11/17   Half-life 2:  Best - game - evuh!
        \_ Let's hear an in depth review!
           \_ Better than Cats.
              \_ I could play it again and again!
           \_ Basically:  Far Cry with a much better story, much better levels,
              better physics, better graphics, outstanding polish, and the best
              NPC emotions/animation ever.  Still heavily scripted, and still
              has intra-level loading like HL1.  Say good-bye to Doom 3 with
              its relatively small, block-like levels inhabited by NFL players.
              HL2 features which obviously need improvement:
              (1) Better, more realistic SMG or the addition of an assault
                  rifle (what, am I just going to use the Magnum or 9mm for
                  all distance shots?)
              (2) Better story (people who could tell you wtf is going on,
                  don't)
              (3) Better enemy AI (duh, you'll see)
              (4) Better NPC-ally AI (they jumble up and get in the way easily)
              (5) Realistic pineapple grenades
              \_ Yeah, I've heard the AI is a bit of downgrade from HL1.
                 This seems wierd to me, since that was a main selling
                 point of HL1.
              \_ I've only played a few hours, but this is about right.  The
                 ability to pick up just about anything in the game adds a lot.
                 The intra-level loading does break the immersive feeling,
                 especially because the load times are longer than HL1.  But
                 this is a *really* *great* game.
        \_ I don't play video games much since college, so I have no idea
           WTF this is all about. What I do know is that I have nieces
           and nephews who want a game console for Xmas. Which is the best
           to get? Are titles like HL2 available on multiple consoles?
           \_ HL2 is PC only.
           \_ PlayStation 2.
           \_ It depends, how old are they?  What kind of games do they
              like?  What kind of games do their parents want them to
              play?
              \_ Ages 5-17, most about 8-14. They like Tony Hawk, Justice
                 League, Sonic, that Dolphin game, and that stuff. Their
                 parents prefer stuff that's cutesy rather than violent.
                 They have PS1 already.
                 \_ Pretty much a toss-up between PS2 and Gamecube then.
                    Xbox is right out.  Probably PS2 is a better choice,
                    but the parents would probably prefer the gamecube,
                    since pretty much all the games are non-violent.
                 \_ If you get them a Gamecube you will forever be known as
                    the uncle who cheaped out and didn't get them a PS2.
                    Tell the parents the kids can't play Dance Dance Revolution
                    with a DDR pad and lose weight that way with a Gamecube.
                    \_ People still play with the PS2? I haven't bought a game
                       for that console in over a year. Past ten games or so
                       have all been GC or XBox
                    \_ GC has a few good unique games. Kids would be happy to
                       have both. The biggest PS2 game is Grand Theft Auto
                       which is obviously pretty violent. Big game coming out
                       is a new Metal Gear, not exactly cutesy. GC will have
                       a new Zelda game next year that should be pretty great.
                       Man how many kids are in this family? "Most" 8-14?
                       \_ 5 kids. 5, 6, 8, 8, 15, 17. It's not just the
                          kids, but also their friends.
                          \_ That's six kids.
                             \_ The 6th is a different nephew, but he will
                                be over to play it. 5 kids in 1 family.
                    \_ GTA III