I have to admit there were some bits of the post escape section of Portal that had me stumped. That last jump after the big turret battle had me stumped for quite a while. Still, as I understood it, all those pistons and stuff were what's driving all the movable platforms in the test chambers, of which we probably saw only a small faction. Then there's the fact that something has to provide the suction for the cube delivery tubes.
As far as Episode 3 goes, I'm very excited. Ep 2 went out with such a surprisingly emotional bang (I won't spoil for those who haven't completed it) that it left me wondering how it's all going to end. It is curious though that there's been very little word on it, despite the fact it's been in the works since Episode One was released well over a year ago.
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(Call of Duty 4 is pure awesome.)
Registered: Mar 1999
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
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posted
I don't see why the pistons would be free-standing and not sealed inside a tube, though. I mean, what's providing their power, if they're powering something else? Usually a piston's powered by pressure on the end..hydraulic or combustion. (Combustic? )
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Well the Aperture Science people were clearly on the eccentric side of psychotic, so it's anyone's guess. I'd rather know why they programmed robotic turrets with a non-threatening and weirdly enough non-blaming personalities or why they thought it was a good idea to give a sentient supercomputer the ability to pump deadly neurotoxin into the air cycling system or why they thought a quantum tunnelling devise would be a suitable alternative to shower curtains...
I haven't played a Call of Duty game since #2 and then only a demo. I remember it being very overly scripted with not much freedom of gameplay.
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That's still basically true. CoD is very linear. But this does give you (IMO) the most intense fights in any shooter I've ever played. The best one is the Soviet campaign in CoD 1 or 2, where you started as a lowly soldier that didnt get a rifle handed out, and end up planting the Soviet flag on the Reichstag.
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"Very scripted" is not a criticism in and of itself. Half-Life 2 is very scripted... it just disguises it better.
CoD 4 multiplayer is frankly awesome. Even when compared to the also frankly awesome Halo3 multiplayer. I need more people to play on-line. I also need to buy the games to play them on-line rather than only playing them when I'm over my nephew's and dear-god I need a new TV.
(Playing Crackdown at the moment. It's pure fun in a box that's also a city.)
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Daniel Butler
I'm a Singapore where is my boat
Member # 1689
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Well, Portal *was* supposed to be a sort of 'funny' game wasn't it? I got that impression from the audio commentary by the developers. And it did make me laugh. A lot.
Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:"Very scripted" is not a criticism in and of itself. Half-Life 2 is very scripted... it just disguises it better.
True. I suppose it's more a statement of preference than a criticism. Remember I only played the one demo mission and even that was a few years ago but from my recollection it seamed like the sort of game that so long as you can memorise the levels, i.e. when an door will explode from an enemy machine gun set up just inside or that if you pause in this particular spot two German soldiers will cross your path making for an easy kill, then you could get through the whole game without so much as a scratch.
True, HL2 has some very elaborate scripted moments, but the actual combat is usually set up so the AI is able to do things a little differently and it's smart enough to react to your tactics and try and outsmart you.
I suppose the fairest thing you can say is that the Valve boys & girls are better, or indeed the BEST at balancing great cinematic gaming moments with intuitive gameplay.
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It also depends on how many times you want to replay it. The mirrors and curtains behind COD will show up if you look hard, but the first time through (on a decent difficultly level), it can completely win you over if you let it.
Plus, online multiplayer. Awesomeness.
There is a lack of cake though, which does bring it down a bit.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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