Memoirs of Me as Gordon Freeman in Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode One

Before I wrote this blog it had 760 words. So I’ll make it short and try making it sweet (haha). All I wanted to say was playing Half-Life 2 and Half Life 2 Episode One was an experience I will never forget. Fighting 30 foot tall Striders (Warning: some Major spoilers ahead)

armed only with a laser guided rocket launcher is satisfaction guaranteed. Likewise, throwing tables, paint buckets, and chairs with a Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator (Gravity gun) is awweesoome. It’s so realistic, the paint splatters on their faces (as in what splattered-paint-on-a-zombie-face-would-have-looked-like-in-the-real-world real).

I love the story and the characters. I mean…they really feel like they’re your friends.

Yes…that’s how good these artificial intelligences act. EDIT: (That’s Alyx on the right and d0g on the left)…see i’m even introducing them.

Oh and Gordon Freeman (the character you control)

is a graduate of MIT with a PHd in Theoretical Physics. That’s because he worked in some secret scientific project in Black Mesa, Mexico that….okay…i’m getting carried away (again)..I assure you the story is really engaging..just look it up here .I also love the commentary on each section of the game where the developer tells you how they did a 1 minute sequence in 2 months , or how they had to do a level design over and over because they had to get the experience right. The physics engine of the game rocks big time. I think the gameplay is actually based on physics …less on just using the gun on your enemies…well…hehe..not really…come to think of it..it’s quite balanced…some gun slinging on the side and some gravity pulling (or pushing) on some. But of course..nothing beats the ever reliable crowbar (it’s always been the weapon icon of the series – characters would always ask where it was if you didn’t have it). Oh and purchasing this game is cool also…you can purchase it in steam either in the whole ..or in episodes! I love the concept of games in episodes. You really can’t get the entire series in one go because they release episodes as they are made.

Here are the top 5 most awesome moments for me

• 5. using the grav. gun
• 4. using the grav. gun and throwing a paint bucket on a zombie
• 3. d0g throwing us via a vehicle to the citadel
• 2. going up the rooftop and seeing the City 17 for the first time while being chased by soldiers
• 1. d0g beating up the Combine Soldiers and throwing an armored vehicle at them
• * i assure you this list is shorter than it should be

Anyway Half-Life is an awesome experience. This is something I’d rather go over again and again than…say..watching an entire season of..Alias :O

~Chimeritron

P.s. ..Half Life is like the amount of time for half of atoms to decay usually in a radioactive scenario….come to think of it..it’s really an appropriate title for a game that is in a pre-post apocalyptic scenario…but not that depressing..hehe.

Experiencing Calculus By Drinking Ice Cold Coke

Hi geekers,

i’m still in the “it’s so hot” mode.

lately, i’ve been very successful halving my rice intake to decrease inches in the midsection. but unfortunately, any gains in this area were offset by indiscriminate intake of the most popular antidote to the heat–SOFTDRINKS! can i just declare that i love ice cold coke on a hot day. nothing beats the satisfaction of drinking coke the correct way. you know you are drinking coke correctly if you have this rough sensation in your throat. that’s like the eureka moment in coke-drinking. this is the sensation that will earn you the right to say “AHHHHH” at the end. i’m serious.

but then there’s this bittersweet thing that happens. when you drink coke repeatedly, the satisfaction still increases but the marginal increments decrease. do you notice that? if you are too spent because of the heat and can hardly function….not to worry. try wiling the time away by graphing this observation about your satisfaction. a simple quadrant will do. you will end up with an upward sloping curve beginning at zero, that peaks at a certain point, after which, it starts sloping down while satisfaction is still a positive value. while you are doing this, though your coke-drinking experience becomes less euphoric, atleast the realization that you actually experienced calculus in the midst of the scorching heat (while bored due to the heat-induced catatonia) is enough to make your day.

Foolish over ice cold coke,

~The Fool