No More Room in Hell Review

No More Room in Hell Advertising Art

     Hello everyone and happy November.  I hope life is going good for you because at any moment the zombie apocalypse could occur causing everyone you know and care about could be eaten alive by undead monsters.  Just kidding, but today we will talk about a game following that premise, that game is No More Room in Hell, a Source Modification turned into a official game with awesome models, weapons, and audio.  No More Room in Hell was released in beta form on Halloween 2011 by the NMRiH Development Team.  That game utilizes survival horror.  Guns and ammunition are limited, but available, melee weapons are very useful. Varying from two handed weapons; which are more powerful but slower, then there are one-handed weapons that are faster and the player can hold a flashlight, which are very useful considering most of the games maps are dark to the point that visibility is not possible.  No More Room in Hell has a vast amount of guns, varying from civilian weapons, to law-enforcement and finally military grade weapons, which are hardest to come by, but be conservative with your ammo because you got to split the guns between up to 8 team members, so don't be greedy, it's one of the 7 deadly sins of gaming.  A lot about this game is that you got to be a team player, I've played by myself and with other players.  I enjoy playing with other players because if you work together properly you'll survive, however if someone hogs all the guns, blows through ammo like its never going to run out, and doesn't work like a team player, its gonna suck.  Also when on a team its nice to have someone watching your back, because if your hit three times by a zombie, your gonna die and turn into one.  There are two ways to prevent this, you can take pills to prolong your death, meaning it doesn't cure you, and then theirs bandages and first aid kits.  These are used to heal you after you've fallen, taken friendly fire, or if your really lucky you were attacked by a zombie and didn't get infected, these healies can fix you up.

A nice freezeframe of a zombie getting its brains splattered all
over the walls. Ah, the apocalypse.

When jumping online or staying in your own lobby there are two game modes currently available, Objective and survival.  I prefer objective where you follow a series of tasks while finding supplies that eventually leads to becoming rescued.  In survival you must survive a number of waves in which zombies will attack you and your team.  To prevent this, the player can nail each board to doors and windows to prevent the zombies from breaking in, however they can break down these barriers, but it will buy you time.  Don't worry though, you wont have to wade through waves of zombies un-supplied, with each wave that passes, more weapons and ammo spawn in.  Other than all that there is not much else to say about the game, although it was named Mod of the Year in 2011 by PC Gamer Magazine.  For those of you who love zombie and have a little time on their hands, this game is for you, and don't worry you penny-less bums, this game is free and has low requirements, meeting the standards of most computers. Well, I hope you have all enjoyed this post and I'll be back next week with the best parkour game of the decade: Mirror's Edge.  Until then, happy weekend, also, I'm not telling you what to do with your hard earned money, BUT BUY GRAND THEFT AUTO 5, its one of the best games that I've seen in a long time.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

The Stanley Parable Review

The Stanley Parable Logo Art 

     Hello everyone and happy Halloween.  Now some people would guess that I would do Halloween themed game, but due to my lack of preparation I will not be doing a game fitting that criteria.  Instead I will be reviewing a game that takes place inside a office building- OR DOES IT!!
     This, my friends, is the Stanley Parable, which will be the longest game you will ever play because it doesn't end, you can keep playing it over and over and over again, all with different outcomes.  So its pretty awesome, least to say.  I will now attempt to explain the concept of the Stanley Parable to the best of my extent....BUT FIRST, a word from the developers and composers.  The Stanley Parable was made off the Source Engine like so many other awesome games such as Garry's Mod, Team Fortress 2 and Half Life 2.  The game is a first-person interactive fiction modification, meaning mod, that was developed by Davey Wreden and composed by Blake Robinson the game was released on July 27, 2013 and was remade into a separate actual game on October 17, 2013.  The game doesn't allow any combat sequences, but instead controls the protagonist, through a surreal environment, while being narrated by British actor Keven Brighting.

