[EvEm]_Harmer alerted me to this article on Thresh's new site: Thresh's Firing Squad, about his experience with the latest build of Half Life. I must say it sounds very cool. Thresh (well Kenn actually) mentions qualities like totally immersive game play:
"In one instance, an enemy soldier threw open a hatch to the pipe I was traversing tossed in an armed satchel charge, and slammed the hatch shut. The next second had me contemplating this strange AI behavior when the charge detonated. The pipe filled with fire and started streaming in my direction. Without further hesitation, I booked for the opposite end of the pipe, dove into a shallow pool of water and ducked, watching as the firestorm erupted from the pipe, inches away from where I was."
Does that sound cool or what?
But of course it's the multiplayer experience we're all interested in and the kind of experience Half Life seems to produce make it look wild. Consider some of Thresh's experiences here:
"There were also many cool (and sometimes cheap) tactics that I ran into during the many deathmatches I played with Kenn and the Valve guys. For instance, I threw a couple of satchels where they would normally respawn and waited for Kenn, whom I knew frequented the area, to walk by and pick it up. A few moments of waiting and my patience paid off - Kenn strolled up casually, probably thinking of blue skies and fresh-smelling daisies. He paused for a second, slightly confused because the satchels were in a different position than they usually spawn, and as he leaned over to pick up what he thought was an "unprimed" satchel, I hit the fire button, and literally blew his ass halfway across the map! If I'm not mistaken, I believe I heard a shrilly girl-like yelp escape from Kenn's mouth as the satchel exploded, which was by far and away one of the most gratifying and hilarious thing I have experienced since playing multiplayer games."
"In yet another instance of simply amazingly cool kills, I watched Robin Walker (creator of TF and in-house multiplayer pimp) make a really sweet gauss gun shot. In this particular level there are two stories - Robin was on the lower level, and some bumbling fool was on the upper level. Robin began charging up his gauss, and as he heard the fool's footsteps above him, he fired straight through the ceiling - the gauss shot through the floor and exploded directly beneath the guy's crotch, resulting in a pretty serious mangling of the guy's body."
Now doesn't that sound like fun?
There's 14 weapons, 9 with alternative fire modes (!) to add variety into the mix.
It's a 15 page review but worth the read, check it out:
Half Life Review
http://www.firingsquad.com/games/halflifepre/
