Christmas is nearly upon us so we here at the G4A fun house thought that before we get too drunk we would try to help you all out with  lists of 5  games on each format that we consider to be essential purchases.

So lets start with Microsoft’s beige box of wonderment the Xbox 360. If you are lucky enough to be unwrapping one of these Christmas morning these are some of the games you should hunt down in bargain bins or on Ebay as soon as you can afford to, or else RIGHT!!!

1. Bioshock

Ken Levine’s Art Deco underwater FPS masterpiece is a gaming tour de force. Everything in this game is a cut above from the art direction to script it is a ‘how to’ list of gaming goodness. After your plane crashes into the Atlantic sea you happen upon what looks to be a simple lighthouse which in fact is the gateway to Rapture, an  underwater city. Rapture was the ideological dream of Andrew Ryan a place where all the worlds leading luminaries could live together in a kind of intellectual utopia free from war and other such troubles. When you happen across it though it has completely gone to rack and ruin with dead bodies and flooded corridors at every turn. Crazed genetically mutated splicers roam the corridors looking for their next fix of ‘Adam’ the source genetic substance that allows you to alter your abilities. With a fantastically adult story (by this I mean it never once insults your intelligence),wonderful gameplay mechanics and beautiful Art Deco graphics this is a title that every gamer worth their salt should play. You will never forget defeating you first Big Daddy or the decision you make regarding his Little Sister, complete and utter genius. Lets just hope that Bioshock 2 lives up its predecessor but we here at G4A do have our doubts (but fingers crossed eh?).

2. Mass Effect

Bioware’s  Xbox exclusive, epic space soap opera RPG is a game with few peers. It is a Sci-fi epic on the scale of both Star Trek and Star Wars. Placing you in the shoes of Commander Shepherd, the first human to become a Spectre agent and charged with saving the galaxy. It boasts an incredibly well scripted and acted story with adult themes and explosive gameplay this game is up their with the very best to be found. Also as part of trilogy you really need to have played this before the sequel hits early next year.

3. The Orange Box

This compilation of Valve goodies is far too good to be ignored. Containing 5 games this was incredible value when it launched at £39.99, so it is damn near essential now that it can be picked in bargain bins for sub £15. To be truthfully honest it would be worth that much just for Portal on its own. The first person gravity defying puzzle game redefined what a first person game could be. Add on top that Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episodes 1 and 2 and Team Fortress 2 and this is a proper bumper gaming package. Go get it now, I tells ya.

4. Gears Of War 1 & 2

Ignoring the fact this game series brought supposed games designer “Cliffy Blah Blah Blazinsky” to the fore at Epic you would have to be a fool not to count these games as titles you need to have if you own an Xbox. These games are straight up, good old-fashioned dumb Hollywood blockbuster action with incredible graphics. Forget about the dumb ass sub B-Movie plot and immerse yourself in well designed gored up shooting. With the aforementioned stunning graphics, rock solid gaming mechanics and enjoyable online modes you need to experience both of these exceptional titles. Roll on Gears 3 which I reckon is a shoe in for Xmas 2010 but until then get these in as soon as you can.

5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Hitting the streets just a few short months after the Xbox 360’s launch Bethesda’s massive fantasy role player remains a must buy. With an absolutely huge open world to explore and all manner of side quests to do this is still regarded by many to be the best role player on the Xbox. You can literally go anywhere or do anything it is entirely up to you whether you follow the storyline or just get on with leading another life. Speaking of storyline just before he is assassinated, Emperor Septim passes you the “Amulet Of Kings” and tasks you with finding his son, The illegitimate heir to the throne of Tamiril. What follows is your usual stock fantasy fiction story but with compelling gameplay, beautiful graphics and top voice acting, including Patrick Stewart it is a stunning game. For fans of fantasy fiction and or role players this game is essential. With the game of the year edition (which includes all the downloadable content) costing £15 or less you really have no excuses not to give this a go. Bethesda have remained largely quiet on the follow-up but rest assured as soon as we know anything we will let you peeps know ASAP.

The above list is just a few games that we here at the G4A fun house think that any new owners of an Xbox 360 should try.  If any of you out there want to suggest any other must try games for the Xbox 360 please add them in the comments section below. I’m now off for a beer so piss off and have a Merry Christmas.

Moonhead

Les pc Aienware de Dell est reconnue pour être LA bête de course pour les gamers, seront désormais fournis avec la plateforme de téléchargement  de Steam (Valve) déjà pré-installée, et en cadeau bonus une version du jeu Portal.

Voilà de quoi faciliter la vie des joueurs mais surtout de créer un monopole.

Via modeps from Evil Avatar, Valve has upgraded the servers for L4D 2 for the 360!  WOOT!

We have upgraded our network infrastructure to better accommodate the huge response to L4D2. 360 players will now have lag-free servers. We’ve also added more dedicated servers.

Get out there and let us know how good it really is!

I’ve drafted and deleted* several posts about the gaming ‘blind spot’ – the way certain examples of world-class user experience design get overlooked because games are perceived as a childish time sink. Unlike proper grown-up entertainments such as cinema and music.

The commentary on Portal is a more eloquent response to that than I can muster, so here’s a section of it – you get a video, I get it out of my system. This testimony from a Valve developer about their obsessive playtesting is worth a read too.

If you could bottle the way Portal guides and trains players, I’d be out back with a truck and a forklift. If you could bottle its clarity and economy, I’d sell my parents’ house to buy you out.

* They were crap.

Por Henrique Neto
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Fala galerinha chacineira de humanos infectados.

Como já era de se esperar, finalmente o primeiro video comentado sobre Left 4 Dead 2 está pronto.
Na verdade, o video foi gravado pelo meu camarada Lemos do blog Play It (não deixem de acessar e apoiar o garoto ou eu continuarei floodando vocês com Left 4 Dead 2).
Como vocês vão notar, este é nosso primeiro video comentado e é constituido de quatro partes.
Uma para cada mapa da campanha Dead Center. As proximas partes deverão ser postadas nos proximos dias.
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Fico somente no aguardo a postagem da mesma, e ainda temos dúvidas se devemos fazer mais videos comentando as outras campanhas/fases do Left 4 Dead 2, então, fica a cargo de vocês se devemos ou não (deixem comentários com suas opiniões, considerações, reclamações, doações).
Ah! Mais um detalhe… A gente sabe que o microfone do Lemos estava baixo, ou o meu muito alto, sei lá, mas o que importa é que dá pra ouvir legal e que nós resolveremos esse pobrema poblematico problema nos videos futuros.

Enfim pessoal…
Segue abaixo a parte 1 do nosso mega comentadão comentário que é um oferecimento de PC Pwnage e Play It!

Desfrutem e não esqueçam de assistir em rái definixiom HD!

Abraços a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu (nosso) feed RSS.

Salve cambada difmadora de corpos zumbiisticos.

Aproveitando o HYPE embalo pelo Left 4 Dead 2, resolvi gravar uns videozinhos demonstrando as fases da primeira campanha intitulada “Dead Center” enquanto o video comentado que gravei ontem com o meu cumpadi camarada do blog “Play it” ainda não está disponível.

Bom… Um resumão da campanha (Dead Center) segue abaixo.

Dead Center - Primeira Campanha.

The Hotel:

Você começa a campanha no telhado de um hotel, momentos após o ultimo helicoptero de resgate decolar e tem que abrir caminho até o andar terreo do mesmo, enfrentando pencas hordas de zumbis e um incêndio que reduz consideravelmente a sua visão. Passando por tudo isso, você alcança a primeira safe-room.

The Streets:

Após conseguir escapar hotel em chamas, você chega as ruas.  Um mapa um pouco maior que o anterior (do hotel) e com mais campos abertos, onde se pode VER a luz do dia. Muitos zumbis, varios carros abandonados e ambientes abertos para o jogador explorar. O ápice da campanha é o “resgate da Coca-Cola, onde o jogador precisa levar ao dono da loja de armas um engradado de Coca-Cola para que o mesmo destrua de forma delicada explosiva o caminhão que bloqueia o avanço dos sobreviventes chegando então a proxima safe-room.

