Tα 200 καλύτερα παιχνίδια όλων των εποχών σύμφωνα με το Game Informer | Game 2.0

Οι συντάκτες του περιοδικού Game Informer συνέθεσαν μια λίστα με τα 200 παιχνίδια που πιστεύουν ότι είναι τα καλύτερα όλων των εποχών.

 

Σύμφωνα με το GI λοιπόν, το καλύτερο παιχνίδι όλων των εποχών είναι το The Legend of Zelda του NES, ενώ ακολουθούν τα Super Mario Bros. (NES, 1985), Tetris (PC, 1984), Grand Theft Auto III (PS2, 2001) και Half-Life 2 (PC, 2004).[more]

Video games always try to tackle certain feelings, certain themes. There are well-explored themes like fear, fun or team-play. But there´s an array of totally untouched themes. One would be love. We´re seeing a rise of sex within popular games right now, but that´s only partly related to “love“. Games that actually attempted to show that feeling´s full scale are rare, one strong example being Final Fantasy 8 or, maybe even moreso, Final Fantasy 10. Unlike love, another big theme is even less explored. That is: Friendship.

Surely, video games are “just” games, but there can be no doubt that messing around with the player´s emotions is big part of modern gaming. And while love can, at least on the surface, be displayed by making use of sex, friendship doesn´t have such obvious features. You cannot have a NPC say “I´m your friend” and the player´s going to think “wow, what a great friend he is.” It´s not going to work. That is why I think that friendship is something that should be explored more in-depth in video games.

First of all, a definition of what friendship actually is should be worked out. To keep it simple, let´s just say: Friendship is something between people that like and honestly care about each other. There are definitely better definitions, but that one´ll work just fine.

It has to be made clear that this concept of friendship has to relate both to ingame-characters as well as to the player himself. There are many games that feature a duo that goes on an adventure together and gives funny comments all the time, but that´s hardly “exploring the theme of friendship”. It´s simple saturday-morning cartoon level of entertainment. To become friend with virtual characters, situations have to occur that make you feel for them. Going through hardships strengthens the bond between friends, so that´s a way. That´s not enough, though, when it comes to video games. Remember Starfox Adventures, a GameCube-action adventure that tried to mimic the Legend of Zelda-games and didn´t really succeed at that. What it did uniquly was the permanent second character, prince Tricky, the little Triceratops that followed you around. While attempting something like friendship, the chosen style of gameplay forbid to make players care for the two of them, Fox McCloud and Tricky. That was because Tricky was nothing but a mere tool to solve puzzles. He had no free will, he didn´t act like an independent character…because he wasn´t. He was there so that the player could proceed through the game. A friend may be many things, but not a tool.

A game did exceptionally well in creating feelings for another characters was ICO for Playstation 2. From the very beginning, you as a player wanted to help weak Yorda on their way out of the castle. It can be criticized, though, that Yorda wasn´t really a friend-character in the game, but rather someone you just had to rescue. So while the game made you care for the characters, it wasn´t the friendship between to equal characters, but rather the compassion for a very weak looking character.

The next example only works for parts, as the actual friendship isn´t really a focus of the game. I´m talking about Half Life 2 and its episodes. And no, I´m not going to talk about Gordon Freeman and Alyx, but rather, Freeman and Dog, the robot. Unlike Yorda in ICO, Dog wasn´t weak by any means. Throughout the game, Dog kept helping you in tough scenes. Not only did he help you, you/Alyx told him to stay back when things got to dangerous. His loyalty sometimes brought me to tears while playing, and even though he doesn´t have that many appearances throughout the game, Dog might be the best developed “friend” in any video games. He cares about you, you start caring about him. And that´s really what friendship should be about.

Friendship is such a strong emotion if done right. It often even surpasses love, which might be diluted by an unfitting sex drive. To give you the feeling of being able to depend on someone, to care about him and break loose should ever something happen to him…that is the potential of friendship in games. While tv-shows and movies have an easy time to portray such feelings, video games are far from that ability. Too often, so-called friends turn into tools or are only to be seen in cutscenes between gameplay-parts. To put a NPC into the game in way that makes him feel like he´s got his own mind, does things his way and doesn´t go the way of the tool, that is the challenge to video game developers. The few shining examples of games that show a glimpse of that are proof of the powerful impression a well-worked out friendship can leave to the player. But that´s also up to gamers themselves, if they want games like that. Or are you content with cinematic games on the one, and multiplayer-focused games on the other hand? I am not, and I could still cry whenever I think about Horror Kid´s story from Legend of Zelda: Majora´s Mask. It´s these emotions that decide between temporary blockbuster game, and timeless masterpiece.

A revista americana Game Informer (GI) chegou à sua edição de número 200 e comemorando a marca, compilou os 200 melhores games de toda a história. Sabe qual título ficou no topo? The Legend of Zelda (1986), jogo de fantasia para o sistema NES (Famicom, no Japão), da Nintendo. Super Mario Bros, Tetris, Grand Theft Auto 3 e Half Life 2 são os próximos na lista.

A lista cruza todas as plataformas, elegendo títulos para computadores, fliperamas e para os chamados consoles domésticos, que são sistemas de videogames portáteis ou não-portáteis.

