One of the best ever. Pay no attention to my playtime above; that was my daughter playing before I got her a copy of the series for herself. -Technically- I received this particular copy for free, but I have actually paid for it... Way back in late 2003/early 2004, I purchased an ATI video card that came with a redemption key for the as yet unreleased Half-Life 2, redeemable on a brand new content delivery system called "Steam". (First of its kind for me; gaming GPUs came with new games on physical discs back then.) Since HL2 wouldn't be released for some time, Valve graciously offered me all of their then-current catalog to play in the meantime, including HL & its expansions, CS, TF, etc. I had already played through my retail copy of HL on CD, but I played this one again (before they tracked stats, obvs) and then OF & BS, excited but patiently waiting for their next masterpiece. So I've played through this at least a couple times. My daughter wanted to play HL: Alyx, but I insisted she play them all in order, starting with this beauty. I'm a good dad.

The hype is real, and the comparisons apt. It's a mash-up of most of the best parts of Half-Life/HL2/Halo/STALKER. If any of those games intrigue you (i.e. everyone reading this,) it's certainly worth checking out the demo, and yes, the game is worth the purchase price. It's a little unfinished at the moment; Chapter 3 of the campaign has not been released yet. I have played the campaign as it is and started the zone patrol, and enjoyed every minute so far. I look forward to exploring more of the mystery.

Why did I wait so long to try this out? Oh yeah, I've had my head buried in the Destiny solar system for the past few years. Wow, this game is awesome. I was worried at first that there might be too much hand-holding like in most modern games, but that feeling is thankfully gone now. It does have that ubiquitous cliché of a disembodied, helpful voice in your ear, in the form of Alyx's friend Russell, But he's just there to provide occasional, infrequent commentary and comedic relief... and on top of that he's voiced by Rhys Darby, who is always hilarious, so I don't hate it.

Speaking of, despite the jaw-dropping visuals, I was a little worried that the overall tone and atmosphere was a little off, as Alyx's voice in the beginning areas made it sound like she was this confident bad-[donkey]--can I say [donkey] here?--even as she advances into the expected tunnels. But that changed a little bit later, when the environment got a lot darker, both visually and otherwise, and the tunnels became more claustrophobic, and that familiar dread that you would expect from an excursion into the Half-Life universe was there. No single-button-press to reload your barely-powerful-enough weapon; no, you're scrambling to eject the spent cartridge, pull ammo out of your backpack, jam it into the waiting sidearm in your weapon hand, and then ready it, hopefully all in the right order, all while trying to keep the flashlight attached to your other hand trained on the 3 advancing zombies... There is much more panic in her voice now.

I love love love the fact that I can use my Touch controllers to the full here--I'm playing on an Oculus Quest, and I've got the equivalent of 'full locomotion' enabled. No teleporting for me (unless of course G-Man shows up later... don't tell me.) I hate the whole force-you-to-teleport-to-get-around thing. I don't get motion sickness or whatever seems to plague others, so let me walk around using an analog stick like a normal person.

And wow, what visuals. So much detail. No cartoonish outlines or lack of texture here. Everything is heavily detailed, with a layer of grime and decay all over it. I'm only about 3 hours into it right now, and I can't wait to get back to it. Yeah, this is City 17 in its finest incarnation yet.

Like so many others, I wish there as a "meh" rating. I wanted to like this game, I wanted really hard. It's just ok. Is it worth picking up? At the current discount of 90% off... sure. Interesting premise, ~kind of~ cool romp through clones of famous games as a visual progression through VG history. I haven't finished it yet, and that's part of the problem. I got stuck at one point kind of deep in the game, and I just don't have the interest to go back in and finish it. I'm a completionist, too, but there are way too many other games just sitting there in my library that I haven't played yet.

I wish there were more hours in the day; I can never get around to playing all the games I want to. This one is phenomenal. I believe it's the last one I ever pre-ordered. Like everyone else, I was extremely disappointed with it at launch. All the hype is true now, though. They completely righted the ship (pun intended.) Sooo much content now. Very immersive. And if you have a VR headset, this game is perfect for it. It breathed so much new life into it, I thought I was playing a whole new game.

I'm not normally into sports games, but add cars into the mix, and wow, is this fun. I'm not sure if they're intended to be little RC cars or full-size hot rods, but I don't care. I could play this for hours without realizing it. I can't say how realistic the physics are, but they make sense within context, and the controls are spot on; the visuals are quite pretty... well, you can see for yourself. Great soundtrack, too. All the unlockables are just cosmetic changes, so there are no unfair advantages. Highly recommended.

Open world racing from a top notch studio. So much fun, it still holds up today. The game itself is great, but "Ultimate"... not so much. There was more DLC available, but not all of it actually comes with this game, and you can no longer obtain it. :( Still worth the purchase, though.

UPDATE: More of the DLC is now available: the Bonus Vehicle Pack, which includes 4 separate add-ons previously available only on consoles. You can buy a key for it on Amazon for $10, but as of just recently, you can purchase it straight from Origin for $1.49. You'll need to register your activation key with Origin first (if you bought the original game here), and then you can get the DLC. Once it's registered on your Origin account, the content should show up in-game, even if you play it from here, as long as you're signed into that Origin account in the game.

It's still missing "Cops and Robbers" and "Big Surf Island", the latter of which is a huge disappointment, as it would have added a ton more content. It's never been officially released for PC, but there is a (perfectly legal) mod out there (still in development) that actually adds most of the content that would have been included in these 2 additions. Use at your own risk, results may vary, and because I can't post links, you'll have to figure it out from this: burnouthints dot webs dot com

This game is fun! Mortal Kombat but with DC characters. Great game engine, and I found the campaign storyline enjoyable; the cutscenes almost make up an animated feature movie. Lots of replayability, many side challenges, and tons of playable characters. My favorite feature is how it ties in with the FREE mobile version of the game, and playing the game on one system will unlock characters and extras on the other. (Plus, this week it's only $7.49. C'mon!)

Seriously, if you don't already have this game... who are you?

Fantastic blend of puzzle and action. I've played through it at least 4 times. Can't wait for Portal 2!!!