Is Half-Life becoming too NPC focussed?

MyNameDidntFit

I think that Half-Life has become to focussed on NPCs in the episodes, especially Episode 2. Valve has gone further and further away from the format of the original Half-Life, sure change is good but... Well, they are forcing the player into bottlenecked situations where we are made to listen to NPC banter before continuing. It takes away from the sense that is Half-Life.

Its 2:30AM so I really can't be bothered carrying on for ages like I would

What are your thoughts?

---

AzH

That you are right. But at least it's not as character-centric as Metal gear Solid is. It'd be good if they made the set pieces with NPC's skippable with a click of the mouse. Especially if you're playing through a second (or more) time. You don't need to listen to the same shit (again) to follow the story.

MyNameDidntFit

Yay. LoL, on SPUF I get flamed quite frequently for my NPC hating Good to see I don't here

---

Leroy

Yeah it's sure annoying having to listen to them.

Dangar^

I liked it how in the original HL you could either choose to listen to them or give them a face full of crowbar and stroll off.

In HL2 it would've been hell, espiecally with all the episodes, to allow the player kill whichever NPC they see fit, but i do hate it how it's like


Move from battle;
Listen to NPC;
NPC unlocks door, presents you with weapon, moves something, unlocks secret exit;
go on your way;

Still, the NPC encounters arn't as bad as Mass Effect [TOO MANY GODAMN WORDS] (but atleast Mass Effects are skippable)

sOdAGoD

i liked the old half lifes like blue shift and opposing forces

MyNameDidntFit

Yup, why couldn't they just leave it with if you killed someone who was needed you got that nice little "Subject Terminated" screen and let you kill all the others...

---

Dangar^

Or even better work it so you wouldn't have to be terminated when you decided to bump off some NPC.

---

MyNameDidntFit

It only happened for plot critical elements and that's how it should be. I mean, if I kill a guy that I needed to progress and it didn't game over me I'd be annoyed because I'd have to press F7

---

Sasso

No.

Triskavanski

The episodes do not have the 4 hour long train ride.

So i don't care how long it takes with npcs.

Dangar^

Didn't this thread have like 3 pages?

---

Dr.D

lol It was cool really. After all you were thrown into a world and had no clue what was and is going on. So I enjoyed every bit of background info, blahblah and briefing.

---

Goddamn

Mr_Ash

unskippable cutscenes = cigarette break

Afnopo

I think Half-Life is alot more story based than the cut-scenes, I have played Half-Life 2 a million times and I still can't figure out who the G-man really is.

PsyK

Thats the point is it not? :P

---

Jailbait, because sometimes doing your mates sister is worth losing a friendship over.

Sierra Oscar

Well, the NPC's allow Valve to communicate the storyline in a more effective manner - in my opinion anyway.

---

MyNameDidntFit

But surely they could do it without constant scenes of:
-Stop.
-Listen.
-Wait.
-Go.

And yeah, Afnopo, you'll never figure out who the G-Man is... Valve have made it so deliberately
As a challenge; try figuring out who he is just playing Half-Life

---

Mr Psi

I've always played it for the story as much as for the game-play. Thus heavy NPC usage doesn't bother me.

Konrad

I dunno, I really like the NPC based cutscenes. I never expected the game to give me any freedom, and killable NPCs were not what made Half-Life for me. I'm very much a fan of the cutscene system in Half Life 2, as it does wonders to the "immershun". It's just really cool to see literally everything from Freeman's eyes, and the only two alternatives would be 1) lack of cutscenes, hence story telling, and 2) "film" cutscenes.

The latter is not at all in line with the originals (Half-Life, Blue Shift and Opposing Force) which included the same type of cutscene. It was a bit more subtle, but pretty much the first fifteen minutes of all three games (more like five in the case of Opposing Force) were pretty much one big unskippable introductory cutscene.

---