Veja:

1. The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1987)
2. Super Mario Bros(NES, 1985)
3. Tetris (PC, 1984)
4. Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2, 2001)
5. Half-Life 2 (PC, 2004)
6. Doom (PC, 1993)
7. Metroid (NES, 1986)
8. Final Fantasy 3 (o 6 japones) (SNES, 1994)
9. Super Mario Bros 3 (NES, 1990)
10. Ms. Pac-Man (Fliperama, 1981)
11. World of Warcraft (PC, 2004)
12. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1992)
13. Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996)
14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC/PS3/X360, 2007)
15. Final Fantasy 7 (PS1, 1997)
16. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987)
17. Chrono Trigger (SNES, 1995)
18. Resident Evil 4 (GC, 2005)
19. Metal Gear Solid (PS1, 1998)
20. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)
21. Super Metroid (SNES, 1994)
22. Contra (NES, 1988)
23. Galaga (Fliperama, 1981)
24. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1, 1997)
25. Street Fighter 2 (Fliperama, 1991)
26. God of War (PS2, 2005)
27. BioShock (PC/X360, 2007)
28. Diablo 2 (PC, 2000)
29. Half-Life (PC, 1998)
30. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivious (PC/X360, 2006)
31. Tecmo Super Bowl (NES, 1991)
32. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)
33. Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992)
34. Sonic the Hedgehog (GEN, 1991)
35. Starcraft (PC, 1998)
36. Civilization (PC, 1991)
37. SimCity (PC, 1989)
38. Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988)
39. Halo: Combat Evolved (X, 2001)
40. Gran Turismo (PS1, 1998)
41. Resident Evil 2 (PS1, 1998)
42. Pokemon Red and Blue (GB, 1996)
43. Final Fantasy 10 (PS2, 2001)
44. EverQuest (PC, 1999)
45. Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1, 1998)
46. Grand Theft Auto 4 (PS3/X360, 2008)
47. Super Mario World (SNES, 1991)
48. Deus Ex (PC, 2000)
49. Guitar Hero (PS2, 2005)
50. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2, 2001)
51. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, 2007)
52. Pac-Man (Fliperama, 1980)
53. Battlefield 2 (PC, 2005)
54. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (X, 2003)
55. Ico (PS2, 2001)
56. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3, 2009)
57. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (PS1, 2000)
58. Mass Effect (X360, 2007)
59. Adventure (2600, 1980)
60. Arkanoid (Fliperama, 1986)
61. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (GB, 1993)
62. Star Wars: X-Wing (PC, 1993)
63. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64, 2000)
64. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2, 2004)
65. Fallout 3 (PC/PS3/X360, 2008)
66. Zork (PC, 1980)
67. Soul Calibur (DC, 1999)
68. Double Dragon (Fliperama, 1987)
69. Dr. Mario (NES, 1990)
70. The Sims (PC, 2000)
71. Age of Empires (PC, 1997)
72. Mortal Kombat 2 (Fliperama, 1993)
73. Rock Band 2 (PS3/X360, 2008)
74. Tomb Raider (PS1, 1996)
75. Super Bomberman (SNES, 1993)
76. Mario¿s Picross (GB, 1995)
77. Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1989)
78. Command & Conquer (PC, 1995)
79. Kingdom Hearts (PS2, 2002)
80. Final Fantasy 2 (SNES, 1991)
81. Super Mario Bros 2 (NES, 1988)
82. Left 4 Dead (PC, 2008)
83. Okami (PS2, 2006)
84. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, 2005)
85. Metroid Prime (GC, 2002)
86. Super Smash Bros Melee (GC, 2001)
87. Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness (PC, 1995)
88. Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn (PC, 2000)
89. God of War 2 (PS2, 2007)
90. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii, 2006)
91. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (PS2, 2004)
92. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (PC, 2002)
93. Skies of Arcadia (DC, 2000)
94. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC, 2003)
95. Silent Hill 2 (PS2, 2001)
96. Counter-Strike (PC, 1999)
97. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN, 1992)
98. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS3/X360, 2009)
99. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (GC/PC/PS2/X, 2003)
100. Portal (PC/X360, 2007)
101. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind (PC, 2002)
102. Heroes of Might & Magic 3 (PC, 1999)
103. Donkey Kong (Fliperama, 1981)
104. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3/X360, 2009)
105. System Shock 2 (PC, 1999)
106. Resident Evil (PS1, 1996)
107. Gears of War (X360, 2006)
108. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3, 2008)
109. Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS1, 1998)
110. Halo 2 (X, 2004)
111. Tetris Attack (SNES, 1996)
112. Final Fantasy 12 (PS2, 2006)
113. Earthbound (SNES, 1995)
114. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri (PC, 1998)
115. Command & Conquer: Red alert (PC, 1996)
116. Advance Wars (GBA, 2001)
117. Fallout (PC, 1997)
118. Team Fortress 2 (PC/PS3/X360, 2007)
119. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (X, 2005)
120. Mega Man X (SNES, 1994)
121. Lemmings (PC, 1991)
122. Panzer Dragoon Saga (SAT, 1998)
123. NHL ‘94 (GEN/SNES, 1993)
124. Warlords (Fliperama, 1980)
125. Shadowrun (SNES, 1993)
126. Twisted Metal 2 (PS1, 1996)
127. Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee (PS1, 1997)
128. Metroid Fusion (GBA, 2002)
129. Homeworld (PC, 1999)
130. Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2, 2006)
131. Pilotwings (SNES, 1991)
132. Quake 2 (PC, 1997)
133. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 (PC, 1997)
134. Borderlands (PC/PS3/X360, 2009)
135. Final Fight (Fliperama, 1989)
136. Star Fox (SNES, 1993)
137. Madden NFL ‘99 (N64/PC/PS1, 1999)
138. Call of Duty 2 (PC/X360, 2005)
139. Wolfenstein 3D (PC, 1992)
140. Diablo (PC, 1996)
141. Civilization 4 (PC, 2005)
142. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle (PC, 1993)
143. Assassin’s Creed (PS3/X360, 2007)
144. Burnout 3: Takedown (PS2/X, 2004)
145. Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC, 2004)
146. Power Stone 2 (DC, 2000)
147. Super Castlevania 4 (SNES, 1991)
148. Super Mario RPG (SNES, 1996)
149. Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos (PC, 2002)
150. ActRaiser (SNES, 1991)
151. Fable (X, 2004)
152. Xenosaga Episode 1: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2, 2003)
153. Asteroids (Fliperama, 1979)
154. Little Big Planet (PS3, 2008)
155. Crackdown (X360, 2007)
156. Gauntlet (Fliperama, 1985)
157. Devil May Cry (PS2, 2001)
158. Pong (Fliperama, 1972)
159. Battlefield 1942 (PC, 2002)
160. Thief (PC, 1998)
161. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (X360, 2005)
162. Far Cry (PC, 2004)
163. Robotron: 2084 (Fliperama, 1982)
164. X-COM: UFO Defense (PC, 1993)
165. Peggle (PC, 2007)
166. King’s Quest 6 (PC, 1992)
167. Doom 2 (PC, 1994)
168. Tempest 2000 (JAG, 1994)
169. Braid (X360, 2008)
170. Ridge Racer (PS1, 1995)
171. Bully (PS2, 2006)
172. Ikaruga (GC, 2006)
173. Lode Runner (A2, 1983)
174. Gunstar Heroes (GEN, 1993)
175. Dig Dug (Fliperama, 1982)
176. Castlevania (NES, 1988)
177. Tekken 3 (Fliperama, 1997)
178. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS, 2005)
179. NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Fliperama, 1993)
180. Max Payne (PC, 2001)
181. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC/PS3/X360, 2009)
182. Samurai Shodown (Neo Geo, 1993)
183. NFL 2K5 (PS2/X, 2004)
184. Vagrant Story (PS1, 2000)
185. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES, 1995)
186. Marble Madness (Fliperama, 1984)
187. Infamous (PS3, 2009)
188. Planescape: Torment (PC, 1999)
189. Kid Icarus (NES, 1986)
190. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (X, 2004)
191. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2, 2004)
192. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GC, 2002)
193. Jak 3 (PS2, 2004)
194. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age ofHeroes (DC, 2002)
195. Ultima (PC, 1981)
196. Call of Duty (PC, 2003)
197. NHL 09 (PS3/X360, 2008)
198. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (X, 2004)
199. Tactics Ogre (PS1, 1997)
200. Beyond Good and Evil (GC/PS2/X, 2003)

