Video games

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

Well, my brother wanted me to try playing Half-Life 2, so I decided to give it a go.

I'm doing better than I would have expected. (And probably better than he would have expected, too. ) I do wish there was an option to turn the blood effects off, though. Not really a fan of gory aspects of the game, but that's where the dated graphics come in handy, and I suppose I can overlook that in favor of the clever story and the gameplay. However, I also wish that the Combines were robots; I keep worrying that someone like Barney is under one of those suits, so I try to wait until they shoot first.

It'll be interesting to see how far I get. I hear that there is some scarier stuff at later levels; my brother hasn't let me watch those parts because he doesn't want to "spoil the surprise."

[Shadowlander]

It'll be interesting to see how far I get. I hear that there is some scarier stuff at later levels; my brother hasn't let me watch those parts because he doesn't want to "spoil the surprise."

I wholeheartedly concur with his judgment! One word. Ravenholm.

Oh yes. Ravenholm.

My favorite part of the game was Highway 17, a portion where you spend the majority of your time driving around in a dune buggy thing. Also, don't worry about the Combine troopers. The only ones who are remotely human anymore are the Metro troopers and they're already too far gone to come back. Barney's the only one who you'll find disguised as one. The Combine Elite soldiers towards the latter stages of the game are the ones you need to keep an eye out on! Also I suspect you're going to love Dog when you meet him. Keep us abreast of your progress through the game!

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

I did like Dog; he's awesome!

You should have seen me when I found out I was going into Ravenholm. "I don't want to go! I'm not ready!! And I never even got to go to the kitchen where the Vortigaunts were cooking!! "



I'm still in Ravenholm, and only recently figured out the way you're "supposed" to deal with the adversaries there. My brother said that I was doing remarkably well for someone who was going about the level the completely wrong way.

Hopefully I'll make it out of there alive... or at least without having died too many times.

[Shadowlander]

There's an achievement you can unlock on the XBox 360 for Ravenholm by going through and not using any firearms or your crowbar. You can only use the gravity gun. It's something I pulled off but would never recommend doing again! Also you get to see lots more of dog in the future, and if you think he's great now just wait!

It's lots of fun getting to hear about someone playing HL2 for the first time! Keep those posts coming!!

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

Lol, I'll have to try that challenge in Ravenholm sometime. That sounds very difficult. Gordon finally made it out alive! Father Grigori is an interesting character.

I really enjoyed Highway 17; it was fun! I really don't think I'm cut out for being a crane operator, though. I recently just finished up with the firefight near the lighthouse, which I won very quickly by running up to the airships as they landed and shooting the Combines as soon as they jumped out. My brother was very impressed. I was just happy to keep my comrades alive.

[Shadowlander]

I had never really thought of that tactic before, Rose. Learn something new everyday! I miss my old dunebuggy, although you get something *very* cool to drive in Episode Two. You'll think you've died and gone to muscle car heaven. What's your favorite weapon so far? I love the revolver. It's a 6-shot beast that can take out Zombies and Headcrabs in one shot, or even most Combine troopers with 1 round too. I just wish the ammo wasn't so uncommon. And the Crowbar is my ever-stalwart companion and lots of fun even into the latter stages of the game. Keep an eye on the Gravity Gun too...you'll see just how very awesome it becomes later on in the game.

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

Yeah, I was kind of bummed when they took my ride away.

I've moved on to the Sandtraps level and I'm finding that I do not like Antlions at all. I'm sure I'll figure 'em out eventually, though. In the meantime, my brother is finding my cries of dismay very amusing.

I like the revolver, too! It's so powerful and effective if you aim right. I also love just going willy-nilly with the crowbar if I'm up against a wall. The gravity gun is really neat, too. I love how it can turn almost anything into a potential means for self-dense. Not to mention it's highly helpful when your dune buggy gets stuck in a ditch.

[Shadowlander]

Ha! What'd you think of that bridge you had to climb all over?

