Portals, phun with physics

Got done playing Portals from the Orange Box yesterday and that game is a blast.  It doesn't have nearly enough levels though-I hope to see some sort of expansion or full feature based off of it.

I always have fun playing puzzle games like that (one of the things I really liked about the Prince of Persia games).

I found the way that it used physics to really make you think about how to complete an area great. From the obvious I need to jump in a hole in the ground to get launched across the room to having to go flying out of a poral several times to build up enough momentum and the the strategically placed portals to pick up a robot or drop something (prefereably another robot) onto one it was pure brain scratching fun.

Portals is one very good reason (of many) to get the orange box.

My Thoughts on Halo 3

Ok, so I haven't finished the campaign yet, but I have played the first 3-6 levels about 4 times now (keep starting it with several buddies).  So far I find the campaign to be a great time.

Online Play

Halo 3 continues what I think is the best approach to the party system that bungie introduced in Halo 2.  I like the ability to throw the party leader status around and give others the opportunity to pick what we are playing as the night goes.  I find it really cool that everything you can do in the game can be done online.  From the Forge and Theatre to Matchmaking and Campaign.

Yesterday (Just two weeks after release) they announced a series of tweaks to the online matchmaking playlist.  That is one thing about bungie that i found with Halo 2-they are realitively responsive to community concerns and issues with thier matchmaking system.

Campaign

Playing the campaign is sooo much better that we had it in Halo2.  I know that online/system link coop was in the original concept for Halo 2 and it sucks that it didn't make it to the final cut because as I've found with Halo 3-it rocks.  Nothing like playing with 3 other buddies and still having the full screen to yourself.  The videos and everything seem to sync super well.

My One Caveat

I find it extremely annoying that when I get into a >4 player team on live that I have to start hitting the dpad to talk.. maybe they will make that an option in the future.  At least when you play the ranked team games with just 4 players it is open mic the whole time (really this may not have been an annoyance except that when I go from just 4 players to a large game it usually takes me a while on wondering why these idiots are ignoring me before I remember that the mics are no longer open).

Overall

Having played the previous Halos and not taken the time to sit on Bungies site getting all hyped up I found Halo 3 to be a pleasant addition to the Halo family.  The improvements over Halo 2 are considerable and I really like the way the controllers are setup now.  This is one title that will be staying in my library for a long time to come.  I'll be playing it for a long time to come-although with orange box coming out today I'm feeling the pressure the get the campaign done very soon.

Conclusion

If you don't have it, go buy it-i think you'll like it.

My First 2 Old 2 Play Blog Post

Okay, so I work in technology as a software developer and I use the information I find on other developers blogs all the time-but I only recently (in the last month) finally got myself a legitimate blog going over at thecoderblogs (duane.thecoderblogs.com).

Well, this is going to be my gaming blog.  I'm not sure what it will have-but it will be cool, whatever it is...