Abreviações
Apple, 2: A2
Atari, 2600: 2600
Atari, Jaguar: JAG
Microsoft, Xbox: X
Microsoft, Xbox 360: X360
Nintendo, Nintendo Entertainment System: NES
Nintendo, Super Nintendo: SNES
Nintendo, Nintendo 64: N64
Nintendo, GameCube: GC
Nintendo, Wii: Wii
Nintendo, GameBoy: GB
Nintendo, GameBoy Advance: GBA
Nintendo, Dual Screen: DS
Sega, Dreamcast: DC
Sega, Genesis: GEN
Sega, Saturn: SAT
Sony, PlayStation 1: PS1
Sony, PlayStation 2: PS2
Sony, PlayStation 3: PS3

Fonte: Game Informe (via Ryuuka)

Agora é a sua hora de soltar o verbo:

Atari‘lerde aksiyon rüzgarı estiren Contra, Half Life 2 motoru ile tekrar hayat buldu.HL2 modunda dokulardan seslerine kadar Contra‘ya sadık kalınarak 3 boyutlu halini hazırlayanlar bölüm sonunda boss’u da unutmamışlar.

So I arrived home from work today and checked my post, and sure enough sitting there, in my mailbox, was the latest issue of Game Informer – the 200th issue no less.  In honour of their 200th issue, the team over at Game Informer decided to publish their list of the top 200 games of all time, so I thought I’d share some of the results with you.

Don’t panic, I’m not going to list all 200 with their reasoning, you’ll need to buy the magazine if you want that, but I thought I’d pull out a couple of highlights…

So, let’s begin at the beginning…  The top game of all time, the ultimate in gaming, the best there ever was?  Read on to find out…

Taking the top spot and pushing out all the rest was, from 1987, arguably unsurprisingly, The Legend of Zelda.

I realise there may be many cries of “Oh but we’ve come so far since then!  What about X, Y or Z?!” but they make some pretty good points in their justification.  As they stated, the Legend of Zelda is responsible for the creation of many lifelong gamers, not to mention future game developers.  This blast from the past may seem primitive in its style now, but it provided the starting point for many future developments, and for the 80’s it was pretty impressive! Shigeru Miyamoto can rest easy knowing that he did indeed create a level of greatness in the gaming industry that others could at that time barely aspire to, and that many have since credited this game as their inspiration.

