 |
| |
Preview of: Half-Life 2 | By: Justin Fenico |
14 May-2004 |
|
My second year at E3 is also marked by my second seating of a Half-Life 2 demo. Arguably better than last year’s demo, Half-Life 2 is getting more and more hype. Due for release this summer, Hl2’s demo showed much more than expected. |
 |
Starting out again with our friend the G-Man, I could see the full presentation of the source engine. Once again his eerie stare and perfectly lip synching lips were greeted by the audience’s admiration. The look and feel of not only the G-Man, but of all HL2 characters, is something that still catches me off guard. The demo also showed some more amazing graphics, vehicle use, and even a little bit more City 17.
One in particular moment during the demo was the use of vehicles. No longer are they shoddy last minute add-ons with a clunky feel. Now with the source engine, vehicles can be created (and have been created) to have a more realistic feel. Driving vehicles seem to be much easier to use this time around as well. The player in the demo seemed to have a fascination of running over some enemies.
To show off some more eye candy (as if we haven’t seen enough), there were a few moments of flying high speed across a swamp in a little dune buggy. Watching the water reflect the vehicle and the bullet splashes as the player ripped across the swamp was intense. The added effect of seeing fire burn across certain parts of the swamp made things even better. It’s going to be interesting to see how good this game looks on the average PC. If they are half as good as they are now, we are all going to need a change of pants.
The demo also showed off some new baddies such as fast zombies. True to their name, fast zombies come out you fiercely without hesitation. There was also the use of bouncing mines. These little objects roll around after you until you decide to blast them away or maybe use them to your advantage. In the demo, I watched as the player used the gravity gun to pick up a mine and hurl it towards the direction of some enemies.
As you can imagine, the physics displayed during the HL2 demo were in full force. Bodies were being thrown all over the place with explosions, objects, and gun fire. Second to the graphics, the physics and manipulation in HL2 is probably the best that we will see in any game.
Finally, the most exciting news from the demo was that not only will we be getting HL2, but also all of our favorite mods are being ported using the source engine. TF Classic, Day of Defeat, and the most popular of them all, Counter Strike will be joining the game on release day. Though the mods might not have all the effects of the source engine, Valve is waiting to see which mod makers make full use of it. The graphics alone are enough to give each mod a shot of adrenaline. If that wasn’t enough, Gabe Newell was kind enough to show us a quick demo of Counter Strike on the map DE Aztec. Even though the structures and outline of the map were kept the same, the look, feel, and atmosphere, were totally different. The first time I saw the source engine in the flesh I knew that mods like Counter Strike would benefit. This demo gives me even more reason to be excited. The summer can’t get here fast enough.
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
