By Adam Smith on September 26th, 2011 at 5:59 pm.
Seeing that picture could have put all kinds of ideas in your head, which is why I didn’t make the headline cruelly vague. What it all actually denotes is Gordon Freeman’s rather surprising presence in the Steam version of Renegade Ops, Avalanche’s top-down, four player vehicle-based destructathon. Gordon will be driving his buggy and he’s bringing some antlions along to use in a special attack. Oh, Gordon, you’re so science. Avalanche did promise some extras for the Steam version of the game after delivering it to console-dwellers before we PC folk and it’s good of them to follow through on that promise. They’ve even given us a Gordon-specific trailer along with a release date: October 14th.
I’m presuming there will shortly be confirmation that Renegade Ops takes place in the Half Life universe.
26/09/2011 at 18:01 Orija says:
Haha, and it’s only been a minute after I finished my playthrough of Half Life 2. That last level is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
26/09/2011 at 19:03 passingstranger says:
I think that last level is what it would feel like to be god.
26/09/2011 at 19:36 coldvvvave says:
Citadel wasn’t a borefest? Hmmm.
26/09/2011 at 18:02 Inigo says:
That’s not a buggy.
26/09/2011 at 19:00 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Indeed. It’s the muscle car from Ep 2.
26/09/2011 at 19:06 Linfosoma says:
@ Inigo:
True, that said, the original HL2 was kinda boring looking:
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9028/buggy7xu0.jpg
Compared to:
http://www.hlportal.de/images/content/hl2-episode2/items/musclecar.jpg
26/09/2011 at 19:47 jonfitt says:
@Linfosoma
Hmm, when you have them side by side like that the HL2 buggy does look bad. Oddly though I have much fonder memories of the drive along the coast with it, and in my mind it’s more memorable.
26/09/2011 at 22:15 Aninhumer says:
Also the buggy doesn’t have much solid body, so it wouldn’t be visible enough in a top down racer.
26/09/2011 at 23:26 TheTourist314 says:
Also, those games are 7 years and 4 years old. I think Source is still strong, given its age.
27/09/2011 at 00:42 Jhoosier says:
It’s still not a buggy. But you all are right, the muscle car does look better. I forgot how much the buggy was just some rusty bars stuck together.
27/09/2011 at 06:40 thepaleking says:
The open body, large wheels, and roll bar would actually classify it as a buggy. Doesn’t matter that the body was originally a muscle car.
27/09/2011 at 11:04 LionsPhil says:
“The Half-Life buggy” pretty clearly refers to the first (wrong) car.
The one that had the gauss gun mounted. Although you couldn’t alt-fire it, alas.
26/09/2011 at 18:04 Lewie Procter says:
Renegops is Episode 3.
26/09/2011 at 18:36 battles_atlas says:
As awesome as this game is looking, I’m kinda of the opinion that Valve should be treating the central character of the pre-eminent FPS franchise with slightly more respect than shilling him out to some 3rd party blastathon with no relation to the HL universe. I can’t imagine Christopher Nolan’s Batman popping up in Cowboys vs Aliens. For a studio who invested such love into creating a compelling world, its a pretty douchebag move.
26/09/2011 at 18:38 johnpeat says:
Someone tell him there’s a Day of the Tentacle robe in Magicka now – he’ll probably fucking explode.
26/09/2011 at 18:45 jon_hill987 says:
I’m with Mr Atlas here, Valve do seem happy to sell out just about anything. I mean TF2 is just one big sell out now.
26/09/2011 at 18:57 battles_atlas says:
@ johnpeat
Its very rude to talk about someone in the third person when they’re present. Good day to you Sir.
26/09/2011 at 19:00 battles_atlas says:
Also its rude to put Gordon Freeman in a third person perspective
26/09/2011 at 21:32 Wulf says:
That is unnecessarily harsh and melodramatic.
See, us older sorts remember that in the days of yore, in comics, you’d have crossovers all the time. You’d see Death’s Head in the Transformers Universe, or fighting Wolverine, or you’d have a Ghostbusters crossover with someone, or you’d have J. Jonah Jameson hanging out with wotshisface (the DC equivalent that I keep forgetting the name of).