So what else made it?  In their top 5 are others such as Super Mario Bros (#2), Tetris (#3), GTA III (#4), and Half Life 2(#5) – all very well known and pretty well respected games – it’s almost enough for me to have another bash at Half Life 2, which if I’m honest, never really grabbed me.  “But,” I hear you wail, “where is Mass Effect?!?!”  I know, I know, that was my response too!  So I scoured the lists, I turned page after page until I found it, and they do indeed bill it as “one of the greatest interactive tales we’ve ever experienced” but sadly, and clearly in an horrendous misprint, it only comes in at number 58!!  Despite my now clear disagreement with their positions, I read on anyway to see what else they had come up with…

Perhaps somewhat oddly, given their reasoning for Zelda winning overall, Ms Pac-Man made it into the top 10, whereas Pac-Man itself was held back at a mere 52nd place.  The various Final Fantasies pretty much all made it in, with FFIII the best of the bunch apparently at #8.  The various Mario games all seemed to rank pretty high, with good ol’ Sonic not getting a look in til #34.  Otherwise there are very few surprises, though one or two did make me raise an eyebrow…

Perhaps the biggest shocker personally (other than ME’s clearly incorrect placement) was Batman: Arkham Asylum.  Yes, I know it’s Batman, and yes, I realise to those who are not very discerning that automatically makes it super cool, and yes, the graphics were fantastic, but dear lord the gameplay is shocking.  One button takes out 5 enemies, and to me, that’s just not what this sort of game should be about, so seeing it at #104, above the much loved (by some) Borderlands for instance was a bit of a surprise.  Modern Warfare 2, for all the hype, only made it in at #181, and Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was in the top 20!?!

So there you have it, a very brief summary of a very lengthy article.  I have no doubt that others will have their opinions on where things should or should not have been included, and which games should have been higher than others, so buy the magazine, read the full article and feel free to let me know what congratulations or exclamations I’ve overlooked, but don’t think you’ll change my mind on poor old Shepard…

Und hier haben wir das ganze nochmal andersrum:

Ein Retro-Level-Mod für “Half-Life ²”

What can I say? I was bored ;o_o

and thus it begins.

This may possibly be the best thing ever…

Nazis + Dinosaurs = OMG!

Si les gusto el post previo recordando a Mario, que les parece ahora “Half-LifeVania” un reamke de  Castlevania del  NES gracias al juego Half-Life 2. El canal de Machinima se lleva los honores.

Parece que fue ayer cuando tuve mis primeros Recuerdos de los Cetra. Pero lo cierto es que ha pasado otra semana más y ha llegado el día de volver a recordar.

Aunque el tema principal de esta semana ha sido la oleada de “baneos” en Xbox Live, creo que es mejor recordar otros artículos que nos alejen un poco del complejo mundo de la piratería y las copias de seguridad.

Veamos que artículos recuerdo hoy:

• Vamos a empezar con un recuerdo escrito en la lengua de Shakespeare, des de GamesRadar, Dave Meikleham nos invita a descubrir los Juegos para adultos adaptados para Wii. ¿Os imagináis como serían GTA o Soul Calibur en Wii? Entrad en este recuerdo y lo descubriréis

• Por su parte Gamboi sigue demostrando que “es un jugón” y vuelve a la carga con una de sus retrospectivas, esta vez el afortunado ha sido Rhythm Tengoku. ¿Estáis listos para seguir el ritmo?

• Irisar, des de Dandel, pide a gritos que Quiere una secuela de algunos juegos que por desgracia se quedaron sin tenerla. Cinco títulos salen en su lista, pero seguro que hay muchos más que podrían salir. Yo por mi parte sigo esperando un nuevo Skies of Arkadia.

• ¿Sois del club de los nostalgicos? Si vuestra respuesta ha sido afirmativa estáis de enhorabuena. Pedja, des de su pixeblog, nos trae una recopilación sobre la publicidad en los videojuegos de antaño. El articulo consta de dos partes y des de aquí recordamos ambas: Parte I & Parte II.

• Y sin alejarnos del factor nostalgia, Eldritch des de Fase Extra nos trae un Homenaje a Alfonso Azpiri. Y este recuerdo es uno de esos que se te queda grabado, ya no sólo por la información que te ofrece sino también por lo agradable que resulta visualmente.

• ¿Quién dijo que las segundas partes eran malas? Eso se pregunta nuestra compañera Nancy Callahan y nos ofrece un pequeño análisis sobre lo que nos ofrece Half-Life 2 y las aventuras y desventuras de Gordon Freeman.

• Amorin Uzuki sigue con su interés en descubrir el Top 10 de los mejores juegos de Mega Drive según los lectores de Pixfans. 20 títulos son los que se disputan un puesto en la lista y además de votar, en el articulo encontraréis también información sobre los títulos en cuestión.

• Y para finalizar con los recuerdos de hoy, ¿que mejor que unos Minutos Musicales de la mano de Gusku? Esta semana nos invitan a sumergirnos en la banda sonora de Metal Gear Solid y tres canciones han sido las elegidas para representar esta saga.

Estos han sido los Recuerdos de los Cetra de esta semana, espero que os sean de interés y recordad que si tenéis un blog y queréis ser recordados, no dudéis en poneros en contacto con nosotros .

Espero poder llenar mi memoria con muchos recuerdos para la próxima semana

So the other day I’m looking around on YouTube for Elton John’s Carla/Etude, and found the following mashup:

Which in and of itself is pretty neat, ’cause the music totally works for what’s wordlessly going down. But the real reason I’m bothering to post this is to share the unshakable déjà vu I’m getting watching this, and I wonder if anybody can back me up here…

Check out the angle of the street and the buildings at :08, and the truck at :15. And again, look at the same street in the closing moments at 4:13. Have I played Half-Life 2 too much, or is this street not copied dead to rights in one of the game’s sequences where you’re pinned down by sniper fire? I’m fuzzy on whether it’s from HL2 proper, or HL2: Episode One, since it’s been several years since I’ve played them. You gotta admit, it would be cool if the person(s) who worked on a Half-Life 2 level also managed to pay homage to the original Twilight Zone, yeah? Further, I would go so far as to guess that it might have even been suggested by one of the writers who works at Valve. But what do I know?

