I’m not one to follow these types of games particularly close but even I’ve been looking forward to Half-Life 2’s launch. This is the kind of game you upgrade your computer and graphics card for so you can really take in the visuals and environments. It’s that good.
I was especially impressed when I started playing Half-Life 2. My jaw hit the floor. I couldn’t look away from my monitor, it looked so good, and it’s great how they implemented the physics system. ‘Was this the next generation of gaming?’ I thought to myself. I couldn’t believe we were going to be getting this high a level of games in the future.
If you play both Halo 2 and Half-Life 2, you might think the concepts are pretty similar but these aren’t just run-of-the-mill FPS games.
If I had to describe these games in a sentence, I’d say a lot of effort was put into taking the player and putting them into an alternate/simulated reality. It actually reminded me a lot of Star Tours. I know they’re two completely different things but the way they draw you in and the intentions of the creators are similar.
In Half-Life 2, the game doesn’t actually enter into cutscenes. The story progression take place as you’re playing so players are free to walk around and do as they please when events are occurring or characters are talking. On the other hand, Halo 2 does have movie-like sequences so it’s a little more loose than Half-Life 2 in that sense but a lot of the drama does unfold in real-time while the player is still in control of the character. After a battle, can I count on my allies above to provide some cover and supplies? There’s drama, a virtual world, and progression. It’s like the holy trinity of games coming together.
In these two games, the player can turn their back on a scene that’s unfolding and miss what’s going on. The player is the one deciding what it is they’re going to be looking at. This inconvenience and degree of freedom go a long way in adding a sense of reality to the world.
These games also have AI partners that attack, defend, and even converse. It adds a sense of realism that’s almost unbelievable when they take cover and group up to respond to what is happening on the battlefield.
…What have I been going on about up to this point? From here on out I’m going to talk about the prevailing viewpoint… Or maybe it will just be my opinion. I know that not all foreign gamers are going to necessarily fit this description but please allow me to provide a quick little synopsis of American games.
Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 were developed in foreign countries. Perhaps foreign gamers simply like to play in realistic environments but I feel like there is something else to it. I think that American gamers have a stronger feeling that they themselves are the character in the game that Japanese gamers don’t feel as strongly.
. Nothing too out there, but it'll probably be a nice addition
