[Turnsky]

same for me... and to think, i've been gearing my rig to handle DX2... might as well go the whole nine yards on this one

[Gortef]

ooh yea

[J.F.K.]

Originally posted by 01010


Uncensored.

Damn I'm excited.

!! Darn!

Okay, so I'm not very well-versed in the HL universe; what are the possibilities for the sequel going to be like storyline-wise? Actually, maybe someone can summarise the HL storyline for me to begin with.

[01010]

Originally posted by J.F.K.


!! Darn!

Okay, so I'm not very well-versed in the HL universe; what are the possibilities for the sequel going to be like storyline-wise? Actually, maybe someone can summarise the HL storyline for me to begin with.

Ok, not gonna bother with spoiler tags cause if you ain't played HL then your one of a few.

Basically Mr Freeman is used by the government to wipe out the xen infestation and at the end the briefcase guy gives you the choice of working for him or a fight that you cannot possibly win. If you choose to go with him its a basic the end, if you don't (Come on Missster Freeman, time to choose) you die basically.

It seems that you may end up working for a government agency but it's not really made all that clear.

[diamondgeezer]

Originally posted by 01010
Ok, not gonna bother with spoiler tags cause if you ain't played HL then your one of a few.

*waves*

[ZylonBane]

Originally posted by 01010
Basically Mr Freeman is used by the government to wipe out the xen infestation

Well, that's the simplistic explanation. This post from Usenet proposes a much more interesting (and entirely plausible) explanation. Also goes to show that people who bash Half-Life's plot as nonexistant simply aren't paying attention--

From: "mr bernard langham"
Subject: HALF-LIFE: thin plot, you say? (SPOILERS)
Date: 1998/12/20
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
References: <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]> <[email protected]>
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

>shadowy forces represented by Mr. Suit), and you've been unwittingly
>helping them to commit what amounts to a genocidal invasion of another
>world. All the time you thought they were attacking, they were just trying
>to defend themselves from *us*.

They were also, I suspect, trying to rescue their fellow Xenons from the
hideous Joseph Mengler-style experimentation carried out by human scientists
in "Questionable Ethics".

>Listen again to what the Nihilanth (the
>big floating fetus) is saying -- it's hard to make out, I know, but
>someone posted their best guess in another thread. The Nihilanth seems to
>know what's going on, and he's trying to warn you before you kill him.
>

I don't think Suitcase Man is human at all (and not just because he's a dead
ringer for the late William H Burroughs :) He reminds me far too much of
Lovecraft's Cthulhu-mythos monsters, the abominable Fungi from Yuggoth;
insect-things whose masks and gloves of human skin initially fool the unwary
but who are ultimately given away by the odd klicking and singular pauses in
their mimickry of human speech.

Rather, I think he is a member of an as yet unknown alien culture (we might
call them the Puppet Masters) who excel at playing other races off against
one other and then picking up the pieces. In this particular case, the
Puppet Masters manufacture a dirty little war between humans and Xenons in
order to expand their sphere of influence into Xenon space ("the
borderworlds"). Thanks to Gordon Freeman, they succeed beyond their wildest
dreams. Xenon is devastated; the Xenon leader Nihilanth is assassinated; and
the Puppet Masters gleefully recruit Gordon Freeman for further, as yet
unspecified projects.

Sadly, humans appear to have been ideally qualified to do the aliens dirty
work. In Half-Life, we're either rampant testosterone-fueled killing
machines (Gordon Freeman), unquestioning government goons (Nuremberg
defence-style government special forces troops "just following orders" who
execute civilians in cold blood) or Edmund Telleresque "to Hell with the
consequences, the physics is beautiful" ivory tower academics ("There goes
our grant money"). We're not too fond of thinking for ourselves, either, so
we can be guaranteed not to notice that we're being duped. The perfect
patsies.

Ironically, the debate around Half-Life's allegedly "thin" plot exactly
mirrors this. Many gamers, because it is not heavilly signposted, written in
capital letters in crayon, or explained patiently through a patronising
voiceoiver or internal monologue, will not (have not) see(n) anything but
the surface text ("Humans kick alien ass!! All right!!! But the ending was
lame!!!").

Interestingly, the Half-Life PAK file contains some stuff which never made
it into the final game (the Chum Toad and Heavy Weapons Grunt models,
amongst others). There are also a few wave files which elucidate the plot's
subtext, but were (I suspect) dropped because Valve thought (all too
charitably, it would appear) we might enjoy thinking for ourselves rather
than having everything spelt out for us.

