]

Ones for the PC and ones for the Xbox.
Can you really compare the two?

[Yojimbo]

Steam worked perfect for me and plenty of other people. Things like Heck it saved me the extra 5 bucks on the game and probably a buck on gas.

While both are very excellent games I'd have to go with Half Life 2. I'm a PC gamer for one but the original Half Life set the standard for all FPS of today. And now that I've officially beaten the game I'll say that Half Life 2 redefines the genre once again.

Nothing on the market compares to these graphics to simply put it. The water cannot possibly look any realer, the facial expressions and movement of the characters are perfect. I don't know how many more polygons and textures they could fit in it without making it look photo realistic, in which it comes pretty close.

The entire game is one long roller coaster ride. The excitement and tension start up quick and don't let up to the final moments in the game. If there's a game that comes close to being in a movie it's got to be this. Really...it has that many "Ohhhh Woah!!!" moments. From having cops shooting at you from all sides and escaping by jumping on a moving train, to driving a hovercraft on a river while avoiding mines dropped from a helicopter, to fighting 50 meter tall quadriped tanks with rocket launchers. I had more fun with this game then I've had gaming in a long time.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Steam worked perfect for me and plenty of other people. Things like Heck it saved me the extra 5 bucks on the game and probably a buck on gas.

While both are very excellent games I'd have to go with Half Life 2. I'm a PC gamer for one but the original Half Life set the standard for all FPS of today. And now that I've officially beaten the game I'll say that Half Life 2 redefines the genre once again.

Nothing on the market compares to these graphics to simply put it. The water cannot possibly look any realer, the facial expressions and movement of the characters are perfect. I don't know how many more polygons and textures they could fit in it without making it look photo realistic, in which it comes pretty close.

The entire game is one long roller coaster ride. The excitement and tension start up quick and don't let up to the final moments in the game. If there's a game that comes close to being in a movie it's got to be this. Really...it has that many "Ohhhh Woah!!!" moments. From having cops shooting at you from all sides and escaping by jumping on a moving train, to driving a hovercraft on a river while avoiding mines dropped from a helicopter, to fighting 50 meter tall quadriped tanks with rocket launchers. I had more fun with this game then I've had gaming in a long time.

Yes, i love the roller coaster ride analogy. The game never stops. There are no "mission completed" then a "next mission scene" it's like a sci-fi movie sorta. And the story line captures my attention becasue of its shrowded mystery. And the other fact that you are human too. Not in some "advanced combat suit". But a Hazardous Environment Suit. Which is more like simple body armor. And theres a reason to everything on your HUD.

The physics.... you cannot compare the physics of hf2 to any other fps out there. Where else can you pull off a monitor screen off a wall, and shoot it back at somebody? Or picking up shards off a destroyed combine gunship? and shooting them back (gravity gun)

its a truely interactive game, you can spend hours with a fortified house, blocking all entrances and exits with a random closet, or a sofa. And playing some "shoot the bad guys up on top of the second floor"

i also noticed something else great. You can shoot people with the crowbar and have them stuck onto a wall, even suspended in the air. It's really awesome (2 pictures, although they are not suspended in air, you can still do it. YOu can also shoot a dangeling arm to a wall, and have it stuck. And shoot the guy with a shotgun, the body will stay in place, instead of sliding becasue of the bullet impact.

warning: the pictures aint bloody, but still might disgust some people





i cant get the second picture up for some reason

[Yojimbo]

its a truely interactive game, you can spend hours with a fortified house, blocking all entrances and exits with a random closet, or a sofa. And playing some "shoot the bad guys up on top of the second floor"

Actually man I tried it multiple times and it doesn't work at all. I blocked off all the doors with everything I could grab and they got through every time. Which brings me to one of my two Half Life 2 complaints.

