The clocks have changed, we’re all feeling a little confused and tired, but don’t worry it’s also a short week ahead of Easter! Time for the weekends round up.
I spent a fair chunk of the weekend getting ready to go on holiday, because… well, I go on holiday to Malaysia this week. YAY HOLIDAY! But me being me, I will always find a little bit of time to play a few games.
I’d bought episode 3 of Telltale’s Game of Thrones earlier in the week, so Friday evening I decided to make a start on that. The Sword in the Darkness gets tense. The Whitehill’s tighten their grip on Ironwrath and the Forrester family, Asher comes face to face with a dragon during his fight to get back to Westeros. Whilst at the wall Gared finally takes his vows and then takes on a quest to find the fabled North Grove beyond the wall. In Kings Landing Mira faces being sent back to home by Margery after going behind her back in talking with Tyrion.
I haven’t quite finished the episode, but I don’t think I’m too far off of then end. I’m still really enjoying the whole series, and I feel it captures what makes the series and books so good – characters that you hate with a passion. A fair few times I found myself saying aloud “Just kill him.” When talking with the Whitehill’s, man I hate them and their stupid smug faces. If I don’t get to exact some form of revenge by the end of all of this, I’m going to be very disappointed indeed.
Some of you may have heard that earlier in the week Half Life 2 got a makeover courtesy of modder Filip Victor and some other Half Life community fans. The update has provided a whole host of visual upgrades including detailed shadows, better interior lighting, environmental fog, particle effects, better water reflections, and more world detail. Naturally I had to try it out.
I’ve been thinking about playing it again recently anyway, so this was just the perfect excuse to get on it again.
For me Half Life 2 is without doubt one of the best games, and probably the best FPS I’ve played. It has everything you could want from it. Even without the update I still think it holds up very well against today’s games. The AI and game mechanics seemed to be way ahead of their time. I remember reading an article before it came out in 2004 about the Striders, and how they’d originally been designed to be used in open areas, or shallow seas. Then one day the developers thought, “I wonder what would happen if we dropped it in the middle of a city?” and the AI being so well developed, the Strider managed to wander around the city without problems, ducking under overhands, manoeuvring around cars, and rubbles. It was really impressive, and the game still gives me that feeling when I play it now, which is nearly 11 years later! No way this game feels 11 years old.
I managed to play around five hours, and have got through Ravenholm, which wasn’t as scary as I remembered. I’m now on to the coast section. I love this game so much, it just has everything you’d want from a game. Great FPS action, big expansive vehicle sections that aren’t on rails, puzzle sections, and even a little horror thrown in for good measure. Did I mention that I love this game?
Roll on holiday! Did I mention that too?
– Will
This weekend was less about Geeking and more about celebrating. GSRR’s #1 fan got married this weekend. Friday night was spent having a few casual celebratory drinks. Nothing too heavy given the day that had to follow.
The weather wasn’t great, but it didn’t put a downer on the day itself. A nervous groom and best man waiting for the bride to arrive. The ceremony went off without any hitches, although the groom did have to ask the pastor to repeat part of the vows again. The ceremony was followed by a nice slide show of the couple with family and friends.
From here it was over to the venue for the food and party! Loads of alcohol, hugs, kisses and dancing for the rest of the day. A great party.
The next day, the recovery was aided by use of the hotel’s spa. A nice stint in the sauna and steam room followed by a dip in the pool helped clear the hangover. Once back from the Spa I tuned in to watch the Formula one, and waited for Wrestlemania 31 to start.
I had a spell of bad luck with my internet provider who decided 2am would be a good time to just stop working, meaning I missed the final 2 hours of Mania and the 3 ‘Main Events’ if you will. So i’m keeping spoiler free to try and watch them tonight. So no Mania results post will be out today.
So a fun filled weekend has gone. 4 Day week this week! woo!
– Murr
