half-life and ass 2

So I got hopelessly hooked on Half-Life 2 this holiday season. What was not to love about it? The physics themselves were enough to entertain for hours. I had a grav gun that could pick up a table and blast it seemingly hundreds of miles per hour at my AI comrades. I could control a crane, and swing a shipping container with such velocity, that it crushed the TH1138ish coppers with a satisfying flatline sound. I could sick pet bugs on the countless puppet patrolmen. I could drive a dune buggy across miles of enemy infested badlands ala Mad Max, seeking ways of getting around various barriers on foot before returning to my rusted gas guzzling beast. The game sets you up as a beloved hero and icon early on, and you never get the feeling that you are alone, though you do defeat a multitudinous variety of creatures single-handedly. The outdoor environments used modern day, then-to-be ruins, sprinkled with alien creatures and technology with clear skies and generally optimal weather. This creates more of an cheerful setting and atmosphere than I have seen with most D.I.Y. shooters. That in itself breaks away from the typical FPS. There are some very clever puzzles involved which make full use of the incredible physics of the source engine, and even though they are fairly simple, you get an immense sense of satisfaction after solving problems and returning to your vehicles to continue the journey.

The graphics are passable, given it is ported to the older xbox. With the lack of graphical definition, and fairly frequent loads, you could tell the xbox is getting a workout.

Did I mention I was playing on Half-Life 2 on my 360? Whoops!!! About 3/4 of the way through, very odd things began to happen. Objects began to float and spin in mid-air, disappearing in the floor, the ceiling, the walls. The lack of collision detection prevented some tactics that would otherwise be very helpful in getting through some very dangerous situations. BUT, I loved the experience so much, I thought that the bugs would stop, or improve. That was not the case. Then, 90% of the way through, the gamebreaker arrived. Some glitch was preventing me from shutting off some very crucial generators in the combine headquarters. Right at the finish line folks, he falls on his face. Now, 11 hours into the game, I can't transfer the save to my old xbox, and I can't finish the game...Lesson learned. If there is a really good game on the xbox, play it on the xbox. Don't believe any backwards compatibility crap if you don't have to. They likely didn't test it beyond startup.