w***@gmail.com
2013-07-13 04:53:47 UTC
Hi,
I just completed Half-Life... and let me tell you, that while this is
a great game, it is also one of the most frustrating games I've ever
played!
I see now why everyone hates Xen. I hate Xen now too.
I've never seen anyone say WHY they hated Xen... Here's why I hate
It's TOO DAMNED DIFFICULT!
Take the most difficult you've ever played... Now kick yourself in
the nuts a few times. That still doesn't equal the frustration of
playing Xen.
From reading Xen hating posts... I _thought_ people hated Xen because
they thought it was done stupidly for an alien world... or because
they though the art sucked... or because it just didn't give you a
feeling of being "there". Nope. That's not why they hate it... at
least that's not why I hate it...
Actually, Xen is pretty nice looking. I don't think I've seen nicer
"alien world" textures in any game. They looked really 3d, perhaps
MORE 3D than the ones in the rest of the levels...
And the levels certainly look nice... but looks can be decieving.
Low gravity.
Low gravity sucks. It sucked in Quake 2, and it sucks in Half-Life.
Most of the time on Xen, the low gravity wasn't a big problem. Most
of the time... But still, when you need to jump, it takes forever to
get back on your feet so you can get moving. And most of the time,
this gets you killed.
Low gravity however, is the least of my complaints. I could have
lived with Xen having low gravity.
No info about Xen before you arrive.
I had no idea for a while that those pools healed you, and it took me
forever in the beginning to figure out that those chinese "lamps" in
the cave were awctually switches.
Poor level design.
No, the levels aren't ugly. They're just really badly designed!
Okay, so I spent an hour figuring out those switches.
Then I fight this spider creature which makes baby face-huggers. And
in the process I use up most of my ammo. So now I'm without ammo.
Now I'm outside in this huge open area with these guys who shoot
lighting. Now, normally the guys who shoot lighting aren't much of a
threat. Not so here. Now they are so difficult it's frustrating as
hell! Whever I turn I get electrocuted and killed.
Meanwhile, I keep getting killed when I fall into those damned super
jump holes and they fling me 3000 feet in the air and I get crushed
when I land.
So finally I kill those bastards... and just have to contend with the
alien ships which aren't so difficult. So now I wander around for
ANOTHER hour. I keep going into those jump holes, and getting
killed... on purpouse. It seems that the only way I can get to the
teleporter is to use a jump pad and somehow land safely on the top of
those pillars... a nearly impossible task.
Finally, I manage to exploit a bug... while pushing against the side
of the jump hole, it doesn't fling me as high up. With only 40 mealth
left, I land on a platform which nearly kills me. But, I'm alive. So
I save there because it took me so long to get there. From that
point, I manage to jump on the back of a ship and ride it to the
teleporter. Hell is over... or so I thought.
(Reading a FAQ on how to kill the last guy in the game, it seems that
there's actually some sort of CAVES in those huge poles. But I never
saw any such caves! Did I just totally miss them while concentrating
on the holes and the platforms above? I don't see how I could have
walked around for so long and not seen doors in the sides of those
pillars!)
So now I'm in an alien beer factory. Doesn't bother me... aliens need
beer too. But I'm so low on ammo, this area is nearly impossible to
beat.
(Keep in mind that I have been saving every single time I kill a
monster up to this point. And sometimes several times per monster...
Up until this point in the game, I had had NO difficulty wasting the
forces that were presented to me... even that huge guy who kicked cars
at you... toss 3 or 4 explosive bags at him and detonate them all at
once from the saftey of the enclosed hall, and he was outta there...)
So I finally get into the big huge room with the last portal to
shub-niggurath or whatever the hell the guy's name is... and again,
super-difficult!
I kill the guys on the first level easy. Then I snipe all those
bastard flying things. That was a pain, but forgiveable.
Then, I ride this thing up to the second level, and before I even get
off of it, I get my ass kicked by one of those electic shooting guys.
So, I snipe him from the lower floor. Go up again... AGAIN, I'm
killed instantly before I can get off the platform. (and I'm not
exactly trying to stroll off the platform here) There was NOTHEr
bastard up there... but this one I couldn't snipe from below!
