Is Half-Life 3 really that anticipated?

[Phlogiston]

lol at all the DN:F comparisons... HL3 is in no way shape or form in the same situation as that went through for development...complete change of engine after 2 years of production, financial issues and pressures leading to loss of devs from the studio, complete change of studio at the end of its production...the only similar thing is that it's taken awhile (during which Valve have been releasing other titles anyways, again unlike DN:F devs)...

I'll be very happy when it arrives, but really I don't care how long they take so long as I'm still breathing when it finally does.

 

[Something Amyss]

I often hear jokes about how HL3 is confirmed akin to number conspiracy theories.

Well, up until about a year ago, EVERYTHING Valve did stirred up HL3/E3 rumours. While not a literal conspiracy theory, these theories would oft employ the same sort of logic that conspiracies deal in. As such, the comparison isn't completely off base. And it wasn't that long ago I saw a bunch of people stirring up stuff about whatshisface....The guy in the suit who talks with an odd voice[footnote]Oh yeah, G-Man. Or is it V'Ger?[/footnote].

The wound may finally be healing, but I'd say it's been fairly raw and agitated for years.

I've even heard it argued that it's responsible for many of the negative trends we see in video games with cutscenes taking increasing precedence over gameplay.

It's different because Valve did it.

However, bearing Duke Nukem in mind, maybe it's best for everyone to lower their expectations.

In fairness, there are several mitigating factors here. The biggest is that DNF went through multiple developers during that time. Also, we know it was actually being worked on. There's a possibility HL3 has been developed in secret for a decade, but it's more likely it hasn't been.

I think the bigger issue with managed expectations is that there's no way for HL3 to live up to fan expectations. They've built up theories and their own sense of canon to the point where there is no satisfactory ending to the game for everyone. It's like Lost. I mean, Lost had kind of a dumb ending, and this is from someone without invested theories, but I attest that any ending would have pissed off a good chunk of the fans. They sold the show on mystery, and it's easier to build mystery than to resolve it. Heroes similarly asked a lot of questions, and when they bothered to answer them, the answers often sucked. Or, at the very least, failed to satisfy a good chunk of the fans. Now add a decade opf hopes and anticipation....

Not even the mighty Gaben (pbuh) could hope to come up with something that can meet that.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Gearbox really needs to do another Brother In Arms instead of fucking Borderlands.

I do seem to recall being promised snow at the end of Hell's Highway...and I'm still waiting for said snow...


I've given up on whatever the next Half-Life game is. It has been too long, and my excitement has long since gone out. Portal 2 raised my hopes very much, what with it's teasing of Half-Life stuff, but then the universe went dark again, and you can only stand in the dark for so long before you leave the area. At this point, when the game is finally announced and released, it will more like taking a heavy backpack off and slouching down "Finally," than a jumping up and down school girl "Finally."

 

[SnowWookie]

Jesus, it's not rocket science. HL 1 was an excellent game. HL2 was an excellent game, and as long as you view the episodes as part of the whole game, it had a compelling story. People want to find out how the story ends.

I think that the Half life series is really more of a thing among people who've been with it for the whole run, i.e. pc gamers from the 90s.

I don't know if we'll ever see HL3. If we do, I expect it will an enjoyable experience. It might not be earth shattering, but it will be the usual highly polished quality Valve product.

 

[Headsprouter]

I have only played Half Life 2, not 1, or either or the separate episodes, but I want HL3 to come out purely for sake of closure. If I've played the episodes by the time it does happen, I might even buy it, I'm sure a lot of people will for the same reason, just for curiosity's sake.

Bad or good, or just plain mediocre, at least we'll have closed the book on the franchise.

A direct answer, though, no I don't anticipate it, because I don't see it happening anytime soon, say, within a year or two.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

It is so anticipated that it has gone full circle and become apathetic.

 

[ThreeName]

I own Half-Life 2: Episode 2, and I still haven't played it.

The series just doesn't excite me, to be honest. I got the Orange Box for TF2 and Portal.

 

[Erttheking]

Frankly I'm starting wonder if they really are working on it, or if it's ever actually going to get released. I kinda doubt it. What are they working on now that DOTA 2 is out anyway?

Not that I'm too worked up over it. Half Life is a decent series and I can respect that it gave a lot to games, but it really just feel like it doesn't live up to the hype.

 

[Phlogiston]

Frankly I'm starting wonder if they really are working on it, or if it's ever actually going to get released. I kinda doubt it. What are they working on now that DOTA 2 is out anyway?

Not that I'm too worked up over it. Half Life is a decent series and I can respect that it gave a lot to games, but it really just feel like it doesn't live up to the hype.

I hate to be an aged hipster, but unless you were there in 98 you won't understand what they did to FPS. 'Ground-breaking game-changer' is the only way to describe it whilst dropping some cliche bombs. And yeah a lot of what was novel about it now seems such a common part of FPS design vocabulary that it doesn't really stick out so much although I still think it's got some of the best pacing of gameplay you'll see in an FPS (other Valve titles aside)

EDIT: Personally I don't rate HL2 anywhere near as impactful as HL1, but it was overall a better game just through iteration and polish of the ideas from the original and with the benefits of the rapidly moving tech of the time.

 

[Erttheking]

Frankly I'm starting wonder if they really are working on it, or if it's ever actually going to get released. I kinda doubt it. What are they working on now that DOTA 2 is out anyway?