The Mall:

Pois é…
A terceira fase se passa no paraíso feminimo em um shopping center (dai o nome da campanha).
Mapa bem escuro, com varios zumbis espalhados e varios caminhos a serem tomados.
Ápice ocorre quando o alarme é disperado e você deve correr até o andar superior do shopping para desliga-lo e fazer as hordas de zumbis babões de sangue cessarem.

The Atrium:

Finalmente o final da campanha.
Nesta parte, você deve coletar os galinhas galões de gasolina para abastecer o “Stock Car” do então falecido Jimmy Gibbs Jr. Obviamente, essa não é uma tarefa facil porque você deve coletar os galos galões que estão separados pelo mapa enquanto ondas e ondas de zumbi te atacam.
Tempo é importante.
Quanto mais rapido melhor obviamente, sendo possivel evitar até a aparição do segundo Tank.
Ponto alto da fase obviamente é a saida triunfal no possante Stock Car do Jimmy Gibbs atropelando tudo quanto é zumbi que você encontra na frente.

Bom… E é isso ae pessoal.
Espero que vocês gostem.
Abraços  a todos e não esqueçam de comentar/assinar meu feed RSS.

Dell has announced that their subsidiary company, Alienware, supplier of  gaming computers that both look and cost as if they’ve been manufactured by Greys will be shipping their PC’s and laptops with Steam, the digital distribution platform developed by Valve Corporation, pre-installed. As an added bonus, after they’ve beamed the cash from your wallet, you will receive the critically acclaimed game, Portal, absolutely free!

Steam is fast becoming the symbol for PC gaming with more developers opting to release their games on the digital distribution platform. And why wouldn’t they, Steam streamlines the whole process for gamers and both major and indie developers, providing an easier way to distribute their games and also functioning as an effective anti-piracy tool.

While some out there look to it as the devil incarnate, I suspect it’s just a bit of nostalgia from them. Digital distribution is the future of gaming on the PC and with this recent agreement with a major PC supplier, Valve is firmly in the driving seat with their Steam platform.

One of the most devastating criticisms of any game is poor controls.  Whenever I read a review, no matter what the score, content, or criticisms, I take all points as subjective.  However, when the reviewer writes that a game has bad, unweildy, poor, or frustrating controls I take note, and usually my interest in the game dies right then and there.  I wonder how many others feel the same way.  We play video games, in part, to exercise control in one small aspect of our lives.  Impede or take away our control, and you take away the fun.  Take away control in a situation where a person expects control and you frustrate, not entertain.

Why is it then, that developers continue to use a “stun” effect in games?  I have never heard or read of anyone enjoying the “stun effect” in any game.   The stun, by definition, strips the player of all control of the character for a given period of time.  Usually when it happens, the player can be heard shouting and cursing in frustration and displeasure.

Three of my favorite franchises have implemented unnecessary and unwanted stun effects.  The Gears of War melee stun was so eggregious, that in my little community, house rules had to be implemented.  Similarly in Gears of War 2, the smoke grenade stun effect, in addition to the melee stun, was so devastating and frustrating, that Epic actually shortened its duration. Valve similarly implemented a stun effect as an update to the Scout class in Team Fortress 2.  I have read nothing positive about that addition, and personally hate it.  Competitive gamers have banned its use.

It wasn’t until I heard my friends echoing my own feelings when they were cussin’ and cursin’ the stun effect in Left4Dead 2, that I decided to write about it.  When playing as either the Survivors or the Special Infected, certain actions can cause the player to momentarily, sometimes for what seems like several seconds, lose control of their character.  This is intensely frustrating and completely unnecessary from a game design perspective.

Take for example, the Charger.  When the Charger misses his run, he eventually runs into a wall, or sometimes a crack in the sidewalk, and becomes dazed.  At this point, all control is lost, and the Survivors have a long moment in which they can shoot into his back and kill him.  Why not rather have the Charger experience half-health damage from smashing into a wall, and x2 damage for the duration of what would be the stun, but give the player semi-, or full control? The penalty could be tweaked so that the end result, you miss – you die, is similar, but the player would not have lost control, and not have been tempted to throw his controller in anger.

To be stunned is a realistic outcome of certain actions.  To the extent that “simulation” is a fundamental design principle of a game, the stun effect should be implemented.  In all other cases, other devices should be used to achieve similar penal results.

Someone was asking on ARocket about where to start with building a differentially throttled hovering vehicle. Lots of advice were given by various people. I’ll show some stuff I quickly sketched back in 2007 with Simulink. It’s such an easy to use and awesome software (especially compared to a recent short battling with LabView), that whipping up any control system or any process or system models are really quick jobs.

This is just some really trivial basics, it doesn’t take into account nearly enough things to produce a real hovering vehicle. I guess it’s just a way to show how things could be started.

So, here’s a pic of a simple one-dimensional rotational feedback system. Just tested some feedback coefficient values for the PD controller.

1) You can see the placeholder “guidance algorithm” output at the top left “scope” graph. This is the reference or target value of the angle where we want the vehicle to be. At the start it’s giving a desired angle of zero radians, then from 4 seconds onwards it suddenly wants 0.5 radians, then again zero after 6 seconds. This could be holding a tilt for a while for getting up some lateral velocity for a transverse move.

2)  Below that, you see Theta, the angle that the vehicle actually had during the simulation. It follows the desired angle quite nicely. Below Theta, there’s omega, the angular velocity.

3) The tilting is done by throttling the two thrusters. At top center and top right you can see the values of the throttles. Since this thing only concerns tilt and not stationary hovering, the throttles are at zero when the vehicle is at the right attitude (reference=Theta) and there’s no angular velocity. When the refence is moved, at 4 seconds, throttle 1 shoots up for a while and the vehicle starts tilting. At around 4.8 seconds the other thruster, throttle 2 shoots up to stop the rotation, since the vehicle is nearing the desired angle.

You can see from the block diagram how the error value, E = theta – reference is calculated. And also omega is used. From these the throttle values are calculated, simply by Throttle1 = E*Kp1 + omega*Kd1 and so on. By fiddling with the Kp and Kd values, called gains, one can tune the system. The values currently are just some I quickly tried back then.  This Simulink model actually has a bug, a sign error. The error signal’s difference calculation is backwards, hence Kp1 and Kd1 are negative. It should be the other way around.

You can tune the model. Basically, raising the proportional values makes the system faster (reach desired values quicker) but gives overshooting and can make the system oscillate unstably. Higher derivative gains remove the tendency to oscillate, but the system becomes more sensitive to noise (noise can after all have large derivatives). If the vehicle had problems of always staying some amount off from the final required attitude value, an error integrator could be added that would fine tune the vehicle a little (making it a PID controller). This is probably not needed here though – the guidance system could notice if the vehicle travels somewhere it doesn’t want it to go.

The MDL file for the above is available here.

This is just a very quick first brush analysis, there are much much more things to take into account. The other tilt axis, roll, the need  to actually stay airborne (altitude or vertical velocity feedback loop) that ties into the throttle values too. One could abstract this tilt in one axis to a single control block, and produce another similar block for altitude holding, then couple these blocks into a whole system of altitude and tilt holding (by mixing the throttle values). This should avoid clutter and enable one to isolate problems.

Also, one should add some noise to the sensed angle vs real angle as gyro noise seems to be a real issue for VTVL vehicles. One wouldn’t want to tune a PD controller’s values in a noiseless simulator and then find out it gets wildly out of control in the real world. Even when not simulating noise, one can be quite conservative with the tuning values, and that helps too. The throttles probably would be another source of errors as well, if one used ball valves like here. One could also use pulse width modulated solenoids (John Carmack is fond of those for quick work) and those should be modeled. Digital valves (for liquids) have also improved lately, and hydraulics uses are emerging.

