Half-life 2 demo released!

Finally, a demo for the new game Half-life 2 has been released today. It's about time a big time game gets a demo that closely coincides with the release date. I really do wish they would create a demo prior to the release date though. I really think that could help boost their sales, but what do I know. I know trying out game demos is what keeps my enthusiasm up for an upcoming new release and sometimes turns me on to a new game that I wouldn't have originally considered at all, such as the Total War series. I've played Rome: Total War a few times now and each time I have played it, I was glued to the game for hours! Anyway, back to Half-life 2. Go download it at FilePlanet. If you don't currently have a subscription to FilePlanet, don't worry, you can still download the demo. You just have to wait in a long queue. I've been a member for a few years as I like to try out lots of new games and they have a TON. Last time I checked, it costs about $60 a year to download as many game demos, movies, patches, etc as your ISP bandwidth will allow.

Get the Half-life 2 game demo here. Be warned though, it's 751 MB large, so even cable modem users, be patient, I'm sure it will be worth it. I'll be sure to let you all know in the next week or so.

Golden Retriever puppy!

I wasn't planning on posting anything about the upcoming new addition to our family, but I just couldn't resist. We are getting a Golden Retriever puppy! We get to take him home around January 23rd or so. The litter was born on November 22nd; there are 9 of them! They are so cute and growing like weeds. We will be able to start playing with them and possibly able to pick out our favorite just after Christmas. We are so excited!

We found the breeder about a year ago when searching for local and reputable golden retriever breeders in the New England area. They don't seem to be that many. We came across one breeder, who referred us to the breeder from whom she got her puppies. The breeder is Marcia Seifert of Starquest Golden Retrievers. She is great and has an incredible facility and beautiful dogs! If you are looking for a golden retriever puppy, bred for breed standard conformation and obedience, and are in the New England area or are willing to travel for a reputable breeder, absolutely talk to Marcia at Starquest Golden Retrievers!

Oh, and by the way, this post is somewhat related to my blog topics....we named the puppy Starquest's Irish Coffee aka "Java"!

Favorite Computer Game Genre?

I'm curious what types of computer game genre's people play the most. Do you have a favorite genre or do you play many different types? Personally, I've been stuck in the FPS single player, and online team-based games like Tribes 2 (only the demo), Battlefield 1942 - Desert Combat, etc, until lately. As my previous post states, I've been playing Tony Hawk's latest game, so I guess that's a sports game. I generally stay away from sports games on the computer. Not sure why. My most recent game addition is Rome: Total War. It's technically a real-time strategy game. Actually has both turn-based and real-time portions. It's great so far. First day I picked it up (early XMas present) , I played for probably 6 hours. Hopefully after another week or two I will have enough feedback to post a brief review of the game.

Please, let me know your favorites game genre of all time, if you have one.

THUG 2 (Tony Hawk Underground 2) Review

Here are my impressions of the game THUG 2 aka. Tony Hawk's Underground 2. Initially, as I loved the feel of the first game and others in the series, it was more of the same great initial experience. The developers did a good job making it feel realistic, while still having over-the-top physics. But, the addition of Bam Margera and some of the Jackass crew is a little ridiculous. I liked the Jackass movie, but having them in the game was a little stupid. When I became Steve O, riding a mechanical bull around the Spain level, that was too much. I continued playing the game, but these portions were just plain silly and not very enjoyable.

My other main complaint is that it seems too easy. I can't remember if I selected a difficulty level or not, maybe I did, but after only a week or so of casual playing, I have reached the end of the game (at least what I can only assume is the end because the last 2 tasks as Bam in Skatopia have just been way harder than the whole rest of the game so far). For these two main reasons I've pretty much stopped playing the game. I'll still jump in every now and then if I need a mindless diversion and pull 1080 varial front flips over the entrance to Skatopia and see what kind of insane combo or gap transfer I can find, but the main story mode, I don't care for.

I guess replayability is possible as there is always the Classic Mode which has you doing tasks from original Hawk games like collecting the letters S K A T E, hitting high scores, finding hidden items, etc. But in the same levels as the main story mode. I hope people start posting their own created levels and maybe that will help spruce up the game a bit, but for now, I'm waiting for Christmas for two games I put on my list: Half-life 2 (I won't buy it myself so I hope I get it!) and Rollercoaster Tycoon 3.

Until then....I haven't played much except my old classic games like Police Quest 3 (I finished 1 and 2 in very short order) .

Anyone else played it yet (PC Version) agree or disagree? Let me know!