Half-Life2 is t3h R0x0r
I know, I haven't written articles regularly for a couple months now, how is it possible that I've suddenly found time to play video games? Well, I'll tell you. I've only played HL2 for one evening, and man! am I hooked.
I was told that one gamer described the storyline of Gordon Freeman's latest adventure thus:
I started getting chased by soldiers in City 17. They opened fire on me, so I started running. I didn't stop running until the game was over.
I'm not sure how far into the game I am, but that seems like a pretty accurate description of events so far. Imagine the movie
The Fugitive only with aliens, a crowbar, and a gravity gun. Oh yeah, and turn up the speed. A lot. That's pretty much how it feels so far.
I've only used the gravity gun in the demo, so I'm not sure how it gets introduced in the story, but it definitely deserves its own paragraph. Let me delve into hyperbole and suggest that the gravity gun is going to change First Person Shooters forever. For years, bored video game designers filled levels with crates for lack of imagination. At first they were just decoration to break up the monotony of endless corridors; then, you could start moving them around to solve environment puzzles. Now, you can pick them up and throw them. Not only that, but with the gravity gun, they become lethal weapons as you hurl them at oncoming zombie-like alien-controlled people, suck up the shards and then hurl
them at the next wave. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Now the old exploding barrel has an all new twist as you go bowling with bad guys. And don't forget the paint cans.
So, after playing the Half-Life2 demo most of the way through, then playing the full game for the better part of an evening, I am totally and completely sold on this game. And
don't forget, this is only the single player component. The multiplayer is a spiced up version of the best shooter of all time: the great and close-to-holy Counter-Strike. I should probably write about that in a separate article, but I just have to say that Aztec is now a work of art fit for any tooty-fruity gallery. Utterly beautiful. I think I'm going to go to the back room so I can weep in joy with some privacy.