I’ve only done real world PID stuff on lab experiments. But it’s still very cool to see it work. It can balance a ball on an unsteady position on a moving cart, which humans have trouble with using a joystick, and the math in the controller is not complex since linear approximations can be used for that problem.

So I’ve had a week to chew on Left 4 Dead 2 now, and I have to say that just like last year, Valve has managed to combine zombies, fps action, and co-op gameplay into what has easily been my favorite multiplayer experience of the year.  L4D2 has you following a new set of survivors (man I hope Zoey survived.)  South of the Mason-Dixon, they attempt to find their way out of a Dixie that’s suddenly become infested by IQ-challenged cannibals.  Like the first game, co-op is the core value of L4D2 as the four survivors must work together to survive long enough to reach the end of each successive chapter.

The meat of a game like L4D2 is the horde of bloodthirsty dead people just aching for a taste of your still-breathing human tenderloins, and even the most die-hard zombie fanatics will not be disappointed.  The “common” zombie population has changed to match the new southern setting, so you’ll quickly get used to being rushed by one armed, bloody girls in daisy dukes, and jawless, braindead cajuns.  On top of that, each campaign has its own special “uncommon” zombie.  These are basically setting-appropriate twists on the common zombie that have powers and defenses beyond the rest of the common zombie hordes.  Haz-mat suited zombies are immune to fire, zombified SWAT officers are bulletproof from the front, and mud men come scampering out of the bayou on all fours.

I have decided, at long last, to put down my own thoughts on the recent heavy trend of gamers threatening to boycott games if certain things are not done. Specifically this is about my personal experiences going up against the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott, but also from talking to people who have complained about what Activision and Infinity Ward did with Modern Warfare 2 (but still play it anyway).

Our story begins in late May, after Left 4 Dead 2 is announced at E3. Personally I didn’t know what to think. It seemed odd that Valve would want to put out a sequel that fast, a sequel that they planned to release on time for once even. I did not however, expect the level of vitriol from certain people, one of whom was a mod that banned me from the forum he moderated rather that talk civil about it. His complaints were (as were later parroted by the boycott movement itself)

1. Valve had lied. They had promised x amount of weapons and y amount of campaigns and a working SDK for L4D1. They had not delivered, this meant they were liars
2. If they are putting all this stuff in a new game, they should be giving that new content away for free, like they did with Team Fortress 2.
3. It isn’t going to be different enough from the first to justify being new.

Those were the main points. The problem with both those points, in addition to them being wrong, was that they were formulated before any real information about Left 4 Dead 2 had surfaced other than “yeah we’re making it.” This is why I have a problem with E3, or more correctly the people who hang on every single word said at it. It leads to knee-jerk reactions like this. Course, people buy yearly released games and sequels all the time (hi there Madden series!), but apparently Valve doing this is somehow wrong and indecent and terrible and so on and so forth.

So a couple days go by and more information comes out. For one, Valve was not abandoning L4D1. In fact the SDK was coming out of beta next week and would be cross-compatible with L4D2 content. In addition they were already working on another DLC campaign (granted the full info about this didn’t hit until about a month or two later), and as for L4D2, why couldn’t it be a free DLC add-on? Well they (Valve) had considered that, and there were a couple reasons why it had to become a full game.

1. the AI director was being altered to work in different ways, and also work better
2. Level design was taking a drastic change and branching paths were being introduced, something that again was necessitating a change in the AI director
3. The game engine itself was changing a bit to allow the Infected to be dismembered differently, as well as new and more visceral damage effects, plus melee weapons.
4. All in all, with the new levels, weapons, characters, and so forth, they estimated it to be roughly twice the content of L4D1 and therefore they couldn’t feasibly see giving it away for free (also due to the changes being made to AI and the engine, they wouldn’t be able to, but I’ll get back to that).

Despite these rather obvious and good reasons as to why they couldn’t just make it a free release, people were not satisfied, again citing that Valve was only after their money. Yes Valve, a company that hasn’t really done anything along the lines of EA, Blizzard, or Activision (among others) and released something just to cash in or charge out the ass for things. As to the erupting forum debate, I was soon removed when I took my stand at how hilariously wrong the people planning on boycotting were. insults were exchanged, sexual orientations (mine) were called into question, and at the end I was sent away with some comment about how my comprehension levels were worse than that of a retarded chimpanzee. Which is funny seeing as how I was reading everything correctly and the moderator was too busy doing the digital equivalent of holding his hands over his ears and loudly shouting “LALALALALA I CAN’T HEARRRRR YOUUUU”

If he had listened, or maybe taken the time to think, he’d be able to see that L4D and Team Fortess 2 are two different things. TF2 has no real AI to deal with, and thus can be updated really quickly. Something like Left 4 Dead requires levels to be built with pathfinding routines scripted, AI director events scripted, other events, and so on and so forth. And the levels are much larger too. It’s not like you can just wave your hand and boom, there’s a level. Furthermore you cannot alter the code of a game engine as easily as people tried to believe, which again above all else meant that they had to make it a sequel.

So around this time I learned about the L4D2 Boycott Group on Steam. I read their manifesto, which later added such wonderful gems like “The fiddle music sucks and is not L4D enough”. Through it all I maintained that they were wrong and that by and large this group (which became almost 45,000) were not only going to not cause any real damage (being barely 3% of all L4D1 copies sold), but that their concerns were not legitimate and instead were by and large motivated by a sense that they were being betrayed and that Valve “owed them”. This was not a sentiment exclusive to me. Adam Sessler of G4 had a similar belief, pointing out that Valve was not in the habit of screwing people over and that consumers are not owed anything by a developer, and also calling the behavior of the boycotters “a little bit on the naive side [that only they should be considered] and slightly embarrassing. It’s really kind of juvenile and if I were the head of one of these companies sitting there and seeing that the original Left 4 Dead sold an obscene amount of copies last year and that this [the boycott] is only a small percentage of it, i would probably listen to those people [the boycotters] even less”. The boycotters countered back that they were being misrepresented and were not allowed a chance to speak their side of the argument. There was just one problem with that, they already were.

Various stories were cropping up about people coming into L4D games and griefing the hell out of them if people weren’t on board for the boycott. That doesn’t exactly sound like the actions of reasonable individuals to me, nor to many others. By the time Sessler had said his piece resentment was growing amongst the Steam community, angered that people would stoop to such a level to try and force Valve to give them something that they weren’t possibly going to get. Of course, the boycotters claimed they weren’t trying to get L4D2 for free, but that’s a load of bull. So was their claim that the boycott wasn’t about L4D2. But I digress. In response to the boycott group, groups began cropping up against the boycotters and overwhelmingly in favor of Left 4 Dead 2. I joined one of the larger ones, Left 4 Dead Enthusiasts, mostly so I could have an inside track of what was going on. It was here I began to hear a lot more about the greifing, as well as the fact that the boycott group was apparently sending out mass invites, which meant their numbers were artificially inflated on top of everything else. With all that dishonesty why should anybody give the boycotters a chance to say anything else besides their manifesto? Now I know that sounds unfair but lets be realistic here. If you are going to lead anything, you have to be responsible for your followers. The leaders of the Boycott did not do this, they deserved nothing in the first place and their inability to take the moral high ground (either through ignorance or just not caring in the slightest) meant that any chance for it would be slim. Valve of course, being Valve, saw things a bit differently, but I’ll get to that in a while.