My largest dissapointment with the game is that it relies to much on scripted events. I remember a time when we were told that the entire world of Half Life 2 would be dynamic, everything that you did would have an impact. The guards would be smarter when alerted, the city would become more and more aware of your presence. Each situation would have a plethora of options to dispatch the enemies, or run away from them. Now alot of scripting is really a bad thing, I was very very impressed with all of it, but I expected like I said something more dynamic.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

weird... it worked for me... which area was it? they did get in eventually, so it wasn't "hours" just emphasising. But it was fun while it lasted...

yes, i did read that many parts were scripted. But i also like it that they weren't "roamed enemies" and such. And I did like it when they utalized the flaming barrels and rolled them down to you

[cbwing0]

Gee...I wonder what I am going to vote for. Oh yes...HALO 2!!

Although I do play PC games (in fact, I spent four hours last night playing Halo PC ), I am primarily a console gamer. Not only that, but the first time I played Halo 2, I wanted to buy an Xbox (and hopefully I will be getting one for Christmas).

I will admit that I haven't played Half-life 2 (but then again I doubt that everyone who has played Half-life 2 has also played Halo 2), but from what I have heard, one of the primary points of interest in the game are pretty graphics, useless gameplay novelties, and puzzles (FPS puzzles...what is this, Myst? ). None of those things interest me, which is exacerbated by the fact that I never played the first game; thus I have no desire to see the next chapter in the Half-life "story."

Halo 2 multiplayer is simply amazing (and it is far more than Halo with a few new weapons and a shiny coat of paint, but I won't go into the details unless someone wants to press the point), and the single player game (does Half-life 2 have a co-op story mode? Halo 2 does...) is not nearly as bad as some people would like to believe.

[noeleon]

i am for both.half life 2 is better than hl-1 and halo 2 is better than halo-1.



so i'am root for both.

[ZiP]

Halo 2 all the way!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

[quote="cbwing0"]I will admit that I haven't played Half-life 2 (but then again I doubt that everyone who has played Half-life 2 has also played Halo 2), but from what I have heard, one of the primary points of interest in the game are pretty graphics, useless gameplay novelties, and puzzles (FPS puzzles...what is this, Myst? ). None of those things interest me, which is exacerbated by the fact that I never played the first game]

ive played halo 2

pretty graphics = awesome

game novelties make things awesome

puzzles....... look here spud it may seem a bit puzzleish, but its normal blockades from you getting to your primary destination. Like your driving your water/boat/skiing/buggy thing, and the combine closes a giant metal door. Yeah, puzzleish, but ya gotta get out, and reopen the door. AS well as many ramps facing the wrong direction, ya need to weigh em down so you can actually use the ramp. Maybe puzzleish, but its vital to making the game much more realistic.

Half-life 2 having coop mode would really destroy the essence of half-life. The fact that you are alone many times, and the fact that you are along can put fear into you. Sure you can get fellow npc to help you, but they are mainly disposable

and i say that half-life's multiplayer (actually different modifications) are much better

the thing is, half-life mods are actual new games. Ive seen tribes and halo mods, are basically the same game with edited skins and sprites and weapon detail. The gameplay may alter a bit, but its nothing big

for example, counterstrike could stand as its own game, much different skins, different controls. Every gun is different, and every gun has its own muzzle power, recoil, joule of the bullet, etc

halo is just to fast paced, and its just a run and gun, with the exceptions of a few "stealth" missions you could say, and many escort missions (ban the escort missions!)

[Razgriz]

I voted for Halo 2, it was certainly beyond my expectations for the game, and showed of many things that weren't in the trailers that simply blew me away.

[Jman]

I would have to say Halo 2

[Mr. SmartyPants]

omg i just pulled off a great stunt


i nailed the guy onto the ceiling with the crossbow

his arms and legs were dangeling, before i nailed those too

[Debitt]

Bravo! xD You don't see that one everyday!

My vote goes to Half-life 2. =) I'm not a die-hard FPS fan, nor a die hard HL2 fan, but sorry Halo fans, HL2's gameplay whips Halo's butt.

[cbwing0]

Maybe puzzleish, but its vital to making the game much more realistic.

