I used to be a big First Person Shooter game lover, once upon a time (before I started gaming with Margie, in fact), starting with Doom, then Quake, and culminating somewhere in Valve’s Half-Life series.
So when I was at loose ends re games, and Les shared this article on Google Plus, it looked like a great thing to try.
Some fans of the original Half-Life (1997, fergoshsakes) have created an remake of Half-Life called Black Mesa Source. Essentially they took the original plot and graphics, and recreated it all on a much more advanced (contemporary) graphics engine. What’s funny is that they matched what I remembered of the game, pretty much — until I looked at this:
Whoa. That’s some remarkable updated graphics. Funny the tricks the mind plays on you.
The game can be downloaded from here. It operates under Steam, though it doesn’t get updates through it or anything.
It’s pretty remarkable, and I’m having lots of good fun with the fear and (now that I’m up against soldiers) paranoia. Plus, I’ve quickly become used to “Oh, crap, they’re making sure I’m fully up on ammo and health … it’s all about to hit the fan, isn’t it?” moments. Plus, I’m remembering how much I hated the non-combat puzzles, but that’s (half-)life.
Still love that FPS game style. It’s not an MMO, by definition, but it’s a good way to kill time solo.
Kudos to Valve for not pitching a fit over this and letting folks enjoy it.
Well, if you are considering non-MMOs, XCOM: Enemy Unknown just came out. I was a fan of X-COM: UFO Defense 18 years ago, and this new version seems just as compelling. As a geezers with poor reflexes, I appreciate a good turn-based tactical squad game as opposed to a clickfest such as Diablo III. I’ve just hit my first terror mission (the aliens have a new tactic: they’re slaughtering the citizens of a major metropolitan city), and it’s traumatizing me. I’m glad I chose not to play with permadeath, because Lt. Korkendorffer, my medic, can’t keep everybody alive when the new stabby spider aliens show up.
You can download the demo on Steam if you want to try before you buy. Oh, and you can read Evan Lahti’s PC Gamer review here:
http://www.pcgamer.com/review/xcom-enemy-unknown-review-2/
Oh, they have a little strategy guide, too:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/10/08/xcom-enemy-unknown-guide/
Hmm. My response isn’t listed in the sidebar.
Sorry — your comment had enough links (2) to trigger moderation.