Half Life 2 better than Doom III?

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By Burt Carver: Monday 19 May 2003, 08:55

WEARY FROM an evening at the Nvidia event featuring Smashmouth, I made my way to the Exposition floor to sample the warez (sic).

First stop? My appointment with Valve. Valve was sharing a booth with ATI, but it seemed to be the other way around. The centre point of the entire display is HalfLife 2, and the preview videos. I have now seen in game scenes from both Doom3 and Halflife 2, and currently it appears that HalfLife 2 has the edge.

As I said before, ID made a conscious decision to minimize object interaction in Doom 3 due to the programming challenges of making the interaction as real as the rest of the virtual world.

HalfLife 2, while less eye-candy intensive, allows the user to interact with her or his environment in truly impressive ways.

In the technology demo, showcasing the new Source Engine, objects in the game all have the characteristics of the real life material. Mattresses flop around, wood splinters and metal makes a resounding twang when struck. The properties of the items are specified down to the buoyancy.

For example, throw wood into water and it will sink a few inches, and slowly surface. Throw metal? It sinks like a stone. Objects can also interact with each other, and mass is taken into consideration. In the game demo, a gigantic strider that looks like it escaped from "War of the Worlds", bears down on a group of militia.

The protagonist, Dr. Freeman, picks up a desk and throws it using a special weapon. The desk thuds into the strider and knocks it slightly off balance, and it slowly regains it’s composure. In another area, while running from a bunch of baddies, the hero enters a building then slides a desk in front of the door to prevent the soldiers from following.

The AI in the game is amazing, as the soldier then tries to fire through the window. Unsuccessful at terminating our poor protagonist, the soldier then kicks in the door to clear the desk. It is amazing how much effect the various objects can have on the game.

Another add-on to the HalfLife franchise is the ability to use vehicles. In the in-game demo, a dune-buggy makes an outstanding people masher as several bad guys fall victim to the Mighty Michelins. While on the subject of the vehicle scene, and going back to the interaction, at the end of the scene a gigantic alien air vehicle is trying to make swiss cheese out of our hero.

The hero gets out of the vehicle at a point in the road where there are several abandoned cars and an armoured personel carrier. The airship has an enormous Gatling gun which shreds everything in the way. When the hero hides behind the APC, things are groovy. When the hero dodges and weaves behind the cars, (which he has to do to get the heatseeking missle) the fire from the airship actually causes the cars to move.

If you are hiding behind a car and the airship has a bead on you, prepare to back up as the car jerks in response to the bullets fired. This game promises to bring the First Person Shooter to a new level. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=9546

[Skeletor The Invincible]

I saw that E3 trailer, and it is truly impressive.