No One Lives Forever 1

[Pidesco]

I never really understood why Quake 1 is never talked about these days. The engine was such a huge leap from everything that came before, and it made an incredible difference in gameplay. Rocket jump FTW!

[karka]

My all time fave. FPSs are (without any particular order):

 

- NoLF 1 (I have yet to play the second one)

- AvP2

- Tron 2.0

- SW: Republic Commando

- SW: JK2 (JA sucks)

- Quake

 

Half Life? It's not even a good game, let alone being the best FPS.

[Humodour]

And it's still better than Half Life.

Considering that they are quite far apart (in the warped time of video game releases) and being quite different games, is that really a fair comparison?

 

They're both FPSes, only NOLF gave you more gameplay options. And just the fighting in itself is much better than in HL 1 and 2. Why wouldn't it be a fair comparison?

 

I don't think HL1 and NOLF are the same type of game. HL1 was all about survival, science, and a weird alien invasion. The atmosphere was completely different, the story was completely different, and the theme was completely different. The shooter aspect was the only tie, and on that HL1 beats NOLF. NOLF had great shooter elements and lots of innovations HL1 didn't have, but in terms of pure FPS style, HL1 took the cake, IMHO.

 

And HL1 beats the socks off HL2 - that game was just more of the same, but somehow also less of the good same.

 

My list of all-time favourite FPS's so far would be:

Giants: Citizen Kabuto

System Shock 2

Deus Ex 1

No One Lives Forever 1

Half-Life 1

 

NOLF1 had better AI, had location based damage, and better level design than HL1. With this in mind, how can you say that the combat in HL1 was better than in NOLF?

 

Also, my list:

No One Lives Forever 1/2

System Shock 2

Deus Ex

Thief

AvP

Quake 1 multiplayer

 

NOLF had worse AI; the enemies were dumb, how can you say that? Do you mean their search/calm modes? In HL1 marines would even dodge grenades. Location based damage is nice, but at the end of the day it's really only gravy. It doesn't make or break combat. HL1 had way more awesome levels and more intricate level design than NOLF, IMHO. NOLF had some beautiful levels, and nice scenery, but the level design (in terms of combat and exploration) wasn't special. At the end of the day, though, none of these is a particularly good reason for why the combat was better. The simple answer is: HL1's combat was just more fun to play, whilst NOLF's was more varied and gave you more choices (which is certainly fun in its own way).

 

All references to NOLF mean NOLF1.

 

And yeah, AvP 2 was pretty fun.

[Pidesco]

NOLF had worse AI; the enemies were dumb, how can you say that? Do you mean their search/calm modes? In HL1 marines would even dodge grenades. Location based damage is nice, but at the end of the day it's really only gravy. It doesn't make or break combat. HL1 had way more awesome levels and more intricate level design than NOLF, IMHO. NOLF had some beautiful levels, and nice scenery, but the level design (in terms of combat and exploration) wasn't special. At the end of the day, though, none of these is a particularly good reason for why the combat was better. The simple answer is: HL1's combat was just more fun to play, whilst NOLF's was more varied and gave you more choices (which is certainly fun in its own way).

 

All references to NOLF mean NOLF1.

 

And yeah, AvP 2 was pretty fun.

 

The AIs in NOLF1 ran away, took cover, tried to flank you and called for help. It was awesome for its time and not many games since have improved upon it.

[Humodour]

NOLF had worse AI; the enemies were dumb, how can you say that? Do you mean their search/calm modes? In HL1 marines would even dodge grenades. Location based damage is nice, but at the end of the day it's really only gravy. It doesn't make or break combat. HL1 had way more awesome levels and more intricate level design than NOLF, IMHO. NOLF had some beautiful levels, and nice scenery, but the level design (in terms of combat and exploration) wasn't special. At the end of the day, though, none of these is a particularly good reason for why the combat was better. The simple answer is: HL1's combat was just more fun to play, whilst NOLF's was more varied and gave you more choices (which is certainly fun in its own way).

 

All references to NOLF mean NOLF1.

 

And yeah, AvP 2 was pretty fun.

 

The AIs in NOLF1 ran away, took cover, tried to flank you and called for help. It was awesome for its time and not many games since have improved upon it.

 

Maybe it's because I used stealth and one-hit-killed with headshots most of the time. I guess I can see what you mean by good AI.

[Pidesco]

I used stealth too. But my point is that NOLF gave you gameplay options without skimping out on the action. On the other hand HL gave you action and not much else.