It was all in the name of fun and we loved it. So what’s changed now? Frankly, I’d love to see characters from various games end up in other games. For all we know this version of ‘Gordon Freeman’ is a rogue android designed by a mad genius geek, which would be highly entertaining. But no, we jump to conclusions, and then we all make a beeline for the hatemobile.
It even happened in cartoons then, too. I think there were a couple of crossover games as well, and we’ve had the likes of Sonic and Solid Snake turning up in the Super Smash Bros games too! So what’s the big deal? I’d hardly consider this a ‘sell out,’ sheesh. It’s just a bit of fun.
26/09/2011 at 21:50 Bull0 says:
probably an overreaction, agreed – it’s just a silly little easter egg to say sorry for the console primacy thing. it isn’t canon, or something. but yeah, i concur, you were rudely lambasted. the cheap shot culture strikes again
26/09/2011 at 22:12 Aninhumer says:
I’m seeing this more like Super Smash Brothers, it’s just a load of random unconnected characters thrown together for some entirely non-canon crossover fun.
26/09/2011 at 22:48 battles_atlas says:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not deflating my Gabe Newell fuckdoll over this, I just think its a bit wank. Why does everything have to be fun? In this godforsaken age of irony can we not still take some things seriously? I don’t remember exploring shattered City 17 hoping that Duke Nukem would make a cameo at any moment. I’ve invested in the purity of HL’s narrative vision, why taint it for something so trite?
I don’t find the comic book analogy particularly relevant – for me it simply confirms that most comic books (as opposed to graphic novels) really are the meritless pulp fiction they were long derided as, before they became massive cash cows for creatively bankrupt film studios and we all had to start pretending they were (ironically) worth taking seriously. As above, I’d prefer an analogy to a film franchise that takes itself very seriously, and should do, because its fucking good. More than that, because its Art. I don’t want to see Brando’s Godfather in Analyse This III, or Spacey’s Keyser Soze in Jurassic Park IV. Fuck ‘fun’, I want artistic and intellectual coherence. I want a Half Life I can invest in, not a Half Life commodified for investors.
26/09/2011 at 23:42 Talon says:
Woah, nelly.
As long as it’s not claimed to be canon, what’s the harm in it? Couldn’t the fine ladies and gentlemen at Valve simply thought, ‘wow, we like this game, if you want to put Gordon in it, go ahead?’
Indeed, who made you the arbiter of what they get to do with their character that they created, and even more so, who says it’s a ‘sellout’ or any hogwash like that?
Without proof, you best not be throwing these baseless assertions around, kid.
27/09/2011 at 02:36 svge says:
I agree with atlas, there’s no characterisation, it’s not fun, it’s just putting a name in for a names sake. All the mechanics could be in place without the name dropping.
27/09/2011 at 05:39 lurkalisk says:
@battles_atlas – “Why does everything have to be fun?
I’m having a hard time believing you know what that word means.
27/09/2011 at 09:21 battles_atlas says:
@ Talon
Indeed, who made you the arbiter of what they get to do with their character that they created, and even more so, who says it’s a ‘sellout’ or any hogwash like that?
I’m not aware of anyone making me arbiter, I’m expressing an opinion of a popular work. ?.
Without proof, you best not be throwing these baseless assertions around, kid.
You seem to have confused RPS with CSI, dad.
This ‘canon’ argument is interesting, though I don’t understand it. Because Valve say that Renegade Ops isn’t HL canon, we needn’t find dissonance in the fact that its central character has popped up in a different universe? He’s still there, in a different universe, and I’m still thinking “what the fuck is he doing there?”
@ lurkalisk
By God, you’re right:
http://dictionary.reference.com
fun [fuhn]
noun
1. something that provides mirth or amusement: A picnic would be fun.
Half Life should be fun, like a picnic. A fun dystopian picnic. Yes!
27/09/2011 at 09:52 Saiko Kila says:
Half Life is just some shooter, get over it.
27/09/2011 at 09:52 Bull0 says:
@battles whenever someone calls you “kid” or tells you off for expressing your opinion (because if you’re expressing your opinion obviously you’re making yourself the ARBITER OF FATE) it’s best just to shrug and walk away. don’t feed them.