So in a little more than a week Left 4 Dead 2 is being released. Left 4 Dead 2 is a sequel to Left 4 Dead, a game developed by Valve that was released a year ago next week. So assuming Valve immediately saw how successful the first Left 4 Dead was and started development of Left 4 Dead almost immediately, Left 4 Dead 2 took one year to design, develop, test and tweak before it’s final release. So keeping that in mind lets look at Valves other major franchise, oh who am I kidding, their only major franchise, Half-Life.

A while ago…I can’t remember when exactly, probably about a year ago, I bought The Orange Box and for the first time got a chance to play through Half-Life 2 and it’s two episodic follow ups, as well as Portal and all three games are fun and worth the $50 I spent. Oh and Team Fortress 2 is in that set but who gives a shit especially when the sniper gets you before you can take two steps?

Anyway for those not in the know, Half-Life 2’s episodic follow-ups are supposed to be a trilogy which means there will be an Episode Three. All we know about Episode Three is what we learned in Episode Two. Gordon Freeman and his lovely sidekick Alex are to go visit the Borealis which is stuck in the arctic…and thats it… Little information has been released beyond: There’s a deaf character.

Also, there is also supposed to be a sequel to Portal, latest news is it will be a sequel, not a prequel, with a new character, the AI encarnation of Aperture Science’s insane former CEO and beyond that all we know are some of the lines from the game. First official news was released in February of 2008. Apparently it’s not going to be simply a new set of puzzles, they are going to add something else…I’m not sure what, maybe new objects to play with. The original Portal was so incredibly simple and so incredibly fun. There really isn’t a need to do much more than expand the story and create new puzzles.

No news of casting or trailers had been released for either game and that is quite perplexing considering we’ve been waiting for two years for these games. I’m sure it’s hard to make a game, but considering it took them a year to make Left 4 Dead 2, which as far as I know doesn’t seem to be that different from Left 4 Dead, the whole thing seems kind of odd. Why release a sequel to Left 4 Dead after the original game has been out for only a year and Half-Life 2 Episode Three and Portal 2 are still in development? Here’s an idea Valve: Put more effort into the games have kept us waiting for the past two years instead of giving us a game we already have.

As a great man once said, “I can’t help feeling that Valve have missed the point of episodic gaming somewhat. The whole idea is to mix up the usual rigamarole of game publishing by having shorter games at lower prices released more frequently, and while they have aspects one and two down, they continue to struggle with three.”

I’m sure Left 4 Dead 2 has some awesome new features that I don’t know about but I’d prefer it if those new features were a part of Half-Life 2 Episode Three or Portal 2 instead of a game that doesn’t need to be out yet. There is more demand for those games than there is for Left 4 Dead 2 I can guarantee you that.

I wanted to integrate this into some sort of Robot Insurance-esque comic series, but I’ve been too busy to do it. Maybe I’ll retroactively add it later, yes?
Still studying. First test is tomorrow and I feel I’m far from ready.

Desarrolladora: Valve
Distribuidora: Electronic Arts
Diseñador: Valve
Fecha de lanzamiento: 16 de noviembre de 2004 (Steam, PC)
Género: Acción en primera persona
Modos de juego: Un jugador, multijugador
Clasificación ESRB: M (Mature)
Plataforma: Windows
Requisitos: 1.2 GHz de procesador, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 7
Controles: Gamepad, teclado, mouse, joystick

Info extraida de Wikipedia

¡AVISO! PUEDE CONTENER SPOILERS

Tras la muerte de Nihilant y habiendo solucionado la tormenta de portales, creíamos que la Tierra estaría a salvo de los invasores. Nos equivocábamos. Ahí fuera existía algo mucho más temible que los xenianos. Éstos no eran más que unos títeres en manos de otros seres mucho más escalofriantes: los Combine.

Después de que los Combine se dieran cuenta del enorme potencial de los seres humanos, deciden conquistar la Tierra, y así, en la llamada “guerra de las siete horas”, la Humanidad es vencida. Todo el mundo queda bajo el dominio de esta nueva raza.

¿Todo? ¡No! Por suerte, existe una gran esperanza para la resistencia: Freeman. Gordon Freeman. Un hombre que no necesita presentación…

Una vez más nos toca ser el héroe. ¡Jolines! Con lo plácidamente dormidos que estábamos en nuestro estado de hibernación forzado  y ya nos tiene que volver a venir a dar la brasa el tío este del traje. G-man dicen que se llama. Habla de una forma muy rara y nunca sabemos realmente cuales son sus intenciones. En fin, que después de que nos suelte el sermón aparecemos en un tren, camino a Ciudad 17, donde el mandamás es un viejo conocido de Black Mesa…

Tras liarla un poco por la city, nos damos cuenta de que las cosas han cambiado bastante: unos tipos muy raros vestidos de uniforme dan palizas porque sí a los ciudadanos y unos zancudos te pueden hacer cachitos con sólo escupirte. Seguimos explorando un poco hasta que uno de esos tipos raros se cansa de nuestras gilipolleces y nos lleva a una sala VIP. Al llegar al lugar, nos damos cuenta de que nos han timado: ¡Aquello está lleno de sangre! Pero aún las cosas se tuercen más cuando vemos que el tipo raro que nos ha descubierto ese lugar nos deja a solas con otro colega suyo que estaba ya dentro, y nos tememos lo peor…