Realistic...tell me again how a game about alien headcrab parasites is realisitc? As I have said time and again, the most important part of any game is its gameplay] Half-life 2 having coop mode would really destroy the essence of half-life.[/quote]
In that case, I have one more reason not to like it . I would much rather go through the game with a friend than do it by myself. The heart of any FPS title is the multiplayer experience, and the more of it there is (assuming the game is question is good to begin with), the better.

he thing is, half-life mods are actual new games.

That is simply part of the nature of console games, and for that reason I don't think you can really fault Halo 2 in this respect]need [/i]to be turned into an entirely new game in order to keep its replay value. In other words, it isn't really fair to fault Halo 2 for not being something (a PC game) that it could not be in the first place (at least until the PC version is released). Even so, Halo 2 could theoretically be modded if Bungie decided to release mods through Xbox Live. Perhaps if Halo 2 didn't get a sequel for a full six years it would need tons of mods to stay interesting, but scenario doesn't seem very likely given the imminent release of the next Microsoft console.

for example, counterstrike could stand as its own game

I'm glad that you brought this up. If I am not mistaken, Counterstrike (along with the other major official mods) were sold as standalone products for the original Half-Life. The important point here is that you had to play for them, and that they cost as much (or nearly as much) as a new game. Therefore, they are not really mods in the same sense as the homemade skin/weapon changes that you might download for free in other games.

halo is just to fast paced, and its just a run and gun, with the exceptions of a few "stealth" missions you could say, and many escort missions (ban the escort missions!)

Then I suppose this is where we simply differ in our gaming tastes. I like the fast pace and tactical firefights of Halo 1 & 2. You may not enjoy them, but that does not mean that the game is objectively flawed; on the contrary, the phenomenal sales of Halo 1 & 2 are a testament to the quality and appeal of their gameplay format.

I have not played Halo 2 single player extensively (due to the fact that I do not currently own an Xbox, although I will be getting one next month so that I can play Halo 2 ), but when I have I will decide whether your description of its missions are valid (after all, you haven't played it all the way through either ).

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Realistic...tell me again how a game about alien headcrab parasites is realisitc? As I have said time and again, the most important part of any game is its gameplay]
when i said realistic, i meant realistic as gameplay wise, i know the storyline is not realistic (but i do love how they have a scientific explanation for those headcrabs, taking ofer the nervous system and such, although it is still fictional)

The fact that you can only carry two weapons is much more realistic than most games, where one man can carry an entire arsenal without it even showing on his character model (let alone being slowed down by the weight of it all). Add to that the exclusion of any insanely unrealistic moves (like a double jump with mid-air direction change ala Unreal Tournament, for instance), and you have a fairly realistic system within a fictional universe.

very true, that is what halo excels in, but halflife, you need many of the weapons you can carry, especially the RPG when against the striders. But yes, you think THATS bad? Lol, refer to Goldeneye

I'm glad that you brought this up. If I am not mistaken, Counterstrike (along with the other major official mods) were sold as standalone products for the original Half-Life. The important point here is that you had to play for them, and that they cost as much (or nearly as much) as a new game. Therefore, they are not really mods in the same sense as the homemade skin/weapon changes that you might download for free in other games.

well, originally, the maker freely distributed the cs original beta version. But valve noticed its popularity, so they bought it from the maker. current cs versions are still available free if you have halflife. A Mod is still a mos, wheter you must pay to buy it or not. the extensiveness of the mod is what really shines

on the contrary, the phenomenal sales of Halo 1 & 2 are a testament to the quality and appeal of their gameplay format.

ugh... this part annoys me. The reason halo 2 has better sales is because not many people has ever heard of halflife 1 or 2. its similar to a macintosh, they are better, but Apple does not advertise. notice the majority (if not, all) video game review sites gave half-life 2 a better score than halo 2. People at my school wouldn't bother with half-life becasue they never heard of it, becasue they dont spend time at video game sites, reading about what the games have and such. It's a new game to them, and new fpses dont ever seem to give a sign of interest to those. UNLESS a bunch of kids start talking about it. If they have gone deeper into research of half-life 2, im sure many of them would see that half-life 2 could be better

i like your argument cbwing, you actually SUPPORT your facts, unlike those stupid kids in school who go like "Halo 2 is the best, and your weird half-life whatever just sucks" when they actually either played halo 2 only, or played neither of em

they also bring up GTA: san andreas, which makes my skin crawl

[cbwing0]

