| Scoobes said: 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. |
There was NO story telling in HL2. Just moving from points a -> b -> c. Reading parts of paper shows 2 things:
1) Bad game design. Expecting players to inspect every inch isn't acceptable.
2) To fit the storyline into such a small place shows how thin it truly is.
Havok had been around but it was far more to do with computational power. Taking what was a demanding PC game and saying "it did something with physics" is just testament to the PC being more powerful then consoles. Nothing more, nothing less.
G-Man? Who the **** is G-Man? I saw him multiple times throughout the game and it was bs to say the least. A guy in a suit following you and it doesn't explain who he is etc etc. Not immersive, just bizarre.
Well that refugee stuff is good, but wtf is it in the game? Want storytelling? Look at Mass Effect. Want lazy pretentious storytelling? HL2 is the game for that.
Thanks for elaborating on the storyline, but it just goes to show how poorly told the story is. ME was for me one of the most immersive and probably best games (1 & 2, never bothered with 3) I've played in terms of story. HL2 was forgettable &cliche .
