- Nov 24, 2008
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This is for anybody, who has confusions regarding too many versions of the game Half Life. Like I had.
HALF LIFE WITH HD PACK
This one has better character models. HD pack is actually Hi-def "character" model pack. Bugs are not fixed. All other graphics are also not touched.
HALF LIFE: SOURCE
"Source" is the graphics engine of Half Life 2. The movement of the first person has got no difference, except some improvements in interacting with objects and some more. Like you don't, in this one, push boxes by mistake or when you don't want to. In the former engine (like in the HD Pack), you would push boxes too far, so placing them at a given point would become a challenge out of such a small job. The sign boards are now more readable. They have better light reflections. With the flashlight, you can now light up half of the surface you are standing on say, with lower half of the halo of the flashlight, and with the upper half you can now light up the other surface, say ground floor. In the former version, the flashlight tends to light up only one surface.
The characters and people you meet all over look terrible in this one. And just for this reason, I chose to play only the HD pack version, instead of the Source version.
And finally, BUGS ARE NOT IMPROVED IN THE SOURCE VERSION.
It's strange for a company to come out with two different versions of the same game, with TWO DIFFERENT improvements! As if there were not enough confusions! Let us talk about these:
HALF LIFE EPISODES
"HALF LIFE"
This game is the first original game. The real story that happened. You are a newbie assistant named Gordon Freeman in a science experiment going on in a research facility, where the experiment goes wrong.
"HALF LIFE: OPPOSING FORCE"
This is the same event happening as in "Half Life", but this time you are playing someone else, and you get to hear and see a few references of the main character, which you just played in "Half Life". In the first game, some paramilitary forces are sent to save the scientists of the facility due to the catastrophe of the failure of experiment. This time, you are one of those marines.
"HALF LIFE: BLUE SHIFT"
This is the same event happening again, now from one more angle. In this one you are a security guard of the research facility, of the ample found in the first game, particularly one visible for a few seconds while your tram bypasses him while you are entering the facility.
A SMALL COMMENT ON THE EPISODES
In the game "Half Life", after you enter the facility as Gordon Freeman, a tram is taking you to your particular destination within the big facility. On the way you see a security guard banging at a door unable to open it; it was their way of showing how things were going wrong in that facility that day. In the second game "Blue Shift", you become thrilled, when you are the same guard now trying to open the same door, and Gordon Freeman passes in a tram past you looking at you!
But that's all. For after this, you don't get to see/hear about this person Gordon Freeman more than some 3 times in the game. Actually this is the mistake. In the second game "Opposing Force" also, you don't get to hear too much about Gordon Freeman. Probably they designed a third game Blue Shift only because they may have realised that there could be an other point of view of the first game that was there IN THE FIRST GAME, which could be more fun. If both the later points of view contained enough references of the first game and especially Gordon Freeman, as if it is him for whom you are doing everything-- parallel to the first game's events, just because the scientists are asking you a favor that would help Gordon Freeman because he is helping the scientists, then it would have been real fun in all three games.
But right now, "Blue Shift" becomes a little boring than the first game, and "Opposing Force" becomes a little boring than "Blue Shift", just because these are games more of their own, when it is Gordon Freeman who helps actually may be the whole planet from an unfriendly alien invasion.
HALF LIFE 2
Half Life 2, basically, starts a new story after all the Half Lifes. The setting is that after all the incidents in Half Life, some new development takes place, and there are cities developed by the rather dictator-like scientific community, and are working towards certain goals. The aliens that attacked in Half Life, are staying with the people here, the capable and intelligent ones, that is.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE ONE
The story continues.
HALF LIFE 2: LOST COAST
This is no story. This is just one level, that also a small one. Though the time of the story is Half Life 2, when Gordon Freeman is on the run, but this one is mainly to showcase what technical developments the developers of this game, Valve Software, have done in all these years. After a small mission accompanied with commentary from the developers (even that is optional), the game ends.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE TWO
The story left from Episode One continues, but does not end.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE THREE
Under development, supposedly the last of the trilogy of episodes. I truly wish the whole story RsIP in this one.