So... there was no way for me to kill this idiot from below. So... I
save the damn game, and keep going up the damn platform and trying my
damndest to jump off it before it arrives at the top and I'm
electrocuted... after 20 or so tries, I finally do it. I'm getting
REALLY frustrated with this game at this point... I can't BELIEVE that
the people who made it ACTUALLY played these last levels without
cheats on and got through it without saving over 100 times like I've
had to. I do NOT suck at playing these games... like I said, levels
on earth... no problem. Rocket laucnher fires 4 rockets on me in "On
a rail" and I expertly dodge them with split second timing.
So I'm finally on the second level. I complete the rest of the level,
getting killed several times. Difficult, but each time I get killed I
learn soemthing that prvents me from getting killed hat particular
wayy the next time. No damn 50-reloads to get past one monster.
Then I ride the last platform to to the top where the portal is...
AND I GET STUCK!
I'm stuck in the world... looking at the portal, and getting hurt
every time the elevator tries to go down. Finally, I duck, and that
unsticks me, and I jump at the portal... and miss!
Reload...
Ride the elevator up ducked this time...
STUCK!
I'm stuck when I'm ducked? I can't move! Kill self with rocket.
Reload.
Stand up while riding elevator. Get stuck. Duck. Jump through
portal.
Is it just me, or did the developers never actually ride this elevator
to the top? No matter where I stood on the elevator I got stuck. The
first time I thought it was me being too close to the pipe in the
middle of the elevator.
Now the REAL bullshit begins!
Fighting the last boss...
I've fought LOTS of bosses before. I don't have anyhting against boss
fights... but I do have something agains this one. It was a TOTAL
pain in the ass!
"Hello Mr. Boss. You're looking quite angry today."
"Oh dear, you flung an energy bolt at me. Gack! I'm dead!"
reload
"You won't do that again you... GACK! Dead!"
reload
"Oh yeah I'll just run over to this jump pad and... DEAD!"
reload
"This time I'll make it! <JUMP!> Ha ha.. I'll just land on this
platf... DEAD AGAIN?!"
reload
At this point, I start saving. a LOT. I make it to the first
platform... I save. I die. A lot. I make it to the second platform
up... I save. I die a lot. I finally figure out to equip my cross
bow, dodge the electric attacks with a strafe on this tiny platform,
sit int he healing pool between attacks, and use the crossbow to shoot
the green balls to destroy them. Which sometimes spawns enemies I
have to kill. Finally I get my health up to 100%. Save, die some
more. Then I run out of crossbow ammo. Nwo I'm screwed because I
can't shoot the teleport balls. So I jump onto the guys head, and
instead of trying to kill him that way (which invariably results in
death or teleportation) I jump down. Finally his head opens up so I
can kill him. I die a lot more. I run for a jump platform. I die.
I run for it again... I die. I run for it again... and again...
finally, I make it, and make it up to the first platform. I save.
So now I tr yto kill this guy using the same technique as before.
Save a lot, shoot his ass... but I can't dodge as easily here. But at
least I have no enemies electrocuting me, and I can duck behind that
rock to avoid the teleport.
FINALLY, a happy ending to this lifetime of hell fighting the boss. I
duck behind the rock once, and he fires electric bolts at me... I'm
like... shit... I can't dodge... too late. So I just sit there witing
to die again... and I don't!
The electroc bolts all converge at me... and hit the tip of the rock
and disperse!
Well, I don't dare move and lose this advantage. I save immediately,
and proceed to kick his ass by shooting form there and letting his
electric attacks harmlessly bounce off the rock.
Hooray! I've saved the world! (Or have I?)
After hearing people talk about how the ending sucks, I wasn't
expecting much. And I didn't get too much, but I got enough. I
thought the ending was kinda cool. And I was happy to see that guy
with the breifcase because all through the rest of the game, I didn't
see him ONCE where I was supposed to see him! (I saw him in the very
beginning talking to a scientist, but then he never appeareed at the
points he was supposed to appear at.)
If youy haven't gotten to Xen, get to Xen. The last scene before you
get to Xen kicks ass. Then STOP PLAYING! Get a savegame off someone
of just after the kill the last boss! Do NOT put yourself through
this torture! I don not exxagerate in any way when I say this is the
most difficult and frustrating section of any game I've ever played!
Well, you've read this far. :) Sorry, buy I had to vent on this damn
level... it took me 2 days to beat one last level... when the whole
rest of the game took me just 3 days to beat!