Fast-forward to August. Valve announces bigger details on “Crash Course”, a DLC pack for Left 4 Dead. Yes that’s right, the first one. This put a major crimp in the boycotter’s attempts to claim Valve wasn’t going to support L4D1 anymore. Of course the boycotters somehow tried to spin it as Valve responding to pressure from them, this despite the fact that anybody with any sort of industry knowledge (or even the ability to use google to learn about such things) would find that for Crash Course to be ready by September when it came out, it was likely it had been started around or even before E3, and therefore was Valve’s plan all along. This of course, marked the point where the movement really began to lose ground, to the point that one of the boycott leaders, known as “Walking_Target” (an apt name if there ever was one) began going to whatever press he could trying to plead his case and a desire to be heard. I encountered him on the Escapist and I have to say I had no trouble telling him in no uncertain terms why he and the rest of his group were wrong and why, no matter what his original intentions were, they were gone because he had failed to keep the group on track and on the higher ground.

Then came September. By this point the Boycotters had been losing on every front, especially since preorders for L4D2 were far exceeding that of the first one. Valve decided to play its final trump card: invite the boycotters to their studios to see L4D2 for themselves. Now I am not a fan of the idea that people who throw tantrums should be rewarded, but I can’t argue with the result. After playing it the leaders (Walking_Target being one of them) returned to the group with the good news that more rational people had known for months. It was definetely a much different game and not a cheap cash-in. The boycotters were not pleased. They turned on their masters (what a shock) claiming Valve had paid them off. By October the group was effectively dead. It didn’t even last until the game shipped, something I had predicted would happen (And I’m not trying to stroke my own ego since I can only really predict one or two events a year. This year it was the PSPGo being a massive failure and the L4D2 Boycott failing as well). To further drive the point home, it was later revealed that people in the boycott group were preordering at a higher percentage than people who hadn’t been in the group. All thanks to Steam’s ability to track that sort of information. Despite my misgivings about it, Valve had killed the boycott movement with kindness.

Discontent slowly fell away, though some people foolishly held onto the belief that they’d made a difference. Well ok I guess that’s not necessarily false, because they did make a difference. They made the game even more popular and more successful. Probably not what they were going for. Having played L4D2 I can honestly say it was not a cheap cash-in. It is far more than the original was and Valve made the right decision. I enjoy the game just as much as I did the first and I do not feel like I didn’t get my money’s worth out of the first game. I cannot for the life of me understand people who complain this loudly and achieve so little in the process. But it wasn’t over yet.

While this movement quietly died out, another one was gaining steam. This one leveled against Activision and Infinity Ward. See people weren’t too happy about losing dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2. They were even more annoyed when it was revealed they’d have to use Steam to play multiplayer, and that VAC was going to replace Punkbuster in terms of trying to stop cheaters. What nobody stopped to consider was that this was an experiment. One that obviously has not worked. But rather than think that way people have been complaining about how Steam is controlling too much of the market (I didn’t know 4% of all game sales was such a big deal), and that other companies will follow this trend. The latter argument gained creedence when John Carmack announced that his new game Rage would also not use dedicated servers. Of course the thing about John Carmack is that he is a goddamn genius so maybe he does have a reason for what he’s doing. But looking at forums shows people more of the belief that Carmack is a dinosaur who hasn’t made anything good in over a decade. Nevermind the fact that Doom 3 was actually a pretty good game and if people would stop blindly parroting a certain fast-talking critic they’d probably remember that.

Having talked to one of my friends about this, his main concerns was Steam becoming a monopoly (which is impossible given how little of the market it controls in addition to the fact it’s not trying to push anybody out) and that Steam will become mandatory for PC gaming online. Again I think he’s a bit presumptuous, and not just because he’s playing Modern Warfare 2 despite saying he wouldn’t (in fairness, it was a birthday gift. In a counterpoint he could’ve gotten it exchanged because I believe he received a disk-in-hand copy.) And this is the problem. Too many gamers these days do not stop and think for just a second. Steam doesn’t control a huge chunk of the entire games market, and even with 70% of that 5%, other content download services still prosper (like Direct 2 Drive). Steam’s not a monopoly. They are competing with other companies and services, you know, the way capitalism is supposed to work. But rather than look things up, rather than think, gamers are more content to just say the first thing that comes to mind without considering that it might just sound really dumb a little while later. As somebody who has trouble thinking before speaking, I know what they’re going through, but the thing is I’m trying to learn from that, while they are content to make the same mistakes again and again. We cannot do boycotting the way the MW2 boycotters and the L4D2 boycotters did. For one it was unpleasant, and for another both groups had people buying the game anyway which just proves they were all bark and no bite. I think that there is a place for activism in gaming, and companies do listen to the concerns of people, but most of the time they seem to listen to people who deliver their arguments in a decent manner, instead of pretending they somehow hold the very survival of the company in their hands and won’t buy something unless it’s tailored to their specific needs. This has to change. We are not owed anything by any company. Warren Spector did not owe us for cutting out a lot of content in Deus Ex (Texas, Space, the Moon, etc.). Valve does not owe us for having to cut out content in L4D. Nobody owes us anything unless they specifically say it. A game design document is not a promise. Gamers need to learn that life, and especially the video game industry, does not deal in absolutes.

After searching around a bit, I discovered that there are basically no web-based strategy guides for L4D2 out yet.   My Prima guide should be shipping soon and will have very useful pictures of the locations.  In the meantime, however, I figured that perhaps some of the hard lessons I learned this weekend would be of help to others.  Similarly, I would love to hear from you guys, so that I can up my game as well.  The pages are all listed in the middle column on this page.  However, for your convenience, those with new information are listed below.

The Charger

The Spitter

The Jockey

The S.I. Combos for the discussion of Special Infected teamwork.

Also, though this is not a page in our Guide, the Line Of Sight post can be useful in understanding some of the strategies discussed.

Left 4 Dead 2 is out in Australia, but unfortunately to absolutely absurd censorship laws it was refused classification. The version of the game released here is lacking basically all gore, bodies disappear when they hit the ground, and the melee weapons don’t cause any form of dismemberment. If you are like the majority of the Australian Gaming community you are outraged by this and want to get your hands on an uncensored copy of the game. FEAR NOT! Here are two simple ways to do just that!

PC GAMERS
1> Open up your browser and go to the following link http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=uk
2> Purchase the game from the UK STEAM store. Input your credit card details and address, make sure you change your country to Australia in this section.
3> Enjoy your uncensored version of Left 4 Dead 2

For all you Xbox 360 gamers out there, http://www.playasia.com is your friend. The Asia release is region free, and I think the USA version is also.

2008 saw the release of Left 4 Dead, the hectic team based survival horror from Valve, the development team behind the Half-Life series. It had a way to make you rely on your team members for survival like no other game could. A year later the sequel is here, a quick turn around for any sequel in the gaming world, more-so surprising from a developer that is renowned for their lengthy development schedules.

While many fans cried out in a boycott, stating this was more of an expansion back than a full blown sequel, after a few hours with Left 4 Dead 2 it instantly proves itself worthy as a new addition to the franchise as opposed to a glorified expansion pack. Fixing and tweaking many of the first titles downfalls and adding in new components creates a title that is bursting at the seams with rich, zombie slaying gameplay.

For those of you who haven’t had an experience with the first game, Left 4 Dead 2 places you in the middle of a Zombie apocalypse. You fill the role of one of the four survivors who try to blast your way through hordes of “infected” in an attempt to get to the end of the map. This time round the game is set in the southeast regions of America, and the new cast of characters carry humor, charm and wit in spades. Hearing stories about particular Nascar drivers, and stories about hilarious accidents while hundreds of zombies are honing in on your position gives the characters more of the spotlight that the first title was lacking.

The improvements are so rich in-fact you will find going back to the original game is a pure disappointment. L4D2 features five new interesting campaigns, that have you fighting your way through far more invigorating environments than it’s predecessor. The situations you find yourself in simply give you more to do, which keeps things feeling fresh as opposed to run and gun to the safe house feeling the first game tended to have. All five campaigns can also be played in the Versus game mode right off the bat, no waiting around for Valve to release DLC to unlock that ability this time. As a result the game feels like a full package, where the first game tended to feel a little hollow.

