This afternoon I completed Half-Life 2. That is an awesome game! It started out impressive, displaying strengths in graphics, sound, gameplay, and storyline. From there, the game never failed to stop building upon those strengths. I found myself enjoying it more and more as the game went on. It never became stale, and the gameplay never bored me. I must say - it's one of the most impressive single-player games I've played in awhile.

When I first got the new rig, I was astounded by the quality of Doom 3. But even now, months later, I haven't finished it. Not because it's especially difficult, but because I began to lose interest. As a tech demo - Doom 3 is absolutely amazing. But as an overall gaming experience - it just doesn't measure up to Half-Life 2. At this point, I just wish I had played the original Half-Life so that I may have had a better understanding of the world at the start. Happily, that lack of experience didn't prove to be a large hindrance. Doubtless there's plenty of resources online where I could read about the Black Mesa incident to fill in the gaps.

Anyhow, I highly recommend the game to anyone who enjoys the FPS genre. And if my remarks haven't been enough to convince the (few) people left out there who haven't played it - I'll post a few screenshots to seal the deal. Enjoy!