we don't go to ravenholm

to warn you all, there's a very good chance i'll be doing nothing but raving about the glories of half-life 2 on here for at least the next few days. now that you've been notified...

i failed to mention oin my previous post another aspect of the game that i believe is as revolutionary as it's character presentation, and that is the physics of the game. the game features the greatest physics engine i've ever witnessed in a game, by far. first of all, there are countless interactive items in the game: bottles, cinder blocks, boxes, tires, barrels, furniture, playground equipment, etc. gordon can pick up, move around, and throw all kinds of objects, as aptly represented by penny-arcade. what's even more unique is that every object has it's own specific weight and mass, in accordance to it's real-life properties. the realism this provides to the game's atmosphere is amazing. what's even more incredible is the next step that is taken in this interactivity with the game world when gordon gets his hands on the gravity gun. what the gravity gun does is it allows gordon to push, grab, and throw all kinds of objects, especially ones too heavy for him to lift on his own. more importantly, it allows gordon to utilize the objects around him, turning them into weapons.

the significance of this is the new level of depth and ingenuity it allows when playing the game. running short on ammo? don't worry, just use the gravity gun to begin hurling barrels at your enemies. or how about throwing buzz saws, propane tanks, or propeller blades? this game allows you to turn a chest of drawers from a piece of furniture into a weapon to be launched at your adversaries. it also allows you to pick up objects and shield yourself from enemy fire.

but the depth the physics adds to the gameplay isn't limited to when you have the gravity gun. let's say you're being shot at by enemies standing atop a wooden platform. instead of trying to take them all out, find a way to shoot out or blow up the supports for the platform and watch them tumble. there are all kinds of ways to deal with each and every situation. pure genius.

i could rant on more, like how the sound is superb, and greatly enhances to the atmosphere of the game. like how i'm seriosuly freaked out by the ravenholm level, a dark town filled with all kinds of zombie/alien horrors. the whole atmosphere is great, it just sucks you in. nothing like seeing these haunting corpses hanging everywhere, when eerie howls suddenly pierce the night and the creature appears on a rooftop across the town, silhouetted in the moonlight. might not seem like anything major when you're reading about it, but the effect in the game is extremely unnerving. you really feel like you're gordon, groaning "oh great.." at what you have to deal with next. valve, you guys are the greatest.

yes, i'm obsessed. for good reason. it's amazing. and no, i won't stop raving about it for a long time. sometime i need to give the new counter-strike a try, but there's no way i'll play anything else till this is finished.