Half Life 2: Episode 1

GAME SNIP
Genre: First Person Shooter
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve

Pro's: Graphics just as gorgeous as always, sound is good, same addictive gameplay, great sidekick AI

Con's: EXACT same gameplay, feels like playing a few selected missions from HL2 over again, repetitive levels, short

The first expansion to Half Life 2, the game delivers much of what you would expect from Valve and the Source Engine. The graphics, including the now famous voice acting and facial expressions of characters from the original Half Life 2 are still there, and the fast paced gameplay returns as well. My main gripe with this is that the short, linear levels present in the expansion pack are strongly reminiscent of a few of the last missions from Half Life 2. The first level, however, is fantastic and a blast to play.

Not only are you reintroduced to the characters in this first level, such as Alyx and Dog (I would have put a spoiler warning were it not for the bucket loads of screenshots featuring both of said characters preceding release), and that it has a look unique compared to the rest of the levels in the game, and it requires a moderate degree of problem solving using the gravity gun, which is always fun.

Now, we come to the most annoying thing about this game. As any shooter veteran will be able to tell you, it has sort have become a cliché for all shooters to have a "spider level;" that is, a level full of tons of weak, fast, insect-like creatures. There are way too many of these for such a short expansion. Without giving too much away, there are far too many times when certain types of enemies spawn infinitely, adding a cheap degree of difficulty that is especially surprising from a developer who has largely avoided that in the past.

There isn't really much to say on the graphics, sound, physics, etc... other than they're stellar, but given HL2's credentials in those areas, no one playing the game will be really surprised by any new graphical flares.

One nice touch is the inclusion of the developer commentary, when turned on, activated through little chat bubbles in game, and there's a pretty good amount of it as well. Hopefully the next two expansions in this trio will include this as well.

Overall: 80% - Though this is surely going to get rave reviews from most reviewing sites/magazines, the shortness of the gameplay and the lack of level ingenuity, especially the almost lazy seeming infinite spawning enemies for cheap difficulty are flaws which cannot be overlooked. A bit disappointing, think of it as the Blue Shift of Half Life 2 without the major graphical upgrade. Still, very fun over all, and well worth the $20 price tag.

The Vanguard Beta

As seen recently in Hearltessgamer's blog concerning the Vanguard beta, found here, it seems that the hardcore gamers are once again stroking their ego and their epeens with wannabe game developer syndrome. Developed by Brad McQuaid, of Everquest fame, the game was originally said to be aimed at "core" gamers, but with the outburst of the hardcore gamers on the Vanguard beta forums for even insignificant changes such as adding maps to the game because they make it even remotely easier, the Sigil developers really need to put their feet down as dev's and take back control of this game.

Since WoW's debut, it has garnered over 5.5 million subscribers worldwide, and in doing so it has completely redefined what can be considered 'successful' for a MMO. I freely admit to being a Blizzard fan and a World of Warcraft subscriber, and after playing games Such as Everquest, Ultima Online, D&D Online, Guild Wars, and even Runsescape, I can pretty much tell you why it's been so successful: it's fun. Despite detractors, usually hardcore gamers, who call the game too easy or a "carebear" MMO, it is just enjoyable to play, whether you're a casual gamer or someone who plays 24/7.

The hardcore gamers currently in control of the beta forums with a stranglehold in flaming anyone’s' posts who disagree with them, even developers' posts, hate anything that even remotely guides you in the game. They want to be the first, and if they can, be the only people to have the proverbial "phat loot" and get to the hardest to reach areas, and they want that process to be as hard and aggravating as possible.

Sadly for them, and luckily for most of us, the hardcore gamers are a tiny minority of gamers in general, but unfortunately, they also tend to be the biggest whiners, and as such, the most vocal people when it comes to game forums, which, though many people outside of frequent gamers may be surprised to here, the developers of games actually generally read. Why they have so much sway with this particular game, I'm not sure, but let’s hope that Sigil gets things back under control, otherwise Vanguard is heading for a 4-5k subscriber base and a huge flop.

Heroes of Might And Magic V

GAME SNIP
Genre: Turn Based Strategy
Developer: Nival Interactive
Publisher: Ubisoft

Pro's: Immersive Gameplay, lots of units to choose from, varied races, beautiful world

Con's: Races aren't really varied enough to impact strategy, sound is mediocre, campaign lacks depth, camera problems (especially underground)

HOMM V is the latest in the long and famous Heroes of Might and Magic turn based strategy games. While mixing some RPG elements in, it's only in a limited fashion, and the game makes no real effort to cross over into the RPG domain. This is probably a good idea in the long run. While the game makes no real effort in innovation, it also does not make the mistake of biting off more than it can chew by trying to overcomplicate things.
Gameplay wise, it’s a pretty standard turn based strategy game in a fantasy setting; it plays it safe. The armies are still stacks of units, just as they were in the previous HOMM games, and the races are pretty standard as well. The units look nice and varied from race to race, but in reality, each race has basically similar units that mach up against each other.
The new 3d graphics are a nice step for the series, and the game looks great, though they really don’t find a way to make good use of it other than highlighting attacks from units some of the time. The camera, however, is not as well done. It's very limited to start with, and when underground it's actually quite often difficult to click on where you want you're hero to move, as the graphical additions include overhanging rock walls in the underground caves, which actually block you from selecting units that are under the overhang without rotating the camera first.

The sound and voice acting in the game are pretty lackluster. A few years ago they probably would have been more acceptable, but given that many developers these days put more emphasis on believable voice acting, it’s more obvious. Also, unit effects and spells that seem like they should have more presence, sound wise, simply do not.

Overall: 68% - A fun game, really fun and it has good graphics to boot, but slow paced, with lackluster sound, and doesn't even try to innovate. If you're a fan of the genre, worth a look, and if you're a fan of the series, then you probably already own the game.