http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1252600861/ http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1252600861/#num1 HL takes place in the future. Hell has run over onto the Earth and has driven the survivors underground (at least in England, I don't know if they even mention what happens anywhere else). People are living in old subway stations and sewers. Human factions begin to form, ex-military are considered Hunters (Hunters are broken into 2 classes). The Templars have come back into public knowledge as modern day Knights (again broken into two classes). Since Hell is on the Earth some humans have found that they can manipulate magic (yes, broken into 2 classes).
The way the idea of the game was explained to Me was that it was supposed to be a futuristic Diablo in 3d. In fact, Flagship studios was an offshoot of the original people who created the Diablo series and had worked on Warcraft and Starcraft.
The game itself is a fairly straight forward RPG where you follow missions and what not. I bought the game when it was released and played for a short while. The game was flat out buggy. But it was visually very good and kinda fun... but I guess I lost interest. At that time the company was floundering because they rushed the game to market too early figuring they'd patch it later, they also had a weird business model. Flagship figured they could make money by charging an online subscription, but they also wanted people to be able to play online for free.... so they just couldn't make it work both ways and the money they had raised to the develop the game was spent much faster than they could make more money. So Flagship folded, patches are no longer available (ok, they are but you have to look for them) online play may still be available because there is a rabid fanbase and I believe there may still be game servers in S Korea.

Since I'd stopped playing the game I had re-built my desktop, and now it's a fairly powerful 64bit gaming machine.... I noticed that HL had a 64bit version included in the original packaging. I figured what the heck, I'll give it a shot.
WOW! What a difference. The game play has improved because my machine can handle it easily, it's a beautiful game. There is some good humor built into the game (not everyone may get the McKenzie brother and/or Morrissey jokes, but it's in there (and more)). So I'm a little sad because this game could have been great... could have been a franchise as far as I'm concerned... maybe even a MMORPG
The game still has it's issues, somethings just don't make sense. Some of the missions are clunky to finish, some of the sets while beautiful are repetitive, as is some of the action...
But, given more time and money this could have been a great game...
Too bad]]> Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:41:01 Jack_Cheze http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1251775987/ http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1251775987/#num1
But if you are a fan *at all* of the Batman mythos then this game is going to make you very, very happy.  It is a tremendous blend of strategy, stealth, exploration, and stylish combat.  Batman: Arkham Asylum is saturated with the nuance and character of the Batman universe.  You spend the game inhabiting his mind, his method, and his body - all polished and near-perfect in execution.  The Bat's brilliance and badassery are all at your fingertips, and the challenge of the game is somewhat secondary to the pure fun of figuring out which of the myriad ways available do you want to use to handle the tasks at hand.

The graphics and design of the game (especially Arkham itself) are wonderful, and the inclusion of most of the cast of Batman: The Animated Series (including Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker) complete the atmosphere.  Also from Batman: TAS is Paul Dini, writer for the show and the man responsible for the game's plot.

Highly, highly recommended.  ]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:33:07 Clockwork Buddha http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1250541853/ http://www.politicalslugfest.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl/Blah.pl?m-1250541853/#num1  
Quick bio quiz:
1)  What system(s)?
2)  Favorite Genre(s)?
3)  Any MMOs?
4)  Last game played?
5)  Most anticipated upcoming game?
 
 ]]> Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:44:13 Clockwork Buddha