*edit* Also the canon thing: You say you don’t understand it, and yet you’ve summarised it pretty perfectly. Famous literary characters show up in parodies all the time – we have laws enshrining the tradition of parody – does your enjoyment of those properties diminish as a result? Probably not. Honestly I think you’re making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill here.
I’m all with you in regards to maintaining the purity and quality of the narrative and think too often games are dismissed as lighthearted affairs and not serious literature/media/art, but I think you’ve got the facts of the case backwards – gordon freeman showing up in renegops doesn’t break half-life, at worst it breaks renegops, and renegops is pretty light-hearted so it’s all good. Now if Duke Nukem shows up in Half-Life 3? Maybe throws you a crowbar in the opening scene and says “Lets’ debase a few women in the name of fun, baby”? Then yeah, I’ll march on Valve HQ with you, no question, because that really would shatter the illusion
27/09/2011 at 12:46 lurkalisk says:
@battles_atlas
If you enjoyed playing it, it was fun, specifically as videogames are concerned.
26/09/2011 at 18:05 Demiath says:
Gordon Freeman isn’t much of a personality, and certainly no excuse for not releasing the PC version at the same time as the console versions. Skärpning, Avalanche Studios!
26/09/2011 at 19:23 utzel says:
Exactly! I would happily do without Mr. Freeman, if the game would just come out in time for our LAN this weekend. Just like “September 2011″ implied, at least until last week. :(
27/09/2011 at 09:53 Bull0 says:
I think you mean Doctor Freeman.
26/09/2011 at 18:06 kregg says:
DEAR GOD NO.
26/09/2011 at 18:07 deanb says:
So this is my first time seeing this game and it looked pretty damn awesome.
I’m speechless.
26/09/2011 at 18:33 TotalBiscuit says:
Yeah, Renegade Ops is great. It’s G.I. Joe cheesy with vehicles that will happily powerslide through buildings. Brilliant dual-stick shooter, kinda reminds me of a free-roaming SWIV.
26/09/2011 at 18:37 johnpeat says:
It’s BETTER than that looks – it really is.
Someone just plugged some awesome into it and it went ‘woosh – boom’ – it’s that sort of lovely…
I’ll just keep playing the 360 demo then…
26/09/2011 at 21:33 Wulf says:
Free-roaming SWIV? Really?
Sold.
26/09/2011 at 18:15 Timthos says:
Half-Life buggy?
Pre-ordered.
26/09/2011 at 19:46 jonfitt says:
Half-life muscle car.
Just making sure you noticed the difference.
26/09/2011 at 18:18 Ricc says:
Renegade Ops is an awesome game. At least somebody is doing right by Dr. Freeman! *shakes fist*
26/09/2011 at 18:33 Linfosoma says:
If this is the reason they moved the released date on the same day it was supposed to be coming out I guess I can find a way in my heart to forgive them, Im still pissed though, but antlion army? Mmmok
26/09/2011 at 18:34 thesmileman says:
How about an actual PC release date. Sega’s site says its “Out Now” for PC but no one has it not even Steam and it is a Steamworks game? RPS can you get an answer?
26/09/2011 at 18:35 johnpeat says:
erm – can you read??
26/09/2011 at 19:07 thesmileman says:
This is for the DLC not the actual PC release as I understand it.
26/09/2011 at 19:15 westyfield says:
It’s not DLC, it’s the full game. Freeman is included from the start in the PC version.
26/09/2011 at 19:20 thesmileman says:
Other sites were reporting it at DLC but they seem to have changed there articles.
26/09/2011 at 20:22 skyturnedred says:
http://www.theretheyretheir.com/
Learn it.
27/09/2011 at 04:53 Thants says:
Whats you’re problem?
26/09/2011 at 18:35 johnpeat says:
Good News on Freeman
BAD BAD BAD News that it’s taking over a month from XBOX/PSN release to come to the PC tho – taking the piss a bit tbh
It’s not really a PC title of course – it’s a classic controller/on front of the TV title – I’m not even sure why I bought it on PC – oh wait, because it was just £5 and I didn’t have to FUCK ABOUT with stupid nonsense points and shit :)
27/09/2011 at 02:12 mana says:
it certainly is taking the piss a wee bit – ordered a 4 pack for myself and friends with the somewhat foolish understanding that it was only Ubiwank that did bait and switch. Apparently Sega is quite happy to do it too! We’ll still play it, but had it released when implied (promised, insinuated, rumoured?) it would have filled a nice gap before the October releases ramp up. Any word on WHY it was delayed, other than a money-grab/we hate PCs coz they is fullz of pirates (despite the dev studio stating that DRM was pointless and horrid?!) …?