The Gman does show up in those parts, you just didn't see him, and I had to use godmode for the stupid platforming part, They should have just focused on puzzles instead of platforming.I just completed Half-Life... and let me tell you, that while this is
a great game, it is also one of the most frustrating games I've ever
played!
I see now why everyone hates Xen. I hate Xen now too.
I've never seen anyone say WHY they hated Xen... Here's why I hate
It's TOO DAMNED DIFFICULT!
Take the most difficult you've ever played... Now kick yourself in
the nuts a few times. That still doesn't equal the frustration of
playing Xen.
From reading Xen hating posts... I _thought_ people hated Xen because
they thought it was done stupidly for an alien world... or because
they though the art sucked... or because it just didn't give you a
feeling of being "there". Nope. That's not why they hate it... at
least that's not why I hate it...
Actually, Xen is pretty nice looking. I don't think I've seen nicer
"alien world" textures in any game. They looked really 3d, perhaps
MORE 3D than the ones in the rest of the levels...
And the levels certainly look nice... but looks can be decieving.
Low gravity.
Low gravity sucks. It sucked in Quake 2, and it sucks in Half-Life.
Most of the time on Xen, the low gravity wasn't a big problem. Most
of the time... But still, when you need to jump, it takes forever to
get back on your feet so you can get moving. And most of the time,
this gets you killed.
Low gravity however, is the least of my complaints. I could have
lived with Xen having low gravity.
No info about Xen before you arrive.
I had no idea for a while that those pools healed you, and it took me
forever in the beginning to figure out that those chinese "lamps" in
the cave were awctually switches.
Poor level design.
No, the levels aren't ugly. They're just really badly designed!
Okay, so I spent an hour figuring out those switches.
Then I fight this spider creature which makes baby face-huggers. And
in the process I use up most of my ammo. So now I'm without ammo.
Now I'm outside in this huge open area with these guys who shoot
lighting. Now, normally the guys who shoot lighting aren't much of a
threat. Not so here. Now they are so difficult it's frustrating as
hell! Whever I turn I get electrocuted and killed.
Meanwhile, I keep getting killed when I fall into those damned super
jump holes and they fling me 3000 feet in the air and I get crushed
when I land.
So finally I kill those bastards... and just have to contend with the
alien ships which aren't so difficult. So now I wander around for
ANOTHER hour. I keep going into those jump holes, and getting
killed... on purpouse. It seems that the only way I can get to the
teleporter is to use a jump pad and somehow land safely on the top of
those pillars... a nearly impossible task.
Finally, I manage to exploit a bug... while pushing against the side
of the jump hole, it doesn't fling me as high up. With only 40 mealth
left, I land on a platform which nearly kills me. But, I'm alive. So
I save there because it took me so long to get there. From that
point, I manage to jump on the back of a ship and ride it to the
teleporter. Hell is over... or so I thought.
(Reading a FAQ on how to kill the last guy in the game, it seems that
there's actually some sort of CAVES in those huge poles. But I never
saw any such caves! Did I just totally miss them while concentrating
on the holes and the platforms above? I don't see how I could have
walked around for so long and not seen doors in the sides of those
pillars!)
So now I'm in an alien beer factory. Doesn't bother me... aliens need
beer too. But I'm so low on ammo, this area is nearly impossible to
beat.
(Keep in mind that I have been saving every single time I kill a
monster up to this point. And sometimes several times per monster...
Up until this point in the game, I had had NO difficulty wasting the
forces that were presented to me... even that huge guy who kicked cars
at you... toss 3 or 4 explosive bags at him and detonate them all at
once from the saftey of the enclosed hall, and he was outta there...)
So I finally get into the big huge room with the last portal to
shub-niggurath or whatever the hell the guy's name is... and again,
super-difficult!
I kill the guys on the first level easy. Then I snipe all those
bastard flying things. That was a pain, but forgiveable.
Then, I ride this thing up to the second level, and before I even get
off of it, I get my ass kicked by one of those electic shooting guys.
So, I snipe him from the lower floor. Go up again... AGAIN, I'm
killed instantly before I can get off the platform. (and I'm not
exactly trying to stroll off the platform here) There was NOTHEr
bastard up there... but this one I couldn't snipe from below!
