Dang—I should have got THAT guy to do our Postal 2 review.
Jeez, that preview is probably longer than the game will be!
I give, what would I be hiding? That I secretly wish I could write pieces like that?
I’m well aware of my own limitations, thanks. I couldn’t be that, I guess creative is the word, even if I tried. My shtick is “cold and distanced.” It’s all I can do. If I do “frothing at the mouth excited,” it just sounds wrong. And the chicks dig that “playing it cool” routine… really, everything I do is for the chicks. And I don’t mean Tom Chick, though he is an attractive, if rather short, man.
Hahahaha, now that’s funny!
When did Harry Knowles start reviewing games as well?
I’m well aware of my own limitations, thanks. I couldn’t be that, I guess creative is the word, even if I tried. My shtick is “cold and distanced.” It’s all I can do.
It could be argued that you go too far towards the other extreme of this preview you’ve linked to, though. Reading your HL2 preview in CGM, I sort of imagined you sitting at the desk with your arms crossed, shaking your head with a pouty face, saying, “No no no! I refuse to think this demo looked in any way special.” Like you’re being forcibly restrained. CGW’s preview was a much more entertaining read because of this; it didn’t go overboard, but the writer wasn’t above being justifiably excited either.
If the Seattle demo was anything like the E3 demo, based on the fact that every outlet is now claiming it to be game of the show, then you guys really did see something unique that should have amazed even jaded critics. So why be so reserved? It’s an incredible looking engine, and the demo proved that they’ve figured out how to use the engine to innovate FPS gameplay. And a September release?? Give it some credit!
Now, this C&VG preview, though… Jesus. Painful. Get the man a Kleenex!
I’d like to take this moment to bet that HL2 is just going to be just another damn FPS, except with even more conversations going on that you’re not a part of. And lots of headcrabs teleporting in directly on top of you - excitement!
Could be, could be… IF the six or so separate scenes demo’ed in HL2 are completely unrepresentative of the type of levels in the whole game. Assume you’ve seen the 600MB (not-so-)shakycam video at Fileplanet of the demo?
I think games like Call of Duty, MOH: Rising Sun, Men of Valor and Shadow Ops are the ones that you can’t predict much from based on their E3 showing. They all used the template from the wowtastic E3 2001 MOH: Allied Assault demo - put audience in dark theater with surround sound in middle of E3 show floor, then play through the game’s one big, dramatic, scripted, action-packed showcase level that doesn’t really tell you anything about how most of the game will play out (Rising Sun was the Pearl Harbor attack, Call of Duty was the Russian’s push into Stalingrad, etc).
That’s a fair criticism. But…
If the Seattle demo was anything like the E3 demo, based on the fact that every outlet is now claiming it to be game of the show, then you guys really did see something unique that should have amazed even jaded critics. So why be so reserved? It’s an incredible looking engine, and the demo proved that they’ve figured out how to use the engine to innovate FPS gameplay. And a September release?? Give it some credit!
…what they showed in Seattle (which is what this C&VG article was based on) was nothing like the E3 demo. It was like 1/100th less impressive. Seriously. (Then again, maybe I am too jaded; the DOOM 3 demo last year didn’t dazzle me all that much.)
Valve just showed tech, similar to the old Half-Life demos Gabe Newell used to give. “In this room, here’s an example of our shaders,” etc… Some engine stuff, all of the effects, but almost no gameplay except for one battle in a prison. You could assume it was going to be cool, I suppose, based on Valve’s one-game track record, but what was demoed gave little indication of what was shown at E3. The E3 demo turned me into a giddy little schoolgirl. It was drool worthy. It may have even cause me to tense my knuckles.
I can honestly say that no game, ever, has me as excited as Half Life 2 is. And I know I’m not alone.
I know a lot of guys (myself included) who are holding off on computer purchases until HL2 is about to ship so that we have the latest/greatest for that game.
Fanboy.
My concern with Half-Life 2 is that I won’t know how to do the cool things, so it’ll turn out to be less cool than it should be. I mean, when the strider blows apart the arch at the hotel, how am I going to know that it’s not aiming for me so I can stand there and watch it? I’d be ducking for cover.
"It was like 1/100th less impressive. "
Er, so it was really really close to being just as impressive?
Er, um, scratch that from the record. I haven’t taken math since high school.
Half-Life 2 doesn’t have enough soul for Steve to like it. Not enough tape hiss in the background, and it doesn’t have enough red and white in it.
Even worse-- no lesbians.
I hear Game Informer’s running a Half-Life 2 review next month based on the shaky cam footage. 9.9, the docked Valve a tenth for the afore-mentioned lack of lesbians.
“Journalists” who don’t know the difference between taught and taut do not deserve to be writing (even with the bottom-of-the-barrel internet site standards).
My body felt exhausted as I relaxed my taught muscles
Apparently his muscles are more learned than he is.
Can I get a rimshot?
-Tom
Looking for journalistic acumen on the internet is like looking for virgin in a whorehouse.