10 Reasons Why Valve Should Make Half Life 3
Like 1984 with no ending...
Half-Life 2 was heavily inspired by George Orwell's book, 1984.
It can be hard to realize sometimes just how engaging that opening scene was, leading the player to immediately interact and identify with this poor scientist who goes from a normal day at work to bludgeoning head crabs to death with a crowbar whilst dodging the bullets of his own government’s soldiers.
This level of intrigue made me feel for the guy because I was just as confused and befuddled by what was happening from moment to moment as he was—this for me has always been Half-Life’s strength, through the first game to the last episode: without cutscenes, the player was forced to engage with the game and almost become Gordon Freeman, the main protagonist who is a physicist, to this day there is still nothing on the market today quite like it.
March along little drones...what good little drones!
So the long wait for Half-Life 3 has left fans itching for their next fix, like a bad drug, for the next installment—as the world’s most violent theoretical physicist.
Valve has made great games for its fans, but it has also kept them waiting for an eternity…its like waiting for Christmas for 10 years.
So here is a call out to the developers: the fans have waited long enough. They want a Half-Life 3 release date, and here's why…
"War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength." -George Orwell, 1984
1. Fans LOVE it!
Kinda looks like those aliens from War of the Worlds, don't they? Run!!
Nirvana’s In Utero. Oasis’ Be Here Now. The Godfather 2. The difficult third album has been long documented, and Valve has been ignoring theirs for far too long.
It's been 13 years since Half-Life 2 dropped into gamer’s laps, and two episodes and dozens of commercial mods have not been enough to sate those eager to once again step into Gordon Freeman’s shoes and lay waste to the world with bloody crowbars and screeching rockets.
I want the action, the suspense, and the feeling that I have no idea what in the hell is going on but keep on going at it anyway.
Shells droppin' like RAIN!
The Half-Life series had just enough puzzle to keep the interest and explosions to fill the void in my heart—at it’s root the game has always been a fans’ series.
When it first began, in the age of big budget shooters like Quake and Unreal, it appealed to those who wanted a compelling storyline in their first person shooters not just guns and mayhem, for those who wanted complex and vivid characters, and who wanted a mystery that challenged the brain as well as the quickness of your trigger finger.
Games nowadays don’t focus enough on accuracy-look at blogs and media outlets, even the New York Times prints spelling mistakes! What gives? Maybe it’s our culture's focus on production over quality. The buck stops here.
2. Conclude the story
Half-Life has one of the best stories in any video game due to its enormous award and favorites list, by a huge chunk of game media outlets, and arguably one of the coolest characters ever written.
Gordon Freeman is clever and ruthless, takes down alien armies, and yet constantly finds himself at the mercy of the G-man. Who is the G-man? Fans have wanted to know for years, and maybe it is finally time to wrap up the tale of Dr. Freeman once and for all.
To grant him his freedom and answer all those questions which have been building for almost two decades. While I will be a little sad to see him go—as this was the only time in my life I could pretend I held a PhD in theoretical physics I do feel he needs to move on, just as much as we do.
Dr. Freeman at your service....
Of course, Half-Life could keep going indefinitely with more games and more episodes, but that is not necessarily a good path to take. Just look at the Marvel comic book series that is on film now. Sure the explosions are cool, the soundtrack is awesome, and the characters are beloved but at the end of the day it’s just a cash cow until the cash dries up. Forget Valve’s endless game development timelines which would make a tortoise or a snail feel like it was speeding; you can spin out a good thing too long.
No one wants the Friends treatment, or The Simpsons. Much better that Valve pick an end point for the series, and allow themselves and fans the chance to pursue new ventures. I am open to all the possibilities and always excited to see what Valve has in the works!
3. Lack of good story games on the market
Of course that may sound scary to some Half-Life fans because such ventures may be hard to find. In the modern world of pre-rendered cutscenes, ham fisted storylines, and single player games ending in less than ten hours, the Half-Life series is amongst a minority of games still telling a great story in a masterful, subtle manner.
