Orchid XP v7 <voi### [at] devnull> wrote:
> PS. Do you have HL2:EP2?

  Yes, but I haven't played it through yet.

  Once again Valve failed to disappoint with this game. It's very immersive
and addictive from the very start. I'm also impressed about the amount of
graphics and special effects they have succeeded in putting in the levels
and still maintain a very good framerate. (It barely doesn't reach the
level of detail of Oblivion, but OTOH it has a much better framerate.)

  I like the strong storylines of the HL2 series.

  Most FPS games have very weak, almost inexistent storylines, where the
makers clearly haven't put too many resources in them. You get an intro,
a few short plot details here and there, and an outro. Usually it's all
rather simple and not very worked. Usually even the little plot there is
doesn't seem to matter too much. It's more like "yeah, yeah, blah blah,
let me play already". Also the backstory often is very detached from the
game itself.

  Not so with the HL2 series. The stories are believable and interesting,
and they have clearly put a lot of effort in merging the plot and the
gameplay, to make it more interesting.

  In the past some FPS games have tried the concept of NPC sidekicks, and
usually failed miserably. Usually these sidekicks are completely useless,
annoying and more a burden than anything else (especially if them dying
means game over).
  In some games mandatory sidekicks are extremely stupid. A very prominent
example is Oblivion, where it feels like your allies are constantly moving
to your line of fire, so that you will hit them instead of the enemy. It
gets really irritating very soon, especially when there's a bad consequence
of hitting an ally (such as being expelled from a guild).

  Again, not so in the HL2 series, especially episodes 1 and 2. The
sidekicks are actually helpful and not annoying at all. They really are
very strong allies in fighting, and they mostly know how to keep out
of your way (even though I think you couldn't even hurt them even if
you shoot at them, but it's good that they keep out of your line of fire
just for visibility reasons if nothing else). Also if they are blocking
your way in a narrow passage, they usually move away quite promptly when
needed.
  Also, the allies (especially Alyx) are not just dumb gameplay elements,
but add to the plot. They act, they tell you things, and they direct your
attention to events (one good example being the beginning of Episode 2,
where Alyx tells you to look at the railway bridge).

<nerd mode>
  It's also cool to drive with Alyx at your side. It almost feels like
in a date.
</nerd mode>

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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