joe randel's art dump

So I played this game called Half Life 2.

Have you heard of it?  I played it on PC out of a box of oranges or something, I dunno.

I borrowed it from work actually (We have a full collection of games that we can borrow for just about any system) and was quite excited about it too.  I’d seen screen shots and heard reviews and it looked really good.  I should step out and say that I’m not  PC gamer nor am I an FPS fan ether so this would be something different.  I installed the game and was treated to a nice opening, some great environments and an over all great looking game but after a while I began to notice something.  I was getting board.  It was around the water boat thing level that I seriously got so board that I almost quit.  But I stuck with it.  I kept on pushing, but the more I played the more board I got.  I felt that the game just lacked excitement.  I found that I was just going from one story/character spot to another with gun action in between.  Sure they would throw in a puzzle or a mini battle to spice it up but I found I would rush though them just to get them over with.

I can’t say that the game didn’t look nice.  I did that in spades I thought.  It even did the whole dystopia city/corrupt political set nicely but the story and the action just couldn’t grab me.  I’m sure I’ll get mobbed for this but I doubt I’ll even play the next episodes.

I think I played on easy or what ever the default setting is.  Maybe that has something to do with it.  Maybe if I played harder I would have a better grip on the action.  Naw…  I’m sure I’d just get frustrated and stop playing.  I can only shoot the same faceless guard so many times.  Plus when you get the people following you and “helping”… ugh… In the beginning I did my best to try and save them and keep them okay but after they walked in front of my shot for the millionth time I was ready to tell them to all go to hell.  Sigh…  It also saddens me to say that with all the urgency they build up during the game I never once felt like I was doing anything of major importance.  I was just going around shooting faceless guards, stopping and listening to people that would talk to me and then doing it all again.

Oh well, they can’t all be winners.  I wonder what I’ll play next.