I got a copy of Half Life 2 from Marc Laidlaw, my old SF pal who now works for Valve.
Un-freaking-believable. Everything's dirty and scuzzy, farewell to the goody-goody VR of the 1990s, all bright plastic-shiny polygons.
They've got water working pretty well, too. Physics — you can pick up barrels and crates and throw them.
The scientist's voice is recognizable by San Franciscans as that of Dr. Hal Robbin, unctuous and knowledgeable.
So Rudy the younger was here today and we pissed away quite a bit of time, and then we drove down to Borders, driving like maniacs, still in the game world, and when there was an announcement over the store loudspeaker system on the patio we pulled out our virtual machine guns and opened fire on the tower, from whence surely the Combine forces were about to lay down a withering barrage. Kill or be killed.
It's really ill how the game takes over your mind.
When you're addicted to something there's two kinds of time: (a) when you're using, and (b) when you're waiting to use.
I waited to play Half Life 2 for a few hours, and now I just sat down to look at it, just for a second, and I've been playing it for three more hours. I'm in this air boat going down the filthy canals of City 17.
But now, really, I'm gonna stop for awhile.
I found a walk-through by Jim Diddo a.k.a. Devolution online that helps, too. I found it by Googling the words “Half Life Cheat”. I need the help because I get stuck in these icky places, like inside a power plant half full of water, no enemies around, just me alone in there, the hum of machinery, it's a beautiful day outside but you can't go out there, you have to dive under the filthy water and find a valve, a barrel, an outlet.
What fun!