After all, remember catching vague glimpses of the G-man just before he locks you in a room to mutilate a dozen headcrabs. Or learning how the world had become subject to a totalitarian government is compelling and it is honestly what keeps me coming back for more because even in my own world I feel like this is happening.
The slow burning mysteries of Half-Life are in stark contrast to the blunt, Kevin Spacey incorporating storytelling of modern big budget games something which the status quo needs desperately right now.
Xen Attacks!
My life is quite busy these days and games don’t feel as personal to me.
Most of them I could take them or leave them. I can’t even remember the last time I just sat down and played through an entire game for 3-4 days. I really just haven’t been that interested. Sure the cool new graphics look great and the cutscenes give me time to use the bathroom but where are the games that keep me up all night chugging energy drinks?
Or that are so intense I don’t want to leave my comfy game chair? Where are the games that make me sweat (just my hands) or that freak me out? I want a bit of heart racing action every once in a while. I want to know the money I painstakingly worked for then traded for this game is worth every single cent and then some. But, I just don’t feel it now. I think what I need is my faith restored in the gaming industry and I believe whole heartedly Half-Life 3 could have the power and the opportunity to accomplish such a feat.
4. Wait too long and it could be Duke Nukem Forever
No one wants to see another Duke Disaster!
Not many PC games have a worse reputation than Duke Nukem Forever - the Atari ET for PC gamers. It began life as one of the most anticipated games ever, then became a hopeful title in development, then a long running joke – would Duke Nukem be Call of Duty with breasts and jokes or GTA with bigger guns and bigger pecs? – and then a surefire title in development, then a surefire disappointment, and then an actual catastrophic disappointment.
Sometimes good things come to those who wait; but more often than not, things get worse with waiting like the bananas sitting on your counter. Expectations grow until they can never be met, and more often than not, too many people are involved in the production and all that appears at the end is a convoluted confused mess.
If Valve wait too much longer on Half-Life 3 release date, it could suffer that very fate.
Pretty much this would be a fate worse than death because if they rip the heart out of my beloved series with their bare hands, like that scene in Last of the Mohicans, I will come at them with a vengeance.
Mostly, just strongly worded letters but, Gabe will get one every year on the release date of the game that killed the series should it not live up to expectations.
5. Creativity raises the Standards
The gaming world needs Half-Life 3 because of the talent Valve hires as game developers.
As a company they hire the best and brightest and its been paying off! They rewrote the script with Half-Life, replacing generic first person shooters with a creative vision of terror and intrigue. Then they created a weapon for Half-Life 2 that lets the player pulverize enemies with pieces of scenery or fling them into the air: the gravity gun.
They introduced giant walking creatures into the gaming world, the size of which had not been seen before. They developed an entire 3D game based around teleporting and physics based puzzles. They turned a rocket missile into a boss killing weapon.
Valve are a bunch of creative geniuses, and it is important to have them leading the way in the development of creative games and new styles of gaming.
Oh, Man did I pick the wrong hallway!
6. Next gen consoles
Where it all begins....opening the portal Xen...
PC gamers know that the hype over next gen consoles is always overblown, but it does make an impact on the perception of the gaming community.
The PC community is always behind on flagship games that capture the minds and pens of the media, having to rely on unheralded games based upon quality rather than dollar investment for instance: the Bioshocks, the Mass Effects, and the Half-Life series. They are the games that prove that next gen consoles are never as good of an investment as a new graphics card for a desktop.
So come on Valve: defend the honor of PC gamers! Make us look good again!
7. VR technology coming out
Who needs VR when you have square blood droplets?
Many of the next gen console games have some sort of VR development in the works. They even have games out now where you can kneel, duck, run, and load your gun without any clunky controller or half-assed gun controller that breaks five minutes into the game.
While I would like to see development in VR I am a bit torn because what does that mean for my trusty PC? Is it doomed to meet the scrap heap because it’s not a tablet or a video game console?
One thing is for sure my PC isn’t old yeller and I won’t be taking him for a “walk” in the woods with a loaded shotgun anytime soon.