L4D2 is team based gameplay at it’s finest. It is paramount to communicate and work together as a team to achieve success, more-so than any other game you’re likely to play this generation. You will need to rely on your team mates to keep you informed of where they are, when finding health, ammo or weapons, or when there is a world of hurt about to come raining down, and you will have to return the favour. The catch is that no level will play the same thanks to Valve’s AI which they call “The Director”. The Director changes up the location of enemies, weapons and difficulty each and every time you play. It manages to encourage repeat play as you will never know exactly how it will pan out, and manages to provide a challenge every time, regardless of your experience and skill.

Difficulty will play a big part in your experience with L4D2 which offers some of the most challenging gameplay you’re likely to see. Normal is a good entry point as you grasp the concept and learn what weapons work in what situations, while Expert requires the very best in reaction time, communication and overall skills. To make it even harder L4D2 introduces realism mode, removing hints and glows on items such as health and weapons from the HUD. This means your communication with your team member needs to be top notch, otherwise you are going to find yourself high and dry and left for dead.

If you are anti-social or just don’t feel like playing online there are Bots included who can go through the five campaigns with you. They also jump in on the action if a player drops out, and while they do make accurate shots and do their best to help out, it’s far more entertaining with with human players. The bots are largely unreliable. There were a few situations where I went down and needed to be revived, the bots came and took out the zombies and then ran away again without helping me up, leaving me there to die. It’s functional, but to play L4D2 as intended you really do need to play with fellow gamers.

If the campaigns aren’t challenging enough for you Versus mode is sure to get the blood pumping. Versus pits four players as “survivors” and another four players control special infected enemies such as Tanks, Boomers etc. With the addition of new Special Infected in Spitters, Jockeys and Chargers, the Versus gameplay is now far more interesting and fleshed out. Spitters have the ability to spit out acid, Jockeys ride the survivors controlling their movements and Chargers are like mini tanks, charging at their enemies and pummeling them. It keeps gameplay varied and with the 4v4 action things can become quite tense and unpredictable.

What makes L4D2 so successful is the tension and overall stress it will cause you. It get’s your heart racing, and you will find your attention fixated on the screen at all times, constantly reassessing the situation and making decisions you hope will pay off. Each campaign features pivotal moments that will stand out in your mind well and truly after you complete them, whether it be frantically filling a car full of gas in Dead Centre, or dealing with the storms and winds in Hard Rain. If you are a fan of the first game, you are going to go ga-ga for L4D2.

It’s not just the new characters, the fantastic and varied environments or gameplay situations that make L4D2 a far better package, it’s the little things that make the game so much more entertaining and varied. A bigger range of guns, the inclusion of explosive and incendiary ammo pickups but most importantly, and the most fun, the inclusion of melee weapons.

That’s right ladies and gents, you can now slice and dice, whack and smack and shred your way through each campaign with a delightful assortment of melee weapons. There are the conventional melee weapons for a horror film setting, there’s the machete and the katana and of course a chainsaw, but then there are some unexpected ones such as a cricket bat (paddle bat for the Yanks) electric guitar or a frying pan. In all there are a number to choose from and you will have a blast regardless of your choice. There is nothing quite like the feeling of facing off a bunch of infected and smashing their heads off with a well timed swing from the old cricket bat, you can’t help but have a smile come across you face, disturbing as that thought may be.

Along with new weapons come new perks as well. Along with your pain-pills and your medipacks you know have access to adrenalin shots which give you that little pick me up when the odds are against you, making you faster and stronger for a short period of time. Add this with the new defibrillator pack to bring slain survivors back from the dead, and you have some great new additions to the gameplay.

Now it’s time to address the heavy censorship applied to the Australian release of the game. Due to the fact that in Australia we don’t have an R18+ rating for video-games, the original cut that rest of the world received was refused classification by the OFLC board. While violence doesn’t make a game, in a game like L4D2 it certainly adds to the authenticity of the situation. The lack of blood, bodies on the floor or dismemberment makes the game really seem lacking. I’d highly advise you to get an uncut version of the game, if you want more info on how to do that, check out my article on this website.

THE FINAL VERDICT:

Despite the quick turn around between releases Left 4 Dead 2 is a far more complete, rich and rewarding gameplay experience, improving in almost every aspect it ventures. This is team based gameplay at it’s finest, and the amount of tension and stress this game can cause you is a true testament to Valve. They have created one thrilling and immersive game here. For those who enjoyed the first game then you will fall in love with the sequel, yet if the first Left 4 Dead didn’t rev your engine, chances are this game will do nothing to change that. Overall, one of the most thrilling games this year.

GAMEPLAY: 9.1/10 – Gameplay has been improved in each and every facet over the original.

GRAPHICS: 8.8/10 – The graphics are fairly decent but it isn’t the greatest looking game on the market. Enemies are detailed and animations are fluent. The daylight environments add a little something that the first game was lacking.

AUDIO: 9.0/10 – The weapons sound full and punchy, the voice acting is top notch, campy but it suits, and differentiating groans from different zombies comes together is a great sound package.

VALUE: 9.2/10 – The AI Director makes each campaign play different each time. Add this to the versus mode and the new scavenger mode and you have a pretty decent bang for buck. Hopes for further campaigns via DLC.

OVERALL: 9.2/10

Game: Portal

Creator: Valve

Platform: PC/PS3/Xbox360

Genre: Science fiction/fps/puzzle

Portal is a game that you get in the orange box, created by valve.

The story of portal is you are an aperture science employee named Chell and are going through a computer aided test. The computer, GLaDOS speaks out over the intercom at various intervals during the tests. The aim of the tests is to give you the ability to use the portal gun, a gun that allows you to make portals, one blue and one red. If you go through one portal, you will come out the other. For example, if you want to get to a high spot, you shoot one portal at the high spot, another at the low spot and then go through.

This is the trailer for portal:

This game is also very funny at some points.

Unfortunatly, this game is quite short, only about 3 hours long. But there are heaps of custom made portal maps that you can download. I am also making a custom portal maps. An example portal maping community is www.thinkingwithportals.com

This game is extremely fun, I can’t stop playing it.

My final score of this game is 9/10

You can get portal in the orange box from any good video game retailer

or download portal offsteam

or download the orange box off steam

The Orange Box es un pack de videojuegos creados por Valve para las plataformas Xbox 360, PS3 y PC. Incluye Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal y Team Fortress 2. The Orange Box en PC también trae Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast y Peggle Extreme. La versión que he jugado es la de PlayStation 3, por lo que estos últimos juegos no pueden ser analizados (excepto Lost Coast), pero después de haber probado Half-Life 2 y Team Fortress 2 en PC, puedo compararlas. El videojuego más diferente entre las versiones es, sin duda, Team Fortress 2. El resto solo cambian pocas cosas. Analizaré los cinco videojuegos y la nota final será la media de éstas puntuaciones.

Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 es la secuela de uno de los FPS más exitosos de la historia de los videojuegos. Ésta vez, con nuevo motor gráfico (Source) y físico (Havoc) con niveles rediseñados. Salió a la venta en DVD el 16 de Noviembre de 2004, semanas más tarde de su lanzamiento en Steam.

Requisitos: 1.2 GHz de procesador, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 7

¡AVISO! Posibles spoilers.

Todo comienza después de los acontecimientos del primer Half-Life. Nuestro protagonista, Gordon Freeman, tras haber derrotado a Nihilant y aceptar el trabajo de G-Man, fue puesto en un estado de hibernación, congelado en el tiempo, y transcurrieron diez años. En ese entonces, se creía que por la muerte de Nihilant cesaría la Tormenta de Portales, pero no fue así, sino que se creó una nueva e inestable tormenta de portales que se extendió por el planeta, y criaturas de Xen se teletransportaban a la Tierra. Los Xenianos ya fueron conquistados anteriormente por una nueva raza alienígena, denominada el Imperio Combine (La Alianza según el doblaje español). Son una fuerza interdimensional formada por razas modificadas de todos los planetas que conquistan, es decir, una multi-raza que ha conquistado infinidad de mundos y universos, y crean ejércitos controlados por un administrador (en el caso de la anterior entrega, el ejército sería los Alien Grunt liderados por Nihilant) para conquistar un planeta. Cuando lo conquistan completamente, los Combine originales lo ocupan.

