Half-Life 2 on Xbox.

[poppy_]

Have you played it? What did you think?
I'm currently playing through it right now and although the performance is pretty bad its amazing that they managed to get the game running on the xbox. This version even includes an exclusive audio engine that uses the xbox hardware to add extra effects.

Heres a cool video showing a comparison between a stock xbox running HL2 and a modded xbox with an upgraded CPU. The modded console seems to keep a steady 30fps and thats nuts.

Are there any other games/ports you like that pushed the boundries of what the xbox was capable of?

 

[Ikagura]

It's quite impressive but also funny since Half-Life 1 was on the PS2, a console of the same gen.

 

[Tonberry]

This was the one I grew up with because my friend had it on his Xbox and HL2 was considered a ”dad’s PC’s game” because it was too cool and modern to run on our handmedown computers.

 

[Cu-Neo]

I played last year it was very cool seeing what they did, I still remember my face when the game began at the train and the lag attacked at full power ?.
Also another port of Half life 2 that I always remember is the one in the Orange Box for PS3, the 360 version of that collection it was made in house by Valve, while the PS3 version it was made by EA

 

[ZombieFish]

I have it and got kinda stuck at Ravenholm when I played it last year. Think I’m going to start over and do Half Life PS2 then HL2 Xbox. Beat Doom 3 Xbox last year. I love ambitious jank.

 

[iamthemilkman]

Impressive that they got it running on the Xbox but yeah, performance was pretty bad. I thought Half-Life on PS2 was a much better port -- though obviously a lot more dated -- because at least it had better character models than the PC version at the time, the option to play as a Vortigaunt, and it had the co-op Decay campaign.

 

[Blamhammer]

Whenever I see HL2 or Doom 3 running on a upgraded XBox I have the urge to want one of those modded beefed up consoles. Makes no sense for me to have one though! They are also really time consuming to make.

That audio video looks like it was running off Xemu? I'm gonna give that a try.

 

[poppy_]

That audio video looks like it was running off Xemu? I'm gonna give that a try.

This is a good idea, i might try this too.

 

[Blamhammer]

Gave it a try, make sure to enable DSP in audio settings. Needs a decent CPU to reduce audio crackle, but you'll be able to hear the difference.

Edit - I have only played a small amount but the way the audio is handled makes the game feel..."new"?
If you are a HL2 fan I think its worth checking out the XBOX version.

 

[ShibbyDealer]

I wonder if the audio can be or was already ported over to the original. Considering that this was in-house by Valve, it's a very "intended" thing to have, if that makes sense.

 

[Ian Naxieas]

Much to multiple people's disappointment, I've only beaten HL2 on the XBox. I did play Episode 1&2 on my PC though. Same with HL1 on the PS2, but those same people say that's an excellent way to play it. My boyfriend has been tinkering with my XBox a lot lately and HL2 was one of the games messed around with and boy, I remember it looking and playing better. x)

 

[for.we.are.many]

Half-Life 2 on OG Xbox is one of these ports that fascinate me by merely existing. When I learned about it I just thought "Why?"

 

[poppy_]

Much to multiple people's disappointment, I've only beaten HL2 on the XBox. I did play Episode 1&2 on my PC though. Same with HL1 on the PS2, but those same people say that's an excellent way to play it. My boyfriend has been tinkering with my XBox a lot lately and HL2 was one of the games messed around with and boy, I remember it looking and playing better. x)

thats awesome... u must have a cool boyfriend

 

[tigg]

I tried to play it back in the day but the performance of it really through me off, and being that I am not much of a PC Gamer I never tried to play it again :(

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

It's weird in the current day. WILDLY impressive at the time, but as of now it's kind of this weirdly crusty time capsule of a 2004 release of HL2. I think the port of Doom 3 is the far better PC port of the time. Probably the issue is that the physics engine of Source was never going to run smooth on XBox.

 

[Ian Naxieas]

thats awesome... u must have a cool boyfriend

I really do. ? He's the best. Persistant too. He's spent the last couple weeks modding my XBox with custom firmware and a new, bigger hard drive for playing totally legal games, I swear!

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I really do. ? He's the best. Persistant too. He's spent the last couple weeks modding my XBox with custom firmware and a new, bigger hard drive for playing totally legal games, I swear!

Bro, by god as my witness, I'm gonna get my partner to experience modding a console. We're moving in together later this year, and I will cook so hard when it comes to modding his 3DS?

Post automatically merged: Feb 10, 2025

Back on toipic, Half Life 2 on XBox is just neat to exist. It's a reminder that the XBox was the greatest FPS playing machine of that generation. Absolutely legendary lineup of shooters on that console. Legitimately so good that it turned me around on FPS games as a whole, after being Nintendo fan brainrotted my whole childhood.

