RUMOR: Half-Life 3 Is An Open-World Shooter

after completing black mesa a few days ago, it still stands as the best first person shooter of all time. half-life 2 was a boring sack of crap. the first one had perfect pacing and perfect level design. then the second one with those stupid jetski and quad levels, what the hell was that? the episodes were pretty damn great though, they prove the original half-life formula can work. i am not excited about this open world aspect, it doesn't seem right for the franchise. i hope the french are incorrect, actually since when are the french a reputable source of gaming news

Wow I thought I was the only one who loved the first one and thought the second was boring

That... sounds completely at odds with the tightly scripted narrative and gameplay experiences that make Valve's FPS single-player more or less the best in the business.

And, of course, the Half-Life series hasn't really been what I would describe as a me-too franchise. I fully expect Half-Life 3 to be as revolutionary as its prequels.

Gordon Freeman, grinding for 20 headcrabs to get his crowbar.

If they could have an open world, but still keep the scripted events that they are famous for, this could work. I think of some of the grander, larger environments in the last several entries and kind of picture them all connected and free.

They would have to be really careful, though. Story and characters is extremely important to this franchise - both of which often take a backseat in open world games.

i'd also much rather have the illusion of an immersive world than the realisation of a half assed open world one

Wow...how was HL2 a boring sack of crap? HL1 was boring! HL2 is still the best FPS of all time. I have constant arguments with Call of Duty fans over this. HL2 WAS BORING!!!!!!!

A better question is how was HL1 boring

And best FPS of all time? This couldn't be less true.

Both HL and HL2 are amazing and both game engines revolutionized first person shooting games.

No matter your preference on which one is "Best" both changed the game all together, bringing in countless mods, let alone introducing a new platform to distribute games.

I sincerely believe the 3rd can still do the same...

My problem with this is I know that Valve are capable of making amazing games, and open world shooters are not good games. Don't get me wrong, I loved Far Cry 2 (flawed and terrible as it was) and even Wolfenstein was fun, mostly because the open world was just a hub for linear missions.

The thing is, in an open world game the 10 minute action is broken up by long segments of nothing. The way Far Cry 2 did it actually made the game worse by having enemy patrols come after you, which was annoying as ****.

Apart from that, AI is next to impossible to code properly in an open world game. Even in my favorite game, Arma 2, the AI is pretty godawful. They don't even enter buildings for cover.

I'm not saying it will be bad, it might be the first open world shooter to actually get it right, just like Half-Life was the first good story-based, immersive shooter and Half-Life 2 basically acted as the first real current gen game.

Of course, none of this long-winded crap matters...

BECAUSE IT'S A FUCKING ANONYMOUS RUMOUR!

Both HL and HL2 are amazing and both game engines revolutionized first person shooting games.

No matter your preference on which one is "Best" both changed the game all together, bringing in countless mods, let alone introducing a new platform to distribute games.

I sincerely believe the 3rd can still do the same...

Both HL and HL2 are amazing and both game engines revolutionized first person shooting games.

No matter your preference on which one is "Best" both changed the game all together, bringing in countless mods, let alone introducing a new platform to distribute games.

I sincerely believe the 3rd can still do the same...

HL2 is considered by many to be the best FPS game ever made. The only people who would argue this are Halo and Call of Duty fanboys, or people who have no creative vision outside their own ego.

I'm a Call of Duty fanboy and I still find HL2 to be one of the greatest games I've ever played.

Holy SH-T its a miracle!! They DO exist!!

Let me be the other side of the coin - I've never played Halo and I'm not fond of Call of Duty. I don't think HL2 is the greatest FPS ever. It's a good game, however.

You probably should for a better comparison to HL2. Can't really compare HL2 to much unless you play two of the most overrated FPS games in the history of history.

I have played Call of Duty. When I say HL2 is not the greatest I'm comparing it to truly legendary titles such as System Shock 2, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy and the older Aliens versus Predator games. To be blunt it's nowhere near as good as any of those games in my view.

Hmmm, My refreshing the link appears to have spammed the page :P spreading my message it would seem...

Don't care. If it has the words "Half-Life" on the box, I'll buy it. Doesn't matter what it is. The 2014-15 time frame is killing me though...

It would make sense. From a plot standpoint there is no good reason why Gordon should be on an existential rail. It would almost certainly be built out of a series of unjustifiable contrivances that would in the end unravel the entire story. It would be the same kind of nonsense that destroyed Mass Effect. So they would have to be willing to break the existing formulas and go for something different - something closer to Stalker.