 

I'm sure that if it wasn't for the unusual setting, writing and plot (by FPS standards), NOLF would have been much more popular than HL. But, of course, without those it would've also lost much of its charm.

[Humodour]

I used stealth too. But my point is that NOLF gave you gameplay options without skimping out on the action. On the other hand HL gave you action and not much else.

 

I'm sure that if it wasn't for the unusual setting, writing and plot (by FPS standards), NOLF would have been much more popular than HL. But, of course, without those it would've also lost much of its charm.

 

I don't believe so. As I implied earlier, I believe much of HL1's appeal is its fast-paced combat and compelling and intense atmosphere.

 

Consider Deus Ex; it had all the good features of NOLF1, and while I adore it, as do many others, in terms of sheer popularity it wasn't a massive hit with FPS fans.

[Pidesco]

Well, yes but Deus Ex had a bunch of complex game systems, like an inventory, or RPG stats, that stopped players from picking it up and playing right out of the box. NOLF1, on the other hand, while it had more depth than your garden variety FPS, could be played like your average run and gun FPS. In fact, a guy I knew did just that, playing NOLF1 from start to finish as if it was Doom.

[jaguars4ever]

If you guys liked Deus Ex or System Shock 2, then you need to play STALKER. That's where the s**t's at homies!

 

I think the way it shamelessly rips off Fallout in its guns/armor etc actually adds to the experience.

[WITHTEETH]

What really bugged me Stalker is that I was failing missions left and right without even knowing about it. The atmosphere of the game made me uninterested too surprisingly. The engine was always choppy too which always bugged me.

[Pidesco]

If you guys liked Deus Ex or System Shock 2, then you need to play STALKER. That's where the s**t's at homies!

 

I think the way it shamelessly rips off Fallout in its guns/armor etc actually adds to the experience.

 

Yes, it's quite awesome. It's not very forgiving, tough.

[jaguars4ever]

What really bugged me Stalker is that I was failing missions left and right without even knowing about it. The atmosphere of the game made me uninterested too surprisingly. The engine was always choppy too which always bugged me.

1. You gotta use your PDF by checking the "tasks" (i.e. wasteland quests), "diary", and mostly importantly click on the map icons. Otherwise it's hell.

2. The atmosphere is love it or hate it - if you're into teh Post-Apoc niche, then you'll love it.

3. Patch 1.0006 liek triples your frames per second. I went from around 17-19 FPS out-of-the-box to 60+. Srsly!1

[Pidesco]

Patch 1.0006 only has multiplayer fixes. The patch that raised the framerates a lot was 1.0003 or 1.0004, I think.

[Gorth]

One thing that took a while to penetrate that thick skull of mine was, that I needed to stay focused on the main objectives. I put my self in a lot of hurt and unnessecary danger trying to solve each and every mission

 

Since you don't "level up", there is very little benefit in just running around killing stuff. Better to conserve your favourite equipment and supplies for when you need it.

 

...and now I think I completed the thread hijack from Nolf to Stalker

[jaguars4ever]

It's all your fault I bought STALKER in the first place. Now I might be addicted.

 

PS - two questions Gorth (then the thread highjack and your powers as a Jedi will be complete):

 

1. So when do the chicks show up? I mean, the game's called STALKER for crying out loud.

2. I heard that there are 8 different endings but only liek 3 satisfying ones (sounds proportionally like VTM:BL). So what do I have to do (generally w/o too many spoilers) to get a REAL ending?

[Gorth]

I suppose some of the mutated fleshy blobs that tries to tear out your throat could have been chicks. I was too busy dodging them to ask for a date though

 

I'll not spoil the endings for you, just give you a few hints. It depends on a mix of amount of money, prestige/rank and which ones of the npcs you run across during the game is alive at the end

[Humodour]

In fact, a guy I knew did just that, playing NOLF1 from start to finish as if it was Doom.

 

The point is the game is not designed to be played that way. It's possibly, sure, but not what the designers intended for a typical play. HL1 on the other hand was designed to be played that way, which is why it does so brilliantly at it.

[Pidesco]

Well, he enjoyed playing it like that a great deal and he was an HL fan.

 

And HL was competent, not brilliant. *pokes bear*

[Humodour]

Well, he enjoyed playing it like that a great deal and he was an HL fan.

 

And HL was competent, not brilliant. *pokes bear*

 

*throws beehive at Pidesco*