I wasn’t a big fan of Xen, probably because I’m not a good jumper. There was a Half-Life 2 mod called Transitions that allowed players to visit Xen again with updated textures but it wasn’t that popular, probably because the start required you to do nothing for a little while.
One silly problem with these poll questions that if I am not careful the actual question becomes too long. In this case I really wanted to ask whether the player wants to visit the Combine world or at least one of the other worlds it controls. That has gotta be a possibility for HL4, don’t you think. In EP3 Gordon saves the world and HL4 he takes the fight to the own world. I suppose a little like Battlefield Earth. I am digressing again.
Let’s keep it simple and say that GF has an opportunity to go back to Xen in Episode Three, is that something you would enjoy?
I’d rather run around Combine citadels or other human style locations, but what about you?
No not really, although I did not mind Xen and have played a few mods since with Xen themes I don’t see much point in returning. If EP3 ventures into new worlds then I hope they are new worlds, would sooner see new environments then re-erected ones. The story has moved on from the HL1 beginning and I don’t see how Xen now has much significant the fight is far more earth bound now. There is scope to reintroduce an alien world, one that is ready to pounce on the chaos and disorganized world of Rebels and Combine, but which side if either will the new aliens support, and what form will they be?
Oh please, no, no, no.
Xen has no place in HL2 or 3 or 4 or whatever
(Hey, what happened to the font?)
Xen had it’s place in it’s time (for some) but no place now in a more sophisticated gaming community.
Jumping as part of an escape or to achieve a target is fine (as in chapter 1 Random Quest) at least the platforms keep still.
Jumping just for the sake of jumping is mightily tedious
More but evolved Combine, Combine Hardware and the denizens of Ravenholme. Or something new, let’s not go backwards.
Well said. Ravenholm. That’s far more useful, fun and interesting than “Xen”.
I’d love visit Xen again. As long as we see something new and cool, I want to see it. Xen was cool and fun.
I guess it could be a more advanced Xen, seeing as how we’re still not 100% sure about the Combine’s origins, nor what they’ve been up to in the rest of the universe while trying to hold onto the Earth……
I voted “Yes” even though, like the previous commenters I’m not that bothered about the long jumps and so on, but another world altogether would be even better. Perhaps the Combine Over-Planet or something.
I do wish they’d hurry it up a bit though!
Oh yes please. I miss the eeriness, the uncertainty, the organic landscapes. But it should be a short visit, just for old times” sake and to tie up the whole Half-Life arc.
Why not?
Xen has never been the highlight of HL1, but it was a good finale. By the time you reached it you felt so far away from the humble beginnings of the game… what a trip!
As some of the other posters said, I rather interpret the question as “Would you like to visit an alien landscape again?” Especially if it would be something totally new, unlike Xen, even, the answer is definitely yes! But yea, I’d rather see a short trip than one whole episode spent on floaty, alien platforms.
From what we’ve seen so far, that’s not very likely. Episode 3 will probably explore more of an arctic setting, a ship, and generally some of the places cut from HL2 (Borealis, Kraken Base, maybe even the Air Exchange bits -> http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Borealis ).
I’d like to see what the “Next-Gen” version of Xen is, so yes.
Yep I would love it to go back to XEN. The original Half-Life1 XEN levels weren’t my favourites.
But I really liked the XEN levels made by Gearbox. Blue Shift, Decay, Opposing Force.
I would also love it to see a comeback of Sheppard. Well most unlikely still I would love it.
Dunno… Xen was kinda annoying at times in the original Half-Life. Anyway, it would be cool to see how this alien world looks like in a revamped Source engine.
PS: I love the new look of PP 🙂
If Valve made Xen again, they’d do it a lot better, so yeh, i’d like to see it again. Save some Vorts from the clutches of GMan.
I would visit Xen only if it involves teletransportion or if humans have built devices, like in Blue Shift(For me, that was the best Xen).
It would depend on how it’s handled, but I said yes.
The fun thing is that Xen is a totally alien environment, giving way to new unusual gameplay possibilities.
I voted yes, because I would love to see how Xen would look on Source. I know it has been done already, but Ep3 is being made by Valve, not a single mapper.
I liked Xen in Half-Life, but I think the newer games should go in an opposite direction. I think I’ll get my Xen fix from Black Mesa.
No way. Even with all the exploration provided, Xen could be more useful if there really was something special added to it. Again, why not? It isn’t frustration but rather an “appetite” already covered with Xen curiosities. SURE!!! There is more to see, but not for me babe.
No. It doesn’t fit into the story. Xen was – as far as I know – conquered by the combine shortly after the events of HL1. The Black Mesa Mod can present Xen in a new shiny way. But then not again…
If they could pull off making Xen relevant to the story, as well as giving us some new and interesting sorts of places on Xen to visit, I would have no problem with a few Xen levels in a future HL game. The thing is that I don’t think they could make a Xen level fit into the story at this point, but I may be wrong about that.
I will admit, though, I’ve always wondered what an antlion colony on Xen would look like. It would be pretty cool to see them in their natural habitat, as opposed to just wandering around abandoned mine shafts.
YES YES YESSS!!! but it would have to be uniquer than hl1.
I didn’t really mind Xen at all myself. We’ll have to see how Black Mesa handles that section. They might be able to improve it so that other people are satisfied as well.
Sure, I’d like to see Xen back! Now that we have Xenian allies, it’s good to have shelter in a different world. I wonder if we’ll be here in Human Error 2?