The "Mind Control Facility" in both the original mod (top)
and remake (bottom).
The mod's environment was primarily created by Wreden
 using default models in the Source engine, but Pugh
helped to significantly improve the game's assets for the remake.

The game takes place in a office building where the player assumes the role of Stanley, an office employee whose job it is to follow commands that appear on his monitor without question.  Then one day his monitor is blank, after waiting quite a while no new orders come in and finally he exits his office to find everyone has disappeared.  From this point the player takes control of Stanley and investigates the mysterious disappearances of all of Stanley's co-workers.  On of the unique concepts of the Stanley Parable is that the player can choose to follow the narrators choices or make their own path.  For example near the start of the game, the player encounters two open doors and the narrator says Stanley goes through the door on the left, now Stanley can either choose to go through the door or take the one on the right, when you do this the narrator will adjust his narration to accommodate to the different choice Stanley has made while sounding slightly annoying that Stanley didn't follow the story.  This is one of the many choices the player can make while going through the game, allowing them to play through the story while varying the game experience depending on the choices the player has made.  This allows for as many playthroughs as the player desires.  Overall, I would give this game a 8.1 for a enjoyable unique experience.  Only fifth-teen dollars for the game on Steam, totally worth it.  I hope you have all enjoyed this review and happy Halloween 2013.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

The Stanley Parable Launch Trailer

Watch it in full screen and select 720 HD in the 

quality section

The Wolf Among Us Episode 1: Faith Review

Trailer Art advertising The Wolf Among Us

     Hello everyone, I hope you have had good last couple of weeks, sorry about no posts last week, I should have posted a notice but I forgot about it among the crowds of life. But anyway I'm back this week with another review complementing one of the best games I've seen in a long time.  A new game made by the creators of the Walking Dead Game comes a new game called The Wolf Among Us.  The Wolf Among Us is a episodic graphic adventure (added a link for those of you who might be lost to what kind of platform that is) developed and produced by TellTale Games.  Based off the comic book series "Fables" by Bill Willingham, The Wolf Among Us Episode 1 received positive reviews upon its recent release on October 11 of this year.  For those of you viewing this from the future, the year is 2013.  Anyway The Wolf Among Us takes place in a place called Fabletown located in Manhattan where Fables live who have been exiled from their homelands including fables such as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Icabod Crane, the Woodsman and countless other storybook characters who have been living among mundanes for hundreds of years.  This game really synthesized on the saying "deathless as a fable".  Displaying their near invincible qualities throughout the game such taking an axe in the head, getting shot in the heart, and getting thrown out of three story windows, that sort of thing.  Other than Fabletown, alot of creatures who cant pass for humans such giants, animals and so forth are sent to The Farm located in upstate New York away from mundanes unless they can afford a glamour, a magical spell that can be purchased from which to make the user appear human.  These glamours must be used by any non-human like fables under threat of being sent to

Bigby fighting the Woodsman after getting word of that he was causing
trouble and would not calm down

The Farm, which despite its large space and open areas, it is looked upon as a prison by its inhabitants and the rest of Fabletown. The main protagonist of the game is Bigby Wolf formally known as the Big Bad Wolf who has reformed himself, trying to put his past behind him, and been charged as sheriff of Fabletown to protect these fables from each other.  Hailing from the provinces of the Dark Forest, Bigby was recruited by Snow White to serve as Fabletown's sheriff and using a enchanted dagger in a ritual it granted Bigby the ability to shift from human to wolf form or something in the middle as seen on the cover displayed above.
     The game opens with Bigby riding in a taxi cab in the middle of the night to an apartment complex where he going to take care of a fable who is trashing the place.  Bigby arrives at the complex to find Mr. Toad (a three foot tall toad who owns the complex) standing at the bottom of the stairway.  Bigby tells him the rules in Fabletown is that he needs to be glamoured at all times when stepping out of house.  This is the first contact the player will have with interaction system, where Bigby either can be patient with Mr. Toad or be aggressive and threaten him.  After a conversation with Mr. Toad Bigby heads upstairs to find the Woodsman drunk and beating on a girl.  Bigby intervenes by pinning the Woodsman against the wall followed by a brief discussion involving their past that results in a fight in which Bigby has the option to through the Wooodsman into different objects in the apartment.  About halfway through the fight the Woodsman grabs his ax and attempts to kill Bigby in his drunken rage, Bigby dodges the ax, wrestles it from the Woodsman grip, and uses the handle to stun the Woodsman, breaking his jaw.  Bigby goes to talk to the girl the Woodsman was beating on and asking her what happened, after doing so the Woodsman causes frequently at Bigby while cracking his jaw into place.  He rants on about he saved Red Riding Hood, cut the wolf's belly open and filled it with stones, indicating the rough past these two shared.  Bigby asks the girl to excuse him a minute and lunges at the Woodsman.

