Half Life 2 15 to 20 hours...? What?

[Korten12]

So I was in class and a student says that HL2 is 15 to 20 hours long. I told him no, it's not. As I have beaten the game in 9 hours.

So I go and google it and apparently many people say the game is 15 to 20 hours long. But I don't see how that's possible. I beat the game on normal, I died a bit, and yet I beat it supposly 6 hours earlier then everyone else.

I just can't see how a game as linear as HL2 is apparently 15 to 20 Hours long. Where did those 6+ hours I apparently missed are.

HL2 + Episodes is that long, but they specifically mention just HL2.

So for disscussion value, is the game that long? and what time did it take you to beat it.

 

[DazZ.]

I'd say it's longer than 9 hours, although I explored everywhere and found all the Lambda things.

 

[Terminate421]

On normal I blew through it in 8 hours.

It's so overrated on difficulty...or even anything else, just the characters having good emotions and such is all I really give it.

 

[Korten12]

anyone elses thought on this?

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I completed HL2 in less than 10 hours.

I've been playing games for more than 20 years, so I imagine it's all down to how good you are and how familiar you are with typical gameplay mechanics.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I have to say...does it matter?

Is it really that important?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I have no idea how long it took me. I wasn't paying attention at the time. I probably would've ballparked it at 15-20 hours too, but my ballparks have been known to be off.

 

[DaSpoony]

Took me 16 hours. I died a few times but definitely not enough to count for 7 hours worth.

Honestly if it took you 9 hours you really missed out on a lot. I recommend you replay it.

 

[Nikolaz72]

My first playthrough was 14-16 hours. There was certain places I just could not get past, the damn level when you have to run past combines while a chopper shoots you is pretty hard on the first go.

 

[Rariow]

I very recently played it for the first time, and I played it taking my time, exploring and enjoying the enviroments. It took me no longer than about 6 hours. It kind of dissapointed me, honestly. It was excellent, and I genuinely expected the advertised 10-15 hours. So yes, it is quite a bit shorter than it's given credit for.

 

[8bitlove2a03]

I have no idea how long it took me the first time, but I can say that even now that I've played it half a dozen times it still takes at least 10 hours for me to get through it. Of course, I'm also one of those people who likes to just stop and admire random crap every once in a while, so take that as you will.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I forget exactly how long it took me on my earliest playthrough, I think it was probably 10-15 hours easy, but it could have been longer since I do like to screw around and look at the scenery in games.

 

[MSfire012]

I can understand why they say this. It took me 7,30 hours to beat Half Life 2 on normal, except the game is so freaking good I beated it like 3 times in less then a year.

 

[Gralian]

This thread has given me the exciting idea of running through Half Life 2 on hard to see if i can beat it before the stipulated 15-20 hours. I can't remember how long it took me to beat it on a normal playthrough, but i'm intrigued now, because i'm sure it only took me 6 to 7 hours, even with all the dicking around for extras and backtracking for my buggy on that one shitty level with antlions.

So, does anyone know how to reset the 'time played' stat on Steam without having to delete and reinstall it?

I haven't played Half Life 2 in years... so this will almost be like re-experiencing it for the first time. I love that feeling, i had it not that long ago with the original Deus Ex (i was genuinely surprised at many of the plot twists and later levels as i had clean forgotten it all - especially the multiple endings) and Super Mario 64, my first ever video game. Man it was such a rush getting to explore all those levels and stars again for what felt like the first time on my wii.

 

[Waaghpowa]

I think what we can take from the posts so far is that everyone has a different completion time. Therefore both of you are right. I personally don't have a time to share for my HL2 completion because I finished the game way back in the day before steam kept track of time played.

 

[wooty]

It took me near 7 years to complete HL2, actually saw the end credits only a month or so ago.
I got bored around the beach/road section.

(Bracing for the incoming hate/rage)

Spoiler

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/firehm.jpg/]

 

[Beryl77]

I've played through the game dozens of times, so I don't remember how long it took me on my first playthrough but definitely longer than 9 hours.
I don't see why it seems so impossible to you to beat the game longer than 9 hours. People play differently, even in a linear game like hl2. If you look at some "let's plays" on youtube, you'll realise that the playtime on a game like hl2 can vary a lot.
I remember when Portal 2 was released, some people finished the game in under 9 hours. There were others who played for 20 hours and Portal 2 is just as linear as hl2.

Unlike a movie, the playtime for a video game changes a lot. Mostly when people talk about the length of a game, they take the average and if I remember correctly, the average for hl2 is between 8 and 9 hours.

 

[Bobic]

Haha, what? I completed it in about 6 hours. Granted, I didnt go for ALL the collectibles but I found a fair few.

Those 6 hours include me running around a deserted level for half an hour trying to find the way to progress at least 3 times, by the way.

Took me 16 hours. I died a few times but definitely not enough to count for 7 hours worth.

Honestly if it took you 9 hours you really missed out on a lot. I recommend you replay it.

Ok, I'm not pointing fingers but one of you has to be exaggerating. I seriously doubt it could take one of you 6 and the other 16.

I did go to steam to check out how long it took me. It says I've played it for 44 minutes. That's what I get for completing half life 2 multiple times before steam included that timer thing.

Oh well, you two fight it out to decide the proper length. I'll watch.

 

[TheFPSisDead]

So I was in class and a student says that HL2 is 15 to 20 hours long. I told him no, it's not. As I have beaten the game in 9 hours.

So I go and google it and apparently many people say the game is 15 to 20 hours long. But I don't see how that's possible. I beat the game on normal, I died a bit, and yet I beat it supposly 6 hours earlier then everyone else.

I just can't see how a game as linear as HL2 is apparently 15 to 20 Hours long. Where did those 6+ hours I apparently missed are.

HL2 + Episodes is that long, but they specifically mention just HL2.

So for disscussion value, is the game that long? and what time did it take you to beat it.

No offense, but the topic seems sort of irrelevant. For example, some people can beat Portal in 2 hours, it may take others 5 or 6. Just depends on how quick someone prefers to play a game. Another good example is, CoD Blops. Apparently that campaign is only 5 or 6 hours long. took me 12 to 14. Everyone plays at his or her own pace.

 

[Rad Party God]

INB4 this thread devolves into "meh, HL2 sux ballz"

The first time I finished it, I clocked 12 hours, even less each time I finish the game, but it's definitively longer than many modern games.