Looks like I should have known better than to challenge Tim. Oh, well.
Anyway, Tim, I think you are still diving a little too much into fairly trivial details about HL2. But a couple quick points...
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Originally Posted by Evil Tim
Antlions, gah. By the time I'd done the crossing the sand section I was sick of the sight of the damn things, one of the things that really prickled me about Episode 2 was the idea I'd ever want to see the little bastards again.
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You didn't enjoy manipulating them into walking into robot sentries, then?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evil Tim
Maybe I'm a minority of one, but HL2 never grabbed me like the first one did and always managed to make me feel like it was preening itself and demanding I notice how bloody amazing it was rather than trying to entertain me;
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Yeah, you are.
Also, maybe you should review games for a living (if you don't already).
Anyway, because I am too busy and too lazy to respond point-by-point to your Ayn Rand novel-length post, I'm going to leave with you with this: You seem to dwell a lot on the various places in which Valve seems to have designed levels or particular sequences specifically to show off the capabilities of the Source engine, as opposed to furthering the story. My response is, so what? Sometimes, that kind of stuff can be entertaining in its own way. Especially back in 2004, when game technology was still improving by leaps and bounds and tech demos used to wow gamers.
Speaking of which, your essay sounds a lot like what you don't like about HL2: Just as you think Valve was trying too hard to show off rather than tell a story, I felt like your rebuttal was intended to demonstrate your ability to pick out details and write extensively about them. I'm not being overly critical; I understand the temptation to be argumentative, and I respect your ability to craft arguments this way. But there is a point where you can over-analyze things too much, and I think that's what you're doing now. And while I have never been one to argue for the innate wisdom of the masses, I think you have to acknowledge that if HL2 reasonated with most gamers in the way that it did, then Valve must have done something right.