What'cha Playing Wednesday: Orange Nitpicking Edition
Written by Xav de Matos   
Wednesday, 19 December 2007 12:24
The Orange BoxThere are some games that you love and think you could play again and again and never grow tired of any part of the experience. Personally, Half-Life 2 was one of the games- but since playing through the Xbox 360 version of the original 2004 release I can't but hate some of the encounters.

It happens to the best of us for a number of different games, for me:

  • I can play Halo: Combat Evolved a hundred times but would rather sell a vital organ then go through the Library level again

  • I can max out every character in Final Fantasy VII but if I have to go through the Freezing Forrest once more I'll snap

  • I can experience the incredible world of Half-Life 2 over-and-over but God help me if I don't want to punch a dog when I have to go through old Nova Prospekt another time

So why am I bothering? Well, there are certain scenarios in Half-Life 2 that I dislike today that were amazing in 2004. If Episode One and Episode Two are indicators of how Valve has matured as a design company then the outlook for everything they do is as high as The Orange Box's Metacritic scores.

Episode One and Two pace so well that it shines the annoying parts of their successor under a hot lamp.

The Orange Box is an amazing package, and if the sales numbers are accurate then most gamers already agree.

Plowing through Portal and playing with Team Fortress 2 on the Xbox 360 was great; and great for my Gamerscore!

I enjoyed my time and had better success with the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2 then with the PC version, maybe it's because I lack the speed of a good PC player, but hell if it isn't still near broken on Live.

During last week's show, to which I am now only an avid listener, Jimbo mentioned he wanted a Team Fortress 2 gaming night to happen and I urge you all to pick this title up if you don't already have it.

Sure I already own the PC version and you might too, but the console version has so much to offer that you should consider it as a holiday gift pick. Jim's right, we NEED to have a social gaming night with this game ASAP.

But not the PS3 version. That's like being uppercutted in the genital region with a flaming Shoryuken.

So, what'cha playing this week BBPS-heads? (Also, are their games you love that have areas you'd hate to play through?)

[Ed Note: Believe...I'd never give it up]


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Comments (2)Add Comment
...
written by MC, December 20, 2007
I don't ever want to have to fly down that long tunnel at the end of Ace Combat 5 again. *shudder*
...
written by Swiftwulf, December 21, 2007
I agree with the Nova Prospekt comment. I dread that stage in HL2. As far as what I'm playing right now, well, more WoW and Rock Band!

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