Because of my concerns in spending large amounts of money (considering our financial situation right now and the whole economic crisis occurring globally at the moment), I haven't pulled the trigger on a 'showcase game' that will show off the capabilities of my upgraded PC. Instead, I've found comfort in the arms of a former love, Half Life 2. Playing for about 45 minutes last night before going to bed reminded me just how good this game really is. The atmosphere the game projects is perfectly hopeless (from the run-down train station in the beginning of the game to the oppressed mood of all of City 17's population) and yet hopeful at the same time (the upbeat demeanor of all of the Black Mesa personnel and other resistance forces). I love the feeling of being chased through the buildings in the first few minutes, as well as the moment when you feel trapped by soldiers, and then hearing Alyx's voice through the blinding white light of being stunned. Even though I knew everything was going to be OK, I could still feel my heart beating rapidly during the chase. There are more impressive sequences coming up, but the introduction is enough to grab even the most hardened gamer's attention.
My hope, in regard to HL2, is to complete the original game, then move on to the Lost Coast expansion, and then from there probably bite the bullet and get The Orange Box from Steam. This will give me access to Episodes 1 and 2 of HL2, as well as the amazing Portal (which I've completed on XBox 360, but would like to try it with mouse and keyboard) and the popular Team Fortress 2. I'm not very good at multiplayer shooters, and consequently shy away from them, but I'm almost willing to give TF2 a chance, because of its cartoony art style and game experience.
(While writing this, I received a tweet in my Twitter feed that said, "Jesus saves, the rest of you take full damage." You have to love nerd culture, especially D&D references.)
I've also spent a fair amount of time playing Hinterland, which came out last week. Bill Harris, of the Dubious Quality blog, has a great impressions post on the game, which I recommend you read, as he very eloquently sums up a lot of the good and bad points of this surprisingly good budget game ($19.99 new on Steam). Before upgrading my PC, I was able to run the game, but with a lot of lag (the onboard graphics had a tough time handling everything). The upgrade allows it to run silky smooth, and really improves the experience. To sum it up, if you like your Diablo II mixed with Stronghold, then give this game a shot.
I'm currently listening to the most recent Player One Podcast, a consistently enjoyable podcast. The current episode has Dan Hsu, former Editorial Director of the 1UP network, as a guest for some interesting discussion on the recent announcement of the DSi from Nintendo. As has been speculated by others, this has to be an attempt to resuscitate flagging sales of the DS in Japan, because Nintendo consistently moves 500,000 DS units a month here in the States. A headscratcher to be sure, but I'm going to reserve judgement on this until more info is available.
Well, that's all for now. I'll be back soon, hopefully with something of more substance.
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