Let's Breakdown: Half-Life 2 [part 2 - Water Hazard and Black Mesa East]

Vroom Vroom

                Water Hazard

                                Water Hazard starts with an example of a staple feature of the Half-Life series - little 'moments' in the game that the player can interact with, moments that are somewhat picturesque and set themselves up from a bit of a distance. In this case the 'moment' is the brief encounter with the abandoned (err... infested) Resistance station in the little house just a little out of the way.

Let's Breakdown: Half-Life 2 [part 1 - Point Insertion, A Red Letter Day and Route Kanal]

Wake up and smell the ashes.

                What is this?

                You see, naming things is not one of my talents, which is why I’ve decided to give this a nice and simple name ‘Let’s Breakdown’, which isn’t an invitation to dance but an attempt by me to breakdown and analyse various videogames. Why? Think of it as me doing a bit of my bits as an aspiring game designer… that and I rather enjoy playing games analytically, it can be fun to examine the gears and cogs that make everything work, as well the various obstructions and chinks that hold things back.