June 15th, 2008 by Ventaur
My dad and I have a lot of memories involving late nights up playing games.
There was the time I got home at around 2:00 AM from working at my inventory job in college, only to find him playing Hexen with a friend of his via modem connection. He wasn’t doing too well that night, so I stepped in to take over. His opponent had just turned him into a chicken, so I ran to a spot I knew where I could pick-up flight via some wings. After I flew away from my poultry pursuer and scored several immediate kills, I typed in, “I bet you didn’t know chickens could fly, sucka”! My dad couldn’t stop laughing.
Other times we were up far too late playing the original Mario Kart. Work and class was usually a struggle the next morning, but it was always worth it. We eventually knew all the tracks of all the releases of Mario Kart that came out over the years.
Now, my dad has visited me and my wife a couple of times to play the latest Mario Kart Wii. He really likes that game, and who can blame him! It’s an awesome game for an awesome console. He has mentioned numerous times how badly he wants to get a Wii.
Unfortunately, he cannot see spending all that money for a gaming console. I really want to help him with this plight, so I came up with the idea to create a new website for just that purpose. MyDadNeedsAWii.com is now up and running, and accepting donations. Since it’s Father’s Day, my wife and I donated the first $20, in addition to the domain name and website design/programming. I hope he likes it!
Better still, I hope it raises enough money to get him a new Wii bundle! It would be truly awesome to play some Mario Kart Wii online with him whenever we could.
Happy Father’s Day, dad; and all the other deserving dads out there!
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September 6th, 2005 by Ventaur
I finished playing Half-Life 2 this evening. Wow; it was a blast! It’s been a long wait since the original Half-Life made gaming history and I’m months behind on this release. Version 2 held up to the name and provided an even more gripping experience.
Some highlights are below.
Vehicular Zombieslaughter
Driving dune buggies and hovercrafts through treacherous territory whilst avoiding death by bullets, grenades, rockets, flaming explosive barrels and deadly neck-ties is quite fun.
Skull and Crossbows
Yes, the crossbow is back and better than ever. Perhaps my favorite weapon from the original is back in HL2 and it’s got a shocking surprise. The bolts that the crossbow launches toward your foes are charged. As before, a well-placed single shot should render the enemy…well, dead. I figure they added the electric punch to explain why a single shot to the arm kills. In addition to the charge, an enemy that is struck while near a wall perpendicular to the bolt’s trajectory will be stuck to the wall by the bolt. It’s very cool to witness; they just dangle on the wall where you shot them.
I shot this guy from far below the beam that he is now firmly attached to.
Wreaking Havok with Physics
The Havok© Physics Engine makes play delightful. The added realism attributed to this physics engine is a joy to experience. There were even quite a few “puzzles” to be solved that relied on clever uses of the in-game physics. This company is now on a roll, despite the potential setbacks resulting from the HL2 source code theft that included parts of Havok. In fact, Havok is now appearing in all sorts of new games and has entered into a Strategic Licensing Agreement with Sony Entertainment. I’m betting this is all related to the upcoming Playstation© 3.
Lift without the Tuck
The Gravity Gun was something to look forward to. From the moment you play catch with “Dog” to the very end when the Gravity Gun gets a super charge, you cannot help but love to switch to this thing and just start throwing things. The coolest thing is picking up a saw blade and hurling clean through a line of zombies. Trying to make sure the blade got wedged into a wall behind them so you could reuse it was half the fun. I won’t spoil the end for those that haven’t played by letting on to it’s new “ability” at the end of the game.
This was definitely one of the more fun games I’ve played in the past few years (there have been a couple). If you don’t own a copy of Half-Life 2, go buy one; if you do own a copy, keep playing or play it again. Personally, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the Half-Life 2: Aftermath expansion pack.
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