So... there was no way for me to kill this idiot from below. So... I
save the damn game, and keep going up the damn platform and trying my
damndest to jump off it before it arrives at the top and I'm
electrocuted... after 20 or so tries, I finally do it. I'm getting
REALLY frustrated with this game at this point... I can't BELIEVE that
the people who made it ACTUALLY played these last levels without
cheats on and got through it without saving over 100 times like I've
had to. I do NOT suck at playing these games... like I said, levels
on earth... no problem. Rocket laucnher fires 4 rockets on me in "On
a rail" and I expertly dodge them with split second timing.
So I'm finally on the second level. I complete the rest of the level,
getting killed several times. Difficult, but each time I get killed I
learn soemthing that prvents me from getting killed hat particular
wayy the next time. No damn 50-reloads to get past one monster.
Then I ride the last platform to to the top where the portal is...
AND I GET STUCK!
I'm stuck in the world... looking at the portal, and getting hurt
every time the elevator tries to go down. Finally, I duck, and that
unsticks me, and I jump at the portal... and miss!
Reload...
Ride the elevator up ducked this time...
STUCK!
I'm stuck when I'm ducked? I can't move! Kill self with rocket.
Reload.
Stand up while riding elevator. Get stuck. Duck. Jump through
portal.
Is it just me, or did the developers never actually ride this elevator
to the top? No matter where I stood on the elevator I got stuck. The
first time I thought it was me being too close to the pipe in the
middle of the elevator.
Now the REAL bullshit begins!
Fighting the last boss...
I've fought LOTS of bosses before. I don't have anyhting against boss
fights... but I do have something agains this one. It was a TOTAL
pain in the ass!
"Hello Mr. Boss. You're looking quite angry today."
"Oh dear, you flung an energy bolt at me. Gack! I'm dead!"
reload
"You won't do that again you... GACK! Dead!"
reload
"Oh yeah I'll just run over to this jump pad and... DEAD!"
reload
"This time I'll make it! <JUMP!> Ha ha.. I'll just land on this
platf... DEAD AGAIN?!"
reload
At this point, I start saving. a LOT. I make it to the first
platform... I save. I die. A lot. I make it to the second platform
up... I save. I die a lot. I finally figure out to equip my cross
bow, dodge the electric attacks with a strafe on this tiny platform,
sit int he healing pool between attacks, and use the crossbow to shoot
the green balls to destroy them. Which sometimes spawns enemies I
have to kill. Finally I get my health up to 100%. Save, die some
more. Then I run out of crossbow ammo. Nwo I'm screwed because I
can't shoot the teleport balls. So I jump onto the guys head, and
instead of trying to kill him that way (which invariably results in
death or teleportation) I jump down. Finally his head opens up so I
can kill him. I die a lot more. I run for a jump platform. I die.
I run for it again... I die. I run for it again... and again...
finally, I make it, and make it up to the first platform. I save.
So now I tr yto kill this guy using the same technique as before.
Save a lot, shoot his ass... but I can't dodge as easily here. But at
least I have no enemies electrocuting me, and I can duck behind that
rock to avoid the teleport.
FINALLY, a happy ending to this lifetime of hell fighting the boss. I
duck behind the rock once, and he fires electric bolts at me... I'm
like... shit... I can't dodge... too late. So I just sit there witing
to die again... and I don't!
The electroc bolts all converge at me... and hit the tip of the rock
and disperse!
Well, I don't dare move and lose this advantage. I save immediately,
and proceed to kick his ass by shooting form there and letting his
electric attacks harmlessly bounce off the rock.
Hooray! I've saved the world! (Or have I?)
After hearing people talk about how the ending sucks, I wasn't
expecting much. And I didn't get too much, but I got enough. I
thought the ending was kinda cool. And I was happy to see that guy
with the breifcase because all through the rest of the game, I didn't
see him ONCE where I was supposed to see him! (I saw him in the very
beginning talking to a scientist, but then he never appeareed at the
points he was supposed to appear at.)
If youy haven't gotten to Xen, get to Xen. The last scene before you
get to Xen kicks ass. Then STOP PLAYING! Get a savegame off someone
of just after the kill the last boss! Do NOT put yourself through
this torture! I don not exxagerate in any way when I say this is the
most difficult and frustrating section of any game I've ever played!
Well, you've read this far. :) Sorry, buy I had to vent on this damn
level... it took me 2 days to beat one last level... when the whole
rest of the game took me just 3 days to beat!