Nihilant controlaba mentalmente a los Vortigaunt, que son criaturas pensantes y racionales, a diferencia del resto de los Xenianos y los humanos. Eran controlados mediante brazaletes en el primer juego. Cuando Freeman destruyó al líder, fueron liberados, y junto con el resto de los Xenianos fueron teletransportados a la Tierra. El Imperio Combine, al enterarse del incidente, mandan un ejército a la Tierra, ya que hasta el momento no lo tenían en cuenta, pero viendo el gran potencial entre los habitantes, suponía una amenaza para ellos. Y así conquistan tanto a la raza humana como al resto de Xenianos.

Los Combine vencen a las fuerzas terrestres en la denominada “Guerra de las Siete Horas” que, como bien indica el nombre, tan solo duró siete horas antes de que los humanos se rindieran. La causa de su rendición fue gracias al Dr. Wallace Breen, antiguo director de Black Mesa (complejo donde se desarrolla la primera entrega), que tras realizar esta acción y consultar con los Advisors, es nombrado por los Combine como el administrador del planeta Tierra, y nombra a Ciudad 17 (la ciudad donde se desarrollará este juego) su sede principal. En esas ciudades se hayan gigantescas y kilométricas torres sobre la mayoría de los centros urbanos, y cada una de ellas se les conocen como ciudadelas. Desde allí, Breen y los “Advisors” o “Consejeros” (seres con forma de gusano que representan a los verdaderos Combine) dirigen las operaciones.

Algunos humanos han sido capturados y mutados para conformar el ejército de despliegue rápido Combine del planeta Tierra, fuerza conocida como Combine Overwatch (Fuerza Transhumana). Otros humanos no aptos para el combate fueron convertidos en Stalkers (Acechadores). También se encontrará la fuerza Synth, que son robots como los Striders (Zancudos), Gunships (Naves de batalla) y Dropships (Naves de transporte Combine). En las ciudades se encuentran Combines que actúan a modo de guardias, conocidos como Metrocops (Protección Civil).

Aunque, para defenderse, los humanos restantes se unieron y formaron la “Resistencia” para combatir contra los Combine. Y justo en medio de toda esa batalla, G-Man descongela a Gordon Freeman y le deja en un tren de llegada a la Ciudad 17. Su misión será ayudar a la Resistencia a detener al Imperio Combine. En el camino se encontrará con personajes que ya salieron en el primer Half-Life, como Barney Calhoun (protagonista de Half-Life: Blue Shift) y el Dr. Eli Vance, uno de los supervisores del experimento del Laboratorio de Materiales Anómalos del Centro de Investigación Black Mesa.

Finaliza el spoiler

El videojuego es largo. No es demasiado intenso como por ejemplo un Call of Duty, pero es muy bueno. Todo el juego se ve en primera persona, no hay ningún momento donde se ve el modelo de Gordon ni apenas ningún momento donde no puedas moverte; siempre tendrás el control del personaje. La dificultad ajustada del juego lo hace más desafiante, ya que en este juego raras veces tendrás la vida y el escudo al máximo. En todo momento debes sobrevivir a todos los peligros. El videojuego incluye niveles de conducción, donde controlaremos un Hovercraft para el nivel de canal, y un Buggy para el de la carretera.

El repertorio de armas es extenso. Desde tu clásica palanca, pasando por pistolas, metralletas, revólveres, bazookas… La que más destaca en éste videojuego es la pistola de gravedad, con la posibilidad de coger cualquier objeto, atraerlo y repelerlo. Es útil cuando, por ejemplo, devuelves una granada lanzada por el enemigo.

La variedad de enemigos está bien. No es muy impresionante ni muy extenso, pero es aceptable. Tres tipos de Headcrabs, con sus correspondientes zombies humanos, los cuatro tipos de Combine, Antilions y naves de despliegue enemiga, que normalmente derrotas con lanzacohetes. Cabe destacar que los lanzacohetes los puedes controlar una vez lanzados.

En algunos momentos puedes liderar un grupo de la Resistencia. Están los ciudadanos, los que de verdad trabajan para la Resistencia y los médicos. Éstos últimos, como es obvio, pueden curarte si estas herido. Puedes darles órdenes básicas como avanzar o esperar.

Gráficos

El motor Source está muy bien diseñado, sin apenas fallos en la física y los movimientos. Es perfecto para la Pistola de Gravedad y para los vehículos. La calidad de los detalles es muy bueno, está a la altura de lo que un videojuego de 2005 puede dar. La ambientación, sublime; la metálica Ciudad 17, los canales, las carreteras nublosas, las costas, la escalofriante Ravenholm, la futurista ciudadela… Mucha variedad en el escenario, no te cansas de ver el mismo paisaje una y otra vez, ya que cada capítulo puede cambiar de lugar, tanto de día como de noche. Los efectos están muy logrados, pero el humo podría mejorar tras las explosiones de las granadas o cohetes. En ningún momento del videojuego verás algún vídeo que no sea ingame. Todo lo ves en directo y los acontecimientos los vives tú mismo, aunque algunas veces tus aliados u otros individuos te contarán cosas interesantes con respecto a la historia. Ésto sería un punto en contra para las versiones de consolas, ya que están en completo inglés.

Sonido
Nos encontramos con un apartado difícil de analizar. El sonido en sí, lo que se oye, está currado. Los efectos, el sonido ambiente… No hay demasiado que contar, todo está al nivel esperado. El doblaje es excelente, tanto en inglés como en español, sin ningún tipo de fallos ni salidas de tono, además que están bien elegidas. La música del juego ha cambiado con respecto al Half-Life original. Ahora su banda sonora es de género música electrónica, y suele sonar en los momentos más intensos y emocionantes, normalmente gran parte del juego la juegas sin música de fondo, algo que también puede considerarse positivo si deseas una experiencia más realista.

Opinión personal
Sin miedo a equivocarme, es uno de los mejores juegos de la historia. No es perfecto, y tiene cosas extrañas como la mudez del protagonista, algo que para mí, personalmente, le queda bien tal y como está. No me gustaría que el personaje soltara varios comentarios en éste tipo de juego, pero la gracia es que no se con certeza porqué prefiero eso, si soy de los que me molan los personajes carismáticos. Aunque en éste juego, la sensación es diferente… Eres tú, eres Freeman, no le das órdenes a un personaje, es que eres el personaje. Esa es una de las cosas que hacen especial este juego en mi opinión.

Lo Mejor:

• El motor Source.
• La forma de desarrollar la historia.
• La duración, se te hace largo.
• La ajustada dificultad.
• La banda sonora, a veces te motiva en los peores momentos.
• El misterioso G-Man.
• Tener el control del personaje desde el principio hasta el final, sin ninguna pausa.
• El nivel de Ravenholm.

Lo Peor:

• Una historia demasiado simple.
• Ausencia de jefes finales.
• Te puede acabar frustrando.

Nota: 9´6

Half-Life 2: Episode One

Half-Life 2: Episode One es la primera entrega de una trilogía de expansiones que continúan la historia de Half-Life 2. Éste videojuego es independiente y no requiere el Half-Life 2 original para jugar. Los requisitos son los mismos que Half-Life 2.