But yes, you think THATS bad? Lol, refer to Goldeneye

No, I don't think that it is bad necessarily, but it is obviously unrealistic. In Halo, the fact that you can only carry two weapons adds a lot of strategy to the game, since you have to choose carefully which weapons you will keep and which you will discard. That doesn't mean that there is only one weapon that you must have for a given situation (personally I find that sort of thing annoying in games, where they give you some impossible goal that can only be accomplished by using your latest weapon/ability), which allows players to choose weapons according to their play style in addition to the elements of strategy.

A Mod is still a mos, wheter you must pay to buy it or not. the extensiveness of the mod is what really shines

My point is that after a certain amount of modification, a mod becomes a completely different game, and must be considered separately from the original title. If I compared two games that had "different skins, different control," and in which "Every gun is different, and every gun has its own muzzle power, recoil, joule of the bullet, etc," would it not be fair to say that these were very different games, even if they were based on the same engine?

The reason halo 2 has better sales is because not many people has ever heard of halflife 1 or 2.

Advertising may do something to explain the popularity of Halo 2, but it does not explain why the original Halo was so successful almost immediately after its release. At that time the general public (including many gamers, since it wasn't yet an established franchise) didn't know anything about the series. It had to earn its popularity by being a quality title that was genuinely fun to play. Furthermore, Halo 1 & 2 have never really received excessive amounts of advertising in the mainstream media (certainly nothing on the level titles such as Madden Football or Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Soul Calibur 2, etc.). All that had to be said was "Halo 2 is coming out on this date" and people were lined up to buy it. And the advertising that it did recieve (i.e., the ilovebees.com project) was clever and original.

notice the majority (if not, all) video game review sites gave half-life 2 a better score than halo 2.

Is that so?

Gamespot.com- Halo 2: 9.4]both [/i]games, the data shows that Halo 2 comes out on top (and it would definitely not be accurate to say that most game sites rates Half-Life 2 higher, given the data available).

[Nate]

Yeah...Game Informer gave Halo 2 a ten.

I don't think Half-Life 2 got higher than Halo 2, seeing as how ten is the highest a game can get on their scale.

[cbwing0]

I don't think Half-Life 2 got higher than Halo 2, seeing as how ten is the highest a game can get on their scale.

Actually Game Informer game Half-Life 2 a 9.5, so it did score lower than Halo 2 according to them.

[gungrave]

Halo 2 AND Half life 2 OOOHHHHH

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Advertising may do something to explain the popularity of Halo 2, but it does not explain why the original Halo was so successful almost immediately after its release. At that time the general public (including many gamers, since it wasn't yet an established franchise) didn't know anything about the series. It had to earn its popularity by being a quality title that was genuinely fun to play. Furthermore, Halo 1 & 2 have never really received excessive amounts of advertising in the mainstream media (certainly nothing on the level titles such as Madden Football or Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, Soul Calibur 2, etc.). All that had to be said was "Halo 2 is coming out on this date" and people were lined up to buy it. And the advertising that it did recieve (i.e., the ilovebees.com project) was clever and original.

yes, remeber half-life was released on 1998 (game of the year by over 50 publications baby) so nobody would seem to remember it as much) and remember, Halo did start with an intense battle with game gamers a good first impression of the game. (effective for getting more people into it) and although halo 1 and 2 may had not had any advertising, it DID however still get more people. The reason is that most people plau console first person shooters rather than PC first person shooters

i just figured that out at gamefaqs.com

" What's your opinion of Steam, Valve's game delivery service for Half-Life 2?"