Justo cuando creemos que vamos a ser sodomizados, el tipo raro se quita la máscara y… ¡Sorpresa! ¡Resulta ser nuestro viejo amigo Barney Calhoun! Sí, el rata que nos sigue debiendo una maldita cerveza durante todos estos años…

Después del susto que nos pega el muy jodío, nos largamos por patas, rumbo al laboratorio clandestino de un tal Dr. Kleiner, un tío calvo con gafas con pintas de empollón que es el que tiene nuestro traje HEV, ya sabeis, ese tan chulo que te chiva que te has hecho daño cuando te caes de una gran altura. Qué haríamos sin la inteligencia artificial…

De camino, nos volvemos a encontrar con los tipos raros, aunque esta vez nos salva del lío una tal Alyx Vance, hija de Eli Vance, un viejo científico de Black Mesa, y juntos llegamos al laboratorio de marras.

Allí, Kleiner nos pone al día, además de devolvernos nuestro traje molón y después de que nuestro teletransporte se averíe, el bueno de Barney nos da únicamete para defendernos una palanca. ¡Una palanca! Pero tío, ¿Tú has visto los bichos que hay ahí fuera? En fin, a partir de aquí, comienza nuestra aventura por la liberación de la raza humana de los malvados Combine, también conocidos como La Alianza.

Mejor historia, mayor duración, mejores armas, mejores gráficos, gran jugabilidad… ¿De verdad es necesario que lo diga?

Bien, en ese caso: Todos hemos oído alguna vez eso de que las segundas partes nunca son buenas. Eso lo dicen porque no han jugado a Half-Life 2. Bajo mi humilde punto de vista, esta segunda entrega no sólo no es mala, sino que supera a su predecesora. Como ya comenté por otros lares (aunque es algo que sigo pensando), si la primera entrega; Half-Life, era (y es) un juego de la hostia, definitivamente, este Half-Life 2 es la rehostia. Así de simple.

Grandes armas, como la pistola antigravitatoria, de vital importancia en la parte final del juego y que nos es de gran ayuda en otros muchos momentos del juego, como en “¡No vamos a Ravenholm!” en donde la munición es escasa y esta arma nos permite partir en dos con hojas de sierra a los zombies que se nos pongan tontos. Una auténtica gozada.

Intensos niveles, como el que ya he citado en el párrafo anterior, “¡No vamos a Ravenholm!”; Ravenholm es un pueblo por el que nos vemos obligados a pasar, debido a que el laboratorio en el que nos encontramos es atacado por los Combine; justo después de que Alyx nos diera el arma antigravitatoria. En este lugar, nuestros únicos aliados serán el arma ya nombrada y el padre Grigori; pastor de Ravenholm. Dentro del pueblo, infestado por toda clase de zombies, nos veremos las caras con viejos conocidos como los headcrabs y los zombies, aunque también nos enfrentaremos a un nuevo tipo de enemigos; los fast headcrab y poison headcrab; con respectivos huéspedes parasitados, fast zombie y poison zombie.

Por otra parte, me ha resultado curiosa la posibilidad de controlar a las hormigas león mediante las feromonas, a pesar de que una vez del capítulo “Nova Prospekt” (si mal no recuerdo) pierdan toda utilidad…

Intensa acción que se desarrolla dentro de los límites de Ciudad 17, en capítulos como “Anticiudadano Uno” o “Seguid a Freeman” en donde nos enfrentaremos a los llamados zancudos dándoles pa’l pelo, o por la “Ruta del Canal” yendo por los más recónditos lugares de la ciudad, en una moto acuática y mientras no para de perseguirnos un helicóptero.

Gráficos más realistas, una mejora que se lo tenemos que agradecer al motor gráfico Source, con el que Valve demuestra el potencial que puede conseguir a través de este Half-Life 2.

Definitivamente, esta segunda entrega reune todo lo que nos maravilló en la primera entrega y lo mejora aún más. Por eso creo que resulta difícil que haya algún fan del primer Half-Life que no se maravillara con esta segunda parte. Y si lo hay, no lo conozco todavía…

Un juego que gusta a propios y extraños, aunque esta sólo sea mi humide opinión…

10. Grand Theft Auto 3
PS2/XBox/PC

I really could have thrown up any of the last four GTA games in this position (3, 4, Vice City, San Andreas). I decided to go with the third one because it was the most revolutionary of the highly controversial franchise. What GTA was able to do was create an almost fully-interactive world with its 3D Renderware engine, including non-linear missions radio stations in the cars. Each of the next three GTA games stepped it up a notch, making their worlds even more interactive, but GTA III was the one that really started it off.

9. Super Mario Kart
SNES

Let’s ask ourselves, what is the purpose of video games? For fun and enjoyment. Super Mario Kart is engineered for pure, unadulterated fun and is one of the best games to serve that purpose. Its a racing game, but so much more. Even those who don’t care for racing games can get into the battle-mode aspects and the competition it breeds. The concept is pretty simple and has proven successful almost every time Nintendo brings it back.

8. Chrono Trigger
SNES

Chrono Trigger is one of the most influential games in the RPG genre which became extremely popular due to the way it allowed character development throughout the game. Chrono Trigger’s fighting platform and story allows it to still be one of the best RPG games out there, despite the exponential growth in video game technology.

