Half Life 2;
I’ve been waiting to play Half Life 2 for a long time now and it was definitely worth the wait. The gameplay is good. The graphics are pretty as you fire wildly into them. The music is very good, and makes the whole experience much more cinematic. Considering this came out in 2004, it still stands up against some of the newer games that turn today’s market into a junkheap of armoured space marines and colourful family games. So yes overall, HL2 is awesome. However, I do have one problem with the story of Half Life 2. Don’t get me wrong, it is told in a very compelling and believable way, but it feels so far removed from the original they could be from entirely different franchises. I should point out this didn’t make the game any less enjoyable, it just confused me. However, G-Man is still a fantastic character in the changed context.
Half Life 2 Episode 1;
I’m not entirely sure how much time was between the two episodes but I’m glad I had the next episode ready to go, because I thought the ending to HL2 was really strange, and also a tad anti-climactic. Ep. 1 confused me at the beginning as for some strange reason you are given the regular gravity gun, which then becomes the Super Gravity Gun in exactly the same way as the previous game. But I digress. Episode 1, picking up exactly where HL2 left off, focuses a lot more on the relationship between Alyx and Gordon, and not only because you get a first person hug. The gameplay is exactly the same, although I would say that combat and puzzles mix more frequently. Apart from that, it’s pretty much the same in quality as HL2.
Half Life 2 Episode 2;
Episode 2 gets off to quite a slow start but very quickly becomes more exciting, partly because of the addition of the Hunters, and partly due to your Vortigaunt companion. I felt the story was much better than Ep. 1 and probably even HL2 itself, as I was always drawn into the story, whereas previously I had felt like somewhat of an observer. Ep. 2 also wins points because it does the see-saw puzzle on an epic scale, and the car is pretty swish as well. The Strider battle at the end is truly nothing short of epic and was definitely a high point. Whereas previous Strider battles had been a duck-and-fire routine, firing a sticky bomb onto the Striders then firing at them whilst been attacked by the Hunters is possibly the most tense gaming moment I have ever found myself in.
And whilst I’m on the topic of Half Life Games...
Half Life; Blue Shift;
Although I failed to get this in the sale, it’s still only three pounds, and in a recession, we all have to try and cut down on spending. Blue Shift is essentially Half Life told from Barney Calhoun’s point of View, and follows him throughout Black Mesa during the resonance cascade, and also briefly into everyone’s favourite border world, Xen. First of all, BS is very short. Even for me. It took me roughly about 5 hours, and that was not really concentrating and finding the hidden chumtoad. I sure I could speed-run this in about two hours, perhaps less. Having said that, my computer actually struggles to run the game anytime there is a flickering light, so perhaps not. Overall, BS feels like a bit of a fan-game but provides a nice little side story to the main game.
Onto the rest of the Orange Box...
Team Fortress 2;
I’ve actually been interested in the game for a while, even before the free weekend debacle. The Spy class had piqued my interest a while back and I’d been looking forward to stealthily backstabbing some dastardly snipers. Unfortunately, this dream got kicked in the head very early on when I found out being a Spy is effin’ hard. Every is suspicious of everyone else so disguises are fairly useless, and I’m always forgetting to come out of my cloak. So instead I decided I’d try the engineer. Now there’s a class with balls. Sentries are brilliant, teleporters are handy and dispensers... Well I guess dispensers make good shields so there we go. Apart from crippling connection issues and lack of map variety, playing Team Fortress 2 has been a laugh.
And finally...
Portal;
Yeah, it’s alright.
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