It's a great idea, I like it 10.64% 387
Works for me, no problems here 12.65% 460
I don't like it, but I'll deal with it 19.41% 706
I refuse to use it, it's too invasive 22.99% 836
Huh? I don't even play PC games 34.31% 1248
TOTAL VOTES 3640


Halo 2 got higher scores eh? stupid third party sources, never trust em! or... well its their opinion, weird, last time i checked, half-life 2 had a 9.7 while halo had like 9.5.... i forget which site

[cbwing0]

Halo 2 got higher scores eh? stupid third party sources, never trust em! or... well its their opinion, weird, last time i checked, half-life 2 had a 9.7 while halo had like 9.5.... i forget which site

The site in question is gamerankings.com, which I found about 3 minutes after I made my original post and added it on to the end. Game Rankings takes the reviews of all game sites an averages them together] Halo 2 got higher scores eh? stupid third party sources, never trust em![/quote] Well third-party gaming peripherals are usually garbage, and I guess the same holds true for information . I knew that there was something fishy about it right away, because I previously checked the scores on Gamespot.com. As for the others, it just took a bit of research to find out that Halo 2 scored equally well or better than Half-Life 2 at virtually every gaming site.

Halo did start with an intense battle with game gamers a good first impression of the game.

That battle was part of the game though, so the people that would see it would primarily be the ones who had already bought it. Furthermore, as an actual part of the game, if the battle segment was well-done, then that is to the developer's credit, not the Microsoft marketing department. Halo 1 & 2 are about a war between two forces (human and Covenant), so it is only natural that they would start with a large battle of some sort. I could understand how a battle would be out of place if the game was more stealth-oriented (like Half-Life), but it is clearly more of an action-oriented title.

The reason is that most people plau console first person shooters rather than PC first person shooters

But remember, the original Halo was released in 2001 and FPS titles did not have nearly the same popularity then as they do today. At that time most of the good FPS games (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, etc.) were N64 exclusives, meaning that most of their audience would probably buy the Gamecube instead of the Xbox. What else was there? Not much. A mediocre version of Unreal Tournament for the Dreamcast, Timesplitters for the PS2, Medal of Honor (probably the only decent one), and...Resident Evil Survivor? Not big sellers by any means. Then Halo and the Xbox were released, and everything changed. Halo was (and is) an excellent game, so developers saw that there was a market for FPS titles on consoles. Now we have many successful ones, including a boatload of WWII/Vietnam games, several Bond sequels, and many others (and of course, Halo 2 ).

If I may say so, I think the real problem here is that you refuse to admit that Halo 1 & 2 is even a good game (not even great, excellent or awesome]good [/i]game. If it wasn't, then how could we possibly be having a discussion comparing it with a game that you find to be amazing? Wouldn't the disparity show through in some way?

I just have one more thing to point out: Half-Life 2 is coming to the Xbox. You can read about it here: http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/halflife2/index.html?q=half-life+2

That makes the choice a no-brainer for me. If I can get both games for the Xbox, then that is a very good reason to get an Xbox (and I don't even have to buy a new graphics card that would cost even more than a new console to do it! ).

[blkmage]

First of all. Sales figures. Sales figures are awful for judging a game for its quality. Saying Halo 2 is better because it sold more is like saying McDonalds has the highest quality food. All sales figures prove is how popular a game is. Popularity does not mean good.

As for Counterstrike in stores? It's still available for download, free and legal. As are all the mods for Half Life.

Halo 2 is nothing new. While Halo 2 may be a decent FPS, it did nothing to change the FPS formula. Half Life 2 on the other hand introduced realistic physics to the game, opening up a plethora of possibilities. To me, Halo 2 was just Halo with a few new gimmicks. Halo 2 itself seems like a mod or expansion pack. At least Counter-Strike introduced something new to the game.

"Halo 2 is the greatest Xbox game ever released." Of course it is. There's not much else that can knock it off its pedestal, other than KOTOR 2. On PC, you have a plethora of other games that are potential PC GotY winners. If you had the game of the year award going on, Halo 2 would be up against some very stiff competition.