7. Tetris
Multiple Systems

Move over Rubik’s Cube. Abstract puzzle games had their new champion when a Russian computer programmer developed Tetris, which spread throughout Russia and eventually throughout the world. Tetris has the ability to span all gamer groups (including non-gamers) and all generations. It has become one of the most recognizable games in popular culture today and let’s face it, its still fun to play every time you sit down in front of it.

6. Half-Life 2
PC

Half-life 2 made massive advancements in video game technology and is one of the most critically-acclaimed games there has ever been. Half-life 2 has been described as “a masterpiece” and “a work of art in the genre” -IGN. It is the greatest first-person shooter ever made and one of the most flawless video games to date.

5. Super Mario Bros.
NES

Alright, yes there were video games before Mario: pong, space invaders, pac man. But let’s face it; Super Mario Bros. was when video games really began. This is the quintessential video game with the greatest legacy in the history of the entire industry. And tis just one hell of a fun game. Its simple side-scrolling enterntainment which can still hold its own against all of the high-graphics, multi-interactive games of today. Super Mario Bros. is the classic of all classics.

4. Final Fantasy VII
PS/PC

The seventh installment of the popular RPG series set a new standard for video games when it was released. The story, gameplay, graphics, and sound are all top-notch, combining together to make one of the most outstanding video game experiences one could have. The story is what really stands out tough, with its cinematic cut-scenes backed up by an incredible soundtrack.

3. Metal Gear Solid
PS

Konami’s tactical espionage game blew gamers away with its storyline and tactile gameplay. MGS has lead to three sequels, each of which has added to the graphics and improving in various aspects of the game. Everything about Metal Gear works; the primary character Solid Snake who is now one of the most popular VG characters, the engaging, rich, and almost philosophical storyline, the evasive stealth gameplay as opposed to just shooting everything you see, it all works brilliantly.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
N64

Nintendo’s adaption of their popular Zelda series to 3D turned out being a masterpiece of the video game genre. Ocarina of Time is constantly popping up at the top of Top Ten lists by all sorts of video game experts. The imaginative and philosophical world of Hyrule became more interactive than ever, providing one of the highest forms of entertainment electronic gaming has ever provided.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3
NES

That’s right, fir the number 1 pick I did not go with the game with the most high-tech graphics and technical elements or the most deep and involving storyline. I went with a game that is just pure fun with bright, vibrant and colourful visuals, which is good for all time zones and can span across generations. The release of Super Mario Bros. 3 was a big deal back in 1989 and its release managed to take video games up to a whole new epic level.
The eight lands and maps of the Mushroom Kingdom were able to truly create a rich, engaging world. Many new elements were added to the Mario gameplay, all of which worked brilliantly. It may have been twenty years ago, but Mario 3 is still the greatest game ever made.

Ok so i haven’t updated in forever so might as well now.

I’m trying to make a manga style comic using Garry’s mod and already have the first and half of the second chapter made.

Also i ended up finding a lot of stuff recently on the Half Life 2 Beta leak that was stolen by some guy…
Ok so at first when I heard that the different story line and weapons were discontinued because some body broke into Valve’s files it thought “wow that person must be really good at computers to do something like that.” but after I saw all this stuff about the beta( http://www.facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=717600 ) i thought “wow this person is a complete jerk. I’m GLaD they put him in jail”

Thankfully, someone has made a HL2 mod that attempt to recreate the beta to their best abilities.
I might do a review on it when I finish it (http://www.moddb.com/mods/missing-information) I’m downloading it now and can’t wait to try it out.

For now, thats all.

P.S. did you notice the about page I made?

Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The Witcher has sold over 1.2 million copies as a PC only game, which isn’t the best I know, but it’s not bad either. It’s one of the best games out there that has been severely overlooked. If any of you people out there are RPG fans you owe it to yourself to go pick this one up. It’s only 20 bucks on steam right now.

Some game footage has been leaked for the game’s sequel Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Witcher 2 has a chance to be like Half-Life 2. Half-life was a good game. Half-Life 2 was an awesome, genre changing game. The Witcher was a good game. Can it’s sequel be ground breaking?

The current generation of RPGs was birthed with Morrowind, Dungeon Siege, and Knights of the Old Republic, among other titles and perfected in Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Mass Effect. I think it’s time for some fresh ideas on the genre.

Witcher 2 has some interesting concepts from what we’ve seen of it so far. Dynamic NPCs that have things to do, innovative combat with finishing moves, a high end graphics engine, and a unique dark world for the story to develop in. None of this means “earth-shattering”, but it’s a good step towards something great.

Keep on gaming people!

Saturday I had the privilege to join 1,800 other people from around the world play in playing video games for 24 hours. We did this to raise over $140,000 to help fight pediatric cancer in an event called Extra Life. It was an amazing experience. I played a smorgasbord of different games including Batman: Arkham Asylum, Left 4 Dead, Company of Heroes, and even some Peggle.

The bulk of my time and the highlight of my gaming marathon was playing Half-Life 2 in one continuous stretch. It took me about 14 hours and I soaked up every minute of it. After that experience I respond to the name Gordon as much as I would to my own name. I fell asleep dreaming about head crabs. Alex is my best friend. I fully understand why this game is so popular. It sucks you in. It is truly a first person experience.

I don’t generally like first person games because I enjoy watching my character in a cinematic way. I mean if you could drop 20 armed guys with a magnum wouldn’t you want to watch yourself do it? Half-Life 2 allows to become Gordon Freeman and makes other FPS titles allow you to be a camera attached to a gun. And that’s all I have to say about that right now.