Bigby lying on Toad's crushed car

The two crash through the wall out of the three story building resulting in Bigby crushing Toad's car and the Woodsman lands on the sidewalk next to the car.  Bigby blacks out for a moment before coming to and taking note of the Woodsman unconscious beside him and Mr. Toad standing next to his car with a horrified look on his face, he comments that even when Bigby shows up, things end up even more f*cked up than they started, he then turns and regards the Woodsman as not being dead as he grabs Bigby and pulls him off the crushed car.  He pins him against a bus stop to try chocking Bigby to death, saying he knows the beast is in there, as Bigby loses air his eyes turn yellow and teeth start to protrude right as the girl from earlier cops the ax into the Woodsman's head, causing him to fall to the ground.  Bigby thanks the girl for her help as she searches the Woodsman, only to come up with a few lose coins.  Cursing she throws them on the ground, Bigby asks whats wrong, she replies by saying that he owed her money, a hundred dollars.  After pulling the ax out of the Woodsman's head, the player can choose to give her some money or to say he wish he could help.  He then turns around to discover the Woodsman and his ax are gone, he sets out to catch him as the girl lays her hand on him and says not to make a big deal out, he asks her if shes sure and she nods, he then proceeds to question her about what happened.  After multiple attempts at getting her name, she continues to say "these lips are sealed", Bigby drops the matter as she makes her leave after saying she'll meet him at his apartment after he asks her to come down to his office to talk about what happened.  As she is leaving she whispers "your not as bad as everyone thinks you are" giving him a light kiss on the cheek and walking away.  Bigby goes back to his

Bigby lighting the mysterious girl's cigarette 

apartment and gets a little sleep before being roused by a knocking at his door.  He rises, walks to the door, straightens his tie, and opens the door to find Snow White with a scared look on her face.  He asks her what is wrong as she paces quickly through the hallway to the elevator and into the small courtyard outside the main entrance.  He finds a sheriffs coat with a lump under it, he lifts the coat to discover a fable's head.  Now for obvious reasons I'm not going to spoil the rest of the episode other than to say it is up to Bigby to find the killer and stop him before he strikes again, which is what Episode 1 is about and presumably the rest of the series in which Bigby is determined to find the killer at all costs.  It is up to you if he will be reasonable, kind, and caring for the fables that fear him because of his past or will you be the monster of the storybooks and be the fearful beast you are depicted as.  That decision is up to you.  Also bear in mind the story of the game is based on how I played through it, the experience can differ for everyone, the game is tailored by how you play and the choices you make.  It is an awesome game that I would recommend to any person, and shows great promise in future episodes.  I give it a 9.8 out of 10.  I hope you enjoyed and I will see you all next week.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

