In 1998, the original Half-Life revolutionised first person shooters by offering a new type of immersive gameplay that hadn't been seen before. By presenting a compelling story from the viewpoint of unlikely hero Dr. Gordon Freeman and refusing to use cut scenes or divisive levels, Half-Life managed to make players feel part of the interactive world around them. Developers Valve even used puzzles to get players more involved with the in-game environment, something that no other shooter had attempted before. Seriously, no game since Doom had brought more to the table for the first-person shooter genre. That's why, when Half-life 2 was about to be released in 2004 after a five year $40 million development, there was a huge amount of hype. The possibility of the sequel soiling the legacy of the Black Mesa Facility was worrying but Valve managed to pull it out of the bag and produce another multi-game of the year winning title. Sticking to the gameplay foundations that were laid by the original, Half-Life 2 used the impressive Source engine to build a new world in which the human race has been enslaved by the Combine, an alien race who invaded after being made aware of earth by the Black Mesa event. This wasn't just a pretty update however, Half-Life 2 built on everything that made the original such a great game: the storyline, the immersion, the exciting combat, and most importantly, hitting headcrabs with a crowbar.
I work at a college as a janitor even though I feel like I'm smarter than most of the people who go there. Sometimes I see an equation written on a blackboard like half an equation and I just figure it out.
Really though I'm a Journalism graduate so I like to write words and stuff. Getting back into it thanks to WhatCulture! Oh and my best friend is Ben Affleck...