[Ryadian]

You know, we actually have a copy of Half-Life 2 in my house, which none of us have ever played. A friend gave it to my dad, who wasn't really interested in playing, and at the time my mom didn't let any of us kids play M-rated games (aside from Halo, mainly because my older brother got into it before she realized it was M-rated). At this point, I think she'd let us play it, but... let's see when I get around to it. If it's half as good as the Portal games are, I will have to get around to it eventually.

I have to admit, I'm a casual gamer; I'm often just as content to watch someone else play through a video game's story as I am to play it myself. But, that doesn't mean I don't game for myself as well. Right now, the games I'm playing are:

A) Guild Wars 2. Very, very casual player; I logged in a couple times this month because my dad (who's a daily player) talked me into it. While I absolutely love the Mesmer class (I love classes that revolve just as much around putting conditions on your enemies/confusing them as direct damage ), that's... pretty much all I've been loving about it lately. I find the story dull and repetitive, and despite championing that it's "your story", it seems to be just as much about various NPCs they've created--and sometimes, very ANNOYING NPCs (Trahearne, I'm looking at you ).

B) Star Wars: The Old Republic. I finally have a computer that can run it again, so... yay! I love the Old Republic games, so of course I got the game when I could afford it. Overall, I really enjoy the story, I just wish they'd made it a third single-player game instead of an MMO. It doesn't help that I'm now taking advantage of it being "free to play" (I'll pay for the subscription again as a reward to myself for getting my to-do list accomplished ), and they really, really like to remind you of how much easier it would be to do things like, oh, have enough inventory space if you'll just cough up a little more money.

C) Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Like I said, I'm a big fan of these games. I was in the middle of my... 5th?... play-through when my hard drive fried. I'm not sure whether or not my progress was saved. Oh well; there was something I kind of wanted to undo, and contrary to popular opinion, I actually really like the first world--I prefer the first part of the game to the ending.

D) Mass Effect 2. I'm actually almost to the end of this one. Actually, I probably could be done at this point, but I'm kind of dreading the ending. I didn't get enough Paragon points to keep both Miranda and Jack's loyalty, and I already know that your companions can get killed if you don't know what you're doing/have enough loyalty, so I'm a little nervous about that. Oh well; I'll just have to replay both games and get better results in both.

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

Ha! What'd you think of that bridge you had to climb all over?

I did pretty well on the bridge! I think I only fell once. Which was not terribly pleasant. I tried to beat the train a few times, though, and that was much less pleasant.

Speaking of the bridge—I found this YouTube video of someone navigating back over the bridge after turning off the forcefield while using the Oculus Rift (virtual reality headset) and the Razer Hydra (a motion and orientation detection game controller). I think my brother originally got interested in playing Half-Life 2 because he'd been following the development of the virtual reality headset and saw that it had Oculus Rift support.

There are some funny videos of people jumping when they see antlions. I don't blame them.

Someday I think it would be cool if they made a Half-Life game that is set in the future after the Combine has been defeated, but the alien animals they've left behind still effectively "own" the planet. The primary objective would be finding safe places and keeping what's left of the resistance groups alive. I think that could be neat.

A friend gave it to my dad, who wasn't really interested in playing, and at the time my mom didn't let any of us kids play M-rated games (aside from Halo, mainly because my older brother got into it before she realized it was M-rated).

Whaaat? It's M-rated? My brother didn't tell me that! No wonder I've been so taken aback by the violence and gore and zombies.

At this point, I think she'd let us play it, but... let's see when I get around to it. If it's half as good as the Portal games are, I will have to get around to it eventually.

You should try it sometime! It's got a really well-made game. My brother and I are planning on trying Portal soon, so I'm looking forward to that. No zombies or blood, I hope?

[Shadowlander]

Rya, Knights of the Old Republic I is a super classic. Even KotOR II is good, but the ending is...meh. I tinkered with the idea of downloading it one day but I ended up just taking a nap instead.

The whole of the Half Life series is really as close to the perfect First Person Shooter I've come across, and I have played a LOT of FPS's. If your dad has HL2 then it probably came bundled with Portal and Team Fortress 2. Bonus! The Antlion video is a hoot! I loved Highway 17, is my favorite part of the game and gives you the most freedom to speed along or go slow and explore (I recommend the latter!) and turning Antlions into road pizzas is a favorite pastime in my dune buggy . If memory serves me correctly you should be closing in on Nova Prospekt here soon, another really great level. You're really only about halfway through the game right now, maybe a tad bit more.

My brother and I are planning on trying Portal soon, so I'm looking forward to that. No zombies or blood, I hope?

None of either, just a really fun and extremely quirky and novel FPS where there's no weapons of any type. You survive by using your noodle. If Gordon Freeman could just get his mitts on a Portal gun he'd really take the Combine to task. You're going to absolutely love Portal...in fact I think you may end up liking it better than HL2 if I know you as well as I think I do. Fantasia Kitty is a big fan of the Portal games and will give you a thumbs up on them as well.

[Ryadian]

You should try it sometime! It's got a really well-made game. My brother and I are planning on trying Portal soon, so I'm looking forward to that. No zombies or blood, I hope?

I have heard some good things about it; mainly, I'm trying to get over my general aversion to zombie games(/movies/TV shows/etc.). Sorry, not a fan of zombies. Plus, I prefer playing games in order, so I'd need to find the original game somewhere.

About Portal--as SL said, none of either (unless you count what happens in certain tests if you fail ). It is a lot of fun, especially if you prefer puzzle-solving to fighting. The puzzles can really stretch your brain, especially if you're not a spatial thinker, but they're nonetheless fun--made even better by a really brilliant script with great character(s) (in the first game, you only hear one character for the entire game, and it's not you ). Said characters are utterly hilarious.

Rya, Knights of the Old Republic I is a super classic. Even KotOR II is good, but the ending is...meh. I tinkered with the idea of downloading it one day but I ended up just taking a nap instead.

It was the first game I ever bought for myself; I thought it looked kind of interesting, but I was still amazed by how much I liked it (especially since I wasn't much of a Star Wars fan at the time! Even now, I prefer the games to the movies. ). I actually like KotOR II, mainly for all the lore it gives us, as well as some insights into Revan that you don't find in the first game. Unfortunately, I think it's also kind of a confused mess--like I said, I was on my 5th (maybe 6th?) playthrough, and I'm still not entirely sure what was going on. (Though, I may want to try not playing so many ultra-Light Side characters. ) I also don't like that the game focuses more on a) the people coming after you and b) Revan than it does on you, the hero of the game.

Probably why I think the first part of the game is the best--that's when you're still accomplishing things, and it's before Kreia basically starts telling you "Goodie for you, but your accomplishments aren't worth much".

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

If memory serves me correctly you should be closing in on Nova Prospekt here soon, another really great level. You're really only about halfway through the game right now, maybe a tad bit more.

Yep! I think when my brother first played the game, he got that glitch that makes everything lighter (gets rid of the shadows, I think?) and so when he played through Nova Prospekt, it wasn't quite as scary as it should have been. (To his credit, he went back through and played that level over again when he realized the game was glitching. He made sure that the glitch was fixed for me from the get-go. Spooky shadows, here I come.

None of either, just a really fun and extremely quirky and novel FPS where there's no weapons of any type. You survive by using your noodle. If Gordon Freeman could just get his mitts on a Portal gun he'd really take the Combine to task. You're going to absolutely love Portal...in fact I think you may end up liking it better than HL2 if I know you as well as I think I do. Fantasia Kitty is a big fan of the Portal games and will give you a thumbs up on them as well.

Oooh, nice! It sounds right up my ally.

I have heard some good things about it; mainly, I'm trying to get over my general aversion to zombie games(/movies/TV shows/etc.). Sorry, not a fan of zombies.

Yeah, me neither. They're not quite as stereotypically zombie-ish as they could be... they're a bit weird. But still gross.

Speaking of the zombies... I have a rather funny story from Ravenholm, SL.

My brother was trying to teach me how to use the saws (?) on the zombies with the gravity gun, and I had them following me down a hall, got them in single file, had my shot aimed perfectly and everything, and waited until they were right on me... and then I pushed the wrong button and dropped the saw instead of firing it. I think my brother busted a rib laughing.

About Portal--as SL said, none of either (unless you count what happens in certain tests if you fail ). It is a lot of fun, especially if you prefer puzzle-solving to fighting. The puzzles can really stretch your brain, especially if you're not a spatial thinker, but they're nonetheless fun--made even better by a really brilliant script with great character(s) (in the first game, you only hear one character for the entire game, and it's not you ). Said characters are utterly hilarious.

Oh good! I think I could use some cheering up after all of the destruction of Half-Life 2.

[Shadowlander]

Plus, I prefer playing games in order, so I'd need to find the original game somewhere.

The original Half Life is very dated by today's standards. Still a great game, but you have to bear in mind it came out in 1998. Cutting edge back then but now kinda blocky . There is something you can try though. An independent group of programmers released a remake of Half Life 1 last year called Black Mesa Source. It was totally redone using the same engine used by HL2, and I got a chance to play it and will tell you that it is absolutely incredible. Everything that made Half Life 1 so perfect was there, plus some. It's a free download, but as with any independently made program there are some bugs. I crashed to desktop 5 or 6 times while playing, but given it's almost a 35-40 hour game that's not too bad . Also the game isn't totally complete. The end of Half Life 1 has Gordon Freeman going to a parallel alien universe called Xen and that part was not completed by the programmers yet when I last played. So the game ends a bit abruptly and tells you to wait for the next installment. Who knows when that'll be? It took almost 10 years for Black Mesa Source to come out . There were three expansions to Half Life and who knows when (or if) they'll ever be remade in like fashion, but as it stands just having the original is incredible.



This for you too Rosie! It's funny that that happened to you in Ravenholm with the Gravity Gun. And the zombies were even cooperating with you! You're gonna have a blast in Nova Prospekt. Expect a visit from a friend or two though, which makes it even better.

[The Rose-Tree Dryad]

Wow, Black Mesa Source looks great!

Sorry I've been AWOL from this thread the past week; my internet has been giving me all sorts of trouble. On the bright side, that gave me plenty of extra time to play video games. I beat Half-Life 2 a couple of days ago! Woot! I've already started on Episode 1 because I had to know what happened after that cliffhanger.

I did have a blast in Nova Prospekt! I think it's my favorite level. This is primarily for two reasons:

1. The antlions became my best friends. You know how four of them usually follow you around? I nicknamed them Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

2. That part where you're being swarmed by Combines and you have to set up the turrets to defend you while you wait for Alyx to rejoin you? I figured out the best way ever to deal with that. You just set up the turrets to go off in their little cubbyholes (you have to turn them around, of course) and then duck down in the remaining empty cubbyhole (one of the two in the middle) with your shotgun and wait as the turrets do all of the work for you. It's almost impossible to kick them over because they're surrounded on three sides, and if any of the combine soldiers manage to reach you, they're easily dealt with using the shotgun. You'll barely lose any health at all; it's awesome.

In other news, I started playing Portal and I've been loving it so far. It's a nice change from Half-Life 2, and I love how it's stretching my brain. I really want a portal gun.

[IloveFauns]

@shadow I was playing my nintendo 64 the other day(Banjo kazooie which was consider to have the best graphics for its time), my brother(younger) said "that looks terrible" and I said " These graphics are older than you" and than he said " They had terrible graphic back than" to which I replied " Well they were consider excellent back than". My mum has said the same thing about film special effects. They use to think those 80's one look so realistic but I use to think the early harry potter films looked so realistic. haha