The Wolf Among Us launch trailer

The Walking Dead Review

Walking Dead Cover

     Hello everyone and happy Wednesday, today we are going to review one of my favorite zombie games ever: The Walking Dead.  I am not talking about Walking Dead: Survival Instincts, which if you look, I did a angry review on that game last year.  During that time period I felt like blowing off steam, but in general that game really suck.  So don't buy that game, buy this game, it is a million times better, literally.  Though I could go talking crap about Survival Instincts, but were here talk about a good game. Developed and published by Telltale Games, the Walking Dead is game composed of five episodes that where released between April 24 and December 11 of 2012.  The game is a third-person five part episodic graphic adventure, meaning displayed as one huge cinematic game.  I know it sounds dull, but it is actually really fun, but tread carefully, just about anything and everything you do will affect the story. There is a warning before each episode begins saying the game is tailored by the decisions you make throughout the game, kind in mind I mean everything, from decisions to kill someone to giving a little boy a candy bar.
     So anyway the game revolves around the protagonist of season one, Lee Everett, an ex-convict as seen on the cover.  The game begins with Lee being driven out of Atlanta, Georgia in a police car to prison.  The police officer say he knows you didn't do it (to what crime you committed is vague at the time), and you engage in conversation with the officer.  As you are talking to him you notice police helicopters and SWAT cars passing you going in and cluttered radio chatter on the car's radio.  You get to the point in the discussion where he turns around for a moment to tell you something when he hits a walker and the car crashes through the road barrier into the forest below.  Lee slowly wakes up half conscious hearing screams from the officer and gun shots being fired, Lee then blacks out again only to awake to find his leg which is badly injured and the police officer dead or unconscious outside the flipped car.  This is the first time you get to use interactive system of the game which allows you to look around, observe or interact with objects, letting you break thing, open door, pick up objects and so forth.  So Lee looks around until he see the cracked window which he proceeds to break the glass and exits the car.  Stumbling onto the ground, feeling intense pain in his leg, which has been badly cut open, Lee rights himself up and limps towards the officer.  Once over him you once again ask the officer if he is all right before taking the keys from him to unlock his cuffs.  As he finishes taking them off, the officer appears to stir before he lunges at Lee, making him fall back.  Lee crawls backward until he against the half flipped car, he cries out "what are you" as the officer, who is now a zombie, crawls towards Lee grunting and his leg apparently broken.   Lee looks around frantically, spotting the officer shotgun next to him, he grabs it and it's empty.  Seeing a shotshell next to him, he quickly grabs it, loads it into the action, and pumps the shell into the gun.  Lee says "don't make me do this" and then shoots the officer, killing it. You see a little girl standing on the hill and yell to her to get help.
   

A screenshot showing dialog choices. At certain points in the game's

conversation trees, the player will have a limited amount of time to respond,

shown at the bottom of this screen. If they don't respond in time,

the game will default to the "no statement" Source: Wikipedia 

Then walkers begin to emerge from the forest, attracted by the noise of the gunshot, Lee rights himself up and stumbles through the forest as more walkers appear, Lee then hops a fence into someone's backyard.  The walkers bang on the fence but are drawn off by distant gunshots.  Lee sits there for a moment before pulling himself up and walks through the house's back door into the wrecked house.  Lee plays the voice-mail on a answering machine to find some disturbing messages before hearing a voice on a radio.  He looks around in the kitchen drawers before finding a walky-talkie, he speaks to the girl who was on the hill asking her if shes alright, her name is Clementine. You talk to her a little more before being attacked by a walker from behind, Lee forces it off him before he runs out of the kitchen only to slip on a blood puddle in the kitchen and knock his head good on the counter.  Lee backs up into the sliding glass door kicking back the walker where Clementine hands Lee a hammer that he uses to kill it.  After asking Clementine a few questions, Lee decides he will take care of her until her parents return, by the messages Lee heard, he knows there not coming back and can't just leave her.  They walk through a small gate onto a road where two guys are pushing a car, trying to get unlodged from the rest of the cars on the road.  Lee calls to them and after some dialogue, helps them move the car that's blocking their car's path out of town.  They finish moving the car just as walkers are closing in.
     With this Lee and Clementine embark on a journey that will change both their lives.  Throughout the story you will meet character from the TV series like Hershel and Glen. You encounter a lot of situations both good and bad, but as Lee tries to hold the group together, things only get worse.  I think my favorite take on this game is that it shows the dark side of a zombie apocalypse, that it's not just bullets and America moments, that it is dangerous and heartbreaking.  The game shows the dark side of human nature, but shows the strength of a group of survivors banning together during undefined times of hardships.  This is a great game any gamer should have, 10 of 10.  I hope you have enjoyed this review and I will see you all next week.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

