manny_c44

Ah, Mafia is another very good game. I think you probably should play the first Hl1, besides for the reasons Trep listed its just a damn fine game and probably one of the best you play, even if the graphics are dated. But if you go backwards you may indeed feel like things are missing and the graphics are absolute shite. So play the first one, it may seem like a chore now, but once you get into it you'll see what a marvelous game it all is.

After a certain point in HL1 it seemed that you'd get stuck on every elevator floor...really bizarre. As for Hl2, I didn't get stuck once or have any sort of trouble getting caught on any edges. In fact the whole thing ran pretty much perectly, the only time it crashed was after I beat the game and clicked clicked the "quit" button, so I have very few complaints about its design or execution. Steam has worked great for me too, luck of the Irish I suppose.

I just beat Half-Life 2 (I decided not go the slow enjoyment route ). As you can imagine I have barely done anything for the last two days besides play it (except for that misfortunate bout of university that kept me away for a few hours). I probably logged 10 hours into it today...wierd because it doesn't feel like I've been doing it that long. What can I say. At this time, having beaten it 2 minutes ago, at 3 in the morning, I have to say it is easily the second best game I have ever played . Everything was fucking incredible. There was a time in the last level that I thought it turned into a cutscene...the whole last section is just pure class, style-wise. The pacing was absolutely impeccable, and its obvious Valve did alot of play testing to make every single moment of the game incredible. And now for some very vague spoilers and thoughts: In closing, buy this game. Or steal it...just play it.

I'm not sure the ganja smoking, sombrero wearing smilie was the best way to end that post...

This has always got to me too...not the fact that I have to flip it upside down to get it out, but that they have those finger grooves! Its maddening! Its funny, because alot of PS2 games come with manuals way more complete than PC games, even though they have to jam them into that little DVD manual space. That MGS2 manual even had a tutorial comic in it...

Yeah I thought that puzzle was pretty cool, all of the physics puzzles are great. But I think the whole fan boat section was a bit too long.

Yeah, but the Bible also has a killer recipe for Chili. So lay off.

My eyes burn. I just died 4 times in the same place so I decided to take a break, but I'll be back at it in 30 minutes....and aaaaaaaallllllllllllllll night. Also, you guys shouldnt't be so anti-steam, its the Bee's Knees. Thank god for no CD swapping installation or the sound of Cd in the Drive. k.

Yeah I think they're great too, but I wish there were more of them. I'm sure a mod will be made based around this in some sort of puzzler form.

I do have some hang-ups in the sound occasioanlly but haven't ever gotten stuck or had a crash because of it. The wierd thing about these Gamespot reviews is how they're viewing games as achievers in rigid categories. (oh, Half-life 2 does not innovate as much as the original, but it sure as hell innovates more than any FPs I've played since then. And to say it relies on comfortable suprises and suffers from sequilitis is absurd, this game is absolutely different, I can't even comprehend how someone would arrive at that conclusion.) Gamespot is kind of notorious for low-balling games like Metal gear Solid, ICO, Rez, because it seems they need to add up categorically to be spectacular. I can tell you right now that Hl2 has the kind of atmosphere, flawless pacing and exciting writing that puts every other game I've played this year to shame (except Katamari D. but thats completely different). Very odd. And now I'm stuck at school until 5 so I can't play it anymore.

I have also been playing since my last post, 4 hours or so...it is indeed incredible. I know the term 'cinematic' is over-used, but no game has ever done it as well as Half-Life 2, and without a single cutscene. Brilliant.

Aye, the unlocking is slow...now instead of reading th egame manual I just come to the Thumb.

...I think he incurred the wrath of intellegent life everywhere.

I think I remember getting shot in the face by you in the Office Garage by a Magnum...I wasn't doing particularly well that time. Although I've had by CS moments, like when I went 40:12 in De_dust with nothing but uzi.

Ok, if you ever see James Earl Jones, its me. ...my plan for Hl2 is to go to sleep at 7, then wake up at 3am (EST) and play until I have to go to class....I usually got to sleep around 2 though, so it will be difficult.

All of the levels have atleast one instance where you can block doors with barrels, but I agree it would be nice to have more physics inspired interactivity. But people hate it because instead of landing on top of a chair or filing cabinet they bounce off of them like they're rubber. Its just flat out annoying and should be fixed by Valve. The other thing that people do is cover the bombs with the barrels, in some instances making it impossible to move or get to because of the aformetnioned rubbery physics system. WHat is your name on Steam Marek?

I'm sure there's someone on this board who knows...

Having fears about server instability and your other minor quibbles are uncivilized fears. You savages are going to get on board sooner or later and I'm glad Valve is going ahead with its plan to distribute and authenticate over Steam.

Yeah get Rez, Katamari Damacy, ICO, Zone of the Enders 2. Don't get Sly Cooper.

Daddy's and mommy's alike can fool around with a V-smile. Last I checked.

Meh, I'll rip it off if it ever gets a port to PC, same with GTA SA.

My first educational game was Full Throttle.

This really shocked me too. People had always maintained that the hacker hadn't really gotten the whole thing, but I guess he did...and there was basically nothing there. Anyway a great article. The Potemkin village allusion was right on the money (if you've played the Stolen build).

I love eBooks, but they're hard to find (well, I guess you could probably pay for them somewhere)...so I'm probably going to reinstall overnet if what you say is true. Bittorrent is the best though, for full CD's movies and games.

I thought the trailer looked great...but I know the movie won't be, so that kind of killed any sort of excitement t might have generated.