Who put this damn explosive barrel in my way? I’m gonna shoot it! Every movement felt fluent, every character felt like they had emotion behind their face (avoided the Uncanny Valley), and gave gamers a once-in-a-lifetime experience, that, in terms of sheer quality, hasn’t really been matched to this day. Well, a day after finishing it, I can’t stop thinking about Alyx.Half-Life 2 was one of those games that broke common PC barriers, and created something that was unlike anything that came before it. Could it make another video game that would linger in the mind long after the player had put it down? For years, fans have been asking if the company still had the magic touch. I think Valve needed to prove it to itself, too. But in my eyes, it’s proof that the company can still make an amazing video game. Indeed, it’s possible that Steam gave Valve the financial cushion it needed to take such a risk - it’s the kind of weird game you can make when you don’t have to worry as much about failing.Īlyx is certainly still a risk for Valve. That led to an understandable belief that Valve’s focus on its Steam digital games market - an estimated $4 billion business - has distracted it from making truly great games. Its last effort, a digital trading card game called Artifact, failed. Still, Alyx could restore many a fan’s faith in Valve’s gamemaking abilities. Alyx was made for Valve’s own Index headset, which ranges from $499 to $999, depending on accessories. The cheapest headsets that will run the game are the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S, which start at $399. Alyx is built for virtual reality, meaning only those with a nice computer and a VR headset can play. The only bummer is that many Half-Life fans may be left out. And I’m already planning on coming back soon. I beat it in 12 hours, but I’m a VR enthusiast with real-life firearms training. While so many VR experiences are little more than tech demos, Alyx is a full experience. The last third of the game in particular is so compelling that I had trouble putting it down during the final hours. You have to physically duck down to take cover and peek your head around the corner.” “Everything from reloading the gun to positioning yourself to get line of sight. “Because of the physical nature of, everything just takes time,” Peters says. The medium likely made that necessary: twitchy first-person shooters typically don’t work well in VR, but a game like this is right at home. It smartly leans on Half-Life’s horror elements, shifting from run-and-gun action to more careful play in the style of a Resident Evil or Alien: Isolation. While Half-Life 2 was about moving quickly, shooting enemies and solving some physics puzzles, Alyx is a slower, more methodological, scarier game. And it’s evidence there are still plenty of stories to tell in the Half-Life universe. “The Half-Life universe seems to work really well in the VR space,” says Peters. VR gave Peters and the rest of the Alyx team a chance to try something new with the beloved franchise, and the result is a deeply enjoyable, gripping, strange experience. “It’s a different game than people are expecting, but it’s a Half-Life game that’s continuing the story in a new way.” “It’s not Half-Life 3,” admits Valve level designer Corey Peters. ![]() Alyx may scratch that itch, but it’s a different beast. ![]() Anticipation long ago turned to bitterness, then resignation and, finally, a joke. Fans of the series have long waited, and are still waiting, for Half-Life 3. Alyx is Valve’s first Half-Life game since 2007, when Half-Life 2: Episode Two famously ended on a cliffhanger. But it’s been dormant for more than a decade. The Half-Life franchise, which launched in 1998, put Valve on the map. Set after the events of Half-Life, but before Half-Life 2, Alyx follows protagonist Alyx Vance as she attempts to rescue her father and uncover the secret of the villainous Combine’s newest weapon. It’s a virtual reality horror experience with tight combat and a frightening world that begs to be explored. These are three moments from Half-Life: Alyx, the latest effort from developer and publisher Valve, now available for PC. Trembling, I put the bottle back on the shelf, grab the ammunition, and start breathing again. ![]() I’m not alone here, and I can’t, under any circumstances, let the other occupant know where I am, lest I meet an untimely end. I gasp, hold my breath, and grab the bottle just before it shatters on the ground. I lift the box to grab the ammo, and a bottle of wine I didn’t notice rolls off the shelf. Then, while making my way through a dark distillery, I spot some ammunition in an upside-down crate.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |