Zone Alarm is one of the better firewalls with a free version.

Agree with BigRedCat I don't even bother to compare HL2 to anything like the miltary Rainbow Six stuff since its meant to be a diffrent experience.

I generall put FPS in 3 catagories

1- Serious Sam, Painkiller type games
2-Stuff like Halo, Half-Life etc
3- Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon style(one shot your dead type military shooters)

Not sure what I'd call the catagories. Maybe someone else can think of good names.

Well your doing what you have to do. Dispute the charges. You should also go back to the store and let them know that when they refuse to do a exchange. The few times I have been given the run-around when this stuff has happed I've simply said "Either give me a refund/exchange or I'm calling the bank and disputing the charges". Everytime they have gotten cooperative.

Didn't think I could have more fun than I've had trying all sorts of stuff out with the gravity gun, but after going through the part where you get to control the Ant Lions I may have. Those buggers were a blast mess around with. I'll admit though I had visions of Starship troopers when those things were around with the way they looked.

[great]

Very true but I do think that such a game shouldn't be call "revolutionary".


HL2 is a great FPS but it doesn't expand the genre in any way.   And in some ways (like those I mentioned) it is actually a step back in the genre.

Then you havn't gotten the gravity gun yet, and or havn't really tried to use it yet. There has been nothing ever in any game before that is similar to that gameplay mechanic. That right there qualifies as innovative. Stop think about just blasting the enemies as fast as you can and moving on(This isn't Serious Sam or Painkiller). I suspect there are people missing out on allot of potentially cool things because they think its just move and shoot. Your loss if this is how you think.

Another way it is really, really a step back is the linearity.  I am up to the point with the boat and so far it has been virutually impossible to get lost or confused becuase there is only one way to go anywhere.  Sure you can kill things in different ways but there is only one path through each of the levels.

Why do people complain about linearity in a FPS? There all linear. The only one ever to maybe be able to say its not is Farcry in its outdoor areas. Otherwise this is a complaint you would have for any FPS out there. And whats bad about linear. There are tons of great games like side-scrolling stuff that are linear but fun. Wether a game is linear or not doesn't mean it isn't good.

The gravity gun is just a blast. Its another innovative thing thats the first gamplay mechanic to truely show off what a phyics system can do. The objects also behave pretty close to reality. This isn't the goofy floaty physics that so many games before have done(i.e. where everything feels like its made of styrofoam). Drop a concrete block and it thuds like one. Shoot off a tire and it will roll, bounce and spin like a tire would.

Half-Life
Civilization

Baldur's Gate 2
Alpha Centauri

I personally would rather have online one-time authentication if it was used instead of stuff like Starforce and SafeDisc.

Ghost Recon 2-
someone tell me, please, what is the difference with this and the PC version, and why was the PC version delayed?

Don't know of any diffrences with that version other than the Xbox was the lead platform so the PC version will be a port job. The PS2 version is the diffent one(made by a seperate group).

Gettting better performance with 16bit over 32bit hasn't been a issue for years now. Those times left with the 3dfx Voodoo days.

Ultima VII
Half-Life
Civilization
Planescape: Torment

Baldur's Gate 2
Master of Orion 2
Starcraft
Alpha Centauri

The LOD was noticable at times, mostly when they switched to a close up on a character and it happened, but I thought it was minor myself.

So places like BB(possibly with the ok of Viviendi) start to sell the game early . What do gamers here to? Rag on Valve more even though they had nothing to do with it and are stuck with not activation the game until the 16th for contract reasons. I swear this Valve bashing is just getting pathetic people. Is it possible for you complainers to give them a break just once?  SHeesh people...

The one game this year I'll be getting as soon as it goes on sale. Will probably be one of those schmucks waiting in line several hours to get the pre-order. Sorta sucks seeing now that their releasing Bloodlines the same day. Really interested in that game but HL2 is 6 years in waiting and I know I won't be able to hold out.

Guess its area to area. My local Gamestop has always kept a PC section. Its been moved around as all the new consoles have come in but they carry all the new stuff and a fair amount of older stuff. Maybe its because I live in a college town so the percentage of PC gamers is higher or something.

Rome: Total War
Ultima VII
Half-Life
Age of Wonders 2
The Secret of Monkey Island
Civilization
Panzer General
Ultima V

Freespace 2
Baldur's Gate 2
Diablo 2
Master of Orion 2
Starcraft
Knights of the Old Republic
Civilization 2
Master of Magic

You know Jumangi, your bard can summons a healer.

The healer is pretty neat because she is pretty good (not great) at healing in the heat of battle. However, the baddies tend to go after her if I don't position myself carefully. And the healer of course is a very weak fighter and is dispatched pretty easily. However, if you sneak away from the battle, you simply re summons her and away you go.

With the healer I have no need to use the summons Angel.

WHile I am not loving this game yet, it is pretty fun to play and as soon as I finish here, I'm going back to it.

Yes I know you get that. That doesn't help me if I want to use the other characters though. Also as you said the healer is a very weak fighter. Bottom line IMO just keep the darn simple mana/healing potion mechanic(one button). Yea its old but it works.

The Halo series was designed as a trilogy, I think they said something along those lines in an interview.  I wouldn't be surprised if they went to four games considering the first one was so low on story content.

What isn't at least a trilogy these days.

If interested, look on eBay for dirt cheap deals, and when it's time to ante up for another year of subscription service via Norton, just go back to eBay and buy another copy for less than the subscription renewal fee.

The subscription service time resets itself every time you install it.

Is this game a port of some sort from the console's Rising Sun?

No, the MOH games on the PC and console have always been seperate. Same theme of course but diffrent teams and engines used.

[a lot]

I played the demo for pc yesterday, on my aging computer. It's a 1.2 Thunderbird, with 512 MB RAM and a geforce4 t4400. Anyway, the demo only featured the first 3 levels, but I liked them a lot!

If you don't mind what you got in the first 3 levels for the rest of the game then you'll be happy with it.

The no invert for the camera is annoying but so far I have learned to live with it. No idea why they don't have it since the other games using this engine have it. The bigger problem is the totally dumb way of healing. The basic gameplay is still the hack'n slash of the DA games so you need the ability to quickly heal whne your in the thick of it, but they make you do three things(right trigger + a + b) to heal instead of one button, then you have to watch the same short scene of the angel over an over again. How someone thought this was a good idea is beyond me.

The demo was descent. Its has that attempt at a GTA openess with some humor thrown in. Seems like a pretty under the radar title but could be fun.

Don't understand what the point of putting his name on it is for. I guess is because his name is failry unique as I doubt you would get barely 1 in 100 gamers who could tell you anything about the guy.

I remember the excuses for high game prices - the printing of the box and manual but now there is no manual and yet the game still sells for $55. That's my problem. Companies are giving us less and less yet expect us to pay more and more. But, like Jeff said, vote with your wallets.

Well thats were your wrong. A big title on par with something like HL2 in the late 80's would sell for $69.99 or so at retail. Yea you got the fold out cloth map for your copy of Ultima IV and the manual but in the end its the game that matters. If games kept up with the prices of years past you would be paying $80 for the basic retail package of HL2 today.

Putting coop in a game like Hl2 isn't the same as in DOOM or Serious Sam. Not sure why people can't see that, and expect that it should be some simple thing to do.

It may not be a simple thing to do, but there sure seems to be a lot of people who would enjoy it.

I don't see why it can't be done - it's software - the developers can do whatever they want! It would just take more development time.

Well as Laner said I think despite what boards like this and GG may have in interest that in reality its a vocal minority. Gaming message boards represent a fraction of the gaming population as a whole.

Well as you said its about time. Putting co-op in a game like HL2 is not the same as Serious Sam. You would need to do allot of work with major re-design of the gameplay, and world to make it decent and playable. Thats allot more time and money.

Who cares wether or not a FPS has a manual. Its a waste anyways for that type of game. Also don't know why you would need a strategy guide for a FPS. A RPG or a adventure game yea but a guide for a shooter seems like more of a waste.

Putting coop in a game like Hl2 isn't the same as in DOOM or Serious Sam. Not sure why people can't see that, and expect that it should be some simple thing to do.

I've had zero problems. Just look at the list and if none of the games are on it then go ahead with it.

I say fire up the original CS go have fun on some servers. Oh make sure you change your name from "Player" hehe that never goes over to well.  But mostly have some patience with yourself and enjoy it.

Does the updated Source version include the bots from CZ? Although they arn't a replacement for real people I think they could be a could be a descent trainer for someone to at least learn the maps and weapons before jumping into the online pool witht the pirahnas.

I guess if you have no other consoles and a really old PC this could be a game worth getting, but with other shooters like Halo 2, HL2, GR 2 etc coming out this looks like a "Maybe I'll rent it out someday..." title.

Rome: Total War
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
Wing Commander 3
Ultima VII
Thief: The Dark Project
Half-Life
Age of Wonders 2
Warcraft II
The Secret of Monkey Island
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
No Vote
Civilization
Panzer General
Diablo
Battlefield 1942
Ultima Underworld


Freespace 2
Unreal Tournament 2004
Baldur's Gate 2
System Shock 2
Diablo 2
Quake
Master of Orion 2
Wizardry
No Vote
Starcraft
Ghost Recon
Knights of the Old Republic
Civilization 2
Star Wars: Tie Fighter
Master of Magic
Alpha Centauri

Havn't played the game myself but the idea of it selling the stuff automatically sounds nice to me. I like having a inventory too, but the constantly having to teleport back to sell stuff off over and over got old too.

as much as it pains me to admit it, halo 2 is going to outsell the crap out of anything this season.
I mean 1.5 million preorders is incredible.

No it won't. Just because MS has hyped the hell out of Halo 2 doesn't mean its the only thing out there. This is the sequal to the 2 best selling console games of this generation.

I turned on the SS the other day for like the second time since the change and they had that guy who does the mods showing off a "pimp" mod case. He was dressed up like one too. The combination of him and that god awful annoying new host with the stupid hair was just too much. Leo could be annoying at times too but this show is just utter crap now...


The only stuff I can watch for more than 5 minutes on G4 now is XPlay since that seems mostly the same and I have grown to like Adam somewhat and how he rips on stuff like Final Fantasy and such, and the other review show Judgement Day. The shorter guy Talarico or whatever his name is can be annoying but the other one is ok.

Freespace 2
No Vote
Unreal Tournament 2004
Crusader: No Remorse
Baldur's Gate 2
No Vote
Wasteland
System Shock 2
No Vote
Diablo 2
SWAT 3
Quake
Star Wars: X-wing
Star Control 2
Thief 2
Wizardry
Wizardry 8
Rollercoaster Tycoon
Starcraft
Baldur's Gate
No Vote
Ghost Recon
Pirates!
Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord
No Vote
Civilization 2
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Star Wars: Tie Fighter
Master of Orion
Master of Magic
Starsiege: Tribes
Alpha Centauri

Either they have some amazing engineers or their taking a sizable hit on the thing. Don't see how they can offer what they are claiming in features and specs for that price without loosing money. But as a consumer thats not my problem. For that price I could see getting one too.

Think I hear crickets...

HL2, on the other hand, will likely be a million seller by the end of the year.

I'd bet it'll be a million seller on Nov. 16.

I don't know, Doom 3 sold 375,000 copies in the entire month of August.  It took Sims 2, what 10 days, to sell a million.  While I think HL2 is arguably a bit more sought after than Doom 3 I don't know if quite equals Sims 2.  

As JayG noted, MS has been trumpeting Halo 2's pre-order record of 1.5 million.  If HL2 was anywhere close to a million in preorders then I would expect VU to have been issuing press releases to that effect.

Maybe initially Halo would outsell HL2 but in the long run I don't think you can say that for sure. The first HL is one of the all time biggest sellers with over 7 million copies sold. Over twice what Halo has done. I would say come back a year from now and see were each one stands.

Either way their both going to sell a ton of copies.

[all]

Great news to hear, but I don't get why its talked about as this big process. Its just the editor, not a full SDK. FPS, RTS, and now even RPG games are having the editor come standard all the time now included with the game. Why has this been such a big deal in the first place?

This is a GAME we're talking about.

So what. Like others said its still a multi-million dollar investment they are trying to protect.