8. Half-Life: the jumping off point for mods
Take a quick look at this list: Counterstrike, L4D, Portal, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress 2. All owe their success in part to the Half-Life series and all of these games have insane mods!
One of the silliest modded games around is Team Fortress 2 (at least from my experience). I love it when ordinary people take time out of their lives to make their imprint on the gaming community! The results can literally blow people away and serves to add interest for future games. This is how repeat customers are built! Because kids will sit there and be, "you know what this game needs," then they have the flexibility to bring it all to life!
Putting your own mark on a popular video game is becoming part of every kids dream.
Quit following me! I don't have food for you...will this bullet help?
Half-Life was the stage upon the masterpiece Left 4 Dead was built! To this day I sill know people who bust out that game to play and its hella old!
There is just something so satisfying about shooting a zombie in the head and watching its brains splatter in a cartoony way. Maybe it is due to my arcade addictions of zombie and shooting games. I just realized how “dated” that sounds…I know, I know, I am practically crude oil on the timeline of video games.
9. Fans are broken hearted: A letter to Gabe
You see that dead guy? That's me...I died waiting for HL3 and now it is too late...
Gabe Newell,
Yes, I am literally losing my mind. Maybe not from the lack of a Half-Life 3 but because time can be a cruel mistress. What I need now is a glimmer of hope that the Half-Life 3 project will be completed in my lifetime. Gabe, my hair is getting lighter by the day and my skin dryer. What I need is some reassurance. Far too often newer games rely on their fan base to decide whether or not to push new games onto the production line. You have said time and again you are willing to back it if your fans and company are! Well consider the fans locked in this one more than most. But what about your staff?
Look Gabe, I prefer quality over quantity just like you. But, I am not such a crazed fan that I can’t wait for a period of time. But, this is just too much. I need you to come through for your fans on this one!! You lead the industry in so many ways but turnover isn't one of them.
Every time there is a whisper of Half-Life 3 more fans come out of the woodwork! So much so that HL fans have this reputation everywhere. There are even memes about Half-Life fans getting flustered or clogging forums with their Half-Life 3 release date hopes. I even saw a funny one today with Obama’s picture and caption that reads, “America wants it and I got it,” with a photoshopped cover of HL3 in his hand. Even Obama is in on the joke now. So waddya say? Can we get a release date for Half-Life 3? I don't feel like I am asking for the moon here.
Love,
HL Fans Everywhere
P.S. Can you please be sure to tell us the function of G-Man...it will seriously put my mind at ease! Thank you.
10. HL Black Mesa is finished
It's the G-Man himself!!
Half-Life Black Mesa was a really important project. It transplanted the original Half-Life game into the Source engine, because great as the original game was, graphics do not stand up to nearly twenty years of aging. Let’s face it we all saw pixels during our childhood unless you were born at or during the Nintendo DS era. Even now some phone games still use the 8bit photo’s and characters meaning the art style isn’t dead…it’s just…”retro”.
Moving back to Black Mesa, it is the perfect way for modern gamers to feel and hear the sweet crunching sound of hot head crab brain as it splatters and cakes blood onto your crowbar. But now that Black Mesa is playable, there is no excuse left that people might not be able to pick up the series from scratch. Anyone can now experience Half-Life in its full glory, become hooked on the phenomenon, and then be just as desperate for the third installment as the rest of us!
This looks a bit like that Minecraft game...this could appeal to them once they get a bit older!!!
Lastly, lets not forget there is a whole generation that hasn’t played any ‘new’ Half-Life games!! What sort of Half-Life world awaits them? Even games like Assassin’s Creed come out with new games fairly regularly in order to engage new audiences. So why do Half-Life fans have to wait 5-6 years and now 10 before a new game is released?
Valve has the budget now and the growing fan base; I feel like they should strike while the iron is hot and quit dawdling around like a lost dog through the park.
Did you agree or disagree with anything listed or do you have some of your own reasons for the next Half-Life installment? List them in the comments section below!
