First off the install is horribly botched. If you choose to not install Counter-Strike (the ONLY install option besides the location) the install fails. Luckily for me it was a known issue and the fix on the Web (you HAVE to install it). After that you get to the online registration for Vue. This turns out to be bogus, marketing fluff NOT the game registration but you don't learn that until later. Then you finally get to the game registration that requires an Internet connection and then ERROR. Well it turns out my firewall was blocking the sign-up but the game interface does not say 'can't connect' or anything remotely helpful I just got some bogus error. All of this is insanely annoying for a game everyone knew would be a hot seller. Anyway, once installed, registered and running the game is simply gorgeous and the sound and music awesome. Best of any game to date, period. Blows away Doom3 and runs in full glory at high res with no problem on good hardware (again better than Doom 3). The gameplay is what you would expect but with an excellent physics engine. The in game character interactions are the best ever done. The characters can actually EMOTE to a small degree and do simple things like look at you as you move and follow you with their eyes. You really have to see it. Now having said all that the story is very disappointing and quickly predictable. Worse, the first few levels of the game are rather boring as are some later ones. Things that are novel at first are way over done and you just feel "ok, let's move on" but then you get more levels of the same. The game does a great job of guiding you through each level without being obvious but I did need to use a cheat guide for a few tricky spots. It took me around 40 hours to finish and I have no desire to play the whole thing again but will re-visit some particular levels. The save system allows you to save at any time and also aut-saves for you so you can easily go back. Overall it is a gorgeous looking/sounding game with an OK story and average gameplay. It blows Doom 3 away but I think Far Cry still had a more interesting story/levels.
1998, half life comes out, rocks the planet. Six years later, half life 2 comes out, rocks the galaxy. Gordon is back and so is perfection. For six years the world has been waiting, and now it is here. The game play ... Read Full Review
First person shooters changed forever in 1998 when an unknown gaming developer known as Valve released a game known as Half-Life. It revolutionized the genre with cinematic gameplay, intense combat, and a story filled wi... Read Full Review