Episode 1 trailer

Episode 2 trailer

Episode 3 Trailer 

Episode 4 Trailer

Episode 5 Trailer

Dark Sector Review

Dark Sector box art

     Hello everyone and happy Wednesday.  I'm back this week with another game, once again focusing on the shoot 'em up concept with a little twist.  The game with this twist is called Dark Sector, a game that allows you to be enhanced by a awesome virus that gives you super powers.  So, yeah, sounds pretty awesome, and if that doesn't sound awesome to you, you are a sad individual my friend.  Now then, on to the game.  Released on March 25, 2008 in North America, April 4th in Europe and October 9th in Australia where it was actually banned for graphic violence.  Can't imagine why they'd do that, sure you cut off a few guy's heads, but it's still a fun game.  Developed by Digital Extremes and published by D3 Publisher for consoles, Aspyr for computers, Dark Sector received mixed positive reviews upon its release.  Introducing a mix of what fans said was a combination of Resident Evil 4 and Gears of War, much to their enjoyment and mine.  So lets get down to the basis of the game and some of the features that make it unique.  The trademark and primary weapon of the game is the three pronged "Glaive", a metallic weapon in Hayden can produce at will. He can then can throw it long distances, guide it, and melee it at enemies.  The Glaive can also absorb energy from things such as electricity, fire, and ice.  The virus Hayden contracts give him a metallic arm, which bonds to any metal object, only allowing Hayden to hold two handed weapons for a limited time, making pistols his primary weapons, the virus also makes him immune to pain.  The story takes place in Lasria, opening with Hayden infiltrating a gulag in hopes of finding Robert Mezner, the man responsible for infecting Lasria with the Technocyte Virus.  After eliminating all the resistance members within the complex, planting C4 everywhere, and destroying a helicopter, Hayden encounters a creature known as Nemisis, a indestructible metallic humanoid figure.  After firing a rocket at Nemisis, it redirects it back Hayden, there is an explosion and Hayden is knocked unconscious.  He awakes to find none other than Mezner looking over him next to Nemisis.  Then as Hayden attempts to make a grab for his gun, he is stabbed by Nemisis in his right shoulder, infecting him with the Technocyte virus.

Hayden fighting Lasrian soldiers

After a quick boring lecture to Hayden from Mezner about he is 'broken' and was questing why the agency would still have any use for him, Hayden detonates the C4 he planted earlier, making an escape.  He reaches a beach, by now his arm has been transformed by the virus, where he superiors contact him, telling him to move to one of their sleeper agents in the country Yargo Mensik.  Shortly after the conversation Hayden encounter enemy soldiers, in the events that transpire Hayden's arm produces the Glaive which he uses to kill the enemy soldiers. I don't want to spoil the plot but only set the story, so all most find out for yourselves.  This isn't the best game for gameplay, but is much worth it for the plot. So I would probably give this game a 6.2 of 10, and suggest you rent it or something.  I hope you have all enjoyed this review and I will see you next weekend.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

