Hitchhiker"That's the old passage to Ravenholm. We don't go there anymore." In Return To Ravenholm, Hitchiker explores the darkest corner of Valve's Half-Life 2, taking us on a tour of a modern masterpiece of survival horror.
Issue 51: Casual Friday - Return To Ravenholm
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
Original Comment by: Louis Wu
http://www.pojclan.co.uk
Whilst I really enjoyed that chapter of the game (I thought the level design, and gameplay were excellent) I didn't actually find it scary in anyway.
To be honest I believe it has to do mainly with HL2's graphical style, it doesn't lend itself well too tight, close quarters, "jump" scares, unlike doom 3 which pulls it off like there's no tommorow (albiet, used too often).
Due to the engines nature, the players wide perphial vision, and the large areas that you can see, there just isn't time for a slow moving zombie to jump out and scare you.
I think artistic design has a lot to do with a fear factor of a game, and I don't believe HL2 has the correct design for that purpose.
http://www.pojclan.co.uk
Whilst I really enjoyed that chapter of the game (I thought the level design, and gameplay were excellent) I didn't actually find it scary in anyway.
To be honest I believe it has to do mainly with HL2's graphical style, it doesn't lend itself well too tight, close quarters, "jump" scares, unlike doom 3 which pulls it off like there's no tommorow (albiet, used too often).
Due to the engines nature, the players wide perphial vision, and the large areas that you can see, there just isn't time for a slow moving zombie to jump out and scare you.
I think artistic design has a lot to do with a fear factor of a game, and I don't believe HL2 has the correct design for that purpose.
Original Comment by: Zuben
Actually the first time I played Half Life 2 I got through Ravenholme without that much lasting trauma, but when I replayed it recently I found myself repeatedly hitting the pause button and backing away when it all got too much. I don't know why but some sort of venom-crab-phobia must have been building since I completed the game - in the end I cured it by standing still and letting one of them bite me repeatedly to try and desensitize myself. Great level.
Actually the first time I played Half Life 2 I got through Ravenholme without that much lasting trauma, but when I replayed it recently I found myself repeatedly hitting the pause button and backing away when it all got too much. I don't know why but some sort of venom-crab-phobia must have been building since I completed the game - in the end I cured it by standing still and letting one of them bite me repeatedly to try and desensitize myself. Great level.
Original Comment by: Ricardo R.
Wow, that article took me back in time. I remember playing and finishing HL2 the first weekend it was out. I was one of many who had several technical issues regarding sound quality and random game pauses and freezes. I didn't let that stop me though. Actually, I was hooked on the game after the first 10-15 minutes of gameplay and even the frustratingly frequent restarts and hiccups weren't enough to deter me from the game. I distinctly remember arriving at Ravenholm a little after 10pm that first Saturday night after having solved most of the technical issues. I had my Sony studio headphones on and the atmosphere and ambience of Ravenholm completely overwhelmed me. (run on sentence warning) When you are gaming at night, and you're completely focused on the game, the sound of one of those head crab zombies coming at you from behind, and then having your sister pinch you from behind at that exact moment that it strikes at your back, because she's been calling your name out for the past minute, but you can't hear her because of the awesome noise cancelling headphones, you should not be blamed for anything that occurs thereafter. In the following 2 seconds I managed to scream like a little girl, throw off the headphones and push myself away from the screen only to run over my sister's toes with my chair's wheels, and then hear her scream in agony. Man! That moment was priceless. Well, priceless for me at least. My sister, on the other hand, probably doesn't share that mentality.
Wow, that article took me back in time. I remember playing and finishing HL2 the first weekend it was out. I was one of many who had several technical issues regarding sound quality and random game pauses and freezes. I didn't let that stop me though. Actually, I was hooked on the game after the first 10-15 minutes of gameplay and even the frustratingly frequent restarts and hiccups weren't enough to deter me from the game. I distinctly remember arriving at Ravenholm a little after 10pm that first Saturday night after having solved most of the technical issues. I had my Sony studio headphones on and the atmosphere and ambience of Ravenholm completely overwhelmed me. (run on sentence warning) When you are gaming at night, and you're completely focused on the game, the sound of one of those head crab zombies coming at you from behind, and then having your sister pinch you from behind at that exact moment that it strikes at your back, because she's been calling your name out for the past minute, but you can't hear her because of the awesome noise cancelling headphones, you should not be blamed for anything that occurs thereafter. In the following 2 seconds I managed to scream like a little girl, throw off the headphones and push myself away from the screen only to run over my sister's toes with my chair's wheels, and then hear her scream in agony. Man! That moment was priceless. Well, priceless for me at least. My sister, on the other hand, probably doesn't share that mentality.