Not that I'm too worked up over it. Half Life is a decent series and I can respect that it gave a lot to games, but it really just feel like it doesn't live up to the hype.

I hate to be an aged hipster, but unless you were there in 98 you won't understand what they did to FPS. 'Ground-breaking game-changer' is the only way to describe it whilst dropping some cliche bombs. And yeah a lot of what was novel about it now seems such a common part of FPS design vocabulary that it doesn't really stick out so much although I still think it's got some of the best pacing of gameplay you'll see in an FPS (other Valve titles aside)

EDIT: Personally I don't rate HL2 anywhere near as impactful as HL1, but it was overall a better game just through iteration and polish of the ideas from the original and with the benefits of the rapidly moving tech of the time.

I know. I flat out said that I know it gave a lot to games. That still doesn't change the fact that from a modern perspective it just isn't that fun compared to some other games I like.

 

[DrOswald]

What hype would that be? I assume you're talking about player-generated hype, not advertising hype since Valve haven't said a word beyond the occasional "No, really, we're totally still working on it, now stop asking."

Actually, they have actively denied that anyone is working on it several times. But that was a while ago, that might not be the case anymore.

 

[Phlogiston]

I know. I flat out said that I know it gave a lot to games. That still doesn't change the fact that from a modern perspective it just isn't that fun compared to some other games I like.

I know, I can read, which is why I just stated that unless you were one of the people who first played it back in 98, you probably won't understand the pedestal that gamers from that era put Valve up on (likewise for Looking Glass Studios and even Rare RIP). ie I'm agreeing with you and suggesting why you feel differently to gamers from that period...although even being one of those I never understood the full hype at it's worst, probably just teenagers.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

i would like to see episode 3 first, but any new entry to the Half-Life series would be greatly appreciated


a new Half-Life game is one of the very few games id pre-order

 

[Kingjackl]

I'll be honest...I don't really care anymore. The more I think about it, the more it feels like they wrote themselves into a corner and are just stalling for as long as they can. It is a shame, since I used to be really into Half Life 2 and I really wanted to see how it all ends.

If it ever comes out, I'll probably give it a go, but I'm not holding my breath for it. There are other games to be excited about.

 

[Haakmed]

I want HL3. Keep hoping every Christmas for it to show up in my library just waiting for me. Not really waiting for it anymore though. Besides I am getting the feeling that anticipation for it is gonna give people the same false belief that Duke Nukem was gonna be the second coming or something. I really enjoyed DNF for what it was, and was $30 well spent. HL3 will probably be the same thing.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I think Half-Life 2's a strong candidate for- hyperbole incoming! - the best game ever made.

...but right now I couldn't give a toss about more H-L, as Valve have faffed around for too long. I see their refusal to commit to something as a bit of a betrayal of one of the most important game IP's of all time. The way they left the story hanging kinda reminds me of Shenmue's fate.

Except Sega had the decency to bankrupt themselves In The Name Of Art (along with ridiculous business decisions all around, obviously), whereas I honestly don't know where Valve stand with more Half-Life. I think the Episodes were a mistake, too, so all in all Valve have seriously dropped the ball on H-L's legacy.

 

[Kajin]

I often hear jokes about how HL3 is confirmed akin to number conspiracy theories. I might be hanging around the wrong kind of crowd but what is the big deal? It's a FPS that has been released after the flood of FPS over the last generation, the last Valve-developed HL game was nearly a decade ago. I've even heard it argued that it's responsible for many of the negative trends we see in video games with cutscenes taking increasing precedence over gameplay.

I don't follow these kinds of things, so maybe fans will be able to tell me why it's taken so long. However, bearing Duke Nukem in mind, maybe it's best for everyone to lower their expectations.

The last episode ended on a cliffhanger of epic proportions. People are pissed off that they're not getting a sense of closure, and that anger is being exacerbated year after year that goes by with not even a hint of that elusive closure on the horizon.

It wouldn't be so bad if the game studio in question dropped off the face of the world and no one ever heard from them again. In that case people could simply shrug their shoulders and go "such is life". But this isn't some pissant of an unknown, small time studio. This is Valve, and they make enough money yearly to build entire swimming pools out of dosh. They could go back and make HL3 whenever they damn well want to. But not only is there no mention of it, they remain incredibly tight lipped about the whole deal even going so far as refusing to mention so much as a passing desire to possibly start working on it in the distant future.

 

[Vigormortis]

I think that you even have to ask is an answer in and of itself.

Of course, this will be lost on the people that are going to take the time to post in here saying, "I just don't care anymore."

No, of course you don't care. You "don't care" to such a degree that you still post that you don't care in any thread on the topic.

Yep. There's absolutely no anticipation for Half-Life 3. None at all. Nobody cares about it in the slightest. Hence why nobody ever talks about it.

[sub]Seriously, the irony of discussions like these is palpable. And made hilarious by the fact that almost no one even realizes how ironic they are.[/sub]

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

My best advice to Valve is to live with the shame rather than try get HL3 past this point. It could never live up to years of hype.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Yep. There's absolutely no anticipation for Half-Life 3. None at all. Nobody cares about it in the slightest. Hence why nobody ever talks about it.

That's not stealthy irony you're picking up on, though - that's people being pissed off, of being exasperated by Valve's eternally frustrating behaviour, as Kajin outlined. People are inclined to say they 'don't care anymore' because of how weary they are of the whole thing.