Ésta vez Gordon y Alyx deben escapar de Ciudad 17 antes de que explote, y para ello deben atravesar parte de la ciudadela y los edificios destruidos para salir. El argumento es más sencillo que Half-Life 2, centrándose solo en escapar de la ciudad. Es un juego muy corto, por lo que se le puede considerar como un puente para Half-Life 2 y Half-Life 2: Episode Two. A pesar de eso sigue teniendo el mismo reto que cualquier otro Half-Life; sobrevivir. La única novedad llamativa de ésta expansión es que casi siempre vas con Alyx Vance (menos ciertos momentos donde os separáis momentáneamente). La compañía de Alyx y Dog en algunos momentos da un toque de variedad al videojuego, ya que, por ejemplo, Alyx puede usar torretas y neutralizar esa especie de pelotas que te persiguen de los Combine, y Dog a veces ayuda a abrir caminos y eliminar enemigos.

Gráficos

Una pequeña expansión y tan poco tiempo no han permitido a Valve desarrollarlo mejor, por tanto se mantiene igual que Half-Life 2 pero con mejoras, como las expresiones faciales o las animaciones, que en este videojuego hay más concentradas al ser más corto. Dispones de menos escenarios que el original, ya que solo se basa en huir de Ciudad 17, y solo volverás a ver la ciudadela, una derruida Ciudad 17 con un tono anaranjado (por el gigantesco portal que se ha creado en el cielo), y pasadizos subterráneos. Las texturas han mejorado de forma notable.

Sonido

Como en el original, los sonidos del motor Source se repiten, con algunas novedades. La banda sonora es completamente nueva, aunque escucharás menos voces, ya que casi todo el juego solo aparecen Gordon y Alyx, y como Gordon no habla… Eso sí, aparecen Barney, Kleiner y Eli en algún momento, pero muy breve.

Opinión personal

Una expansión pasable, no es para tirar cohetes, pero es imprescindible si quieres continuar las aventuras de Freeman. Es algo barato, y en un pack de calidad como The Orange Box, es imposible que te arrepientas aunque te decepcione algo la expansión, por no incluir demasiadas novedades. Personalmente lo considero el peor de los cinco videojuegos que forman el pack, pero eso no quiere decir que sea malo. Es simplemente una continuación, ni más ni menos.

Lo Mejor

• Estar acompañado de Alyx y Dog.
• La imagen de la Ciudad 17.
• Pequeñas mejoras gráficas.

Lo Peor

• Muy corto.
• Sin fases de conducción.
• Menos variedad en el ambiente.
• Si el anterior tenía una historia demasiado simple, éste ni la tiene.

Nota: 7´5

Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Half-Life 2: Episode Two es la segunda entrega de la trilogía de episodios de Half-Life 2. Al igual que Episode One, éste videojuego es independiente y no requiere el Half-Life 2 original para jugar.

Requisitos: 1.7 GHz de procesador, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 8

¡AVISO! Posibles spoilers.

La historia se reanuda tras los sucesos de Half-Life: Episode One. Gordon y Alyx despiertan tras el accidente de tren, cuando intentaron abandonar la ya destruida Ciudad 17. Donde estaba la ciudadela ahora se encuentra un haz de energía gigante, proveniente de un enorme círculo resplandeciente en el cielo, que emana explosiones espontáneas cada cierto tiempo. Tras un corto camino, consiguen comunicarse con Eli y Kleiner, que les explica los detalles de su nueva misión, y es conseguir traspasar White Forest para llegar a la base de la Resistencia y traer la información que dejó la doctora Mossman en la ciudadela de Ciudad 17, ya que en esos datos se encuentra el código de apertura y cierre del portal, la principal razón de porqué los Combine perseguían a Alyx y Gordon. En éste episodio hace su aparición un nuevo personaje; el doctor Magnusson, del que dispone de un cohete cuyo objetivo consiste en cerrar el gigantesco portal. Por esa razón necesita la información de la doctora Mossman.

Finaliza el spoiler

Éste episodio supera todo lo visto hasta ahora en la saga, incluyendo escenarios abiertos y muy dinámicos. A diferencia del Episode One, ésta expansión tuvo más tiempo de desarrollo, y es más larga, aunque no tanto como Half-Life 2. Sin embargo, no incluye demasiadas novedades jugables, pero técnicamente llega a un nivel superior. Puedes controlar un nuevo vehículo, y el número de enemigos en pantalla ha incrementado. El lanzamiento de éste episodio fue la principal razón para la salida de The Orange Box.

Gráficos

Como ya dije, el nivel técnico ha alcanzado un nuevo nivel. Las texturas se visualizan a mayor resolución, las animaciones han sido rediseñadas, escenarios abiertos y dinámicos, con muchísimos elementos destruibles, tales como cabañas o árboles. Por todo lo demás, igual que sus predecesores, aunque existe todavía menos variedad en el escenario. Solo uno o dos capítulos en las minas y el resto es en el camino a White Forest, todo campo menos algunos pueblos o ciudades.

Sonidos

No existen novedades en éste apartado. Tan solo las nuevas conversaciones y una nueva banda sonora, más extensa que la de Episode One.

Opinión personal

A diferencia de Episode One, ésta expansión si es imprescindible. La idea de campos abiertos y de objetos destructibles ha sido buena, aunque no aporte demasiadas novedades con respecto a Half-Life 2. No se le puede pedir demasiado a las expansiones, ademas de que lo que realmente interesa es ver como acaba todo y descubrir al menos algo del misterioso G-Man. Sobretodo los últimos capítulos son los más intensos.

Lo Mejor

• Escenarios abiertos, con libertad para explorar.
• Mejoras gráficas notables.
• Física rediseñada y más dinámica.
• Se desvelan más detalles de la historia, además de continuar de forma más interesante la actual.

Lo Peor

• Es algo corto.
• Extremadamente poca variedad en el ambiente.
• No hay apenas novedades jugables.

Nota: 8,5

Portal

Portal es un videojuego de puzzles y desafíos. Estás en un experimento desarrollado en Aperture Science, la empresa rival de Black Mesa, cuyo experimento se basa completamente en el Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (ASHPD), una especie de arma que crea portales en superficies planas, permitiendo realizar viajes instantáneos y una conexión visual y física entre dos puntos cualquiera. Sólo se pueden mantener dos portales del mismo color abiertos al mismo tiempo. El jugador debe superar obstáculos y sortear torretas y abismos para avanzar, usando la lógica de la Portal Gun.

Gráficos

Gráficamente llega al nivel de Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Con un estilo futurista y científico, nos da la sensación de estar atrapados en los experimentos de un robot demente. Un diseño bastante limpio y elegante, cómodo para la vista y perfecto para un juego de puzzles. En éste videojuego, la física es importante, ya que la necesitas para pulsar botones con otros objetos, lanzar cajas encima de las torretas para destruirlas, o tu propio movimiento.

Sonidos

Al ser un estilo minimalista, los sonidos se mantienen en un segundo plano. Lo más destacado son los comentarios de GlaDOS, la IA que controla todo Aperture Science en el momento. Su banda sonora es muy buena y pega bastante con el estilo del juego, recuerda mucho al primer Half-Life. Pero de entre todas las canciones del juego, la que más destaca sin lugar a dudas es Still Alive, la canción de los créditos, cantada por GlaDOS. La canción es muy original y con una letra hilarante, ha sido condecorada como una de las canciones más emblemáticas de la historia de los videojuegos. Aunque, si no habéis jugado al videojuego, no os recomiendo que la escuchéis, ya que, aparte de explicar cosas sobre su posible secuela, esa canción puede considerarse como “premio” al completar el videojuego.

Opinión personal

No es un juego demasiado complejo, pero sin duda es una gran experiencia. La Portal Gun abre muchas posibilidades y has de ser rápido y preciso para superar todos los obstáculos. Por supuesto, al terminar la historia principal, te dan la posibilidad de rejugar los niveles con diferentes objetivos, tales como el modo Avanzado (mapas rediseñados para dar mayor dificultad), menos pasos y menos portales. Un buen juego, sin dudas, muy original.

