HL2: Episdode one only 4-6 hours long?

Matmulder

Matmulder

Matmulder

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Surprisingly enough, Valve has announced Episode 2 for HL2:

Clicky

However, they do state that Ep1 will offer between 4 to 6 hours of gameplay time.

4-6 hours? What with developers always overestimating these times, lets say it offers 4 hours tops. 4 hours?? Thats one nights gaming for most, 2 for the casual player. I'd have to sell for about £15 I reckon, but even thats way overpriced for 4 hours gameplay.

Lets say 4 episodes, giving 16 hours total play time. Total cost? £60 :o
 
HL2 EP1 has been announced as selling for $19.99, so yes about £15.

As far as I'm concerned, for how good those four hours are going to be, it's worth it. I'd much prefer a short, but great game to one that dragged on forever and was dull as ditch water.

fini
 
ive heard of publishers telling developers that they want highly polished games that last 4-6 hours(so its possible for the dev to get the game done quickly) and this is for console games which sell up to 50 quid.
 
Phil99 said:
Any idea on how many hours the original HL2 was quoted at?
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I'm not sure, it took me a good solid day of playing to complete it on easy from start to finish. Didn't record how long it took on the other difficulties though
 
At least 4 hours when approached properly, I'd wager.

In cases where developers are focussing on quality over quantity, people are spoiling it for themselves by racing through gams at breakneck speed. Take Max Payne 2, for example. Widely panned for being a 'short' game, but it lasted me a couple of weeks. There is incredible attention to detail in that game, lots of in-jokes and subtle humour, heck, I spent over an hour on the Police Station level alone :)

If people wanna rush through a game, not exhaust all the coversations with characters, and explore sideroutes, then so be it, but it's a bit harsh when they turn round and brand a game short, when they haven't even checked out all the content the developer included.

Look at it this way: If a game forces a player down a certain path, with very little side content, then the time taken to complete it is relatively easy to predict. Yet the game will often be branded too linear and boring. Whereas games which are much mroe open-ended, with scope for exploration and choice on the player's part, run the risk of being called short by gamers who missed out large chunks of it.
 
It is only an expansion pack though. I mean, Opposing Force was probably the longest I've seen an "actiony" FPS expansion pack stretch to, and that wasn't all that long really.
 
Not really worth it unless it was around £5, they've already made the hard stuff in HL2 so i don't see how they can justify that much for what amounts to a few extra levels and a short story.
 
HangTime said:
At least 4 hours when approached properly, I'd wager.

In cases where developers are focussing on quality over quantity, people are spoiling it for themselves by racing through gams at breakneck speed. Take Max Payne 2, for example. Widely panned for being a 'short' game, but it lasted me a couple of weeks. There is incredible attention to detail in that game, lots of in-jokes and subtle humour, heck, I spent over an hour on the Police Station level alone :)

If people wanna rush through a game, not exhaust all the coversations with characters, and explore sideroutes, then so be it, but it's a bit harsh when they turn round and brand a game short, when they haven't even checked out all the content the developer included.

Look at it this way: If a game forces a player down a certain path, with very little side content, then the time taken to complete it is relatively easy to predict. Yet the game will often be branded too linear and boring. Whereas games which are much mroe open-ended, with scope for exploration and choice on the player's part, run the risk of being called short by gamers who missed out large chunks of it.
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I agree with that... I hate it when people brag about how quickly they completed a game. I remember back in the day when I first got Baldurs Gate, a mate of mine hammered it, missed out most of the stuff and finnished it in an obscene amount of time. I on the other hand played through it all, did all the side quests and it lasted me for ages! HL2 took me a good couple weeks to play through when I got it.

I think its a good idea what Valve are doing by splitting it up into episodes. It will prolong it and I'll have something new to look forward to each month (or how ever often Valve release a new part). I dont mind paying a tenner for an addon. Think of it this way... how many of you go to the cinema and pay over a fiver now to see a film, top that up with drinks, popcorn etc and it can cost you best part of a tenner for less than 2hrs enjoyment...
 
a game should last 14-18hrs imo. hl2 took me a few weeks, but i didnt play that non-stop. FEAR on the other hand, i completed it the same day i got it, in ~8hrs... just wasnt long enough.
 
£15 for 4hours ;/ for most gamers lets say a hour or so ? ,, still i will buy it becoz i like playin hl2 :)
 
Maybe sounds expensive but I took my time on original HL2 and completed it in a few weeks. I still go back now and play some of the missions as it just still impresses the hell out of me.

How many people play the game just to complete or play it and be immersed in the look/feel etc. I spent a fair while just wandering and mucking about in lost coast.

Heh maybe its just old age :P
 
fini said:
HL2 EP1 has been announced as selling for $19.99, so yes about £15.
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That's assuming the exchange rate actually works half decently. American prices have a mysterious habit of turning into UK prices by simply swapping the $ for a £ when they cross they pond.
 
1ofaKind said:
Maybe sounds expensive but I took my time on original HL2 and completed it in a few weeks. I still go back now and play some of the missions as it just still impresses the hell out of me.

How many people play the game just to complete or play it and be immersed in the look/feel etc. I spent a fair while just wandering and mucking about in lost coast.

Heh maybe its just old age :P
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i make my own stuff to shoot on it in console, fun making 20zombies and blowing them up ^^
 
Meh, I was hoping for it to be a couple of hours longer than that.

Saying that however, BlueShift was a very short game, and that was fantastic in my opinion, as it had the quality. Opposing Force was still far better though, as it was nice, long and had the best bits of Half-Life.

As long as Valve do a good job of Episode 1, I'll be happy, I doubt they'll just whack a few new levels and things in, it's gotta be an improvement on, or a repeat of all the good bits from Half-Life 2.

$19.95 is a bit steep, but I suppose they've got to put a bigish price on it as they'll be selling it retail. In my opinion it should cost $14.95 or $9.95 like the older Half-Life games on Steam do, but hey, I don't work for Valve so can't really do much :p
 
vonhelmet said:
That's assuming the exchange rate actually works half decently. American prices have a mysterious habit of turning into UK prices by simply swapping the $ for a £ when they cross they pond.
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buy it on steam and it will be £15 as the price is always in dollors on steam.
;)

some people said fear was short, I guess they missed all the power ups and phone messages by rushing through.

Each to their own.
 
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