Half Life 2: What was your favorite part so far?

[CeeKay]

while looking around for info on Episode 3 (I'm convinced it's never coming out at this point) I started thinking back on the previous games.  for me I'd have to say it was in the original HL2, specifically the boat chase sequence.  out of most of the game that's the bit that stands out most in my memory, even better than that zombie town.  what was your favorite part?

[kronovan]

I liked any sections in the 1st HL2 game with Father Gegory the best. His voice was well done and his character was so off the wall, those sections still remain my favorite. I should probably add that I haven't finished Ep 2 yet.

[Kevin Grey]

Maybe Highway 51 or whatever it was called.  I loved tooling around the countryside, stopping off at various abandoned buildings, etc.  Plus a few great setpieces aliong the way (the resistance enclave attack, running across the girders below the bridge).  A close second would be the urban battles at the end with tons of Striders walking around.  And a very close third would be the final level inside the tower with the uber-gravity gun. 

[Sarkus]

Yeah, the highway chapter and the ending of HL2 are my favorites as well.  While I enjoyed the two expansions, I haven't found any real reason to replay either one.  But I go back to those two parts of HL2 and just play those chapters from time to time.

[Dunamis]

I agree about the highway part, it was great.  I also liked the giant bridge that you had to traverse.

The entire HL2 + episodes 1 and 2 were awesome!

I'm hoping there is an episode 3 or HL 3 but it doesn't sound like it at this point...

[Kevin Grey]

I don't know whether it will in the form of an episode or full length game but there is zero doubt in my mind that Valve will continue the series.   

[Sarkus]

I'm not worried about it happening, I'm just annoyed that they made a lot of promises and then keep changing their plans without ever really explaining why.  From what I gather it's not so much that they can't finish the story they intended to tell, it's that they'd rather do other things.  That's one thing if it was a full game, it's quite another when you think back to the "we're going to do episodes and they'll be released relatively quickly."  It's been over five years since HL2 was released for god's sake and they can't even manage 3 five hour episodes in that time?

Valve makes great games but some parts of how they do things are pretty ridiculous.

[disarm]

Valve and Blizzard both suffer from being too successful for their own good.  they've made so much money on their releases so far that they seem to lack motivation to finish their next project and getting it to market.  while i appreciate that they take the time to accomplish great things, it's obvious that they have very little driving them to make new products available in a timely manner.  why worry about getting your next game out quickly when you don't have to worry about money and have a fanbase that you can count on to buy your product regardless of how long it takes?

that said, i think the Highway 17 sequence has to be one of my favorite parts of HL2...fun to drive around a shoot stuff in the car, but also mixed perfectly with some great stops along the way.  while i don't think that Ravenholm was one of the better parts of the game, i do think it deserves recognition for being a great playground for the newly acquired gravity gun.  while not easy, it's pretty cool that you can play through that entire area fighting only with the gravity gun and never firing a single round from one of your other weapons.  not to mention that splattering zombies with paint cans never really gets old

[jersoc]

i like the part where episode 2 left in a big cliff hanger and 2 years later we have jack shit.

keep milking that left for dead, valve.

oh, i see lots agree the lack of any ep3 news is quite disturbing. too bad people that know valve PR rather suck their dick to get the next game review first than ask what's up.

[cheeba]

oh, i see lots agree the lack of any ep3 news is quite disturbing. too bad people that know valve PR rather suck their dick to get the next game review first than ask what's up.

Did you intend this to sound like it came from one of those kids who posts obnoxious crap on WoW forums or was that an accident?

disarm hit the nail on the head in his first paragraph.

My favorite part of HL2 would have been, hmm... I'm not sure if I have a favorite. The game was full of great moments. Throwing saw blades at zombies was great fun, as was the highway sequence, the bridge, the mood, Ravenholm, etc, etc.

[Blackjack]

I got lost at the start of HL2 (I swear to this day not to play any more shooters that get so clever at the start, I'm not sure what to do). Came back to it later, got lost ouside some building. Came back to it later, then I got such severe motion sickness in the railyards that I never went back and finished the game. It haunts me to this day because my Steam games list has about 27 things (Day of Defeat, HL Blue Shift etc.) that came with my HL2 package that I never installed.

So my favorite part was when I bought HL2 and the anticipation was still there.  I didn't understand Steam at the time, and I remember buying it at an EB (before the Gamestop merger) and when I got home, being perplexed I still had to install and run Steam to install the game.

[Kevin Grey]

i like the part where episode 2 left in a big cliff hanger and 2 years later we have jack shit.

keep milking that left for dead, valve.

oh, i see lots agree the lack of any ep3 news is quite disturbing. too bad people that know valve PR rather suck their dick to get the next game review first than ask what's up.

People ask Valve about it all of the time.  There answer is always "We don't have anything to announce at this time." 

[Chaz]

I think Valve is also semi-hamstrung by the giant expectations built up around Half Life.  They upped the ante for scale with Ep 2, and they can't/don't want to rush something out.  I think they honestly believed that they'd be able to get the HL episodes out quickly, but then decided they wanted them to be big chunks of content, which can't really be rushed out.

If some small game company puts out Sci-fi Shooter 2 and it's mediocre, that's generally not the end of the world.  If Valve puts out Half Life Episode 3 and doesn't deliver big, that's a fairly big deal.  Or maybe they've just decided that Episode 3 is really Half Life 3.

