Mazty said:
Let me get this right. You think that a game released before HL2 draws heavily from HL2....? Physics has been around before HL2, as HL2 was simply a modified HAVOK engine. The issue with HL2 is people read into it things that aren't there. I played a medicore at best FPS which had a water-thin storyline and was riddled with cliche characters. The only reason HL2 is praised is because it plays on the "nerd fantasy" and gave PC gamers an exclusive title in a time where consoles were starting to overtake PC gaming. |
Call of Duty 4 onwards. There's a significant and positive change in storytelling between CoD2/3 and 4.
As for physics, look at the implementations before HL2. Havok has been around for ages yet HL2 was the first (heavily modified I might add) implementation which actually made physics integral to the gameplay and consistently throughout the entire campaign. It was also a lot more natural than earlier games (and some later implementations); it gave a large variety of items that the player could interact with. Since then, a number of games have made use of physics beyond just looking "cool" and used them in the gameplay (like Bioshock or Dishonored).
As for story, the subtlties I mentioned were things like this:
That single segment image in Eli's lab explains all the backstory whilst Gordon has been in stasis.
Or segments like this showing the G-man providing help:
It isn't a simple alien invasion either as there are multiple species involved. Earth effectively becomes a place for alien refugees to escape the Combine. The events at Black Mesa eventually lead to the portal storms and numerous alien species fleeing the combine to Earth (most notably the Vortigants). This leads to a range of alien wildlife entering Earth's ecosystem like the antlions. When the Combine eventually decide to follow, they conquer Earth in the space of 7 hours (7-hour war in image 1).
Years go by and Gordon is held in stasis by the G-man throughout these events whilst the Combine solidify their hold on Earth. The G-man releases Gordon, who is none the wiser to any of these events, is in the same position as the player and has to figure out this back story based on conversations and the clues littered throughout the game. Gordon is effectively sent (by the G-man) as a catalyst to kick start a revolution as occurs during the course of the game. The extra maps/conversations/hints throughout City17 and the encampments give hints to the details of the rebel struggle and the revolution.
The G-man himself is pretty pivotal and from what I can gather, is against the Combine. The mystery surrounding his background however is one of the elements that Valve have yet to answer. I've got a bit off topic with this so I'm going to stop there. I could go on but then I'd be here all night. Needless to say, the information is in the game, you just need to notice it.
