I’ve been taking my time over The Orange Box, having done Half Life 2, Episode 1 and Portal last year, I was logically leaving Episode 2 till last. So now it’s done - wow what a top quality slice of gaming. Its triple ‘A’ stuff from start to end. It’s far better than Episode 1 which suffered from feeling a bit of a stop gap or some sort of “Lost Levels” add-on to Half Life 2.

Episode 2 has all the hall marks of the series, great story line, excellent characters and some classic set-pieces; the epic fight at the end was something I’ll remember for a while! Something the all Half Life 2 games do very well that few other games manage is to make you feel part of a believeable and realistic world - despite the sci-fi setting. For example the characters look and act convincing and don’t fall into the Uncanny Valley trap like say Mass Effect does. Also the world around you is convincing too, small details like a pile of empty cans next to a corpse in an abandoned house, all manage to convey little stories. There is always something to interact with, even it’s some litter or a crate bobbing in a puddle, other games this gen feel bland and empty in comparison. Mass Effect or DMC4 for example - they might look very pretty but in terms of game content and interaction most of the time you might as well be walking through a series of featureless box rooms & corridors. Half Life 2 level/world design is probably the best I’ve seen full stop.

I figure we’ve got some time to wait before Episode 3 comes along, which I from what I’ve heard will wrap up this current “story arc”, lets wait and see.

Oh before forget…
Girlfriend Friendly Factor: High, lots of plot and story to follow, Vortigaunts provide light relief

Not a very good name for a game…
Anyhow name aside, The Club is a arcade style shooter set in a illegal underground fighting tournament. From the screens it looks like a modern 3rd Person Shooter such as GRAW or Gears of War. However it’s almost pure arcade game, with the main objective to kill quickly and stylishly as possible in order to keep your combo multiplier high and so hit the high scores.

Having played through the main tournament in a couple of nights and unlocking most of the single player Achievements, I’m about done with this. There is loads more to do but it’s all basically unlocking gold/silver medals on higher difficulties and getting better and better scores. It’s a nice game but really one for the highscore freaks out there, that are prepared to play the same level 50/60/100 times, memorising it and perfecting their score. I decided to spare Sue (and myself) the tedium of me trying that across 48 levels. Sue did find the voice over announcements vaguely amusing with the commentator bellowing “Head Shot!”, “Great Shot!” and the classic “Death Roll!”, the last one leading Sue to speculate what would go into a Death Roll, I’m guessing it’s not cheese and pickle. Might be one to go back to and have a quick blast on from time to time. Oh and Sega & Bizarre Creations at least deserve a nod for putting out something a bit different, and very old school in 2008.

Girlfriend Friendly Factor: Very Low - Lots of annoying announcements. Very shooty, bang, bang. Zero plot or storyline to follow.

I’ve picked up a fairly obscure Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) title called Omega Five, and it’s turned out to be a real gem. It’s kind of like a Hi-Def version of Forgotten Worlds (if you are old enough to remember that old Capcom classic) with elements of R-Type, and and a multiplier chucked in.

I like horizontal shooters, having a lot of love for R-Type and Gradius, now I’m not particularly good at them, OK at best but I’m a sucker for bright coloured lasers filling the screen with neon death. Omega Five isn’t a all time classic but for 800 MS points it’s a brilliant little title.

I mean look at the screenshot - what’s not to like!?