It's also entirely possible that they're developing HL3/Ep 3 on a brand-new Source engine.  They've done very well for themselves with the original Source engine, and it's not unlikely that they're working on a new one.  That takes some doing.

[Kevin Grey]

If Valve puts out Half Life Episode 3 and doesn't deliver big, that's a fairly big deal.  Or maybe they've just decided that Episode 3 is really Half Life 3.

I think that's entirely possible what's going on- if the scale of what they want to do in Ep 3 is so big that it requires new technology and a new engine then it only makes sense to take the time to make it a fully fledged game. 

[Cragmyre]

Rumors were that they wanted to incorporate the Portal gun into the game, but I'm sure that could be very overpowered.  As to the subject at hand, my favorite part of HL2 was the Highway, though I really hated the Ant Lions, especially after future episodes!

[Kagath]

i like the part where episode 2 left in a big cliff hanger and 2 years later we have jack shit.

Bbbbbut but but Episodic games!

Yeah I never liked that idea either. 

[kronovan]

If Valve puts out Half Life Episode 3 and doesn't deliver big, that's a fairly big deal.  Or maybe they've just decided that Episode 3 is really Half Life 3.

I think that's entirely possible what's going on- if the scale of what they want to do in Ep. 3 is so big that it requires new technology and a new engine then it only makes sense to take the time to make it a fully fledged game. 

Yeah, I think Valve will go the full HL3 route rather than release a Ep. 3 that might be too small scale and not meet expectations. But is it too much to ask that it arrive sooner than the 5 years it took last time...oh, wait a minute...it's already been 5 years.    I just hope they manage to prevent the source code from being hacked again.

[Kevin Grey]

If Valve puts out Half Life Episode 3 and doesn't deliver big, that's a fairly big deal.  Or maybe they've just decided that Episode 3 is really Half Life 3.

I think that's entirely possible what's going on- if the scale of what they want to do in Ep. 3 is so big that it requires new technology and a new engine then it only makes sense to take the time to make it a fully fledged game. 

Yeah, I think Valve will go the full HL3 route rather than release a Ep. 3 that might be too small scale and not meet expectations. But is it too much to ask that it arrive sooner than the 5 years it took last time...oh, wait a minute...it's already been 5 years.    I just hope they manage to prevent the source code from being hacked again.

They've got another year- it was six years between HL1&2 (1998-2004). 

If they are going to go witih Episode 3 rather than a full HL3, I expect part of the delay is getting Portal 2 and something else ready to go along with it.  I believe one of the big motivators behind Orange Box was that they found more people were willing to buy $50-60 full price products than $20-30 "expansions".  So I doubt they are interested in releasing Episode 3 all by itself. 

[Ragnarok]

I've replayed HL2 and both episodes 4 times in waiting for Ep3 and am just finishing run through number 5.  I agree with most of the favourite parts mentioned.  I also loved the frantic end battle in Ep2 taking down the stiders with the 'Magnuson devices'.  INTENSE.  

Also, whenever this track played. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpNXztu9ndM

[whiteboyskim]

For me, it was the moment when Freeman takes the lead of the revolution towards the end. The strider battle in City 17 was epic. You're surrounded by team mates, many of whom are literally dying before your eyes, and you're just hanging on by the skin of your teeth. I ran into one room and my team was right behind me. A Combine soldier in front of me throws a grenade that sails past my head. I shot him and two more of his friends entered the room. I hear the grenade explode behind me and instinctively crouch. The body of a female medic sails past me on the right. I killed the other Combine and saw her body lying motionless on the floor.

I think that was the moment when HL2 clinched the second spot on my "Best Games of All Times" list right behind PS:T.

[leo8877]

I really thought HL2 was a giant let-down, story-wise.  Black Mesa was the coolest location in all of gamedom, then they drop you in miserable, boring City-17.  That said, the episodes were better.  I can't think of something that stood out more than others, but I surely did crap my pants with that ending to Ep2.  Like most others, I wish they would have come out with the next one faster.  I think there's only been that one piece of concept art that was shown over a year ago.

[Kevin Grey]

I really thought HL2 was a giant let-down, story-wise.  Black Mesa was the coolest location in all of gamedom, then they drop you in miserable, boring City-17.

Man, I couldn't disagree more.  Black Mesa was indeed awesome but I think City 17 is one of the most evocative gaming locations I've ever encountered and I think it was a stroke of brilliance on Valve's part to fast forward and relocate the narrative to such a dramatic extent. 

[Freezer-TPF-]

It's hard to choose.  HL2 was a masterpiece.  A few faves:

City 17 with the giant video propaganda boards blaring at you in an empty shell of a city.

Hunting heads with grav gun-powered saw blades.

Tooling along the Highway and stopping at the various points of interest.

Most of the speedboat stuff.

The bridge sequence that gave me vertigo.

DOG, especially his helpful toss...

[whiteboyskim]

What I call "the final shot" of Ep1 knocked me out. It starts from the moment Freeman and Alyx get on the train and it leaves the station. The final pull-back from City 17 and all that follows floors me every time.

[Tscott]

My favorite part?  The first time my grav gun and a saw blade met a zombie...