Thanks
HALF LIFE WITH HD PACK
This one has better character models. HD pack is actually Hi-def "character" model pack. Bugs are not fixed. All other graphics are also not touched.
HALF LIFE: SOURCE
"Source" is the graphics engine of Half Life 2. The movement of the first person has got no difference, except some improvements in interacting with objects and some more. Like you don't, in this one, push boxes by mistake or when you don't want to. In the former engine (like in the HD Pack), you would push boxes too far, so placing them at a given point would become a challenge out of such a small job. The sign boards are now more readable. They have better light reflections. With the flashlight, you can now light up half of the surface you are standing on say, with lower half of the halo of the flashlight, and with the upper half you can now light up the other surface, say ground floor. In the former version, the flashlight tends to light up only one surface.
The characters and people you meet all over look terrible in this one. And just for this reason, I chose to play only the HD pack version, instead of the Source version.
And finally, BUGS ARE NOT IMPROVED IN THE SOURCE VERSION.
It's strange for a company to come out with two different versions of the same game, with TWO DIFFERENT improvements! As if there were not enough confusions! Let us talk about these:
HALF LIFE EPISODES
"HALF LIFE"
This game is the first original game. The real story that happened. You are a newbie assistant named Gordon Freeman in a science experiment going on in a research facility, where the experiment goes wrong.
"HALF LIFE: OPPOSING FORCE"
This is the same event happening as in "Half Life", but this time you are playing someone else, and you get to hear and see a few references of the main character, which you just played in "Half Life". In the first game, some paramilitary forces are sent to save the scientists of the facility due to the catastrophe of the failure of experiment. This time, you are one of those marines.
"HALF LIFE: BLUE SHIFT"
This is the same event happening again, now from one more angle. In this one you are a security guard of the research facility, of the ample found in the first game, particularly one visible for a few seconds while your tram bypasses him while you are entering the facility.
A SMALL COMMENT ON THE EPISODES
In the game "Half Life", after you enter the facility as Gordon Freeman, a tram is taking you to your particular destination within the big facility. On the way you see a security guard banging at a door unable to open it; it was their way of showing how things were going wrong in that facility that day. In the second game "Blue Shift", you become thrilled, when you are the same guard now trying to open the same door, and Gordon Freeman passes in a tram past you looking at you!
But that's all. For after this, you don't get to see/hear about this person Gordon Freeman more than some 3 times in the game. Actually this is the mistake. In the second game "Opposing Force" also, you don't get to hear too much about Gordon Freeman. Probably they designed a third game Blue Shift only because they may have realised that there could be an other point of view of the first game that was there IN THE FIRST GAME, which could be more fun. If both the later points of view contained enough references of the first game and especially Gordon Freeman, as if it is him for whom you are doing everything-- parallel to the first game's events, just because the scientists are asking you a favor that would help Gordon Freeman because he is helping the scientists, then it would have been real fun in all three games.
But right now, "Blue Shift" becomes a little boring than the first game, and "Opposing Force" becomes a little boring than "Blue Shift", just because these are games more of their own, when it is Gordon Freeman who helps actually may be the whole planet from an unfriendly alien invasion.
HALF LIFE 2
Half Life 2, basically, starts a new story after all the Half Lifes. The setting is that after all the incidents in Half Life, some new development takes place, and there are cities developed by the rather dictator-like scientific community, and are working towards certain goals. The aliens that attacked in Half Life, are staying with the people here, the capable and intelligent ones, that is.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE ONE
The story continues.
HALF LIFE 2: LOST COAST
This is no story. This is just one level, that also a small one. Though the time of the story is Half Life 2, when Gordon Freeman is on the run, but this one is mainly to showcase what technical developments the developers of this game, Valve Software, have done in all these years. After a small mission accompanied with commentary from the developers (even that is optional), the game ends.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE TWO
The story left from Episode One continues, but does not end.
HALF LIFE 2: EPISODE THREE
Under development, supposedly the last of the trilogy of episodes. I truly wish the whole story RsIP in this one.
Thanks
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