Dark Sector Official Trailer, explains the setting

pretty well

Metro: Last Light Review

Metro: Last Light Cover

     Hello everyone and happy Wednesday.  I'm back this week with another FPS this week that lives up to its predecessor, and maybe even surpasses it; Metro: Last Light. Metro: Last Light is a first-person shooter developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver, the sequel to its acclaimed predecessor, Metro 2033, which takes place in post-apocalyptic Russia 20 years after a nuclear war ravaged the Earth.  This event forced the survivors to retreat into Moscow's metro system to survive, animals mutated into dangerous creations that hunt from the skies, the land, and the waters.  In the current time of the Metro series, it is impossible to even step above the surface without a gas mask that requires filters, a item you will always be searching for throughout the game.  The watch on Artyom's left arm tells him how long until his filter runs out, in which he must then change it, so remember, always keep an eye out for filters. The people left above mutated from the radiation into what were known "The Dark Ones".  In Metro 2033, Artyom (the player) is told that the Dark Ones are the greatest threat humanity has ever faced due to there telepathic and super-natural abilities, allowing them to enter the mind of any creature, strong or not, and react havoc if they chose to.  They also are extremely agile, fast, and have the ability to render themselves invisible.  This displays a common concept shown throughout history: we are afraid of what we don't understand, this is shown by the people of the Metro towards the Dark Ones.  The overall plot is that you are Artyom, a Ranger for the Order, one of many factions spread throughout the Metro.  These factions include the Red Line; a re-birthed version of the Soviet Union, the Nazis; which are the re-birthed soldiers of the Nazis, The Order; a organization which was created to maintain order within the Metro, which you belong to, and many others who are not so important.  Instead of banning together to try to savage what remains of humanity, these factions are locked in a sort of pre Civil War rivalry.  Under the guild of a Ranger named Hunter you are instructed to proceed through the Metro and find the solution to this problem involving the Dark Ones.

A young Artyom being saved by a Dark One from mutants

     At the end of Metro 2033, you approach your long awaited D-6; a pre-apocalyptic shelter that contains the last weapons of mass destruction in Russia: enough missiles to level the country.  After fighting his way through the Metro up to the surface through Soviets, bandits, and mutants alike Artyom approaches D-6, however just before he reaches the facility he is contacted by the Dark Ones through hallucinations of a sort.  Artyom enters the facility, uses the missiles to target the Dark Ones home, essentially destroying the Dark Ones.  This brings us to the events of Metro: Last Light, it has been one year since the destruction of the Dark Ones and the Order now inhabits D-6, which turns out has enough supplies to supply them all for decades.  The situation between the factions of the Metro has grown worse, and the discovery of D-6 has not helped.  Even though the Order tried to keep D-6 a secret, word of the safe haven quickly got out, and rumors have spread that the other factions plan to take D-6 from the Rangers (The Order).  Artyom is awakened with urgent news from Coronal Miller, the leader of the Rangers, that a Dark One has been spotted near their old home.  You are instructed to gear up and head out to find this Dark One.  Oh, also, turns out when the Dark Ones flooded Artyom's mind with hallucinations, they were trying to establish with humanity that they only wanted peace.  So, pardon my language, but Artyom f*cked up pretty bad on that matter.  Now that we have the set the scene for the world we're about to step into, I will talk about some of the new aspects the game has to offer.  Probably the biggest change in the game is the improved stealth system, allowing you to stray from the standard path a FPS into a darker and more entertaining perspective.  Being a gamer as I am, I enjoy the stealth aspect of Metro: Last Light.

A close up of the protagonist, Artyom 

   Though you have to play Metro 2033 to appreciate the improved stealth aspect, a example of this is that you used to be spotted very easy and silent take-downs were rare.  However the stealth aspect also contains new features, such as sneaking past guards to reach power breakers and turn off the lights for a section of a area.  This allows Artyom to sneak past enemies with more ease, silenced weapons, throwing knifes, and take-downs add to the fun of stealth.  In some environments you can walk under the floors in the waterways to avoid detection.  That was basically the only big change in the game, other then a updated HUD, better graphics, and a few other things.  I would recommend this game to any FPS survival horror fans and all gamers in general, 9/10 on my scale.  I hope you all have enjoyed this review and I will be back next Wednesday.  Until then, game on.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.