Lo Mejor

• La Portal Gun en sí, el sistema de portales y su control.
• Gráficos a la altura.
• Ambiente futurista y limpio.
• Historia buena que, sin ser demasiada compleja, tiene principio y tiene final. Además, tiene un “ligero” vínculo con el universo de Half-Life 2.
• Still Alive, un tema a recordar.

Lo Peor

• Demasiado corto.

Nota: 9

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 es la secuela del videojuego para PC Team Fortress, actualmente conocido como Team Fortress Classic. Se trata de un videojuego Online con toques de estrategia, donde el jugador puede elegir entre dos equipos y controlar una de las nueve clases del videojuego, cada una con diferentes armas y habilidades.

Actualmente, con las últimas actualizaciones, el juego dispone de 7 tipos de juego en total:

-Control Point (CP): Un equipo debe defender sus puntos de control y evitar que el otro equipo los conquiste. Si el tiempo se acaba, el equipo defensor gana, y si antes de que se acabe el tiempo el equipo atacante conquista todos los puntos de control, ganan ellos.
-Capture The Flag (CTF): Cada equipo dispone de un dossier que deben proteger y evitar que el equipo contrario se los lleve a su base. El equipo con más capturas gana.
-Payload (PL): Igual que CP, un equipo debe evitar que el otro empuje la carga explosiva hasta su base. Si la carga llega, el equipo atacante gana.
-Arena: Los equipos simplemente se enfrentan entre sí, y no se puede regenerar hasta que la ronda la ganen uno de los dos equipos.
-Payload Race (PLR): Variante de PL, con la única diferencia de que los dos equipos disponen de cargas explosivas. El primero que llegue, gana.
-Territory Control (TC): Se basa en capturar el punto de control enemigo mientras que defiendes los tuyos. El que conquiste todo el mapa, gana.
-King Of The Hill (KOTH): Los dos equipos deben conquistar un punto central, cada equipo dispone de una cuenta atrás que solo se activa cuando el punto está en su poder. El primer equipo que consiga que su cuenta atrás llegue a 0 gana.

En los mapas tipo CP, CTF y TC, en caso de que ninguno de los dos equipos ganen al finalizar el tiempo, la ronda se convertirá en Arena.

El videojuego dispone de más de 50 mapas oficiales, y de muchos mapas creados por usuarios, con la posibilidad de descargarlos desde el mismo juego para jugarlos.

Clases

Existen 9 clases en total, y a su vez en tres categorías: Ofensiva, Defensa y Apoyo.

Ofensiva

-Scout (Explorador): Es la clase más rápida del juego y permite hacer doble saltos, aunque es la más débil. Tiene una escopeta, una pistola y un bate de béisbol.

-Soldier (Soldado): Su punto fuerte reside en su lanzacohetes, y es capaz de hacer saltos cohete con él. Es algo lento y es fácil de usar. También tiene una escopeta y una pala.

-Pyro (Pirómano): Su arma es un lanzallamas, y ésta clase es la única que no se le queda prendido el fuego, aunque no es del todo inmune. También tiene una escopeta y un hacha.

Defensiva

-Demoman (Hombre Demolición): Dispone de dos lanzagranadas. Una lanza granadas que puedes chocar con paredes y cambiar los ángulos del lanzamiento, y otra lanza bombas lapa que se quedan pegadas en la superficie y explotan pulsando disparo secundario. También dispone de una botella de whisky.

-Heavy (Infante Pesado): Es la clase más resistente del juego, y la más lenta. Dispone de una ametralladora Gatling que suelta grandes ráfagas de balas, y puede recoger munición de otras armas. También dispone de una escopeta y sus propios puños.

-Engineer (Ingeniero): Su habilidad especial es la de construir. Puede construir centinelas, dispensadores y teletransportadores de entrada y salida, solo uno de cada. Cada una se puede mejorar hasta el nivel tres, ofreciendo mejor rendimiento. Dispone de una escopeta, de una pistola, de su llave inglesa, del panel de construcción y del panel de demolición.

Apoyo

-Sniper (Francotirador): Su rifle francotirador es su especialidad. Con disparo secundario miras por la mira, y esperas a que la barra se rellene para obtener un disparo mortal en la víctima. También dispone de un subfusíl y un machete.

-Medic (Médico): Es capaz de curar a sus compañeros, y rellenar su barra hasta llegar al 100%. Con esto podrá ser el médico y su paciente invulnerables durante un corto periodo de tiempo, se activa con el botón de disparo secundario. La vida del médico se regenera. También dispone de una pistola de jeringuillas y de una sierra de huesos.

-Spy (Espía): Puede infiltrarse en la base enemiga. Se puede volver invisible por un corto periodo de tiempo y de disfrazarse de cualquier clase de cualquier equipo, e incluso se le cambia la voz. Tiene un revólver, un zapador para eliminar construcciones de los ingenieros, un cuchillo que es letal para cuando se ataque en la espalda y su kit de disfraces. Al atacar se quita el disfraz que llevas puesto, menos con el zapador.

Se han lanzado actualizaciones para el videojuego que añaden contenidos extras gratuitos, tales como sombreros desbloqueables, armas desbloqueables (como el fraskungfú del Sniper, el bocata del Heavy y el Bonk del Scout) y nuevos modos de juego, y piensan seguir sacando más actualizaciones por el momento.

Gráficos

Es curioso el cambio gráfico entre Team Fortress Classic y Team Fortress 2. El original tenia un estilo gráfico tipo Counter Strike, y en 1999 ya se tenía planteado que su secuela tendría un estilo aún más militar y más realista. El resultado final acabó por una estética caricaturesca de dibujos animados. Todo un cambio drástico. Los colores son muy vivos y coloridos, con movimientos hilarantes y cómicos, y con buenos efectos especiales. La resolución de texturas es un poco pequeña, para igualar el posible lag.

Cabe destacar que existen videos en YouTube hechos con el motor del juego para presentar a las clases. Todavía quedan el Medic y el Pyro, aunque no se descarta alguno más. A continuación, algunos ejemplos.



Y más que podrás encontrar en YouTube.

Sonido
Uno de los puntos fuertes de este videojuego es su gran doblaje. Cada clase tiene su propio estilo e idiomas, y más de 100 lineas de diálogo cada una, cargadas con mucho humor y carisma. La banda sonora está bien, normalmente se usan más en los “Meet The” que en el propio videojuego, con la posibilidad de oírla solo en el menú principal. Los efectos son muy variados, cada sonido tiene tres o más versiones diferentes que se ejecutan de la misma manera.

Opinión personal
Que no te engañe su aspecto. Team Fortress 2 es un videojuego muy original y divertido, para mí, el mejor juego Online que he jugado, un respiro entre tanto contenido descargable de pago y tanto soldado militar en los shooters. Imprescindible para todo aficionado a los FPS y al juego en red.

Lo Mejor

• Su variedad en las 9 clases.
• Su increíble cantidad de mapas.
• Contenido oficial gratuito.
• Cargado de humor.
• Muy original entre tantos shooters bélicos.

Lo Peor

• La traducción en español es mejorable e incompleta.
• Honestamente, nada más.

Nota: 9,5

Diferencia entre versiones

Las versiones analizadas han sido para la versión de PC. Las versiones de Xbox 360 y PS3 son inferiores en ciertos aspectos. Éstas son las diferencias:

-Ambas versiones están al completo inglés.
-Ninguna de las dos están actualizadas, algo grave sobre todo para Team Fortress 2, cuyas versiones de consolas solo disponen de 6 mapas y sin desbloqueables.

Pocas, pero graves.

Conclusión final

Un excelente pack, recomendado para amantes de FPS, con buena variedad de videojuego; una aventura con dos expansiones, un puzzle de desafíos y un online multijugador. Además, su precio es irresistible (20€), y te llevará mucho tiempo completarlo al 100%.

Nota: 8,8

Saludos

LeviathanDominator