Half-Life 2 - Still an A+ game 19 years later.

After 19 years I finally played Half Life 2.  Even by today's standards, this is an A+ game.  I've been hearing about it forever, of course, but what not enough people raved about was the level design.  It is brilliant in the way it breaks up racing sections with having to get out of your car and fight to a control room to open a door.  Or a semi-maze like city area that keeps bringing you back around to the weapon caches you filled up on before.

Everyone talked about the gravity gun so I was ready for it, but it was still more fun than I expected. Especially in the last parts of the game where you have a very upgraded version. The physics engine seemed better than games made as much as 7 or 8 years later.  And I also need to compliment the story a bit too. Or perhaps not the story, but the way it feels cinematic and giving you a reason to get from one area to the next.

I was a bit surprised that I only found half the ammo caches (according to the achievement, 23 of 45) but never was low on ammunition even once.  And sometimes my squad would block my path at the worst times.  But I can't really complain about that when the game is such a great example of how to make games fun.  The rapid constant autosaving that encourages you to jump right back in when killed. The variety of weapons. The sense of discovery over and over, rather than redundant levels.  These were rare things back in 2004.

Movie Recommendation: "Solitary Man" from 2010, starring Michael Douglas

Film Recommendation: I saw "Solitary Man" in 2010 when it came out, and really loved it. I finally watched it again, and I enjoyed it just as much. But apparently very few people saw it on it's release, so I'm including it in my reviews of great films few people know about.

This is a big cast of well known actors, but primarily stars Michael Douglas who is in every scene. He plays a very successful man in his mid-50's, has a doctor suggest (and really only suggest) that he should have his heart checked out. And this leads him to a years long series of self-sabotaging, basically destroying all the things that once made him happy.

Ebert's review describes Douglas as playing a character who is always playing a character. A man who knows he is charming, and always working hard to be likable, and desirable. And the film shows how it carries him along, successfully, until perhaps we realize he might just be addicted to seducing younger women to feel immortal. And a lot of characters represent why you should stick with the really good things in your life, rather than always cutting them off to find another one.

This is also one of those very odd films that is very short but feels longer. It is just under 90 minutes, and when I first saw it remember leaving the theater and amazed by how much story and side characters were contained in it. Aside from Douglas, you'll get memorable bits from Danny Devito, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Jenna Fischer, Richard Schiff, David Costabile, Gillan Jacobs, and Mary-Louise Parker.

And you'll think it's an even better review if after you see it, you read Roger Ebert's review of the film. (But only read it afterwards, as it is spoiler heavy.)