Keep gaming people!

Valve is a bit of an enigma in the PC gaming industry.  As developers, their track record is nearly flawless, they created Steam, the most important method of game distribution on the PC, and through Steam, they have become uniquely able to profit off their competitors’ products.

And they’re beginning to piss me off.

It began in February 2006, when Valve announced  that they would be hopping on the episodic gaming bandwagon.  My anger wasn’t targeted at Valve specifically, but toward the idea of episodic content that was being pushed by Valve, Telltale, and the guys behind Penny Arcade Adventures and Sin Episodes (yes, I know they’re different devs).  I continue to maintain that episodic content wrings consumers out of more money than they’d be paying for a full game.  Three Half-Life 2 episodes, for example, cost $60, excluding the tax on three different games, as opposed to $50 for a game of around the same length as the episodes.

As if this weren’t irritating enough, Valve has completely botched the concept.  Episodes were meant to be released every 6 months to a year – already a long time for about 6 hours of gaming – but Valve has lengthened that cycle.  Episode 2 came out a year and four months after Episode 1, in October 2007, and as of today, it’s been just over two years since the release of Episode 2.  Episode 3 is predicted to come out in 2010, but by the time of its release, it will have been (HOPEFULLY) two and a half years since Episode 2.  Stellar.

Left 4 Dead left a sour taste in the mouths of many people.  It was one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, but given its function as mainly a multiplayer game, it fell ever so slightly on its face.  Though the included campaigns were long, the depressingly low number included resulted in the game getting very old, very fast.  Of course, gamers were promised DLC to a degree similar to that of Team Fortress 2, so no one complained too much.

The server browser on the PC side was also a significant flaw.  PC gamers have long been used to a server browser displaying a vast list of different games to choose from.  In Left 4 Dead, Valve (or Turtle Rock, depending on how you want to look at it), incorporating the same matchmaking system used on consoles.  Players could join games their friends were in, but not create private servers or selectively pick a game.  Dedicated servers were also a no-no.

Insult to injury was given when Valve announced Left 4 Dead 2, which will be coming out around a month after this is posted.  It will be coming out only a year after Left 4 Dead, a game which, had it been given the DLC treatment it was promised, would still have a vibrant multiplayer scene.  Instead, in the year it’s been out, Left 4 Dead has seen one addition: a campaign half the length of the ones included in the release copy.  Apparently, the devs deemed it a better investment to work on a second Left 4 Dead than to add that content to the original, as was arguably promised.

I call bullshit on the entire thing.  Valve outright lied to consumers, and in the vein of the Call of Duty franchise, is cashing on an what is looking to be an annual series (something else I have a problem with, but that’s another post entirely).  Activision, however, for all its flaws, did not lie to consumers about the content of its games – which stand on their own as completed titles - nor did they make any secret about the yearly release plan with which Valve blindsided consumers.

That’s not to write off their accomplishments, of course.  Every game with Half-Life in the name has ranged from definitely worth playing to amazing, The Orange Box was a spectacular deal containing only amazing games, and TF2 has received free content updates since it came out.  On the whole, though, in the past few years Valve has adopted the greedy, money-grubbing corporate policies one might expect from Activision or EA, and it’s a lamentable turn of events.

I’d like every one to meet RealLifePudding!! Pudding is a member and a friend of Secret Option F, and when playing with us, he’s often the Medic, Engie, or Heavy dominating your sorry ass He’s also very well known for his video editing he’s done for us and Jening. Pudding plays from Berlin Germany, and even though he’s half way around the world with tons of lag, he still play many games with us, and we appreciate it very much!!

In this article we’ll feature many of Pudding’s video he’s done, and a small chat with our German friend.

here’s an example of his editing work. AMAZING!! “They’ll Come (a HL2 short)”

More on RealLifePudding and his videos after the break!!

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Aldershot: what are some of your favorite games?

RealLifePudding: gothic 2+night of the raven addon, splinter cell series <3

Aldershot: when did you start TF2?

RealLifePudding: i started playing tf2 when it came out with the orange box. but i actually bought it because of hl2:ep2 and portal. i didn’t wanted to play tf2 in the first place^^ but then i tried and loved it.

Aldershot: whats your fave classes?

RealLifePudding: my fav class is engineer and heavy, even though i try to cut my playtime as engie.

Aldershot: what are some changes you’d make in TF2?

RealLifePudding: i would totally remove all the hats and the random drop system, and i would make harder achievements. I would also integrate a system, where you can delete single stats and not all of them

Aldershot: do you have any thing to say to our readers?

RealLifePudding: things to say to the readers…. not really. just keep playing and enjoy your life. it’s the only thing you will miss the most, when you lose it. also tf2 4tw, JENING for PRESIDENT and F! RUUULZ!!!

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Here’s some more videos done by RealLifePudding!!

“the Citadel” A great composite video of the Citadel from HL”

“Nico WEB” A cool mini short of Grand Theft Auto 4

“BluemanGroup Typography 2″ A sweet music video featuring the Blue Man Group

“Combo Collection 6″ Over in Germany and parts of Asia, Pen Spinning is a popular hobby. RealLifePudding being from Germany is an active participant of the hobby, and this is a video featuring some of his greatest moves.

Thanks RealLifePudding for being awesome, and I’m sure we’ll see you in future games!

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Check out more of Pudding’s videos on his YouTube page!! http://www.youtube.com/user/AllNameAreGone