The most telling comment comes from Suitcase Man himself when Gordon
declines the penultimate Faustian compact. He says (more in sorrow than in
anger), "Well, it looks like we *won't* be working together. No regrets, Mr
Freeman...". However, he continues (and this bit was cut from the final
game):

"...But there *are* a few survivors of your... personal holocaust... who
would like a chance to meet the man responsible for the *total annihilation
of their race*."

OTHER RELEVANT IN-GAME SPEECH:

Scientist: "The Administrator [singular] is very concerned that we get a
conclusive analysis of today's sample. I gather they [plural] went to some
lengths to get it.

Scientist: "Oh! It's you! I thought it might be another of the
Administrator's men. They're everywhere this morning."

Scientist: "I suspected this could happen, but the Administrator just
wouldn't listen."

ARGUMENT BETWEEN SCIENTIST AND SUITCASE MAN:

Suitcase Man: "I wanted to ask you..."

Scientist: "I've told you a hundred times I'm opposed to this pushing of the
(indecipherable) beyond (indecipherable) resistance levels."

Suitcase Man: (as if to a small child) "Oh no, no, no no-no-no! You are a
scientist and afraid? This is not the disciplined (indecipherable... perhaps
'response I hoped for?') If I had (indecipherable) I would certainly... I
employed greed (?)"

NIHILANTH:

Nihilanth: "You are man. He is not man. For you he waits, for you..."

Nihilanth: "Deceive you... he will deceive you..."

Nihilanth: "Alone... Not you alone... not you alone..."

Nihilanth: "Slaves... We are their slaves... we are..."

SUITCASE MAN:

Suitcase Man: "...The border world, Xen, is in *our* control for the time
being, thanks to *you*. Quite a *nasty* piece of work you managed over
there! I am impressed..."

"That's why I'm here, Mr Freeman. I have recommended your services to my...
(pauses, licks lips) ...er, *employers*... and they have authorised *me* to
offer you a *job*. They agree with me that you have *limitless potential*"

"You've proved yourself a decisive man so I don't expect you'll have any
trouble deciding what to do. (oily, ingratiating tone) If you're interested,
just step into the portal and I will take that as a 'Yes'. Otherwise...
(licks lips again) erm, I can offer you a battle you have no chance of
*winning*..."

Comments?

--
mr bernard langham . [email protected] . perth, western ashtraylia
cassetteNET/DIY lo-fi punkarama/indie vs major FAQ http://blueboy.base.org
spiral scratch independent label show/RTRfm public radio http://rtr.fm.net
--
"feel free to cite, sample, steal, sell, reference, borrow or plagiarize
anything that i have created, thought or said. information wants to be free
and intellectual property is both anachronistic and wrong" -- meme #96

[Nico]

well, the speech from nihilanth and the last speach from the suitaceman are indeed strange.

[01010]

It was always intended just to skim the surface. I think HL has a great plot, I really was drawn into that game and it was one of the first that really made my jaw drop.

As for the devil being in the details (plot wise), Halo is a very similar beast, I do like that, when a plot is only as deep as when you want to stop looking.

[Nico]

I never felt like halflife had a very deep plot ( hell no ), but it has an ambiance which was great.

[Sandwich]

Great. Thanks , ZB. Now I just have to play it... again.

[ZylonBane]

This just in--

[Turnsky]

*starts shaking uncontrollably*

now, to wait for the PC powerplay or pc gamer exclusives...

[Stryke 9]

Now, to go get a 0-day beta version and taunt you all for weeks with cryptic hints and the occasional spoiler...

And I don't even like the game particularly.

[Turnsky]

when you do, well, it's like this:

"you will give us the beta, or you will die mr bond"

[Stryke 9]

HAH! I'm not afraid of you. Do your worst!

Besides, I'd probably be more concerned with the dozen-odd viruses I'd be downloading with the prog.

[Turnsky]

the beta will probably have less bugs in it than the unpatched version of sin...

[Stryke 9]

Which is, ah, not saying much.

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Turnsky
the beta will probably have less bugs in it than the unpatched version of sin...

lol - weird collision of worlds there...


"Father, I have sinned..."

"Go thy way with peace in thy heart, my son, for your sin is now patched."

[Turnsky]

you DO realise what i was talking about right?

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Turnsky
you DO realise what i was talking about right?

What do you think?