| Mazty said: "As you decide to experience it" How is my experience going to be any different to any one elses? Everyone's experience of a game, will differ slightly, even in linear games. There are subtle clues and hidden messages within the game which are there for you to pick up should you wish to. "The whole point is that you don't have anything to serve as a reminder that you are playing the game." Neccessary evils, I've already explained the point of him being mute and you really don't seem to understand the concept at all. The invincible NPCs are needed to tell the story and when something does finally happen to these characters, make it all the more shocking. As much as you keep saying "You are Gordon Freeman", well, what's the big deal with that? Because the game keeps building up Gordon Freeman as the saviour and the one "Free-man". Essentilly saying that this whole world is dependent on the actions you take in the game. YOU are important. Very few other FPS games subtlely build up a character so well, a character that is actually the player, even though he's got a seperate name. In CoD, you're just a lowly soldier (who gets asked to take out all the important stuff), in UT2004 you're a nobody, practically a drone in countless thousands, in Doom3 you're just no-name, no mates Doom guy. In any other FPS you are someone else. In UT2004, you are yourself. In the CoD series, you are a soldier. As HL2 is limiting in the world it presents you, it never truly feels like you are actually someone as you are herded every step of the way, just with invisible methods e.g. linear path, invincible NPC's etc. The problem I find is that HL2 is far too scripted. Every event just has NPC's talking at you rather than to you. I can be bouncing around a room or messing with props and the NPCs carry on almost like drones. Yes the game is technically limited, but the fact that you never get to speak winds me up and it feels like I'm just a tool with a gun rather than a living, breathing character in a living, breathing world. |
Do you actually enjoy the single player campaign in the CoD games because a lot of the narrative ideas they used have their basis in Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Take CoD4 as an example, everything is hugely scripted and I could bounce around as much as I wanted when Captain Price is talking to me and giving me orders. I'm not sure why you think the linearity is such a big problem. As Reasonable has already posted, every game has restraints and in Half-Life 2 its telling you a story that you get to interact with. You only have a set amount of freedom in any game. And in many games, having choices actually detracts from intensity of certain events. When scripted, the developers can control the experience and devote more time to intense and emotional events.
I'm going to use CoD4 as an example as the best scene from the Half-Life series are in ep2 and I've already mentioned that previously. But take the scene in CoD4 after the nuke has gone off. Its completely scripted, but it still offers you control of your character, almost giving an illusion of control. Half-Life does this and does it well.
