Gripes about the writing

[Corvin]

Yeah... if we accept them at face value you'll have to declare Fallout 3 a great game, Garlic.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

Nonsense, they all said it would be considered to be a new standard for FPS gaming but none stated that it would revolutionize anything, very few did at the least.
That's how the gaming media works.

I guess it partly depends on what is meant by revolutionary but most did only refer to it in terms of being a minor revolution (ie, raising the bar) and there were notably less (probably about 1/8 or 1/10) that marked it as a bigger revolution (I only went down about half of MetaCritic for those quotes). I guess it was hyped more via word of mouth (both verbal and written [forums, blogs, etc.]) than it was by critics but there still were those who were extreme about it. That said, after reading through all of those quotes, I didn't see a whole lot talking about the physics (which I agree probably was a special piece [not that I'm well versed on it]), I saw much more mention of the story and storytelling (that latter of which I'd agree it did extremely well) as well as an overall package.

Yeah... if we accept them at face value you'll have to declare Fallout 3 a great game, Garlic.

How so? I said that I disagree with them and that it was overrated.

 

[Commiered]

Yeah Grizzly, I KNOW the story, I know how you find snippets of stuff, I know all the G-Man using you stuff etc. I understand the story what there was of it, it just wasn't a very good story, sorry. It was told badly, had bad pacing, and was extremely derivative.

How often have we had an 'aliens take over the world, it's time to fight back' storyline?

Seeing a piece of graffiti on the wall with the evolution from ape to man to combine trooper isn't some grand piece of subtle writing.

What I wanted to understand from the game, maybe you can tell me as you know the story so well, was how a city in Eastern Europe is populated only with Americans? Why is Ravenloft like a US suburban town achitecturewise while in an Eastern European city? Why are there English warning signs on pipes etc. in a city that uses a kind of Cyrillic?

I don't know, this didn't make sense, maybe it was too subtle for me.

Oh and I read the backstory part of HL 2 in the booklet that came with the Collectors Edition, so actually I know more about the Combine and how they came to rule the Earth better than it is explained in the game.

 

[DethPenguin]

"If we're meeting face to face, then show yourself. Don't hide behind a monitor."

"Ah, but I have! I am right here before you."

"[SCIENCE] You're a computer! I should of guessed as such."



Yes.... How does blatantly stating the obvious relate to being a "science-guy".

 

[analord]

Yeah Grizzly, I KNOW the story, I know how you find snippets of stuff, I know all the G-Man using you stuff etc. I understand the story what there was of it, it just wasn't a very good story, sorry. It was told badly, had bad pacing, and was extremely derivative.

How often have we had an 'aliens take over the world, it's time to fight back' storyline?

Seeing a piece of graffiti on the wall with the evolution from ape to man to combine trooper isn't some grand piece of subtle writing.

What I wanted to understand from the game, maybe you can tell me as you know the story so well, was how a city in Eastern Europe is populated only with Americans? Why is Ravenloft like a US suburban town achitecturewise while in an Eastern European city? Why are there English warning signs on pipes etc. in a city that uses a kind of Cyrillic?

I don't know, this didn't make sense, maybe it was too subtle for me.

Oh and I read the backstory part of HL 2 in the booklet that came with the Collectors Edition, so actually I know more about the Combine and how they came to rule the Earth better than it is explained in the game.

What do you think are the influences of half life 2? And also if Half-life 2 has been so done what is it exactly ripping off? Where the protagonist is a catalyst (the "one") to overthrow the government?

Also the reason Freeman seems so randomly to start out on a train is because he was literally teleported there. Remember teleportation?

 

[Tagaziel]

Yeah Grizzly, I KNOW the story, I know how you find snippets of stuff, I know all the G-Man using you stuff etc. I understand the story what there was of it, it just wasn't a very good story, sorry. It was told badly, had bad pacing, and was extremely derivative.

The storytelling is excellent, it's just different from what you've seen. You have to piece everything together yourself, connect the dots without any help. This is designed to make you feel like Freeman, to actually experience what it means to be thrust without so much as a single word of explanation into a hostile world.

How often have we had an 'aliens take over the world, it's time to fight back' storyline?

You didn't understand the story. The reason the Combine hasn't eradicated our species yet is because we know the secret of local teleportation. That's what Breen traded in exchange for our survival... until he can deliver local teleportation technology.

Seeing a piece of graffiti on the wall with the evolution from ape to man to combine trooper isn't some grand piece of subtle writing.

It's an element. HL2 has a very concious design, and if you are unable to find the dots and connect them, it's your fault. The writing is excellent and quite realistic. If you suddenly had to sit through fifteen minutes of exposition a'la MGS, it'd break immersion in the game greatly.

What I wanted to understand from the game, maybe you can tell me as you know the story so well, was how a city in Eastern Europe is populated only with Americans? Why is Ravenloft like a US suburban town achitecturewise while in an Eastern European city? Why are there English warning signs on pipes etc. in a city that uses a kind of Cyrillic?

The Combine has been relocating humans constantly to further destabilize their psyche and ability to resist. It's stated in the first two minutes, by the train citizen:

"I don't know how many times I've been relocated. I can't take much more."

And Breen:

"Welcome. Welcome to City 17. You have chosen or been chosen to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers."

America, which took propably the biggest hit during the Portal Storms opened up by the Resonance Cascade, is quite propably a total wasteland by now, and most people either escaped to Europe or were forced to relocate by the Combine. Native Europans, on the other hands, propably were sent to Asia, Australia or Africa.

Why are there English signs? Well, Americans don't really know how to read or understand cyrillic, now do they?

And Ravenholm... Ravenholm is basically an Eastern Europe mining town. I live in Eastern Europe so I know how they look.

I don't know, this didn't make sense, maybe it was too subtle for me.

You need to pay moar attention, that's all.

Oh and I read the backstory part of HL 2 in the booklet that came with the Collectors Edition, so actually I know more about the Combine and how they came to rule the Earth better than it is explained in the game.

In the game it requires moar attention paid.