Recommended to watch in full screen for full awesomeness

Half Life 2 Review

North American Box Art, featuring the
series protagonist Gordon Freeman 

     Hello everyone, glad to be back from a very long and fulfilling summer to write about video games. Now then a new service announcement, I will only be posting one blog a week on Wednesday instead of on Tuesday and Thursday.  So now that I have set down the standards for this year, I can get down to business.  Today I will be reviewing a game so awesome, it received Game Of The Decade award.  That game is Half Life 2.  Developed and published by the Valve Corporation, Half Life 2 was released in November 16, 2004, receiving positive reviews from both fans and critics alike.  A sequel to Half Life, Half Life 2 was highly anticipated after the release of the first game.  Though Half Life was a huge success before the release of the second game, it was HL2 that really threw the series into the the category of golden games that would be played for generations.  
     Upon its release it was praised for the number of new features that were added in, along with new weapons, the occasional vehicle, the ability to command and control a squad of soldiers in combat, and the biggest thing; the introduction of the Source Engine.  Basically the birth place of most modern Valve games, the same engine is used in countless titles such as Team Fortress 2, Portal 1 & 2, Alien Swarm, Dota 2, Counter Strike: Source, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and countless other titles.  Another popular indie title that became a large success using the Source Engine was Garry's Mod, a game in which the player the player has the ability to manipulate rag dolls, create an environment, and do just about everything.  But enough about about all those other games, now we will talk about Half Life 2.  The genre is a single-player FPS that takes place 20 years after the first game, located somewhere in near Europe (perhaps Russia as several old Russian bill boards found around the countryside suggest). Also the iconic trade mark of the returns, the grey and red crowbar continues to reek havoc on your foes and planks alike.   You are Gordon Freeman, the silent protagonist of the series.  The game begins with Gordon mysteriously appearing on a train bound for City 17, as you take your little train you are spoken to by the mysterious G-Man, who has been watching Freeman since the start of the first game.  At the end of the first game, after Gordon is transported to the alien world of Xen and destroys a powerful space entity that was holding open a portal to Earth, allowing the hostile aliens into Black Mesa (the facility where Gordon worked until the "resonance cascade" or what is referred to as "The Black Mesa Incident".) After Freeman kills the creature he is teleported to safety in the G-Man, the man who had been shadowing Gordon throughout Black Mesa.  At the end of the game the G-Man offers Freeman a opportunity to work with him, Gordon can say yes or no, but in the case of moving on to the sequel, he presumably said yes, because if you say no, you get eaten by aliens.  Happy ending, no?  

G-Man as he appears in Half Life(left) and
as he appears in Half Life 2(right)

    So, Gordon's on a train, and after the somewhat disturbing speech given by the G-Man, he gets off the train into a station.  Quick fill-in on the current state of the planet: the Earth was conquered sometime ago by a alien race known as "The Combine" during a event called The Seventeen Hour War, in which the human race as we know was conquered by the Combine. So, yeah, pretty sad, but we didn't totally get our ass's handed to us, with the help of Dr. Wallace Breen, former Black Mesa administer, Breen negotiated the surrender of humanity.  For his efforts and cooperation Breen was rewarded by the Combine with power, and seated as representative and Administer to supervise the survivors of humanity.  Unable to reproduce due to a Combine suppression field, humanity has matured, meaning no kids.  The Combine have also implemented a brutal police state of Civil Protection officers in effort to maintain order over humanity.   Now then, after arriving at the station and evading Combine forces, Freeman joins Lambda resistance members including Barney Calhoun, a former Black Mesa security guard now working undercover as a Combine CP officer, and Alyx Vance, the daughter of one of Gordon's former colleagues, Dr. Eli Vance.  From here Freeman will travel across the remnants of the old world, fight the Combine, and free humanity.  I don't want to give away all the details, so I'll leave the story at that.  
     As I mentioned earlier, vehicles were a popular introduction  because nothings more fun than driving around in a air-boat with gattling-gun shooting down choppers.  I would honestly give this game a 10/10, that how good it is.  If you would like to purchase it, you can find it on the steam store for $10.00 on Steam Store.  Hope you all have enjoyed my back-to-blog post and I will be back next Wednesday.  This has been Jacob Arnold, signing off.