May 8
From the people that brought you Portal: The Flash Version, comes all the levels from the flash version converted to actual portal maps. The Portal: The Flash Version Mappack isn’t just a bunch of levels strewn together, but has level continuity, added dialogue, and surprises. Plus extra levels. Even a “boss” fight at the end.
Highly recommended
Apr 8
Portal was a game that went beyond the actual playing. It is one of the few action games with a great story and atmosphere supporting it. In fact, as good as the puzzle play was, it was eclipsed by the game’s wonderful personality. I enjoyed Narbacular Drop immensely, but the idea really came into it’s own with Portal.
The ending sequence was an oddity. The rest of the game had funny, sometimes subtle, nuance to everything the character did, and the reaction provoked from GladOS. Then we get to the end and it seemed like a cut-and-dry end-boss robot battle. Abruptly changing the gameplay from the rest of the game. It was hard to believe, and although I wanted to understand and try to study the physical form of GladOS… the fact that you only have a few minutes to kill “her” kinda puts a damper on smelling the roses.
I have replayed many of the levels, but I honestly never felt an impulse to replay the ending scene. But a the game-ism blog has stumbled on something that rings true. As I had not replayed the end sequence, I had not heard the developer commentary within it. It reveals that Valve tried to give GladOS a female form, but not exactly which. Game-ism proposes GladOS wanted you to find her all along, to free her from her bondage.
Feb 25
Dec 29
Portal may be old and tired in game-life terms…
wait… if you agreed to that, get out.
Nov 19
I’ve been lax. I haven’t posted on anything relating to the Orange Box. I guess I really couldn’t say much more than the 5 bazillion other people who are playing it. I loved TF2, Episode 2 was short but a blast, and Portal was even better than I expected.
Especially the story… and the culmination in the end song. But again, this is definitely not a unique opinion.
But when I found this combining two things I really like… well, that’s enough impetus to post:
For those of you who already pre-ordered the Orange Box, Valve has unlocked the TF2 beta. So get thee to the servers!
Well, it looks like the release of Team Fortress 2 after being initially announced in 1997, is upon us. I am pre-loading as we speak, and the beta release will be on Monday. It looks to be a hell of a game, and a worthy successor to the original mod.
In retrospect, I think fondly on my most favorite Quake mod and what it has become today. And this video will show what most of you never experienced in the glory of the original Team Fortress. (Please please do not say that you thought TFC was the first Team Fortress!)
Team Fortress 2. Used to be the butt pocket joke for whenever a game took forever to be released. Now it is tantalizingly redone and looking better than ever. They did a few films before where the classes spoke about themselves, and now the soldier gets his turn. I never thought a cartoony game would make me think “amazing graphics” again, but this one does.
The dream pack of Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal has a new confirmed release date: October 9, 2007. Of course, we all know Valve’s track record with release dates, including these titles. And c’mon, TF2 was on the Vaporware list for years!
But anyways, this is the official word Shacknews wrangled out of them.
Red Orchestra was born a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004. I played it quite a bit back then, when the total numbers of people playing per night was less than a hundred. But, as I’ve said before, I’m a glutton for obscure mods.
The game came out of obscurity somewhat when they worked a deal with Valve to develop a standalone version. The new game was called Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45. I didn’t purchase it when it was released, but I did participate in the beta before. The addition of vehicles, and improved physics were nice, and the gameplay only got better. I can’t remember exactly why I wasn’t interested enough to purchase it, so I will blame it on a random MMORPG.
About a year ago I was goaded into finally picking up the game by some CoFRs. While my heart belongs more to PRMM, I have varied my gaming diet with influxes of RO.
As usual, I don’t get to the point of the post right away. Here it is: The Red Orchestra team hosted a contest for custom maps, and the result is a new map pack of 32 maps approved and released. I got mine from fileplanet but the main Red Orchestra site lists some alternative download sites. Fileplanet does have a great writeup on each of the maps in the pack.
These maps look great and the fact that there are so many probably means I will spend time that I should be using to study or code to play all of them.
Valve’s Doug Lombardi says: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is now delayed to summer of 2007.
It should have sent off bells and flew all sorts of red flags when they announced TF2 would be simultaneously released with HL2:E2. But no! All us gluttons for punishment just cheered, thinking our almost decade long wait was over! What fools we let ourselves be!
So, I guess this is the “episodic content makes shorter release schedules” that Valve was talking about. Oh, and what happened to Steam Friends again? Nevermind.
Apr 24
More sreenshots and a mini-interview with Gabe Newell coming from CNN Money of all places:
CNN Money talks to Gabe Newell
“You are once again Gordon Freeman,” described Gabe Newell, managing director and co-founder of Valve. “You are awakened in the future. Several of the characters from [the original game] are back, including Barney the security guard, the G-Man, about whom you learn more and in whose employ you now are, and several of the scientists. There are new characters as well, most prominently Alyx, whose mother was killed during the events of the original game. The story is once again conveyed entirely within the course of playing the game.”