27/09/2011 at 02:45 Dominic White says:
Blame Sega – they’re an astoundingly bad publisher these days. They pushed Guardian Heroes HD on XBLA back by a whole month ON LAUNCH DAY. The previous evening, Microsofts representative announced it was due out the next day, only to be confused when it didn’t surface.
It just went silent for a couple weeks, then Sega said ‘Oh yeah, October, forgot to mention kthx’.
26/09/2011 at 18:36 johnpeat says:
It’s Jackal for the 21st century – and Jackal was, is and will always be awesome.
26/09/2011 at 18:37 Gap Gen says:
I’m so going to use science as an adjective now. Also a verb.
26/09/2011 at 19:28 cjlr says:
That’s so science.
26/09/2011 at 19:43 bear912 says:
Science of the Lamb?
27/09/2011 at 06:43 Raiyan 1.0 says:
Are you science enough for this science?
26/09/2011 at 18:41 Urthman says:
So this is the Just Cause 2 engine? Does the game require DirectX 10?
I guess it does. Steam says “Windows XP not supported.”
26/09/2011 at 19:16 westyfield says:
I think it is the JC2 engine, in which case, yes, it needs DX10.
26/09/2011 at 18:43 squareking says:
Want.
26/09/2011 at 18:44 man-eater chimp says:
If only the buggy had rockets in HL2…
26/09/2011 at 18:57 kuran says:
Why is this game so late?? I bought it with the information of it being out in September.
26/09/2011 at 18:59 GoodPatton says:
Avalanche, please keep doing what you’re doing!
26/09/2011 at 19:11 HermitUK says:
Had a go of this at Eurogamer and it was a right laugh. The presence of Gordon Freeman only sweetens the deal
26/09/2011 at 20:24 Zulthar says:
Hell yes. Now I’m glad I preordered it for PC. Game looks fun as hell.
26/09/2011 at 20:26 mattyice says:
I’m surprised that they are proud to release this game with…..bugs!
26/09/2011 at 23:44 Talon says:
I see what you did there. I doff my hat to you, sir.
26/09/2011 at 20:35 Asskicker says:
I send this in as a news report a few days back, guess nobody got it: http://ic.tweakimg.net/ext/i/imagenormal/1316679179.jpeg
Episode 3 confirmed?
Source: http://tweakers.net/nieuws/76932/gabe-newell-bevestigt-hl2-episode-3-met-gedicht.html
It’s a Dutch tech website.
26/09/2011 at 21:04 DRoseDARs says:
Sorry, but all I could think about while watching that promo was, “Michael Bay, E X P L O S I O N S !!!” I imagine the plot of the game is about as deep and characters as dimensional as one of his movies. Not a bad thing, mind you, but it’s good to just be upfront and honest about it.
26/09/2011 at 21:50 pkt-zer0 says:
They should’ve named this one “Shit Blows Up: The Game”.
26/09/2011 at 22:24 El_Emmental says:
I have one unique request : do NOT make him speak.
Freeman hasn’t a voice (yet ?), please do not commit such heresy Avalanche Studio.
27/09/2011 at 00:34 Createx says:
Let the antlions speak for him.
27/09/2011 at 03:32 Cryotek says:
I’m pissed. The game was supposed to be released last Friday, and I had already pre-ordered on another site. So they announce pre-order DLC on Steam AFTER the game was supposed to f*cking be out?! Am I supposed to read their minds or something?
27/09/2011 at 12:04 MonkeyMonster says:
What is more annoying is the pictures of his two rides makes me want to play hl2 all over again… now at work.
29/09/2011 at 15:17 Lamellama says:
For anyone using Talk Talk BB, whos having problems with onlive
http://torrentfreak.com/talktalks-p2p-throttling-kills-onlive-games-110929/