This is an original editorial piece created by one of our new writers, Mimaz. It is the first in a series of editorials that we like to call “The Half-Life Dissertation”. which will aim to extensively cover a wide range of Half-Life related topics and issues.
Valve are looking down the rabbit hole.
Today we’re pleased to announce that we have brought in two new writers: Crash-Override, a veteran writer and Source level designer; and Mimaz, co-host of the Steamcast podcast, former regular on the Steam Forums, and a fine writer. They won’t be doing news – instead, they’ll be doing some lovely original editorial content, which I think you guys are going to love.
That said, Crash and Mimaz’s arrival is unrelated to the call for writers that we did last September. Speaking of which - that call for writers was a huge success after all, and we’ll be bringing the 7 new staff writers we accepted from that soon, probably around summer time.
As a matter of fact, Mimaz’s first article will be released tomorrow, and it will be the first in a series of in-depth pieces that we’ve dubbed “The Half-Life Dissertation“. I think you guys will enjoy it!
As you may or may not know, I wasn’t exactly pleased with Portal 2′s first DLC outing – “Peer Review“. While the Challenge Mode added much-needed replay value to the game, it really should have been in the game from launch. The only other bit of content in there, the new ”Art Therapy” co-op course, was rather disappointing, with poor writing and plot, as well as some meager and poorly balanced gameplay offerings.
I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that all free DLC is automatically good – you have to draw the line somewhere. And solid feedback will help make future releases better. For instance, the poor reactions to L4D1′s underwhelming ”Crash Course” almost certainly helped Valve build better L4D DLC in the form of L4D2′s “The Passing” (although later on they did let us down again with “The Sacrifice“). So we needn’t be afraid to voice our opinions.
But enough about all that. Here we are, with Portal 2′s second, and perhaps final DLC release almost upon us. The Perpetual Testing Initiative promises to turn Portal 2 into a never-ending house of pure science, providing it with enough replayability and content to feed 5 full-priced Call of Duty games. But does it fulfill that promise?
Alright folks, all aboard the hype train it’s about to leave the station! I’m going to attempt to get the true meaning out there, so to speak. After hearing about the now infamous Steamcast Tweet, I wanted to get a serious insight into what’s really going on, after looking at my Steam Friends’ list who would be better to ask than Brad from Steamcast otherwise known as Mimaz98. To make a long story short, it seems like the information is very possibly true. After a discussion about possible strange Half-Life references showing up on the official TF2 blog, I did a little bit of investigation myself. Brad had noticed that the image used on the official post It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Australian Christmas was originally of an Aurora Borealis effect on a starry sky. The image has since been, inexplicably, changed to The Engineer standing in front of a warm Christmas fire.
Here’s the part this no longer becomes wild speculation…
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So, it’s been almost 5 months since Portal 2 was released. I know what you’re thinking – “what’s the point of making a review now?”. Well, first of all, it isn’t really a review. It’s more of a critique, or an analysis. And second, while I could have made a review a week or so after release, then, I would not have been able to go in depth with this review, and I would have to settle for avoiding the plot points and gameplay details, so as not to spoil the game, within what would be a shallow article. So, I decided to wait and use the time I had to perfect this thing. Besides, I think the main purpose of a review is to provide feedback to the developer. A month or two ago, P2 even had its first price cut - it’s now $30, so I think most of you guys have already bought and played it. However, just in case you haven’t – don’t read on. Spoilers everywhere. Also keep in mind that this critique is very, very long - almost 4000 words long.
I’ve tried to be a bit critical with the game. Make no mistake, I love the game, and I love Valve. But no game is perfect, and every game has its faults. Mostly, I’ve focused on the singleplayer component, because I consider that to be the actual “Portal 2″. That, and I don’t actually have that much against the co-op mode. In some ways, it’s better than the singleplayer mode.
I know it might seem like I hate the game, but I don’t. I love it, but in my opinion, it just doesn’t live up to Portal 1 as a sequel, and it doesn’t live up to Half-Life as a spin-off of the franchise. And that’s what this review is all about. I’m not trying to convince the gaming world that Portal 2 is some sort of disaster. Not at all. I am trying to illustrate why I believe Portal 2 is not as good as the original, and that Valve was wrong to hype Portal 2 up the way they did, by calling it their “best game ever”. So, read on if you’re interested…
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Pretty impressive news week! We had Valve and TF’s 15th anniversaries, and the release of the long-awaited Part Two of the Escape from City 17 series. We could have also had CS:GO’s gameplay reveal – but due to some nasty WordPress issues that kept me from writing or posting, I’ve decided to release this Roundup first, then that particular article. Sorry, guys!
Many of us were heartbroken upon hearing the news of Kelly Bailey’s departure from Valve, but many of us were also confident that his spiritual successor Mike Morasky would indeed be a spiritual successor, as his previous work in Team Fortress 2, Portal and Left 4 Dead speaks for itself. GamesRadar recently interviewed Morasky about the music in Portal 2, and while Morasky had lots to say on the subject, he also threw in some new and old samples of songs to listen to. This article is definitely a feast for eyes and ears alike, and be sure to hit the jump for a brief lowdown.
IndustryGamers.com recently published an interview with Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, one of the major competitors to Steam (especially since GameStop’s acquisition of their digital distribution platform Impulse, Stardock’s digital distribution platform, earlier this year). He discusses how he came to his decision regarding GameStop’s acquisition, but also give an explanation to the reason behind the (apparent) ongoing Half-Life delay. Hit the jump to find out more, or read the interview for yourself.
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