Half-Life 2's Darker Beta Version

Valve's sequel to the 1998 classic 'Half-Life', originally took place in a very different depiction of City 17, and for better or worse, it was much darker.

#shorts #gaming #halflife

[evelynmeenan]

Honestly I feel like what we got in the end was better. The beta was pretty blatant and generic, whereas the retail game is alot more subtle and unique in its depiction of a dystopia. There are some elements which I wish were carried over to the final game though. Particularly the Wasteland, and the beta version of Eli

[soliera]

Something I love is that a lot of the bigger points meant for the old storyline do still exist in release. The combine may wear gas masks for aesthetic purposes now, but they’re still draining the oceans and leaving earth as a wasteland. If you look closely at the small details in the environment with beta knowledge, you’ll see that a lot of it is still happening in release.

[Epic_]

honestly Dr breen fits the bill much better having a charismatic voice, he sounds like someone you could have coffee with, and yet he has the authorization to have you captured and tortured

[fullkilled]

The simple fact that when you reverse the noises the zombies make you here “God help, please help me” makes my skin crawl, in my opinion this is the darkest/ darker part of the game

[TheGooGaming]

What makes half life 2's world so good is that it is believable and mature; I think the way they restrainted themselves prevented the game from feeling cartoony.

They made the very silly trope of alien invasion actually feel like a real documented war-famine-dictatorship AND an alien invasion at the same time; which is kinda how it would be in a real world scenario.

[MercuryTheVexilliologyNerd]

Welcome, Welcome to City 17.
You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my Administration here, in the Citadel so thoughtfully provided by Our Benefactors. I have been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here.
- Dr. Wallace Breen

[Seno_was_taken]

Triage At dawn : check
True information: check
Good editing : check
Great narration: check

[ringpop]

"The true citizen appreciates the comforts of City 17, but uses discretion"

"The true citizen knows that duty is the greatest gift"

"The true citizen keeps their identi-band clean and visible at all times"

[thepeoplesrepublicofarstot]

When he said “real rebels” I thought half life had snipers in Syria taking out real rebels 😭

[sgtfargant]

the Manhack arcade will always be my favorite cut content in Half life

[iamboringvideos]

Well there is the cartoon dark, and thenthere is the more realistic dark, which is what we got

[utes]

The manhack arcade is so Grimderp and I'm glad they left it out.
The combine regime we got was more subtle and bleak, and it's only when you crack the facade and delve into the facilities the public isn't allowed to see that you witness the atrocities committed by the combine

[anonimoqualquer]

"he need more smart robots, but giving disposable machines a good processing sistem is expensive "
"Why not make people control him thinking that is a game?"

[therandomscout]

Fun fact:
A rebel in the Beta can say "You feeling it? I'm feeling it!"
A rebel in final release can say "I don't feel anything anymore."

[diggitydiggity]

Just the fact that the headcrab zombies are still conscious and feeling every single mutation they undergo is disturbed enough for me

[RNM]

"Sometime, I dream about cheese"

[croakyvincent]

Can confirm that the HL2 beta is very dark and griddy

[mattislindehag]

Back when me and my cousin were playing half life 2 together i had read about the manhack arcade on the half life wiki. When we were smashing manhacks went: "HAH! Fuck your high score! That's another coin, bitch!"

Manhacks are one of those annoying enemies that that are extra annoying to take out if you are using the crowbar to conserve ammo.

If you think of it as goading someone in and then ruining their high score it becomes a lot more fun.

[dannydevitodorito]

Retail hl2 is darker it's just much more subtle

[lhip_b]

Breen, watches you get dragged with a small tiny bit of uncertainty in his eyes. The consul, watches you get dragged away dead serious and looking at you, bit with power