Game Diary: I Hate You, Valve
I just completed Half Life 2: Episode 2 and am now basking in that sort of video game post-coital glow. I'm noticing little things and reflecting on the experience, as I do when I complete any game that has had an effect on me. I'm thinking about how I have such a crush on the typography. I love how the Half Life games bounce back to the title screen after the credits, but always with a new environment for the menu to lay over. That menu layout (the same one used when you pause the game) is iconic, simple and elegant and just one example of Valve's brilliance. These games are perfect little nuggets of gaming goodness. They are so artfully crafted in every area, from the naturalistic visuals to the deep storyline and the amazingly engaging cast of characters. I cannot wait for Episode 3.
I'm literally sitting here right now, staring at the screen as I exit to the dashboard which says "Do you wish to stop playing now?"
I really don't.
So, that answers part of what I have been playing, though I have also been indulging in some...
Rock Band - Playing more tug of war mode online. It's often frustrating to play games like this on Live, either there's no one out there to match with, or when you do find someone they drop after the first sign of anything resembling possible defeat. After a couple rounds with people and feeling quite confident, I matched with a guy who actually stuck around. I played one level of difficulty below him for every song. He'd pick Welcome Home and play on expert, and I'd do hard. I was banking on him missing more notes trying to play the songs on expert, and I was right. I beat him every single round. He kept challenging me to more songs until finally we had played our tenth round and he gave up. I added him to my friends list. So nice to have a challenge.
Call of Duty 4 - I guess I've been in a shooter mood? While I normally stick my nose up at sort of "mainstream" FPS titles (Halo, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six) I was intrigued by the RPG elements in the newest Call of Duty and grabbed it from someone on Goozex. I've only played through the tutorial so far but I plan on spending more time with it. First impressions? The controls are really tight and button mapping is logical making moving my soldier around like second nature. I like that.
What say you?!