Half Life 2

Well, I was a little under the weather, and I did something I had never done before. I tried retail therapy. Seeing as everyone was going on about how you could purchase Half Life 2 over the net, and then it would be some auto installing, and updating thing, I gave it a whirl.

I kept seeing the boxes in Best Buy and telling myself I would get it for an early Christmas present (uuh oh hang on, this is America).. er.. I mean holiday gift. Instead I sat and went all steam powered.

You go to the site, click on the package you want, and then wait for it to be downloaded to the computer you are at. You can apparently use it on any computer, as long as you log into your steam account and press the go button.

Weeeeeeelll it took hours (trust me, do it over night, or when leaving for a long day out) and when it finally DID load in it was indeed heaven. I have only played a small way through, but the physics and wonderfully realistic locations are great. Characters flop from ledges, cowboy saloon brawl style, when shot. You can pick stuff up and throw it around. Which until I realised I should have been doing it, caused me to get stuck at an embarresingly early stage of the game. Sound is wonderful too.

I did how ever have an issue with the game. The rather extensive help section of the website, soon had the solution although it required deleting a half meg file to be redownloaded, and it has happened a LOT, since I did it. Hopefully the fourth time will be the last and I can get back to skulking around city areas, and popping off security chaps.

For $50 you get Half Life 2 and Counter Strike Source.. Source apparently being the name for a graphics and physics overhaul, similar to the one used in Half Life 2.

For $60 you get HL2, CSS, HL1 Source, Day of Deafeat Source, and the back catalog of Valve stuff. Nice, so I got that one.

For $90 you get all the above plus Hats, posters, mouse pads, etc.

I hope the technical issues sort themselves out, as this game is luverrly. So far the story has been great, and just enough sense of "Oh crap oh crap oh crap" as you run stumbling away from fire, and not having the time to admire the bullet holes appearing on the walls in front!

For anyone reading who has no clue (and cannot be bothered to visit the links) this game is a first person shooter. You have gun, you need to put your bullets in the other players, or aliens. If you play online against other REAL people, you can be on teams, or against everyone, but again try to keep your bullets in someone else. You see from the eyes of your character, so knowing where others are is hard. Move yourself with the keyboard, you eyes with the mouse, and thats about it. Like cowboys and indians with blood and explosions. As in the movies, a handgrenade falling gently down a hole to join you, should always be treated with respect, from a LONG way off. Listen for the click of gun, thud of footstep, and rumble of burning barrel. Point weapons AT anything even remotely suspected of independant thought!



Half Life 2, you walk around and commit physics on everything