Games Inbox: Is Half-Life worth playing?

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First person classic
The new rumours about Half-Life 3 come at a surprising time for me, as I only played the first two games, via the fan remakes, a few weeks ago and I’ve been meaning to write in about my experiences anyway. I don’t know how controversial they are, but I actually enjoyed the first one quite a bit more than the second, now that the mods make the graphics less of an issue.

The biggest problem is that Half-Life 2 feels too long and, for me at least, lacked momentum. All those awkward semi-open world sections with the buggy and just the sense of every idea being dragged out for just a bit too long. I’m sure it was all amazing at the time but in the present day it just drags.

I also felt the gunplay was pretty mediocre. For some reason I didn’t really think of Half-Life as a first person shooter before I played them but even with the gravity gun it totally is. Predictably, the problem with the first Half-Life is the ending in the alien world, which is pretty terrible even in the remake, but beyond that I had more fun with it.

Although the fact that either of them hold up at all well after all this time is a sign that their classic status is still pretty much deserved.
Normturtle

Asset denial
To be honest, if I was Sony I would’ve bought Bungie for $3.6 billion. They’re not worth it but stopping Microsoft from owning them was an important move from Sony. In an ideal world everything would be multiformat but it’s blindingly obvious that Microsoft would’ve had Bungie working on Halo before the cheque had even dried.

And no matter how it turned a) it couldn’t be worse than what 343 Industries has done and b) the hype would be enormous, revitalising the brand and the Xbox, at least for a time. As it is now, Halo is a dead franchise and I’ve no idea how to revive, and I’m sure Microsoft doesn’t either.

If Sony’s so keen on live service games I’m sure they can find a use for Bungie, no matter what happens to Destiny 2. They only need the developers, not the useless management.
Crony

Overwatches all the way down
It does make me wonder when I see people talking about ‘gloom and doom’ in the games industry, as if people are making everything up about the terrible things that have been happening lately. If you look at the news and think everything is hunky-dory then I really don’t know what to say. It feels like climate change deniers, who think if they refuse to accept a thing is real then somehow it’ll magically go away.

None of the current problems stop great games from being made, or at least not at the moment. In the future they might though, so unless you want to be playing nothing but free-to-play Overwatch clones in the future I suggest paying more attention to the news and not being so glib about developers being laid off by the busload.
Golem

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Same as it ever was
I didn’t know that Santa Monica Studio had had layoffs before the God Of War reboot, and that’s why that sci-fi game was cancelled. The utter indifference this industry has towards the people that make the games will never cease to amaze me. I guess it’s because so many of them work in America where you can be sacked for literally no reason, at a moment’s notice. Seriously, it’s called the ‘At-will’ law.

People point out there’s been no layoffs in Japan but there’s been relatively little in Europe either. Most of those that there have been, has been related to American companies or Embracer Group, and even then they can’t get rid of people instantly like they can in the US. No wonder so many people over there are trying to unionise. Even if it is after the horse has bolted.
Nojo

Unsung heroes
Nice to see Monolith Soft staffing up, ahead of the Switch 2 release. I think if it wasn’t for Xenoblade Chronicles being fairly nerdy Japanese role-players they’ve be recognised as one of the best developers in the business. Their technical ability on the Switch, or any Nintendo hardware, is second to none and they’re the main reason that the last two Zelda games have looks so amazing.

Personally, I hope they make something new this time. Something a bit more grounded and accessible, that doesn’t fall into all the anime tropes that Xenoblade did. It’s time for them to hit the big time and I can’t wait to see what they announce for the Switch.
Onibee

Sensible upgrade
So, what are the latest odds for the Nintendo Switch 2 being announced this year? The first one was announced in October so I’m still holding out for a reveal around that time, but I’m not sure if I’m being overly optimistic.

My second bet would be quite early in January. Nintendo said it would be before the end of March and I think if they unveil the Switch early on they can set the tone for the whole year. Or maybe I’m just saying that because I want to know as soon as possible.

Heaven knows we could all do with some good news right now and there’s nothing like a new Nintendo game, let alone a console, to cheer me up.

Perhaps the better bet, given dates can change anyway, is whether the console will be something weird or just the same thing but better graphics. I’d give it a 75% chance that it is just a sensible upgrade, but you’ve always got to leave that possibility open for Nintendo weirdness.
Tacle

What have the Romans ever done for us?
RE: TAYLOR. So apart from the ballooning time and costs to make games, the endless sacking of developers (people that actually make games), releasing unfinished games, dearth of new IPs, increasing in-game costs, endless attempts to monetise games to death, there’s a positive that they can save money on distribution, whilst not actually passing on savings to customers?

Whoop Whoop!
Kiran

Practical change
Interesting couple of Reader’s Features this weekend, one by Anthony Daniels (C-3PO!), regarding innovation in gaming and concluding that no further innovation was needed, and one by Spartas Edge about falling out of love with modern gaming. Anthony asked about what innovations we’d like to see and I’ve got a few ideas that will, hopefully, also inspire Spartas too:

Comedy games. Has there ever been a game that could, first and foremost, be described as a comedy? Sure, there’s a handful that have their moments (Portal, Monkey Island, and The Stanley Parable spring to mind), but comedy isn’t seen as a genre as say, first person shooter and role-playing games are. There’s a huge space for more inventive developers to explore here.

The two-hour game. Where are the AAA games that I can complete on a Friday evening as an alternative to a movie? There’re a few indies that fit this description but where’s the heavily advertised, ‘cultural event’ game? As an aside, this kind of thing would also be perfect for the under-used Game Pass and due to short size will be relatively cheap to make, addressing two current issues in the industry.

Better facial animation, particularly for eyes. Of course, not all games aim for photorealism and are all the better for it, but plenty do, and we’ve not completely crossed the uncanny valley yet.

The mum game. Where are the female-led equivalents to The Last Of Us and God Of War?

Probably linked to this: better female representation in the industry. Other than a few actresses and Amy Hennig, I’d struggle to name any women involved in making games, and I doubt I’m alone here. Another aside – this would also lead to more female participation in what is (still) a male-dominated space. There are very few female video essayists focussing on games, for example. And whilst it’s not possible to be sure due to the use of gamertags or other pseudonyms to sign off, it looks like none of the letters in Friday’s or Monday’s inbox have been written by women (perhaps GC can confirm, if it is able to, the percentage of female visitors/contributors to the site?).

And following from this: more recognition of individuals generally. I read these pages and others daily and have played games for over 30 years and I could name you probably less than 20 developers/producers, etc. No doubt that’s how the owners of the relevant firms like it, but how amazing would it be if (say) Yoko Toro had enough clout to say ‘I have complete creative freedom and want to create this’ – and could assemble a bespoke team specific for that project, similar to how a Hollywood producer would operate?

With the last two points in particular its not possible to explain precisely what these innovations would look like on screen, how they would control and feel like to play, or how they would differ to current experiences, but that’s really the point; there’s still so much potential in this industry. Contrary to Anthony, I think we’re just scratching the surface at what games can be, and innovation has barely begun.

Thanks both for your articles!
Julian

GC: Thank Goodness You’re Here! was only last week and it’s both a comedy and two hours long. We always use whatever username a person provides for the Inbox and don’t pry beyond that.

Inbox also-rans
Like A Dragon is such a rubbish name I don’t know what Sega were thinking, especially as Yakuza is pretty cool. Sometimes literal translations just don’t work.
Collins

I swear, if that new Darksiders game is a reboot, that still doesn’t move the story forward, I will… probably buy it anyway. Love those games!
Pinky

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The small print
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