HL2 just makes sense on this console. This and Black were the OG XBox's shooter swansongs.

 

[Skeetos]

Impressive that they got it running on the Xbox but yeah, performance was pretty bad. I thought Half-Life on PS2 was a much better port -- though obviously a lot more dated -- because at least it had better character models than the PC version at the time, the option to play as a Vortigaunt, and it had the co-op Decay campaign.

People also figured out that PS2 HL1 supports mods. It was a planned feature still in the code, and it's actually used with a specific demo disc that loads Uplink, the special demo for HL1. I think people ported Blue Shift and OpFor to it.

On topic though, I payed through HL2 on stock hardware a few years back. It's a stellar port and I'm amazed with it's wizardry. Doom 3 gets a shoutout too. 2004 went hard for games. 2005 went harder with console ports.

Post automatically merged: Feb 11, 2025

People also figured out that PS2 HL1 supports mods. It was a planned feature still in the code, and it's actually used with a specific demo disc that loads Uplink, the special demo for HL1. I think people ported Blue Shift and OpFor to it.

On topic though, I payed through HL2 on stock hardware a few years back. It's a stellar port and I'm amazed with it's wizardry. Doom 3 gets a shoutout too. 2004 went hard for games. 2005 went harder with console ports.

The OpFor port never came out, and apparently it might be due to the creator getting caught up in an ongoing conflict (don't want to mention it out of respect) but man was it cool to see it running.

 

[iamthemilkman]

People also figured out that PS2 HL1 supports mods. It was a planned feature still in the code, and it's actually used with a specific demo disc that loads Uplink, the special demo for HL1. I think people ported Blue Shift and OpFor to it.

On topic though, I payed through HL2 on stock hardware a few years back. It's a stellar port and I'm amazed with it's wizardry. Doom 3 gets a shoutout too. 2004 went hard for games. 2005 went harder with console ports.

Post automatically merged: Feb 11, 2025

The OpFor port never came out, and apparently it might be due to the creator getting caught up in an ongoing conflict (don't want to mention it out of respect) but man was it cool to see it running.

I have that demo disc with Uplink. I wish there was a way to play that version via OPL. I did download the port of it available on ModDB, though.

 

[DukeRed]

Half-Life 2 on OG Xbox is one of these ports that fascinate me by merely existing. When I learned about it I just thought "Why?"

This was my first experience of it on Xbox. Could not afford a gaming PC back then.

it was good of Valve to let more people experience that amazing game.

Same story with Doom 3, amazing game, could not play it on PC.

 

[poppy_]

This was my first experience of it on Xbox. Could not afford a gaming PC back then.

it was good of Valve to let more people experience that amazing game.

Same story with Doom 3, amazing game, could not play it on PC.

Its really cool that was your first experience! mine was on the 360 with the orange box, which was probably a better way to experience HL2...

 

[DukeRed]

Its really cool that was your first experience! mine was on the 360 with the orange box, which was probably a better way to experience HL2...

I think back then you just accepted it. I don't remember it being unplayable. Playing games today, you get used to things being better lol. I was playing vice city the other day, and remembered it being better lol.

 

[Xeno]

I really do. ? He's the best. Persistant too. He's spent the last couple weeks modding my XBox with custom firmware and a new, bigger hard drive for playing totally legal games, I swear!

I just bought an Xbox and did the same thing :)

Did your Xbox stop reading discs? The one I got from GameStop didn’t read discs. A minor annoyance but I was planning to mod it anyway.

 

[Ian Naxieas]

I was playing vice city the other day, and remembered it being better lol.

I know that feeling all too well. Man, wasn't GTA3 huge? Oh, wait, Portland is like half the size of the small Iowa town I live in right now. Huh, crazy how that works. I remember spending so many hours in Portland just driving around and exploring stuff, it blew me away when you got to the other two islands. Now the game just feels tiny and plays like shit. x) That's the case with many games that are trailblazers though. At least Vice City still has a banger soundtrack. ?

I just bought an Xbox and did the same thing :)

Did your Xbox stop reading discs? The one I got from GameStop didn’t read discs. A minor annoyance but I was planning to mod it anyway.

Aww yeah, welcome to the club! ? Mine has not stopped reading discs, though our modded PS2 has. Boo. Hopefully you at least got it cheap and knew about it not reading discs when you bought it. You better put Ninja Gaiden Black on it at the very least. You will not regret it. Actually, you might as soon as the first boss, but it's a good kind of pain. Too bad there aren't aftermarket Steel Battalion controllers though...

 

[for.we.are.many]

This was my first experience of it on Xbox. Could not afford a gaming PC back then.

it was good of Valve to let more people experience that amazing game.

Same story with Doom 3, amazing game, could not play it on PC.

Me with Witcher 3 on Switch now ?