For some reason, some games kind of burn themselves in your brain. You know them. They are the ones that start interesting trends, catch phrases, etc. I decided to replay one series over the past week. That’s Half Life 2, the 2 episodes spawned from it, so far, and its offshoot game, Portal. All of them are by Valve Software, created on their Source Engine. They’re definitely not your standard First Person Shooter (FPS) series, though many have copied it.
I have a firm belief in STORY. This series certainly delivers that in spades. From the moment your train arrives in City 17 at the beginning of “Half Life 2”, to the last parts of “Portal”, where you defeat the Computer, after it tried to lure you to your death by promising you cake. Granted, there is a lot to go through, and enough play to where you may be playing these for a couple of weekends, hoping people would just leave alone, until you get through them. I have to admit, however, this is a storyline that sticks to your ribs like your favorite comfort meal.
The engine that powers this series, the Source Engine, has been used by several other games out on the market as well. If you can market a real good game, with a real good story you can follow, and market the gaming engine, so others can use it to make their own games, gives people real inspiration. Going from, “I want to get through this cool game.”, to, “I make my own cool games.”, really gives this a PLUS.
Since I am playing these for a second time, as opposed to playing them once, then uninstalling them for good, that really says something to me. I would strongly suggest trying them out
Go to the Valve Software’s website HERE.
