Postby karx11erx » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:19 am
I was only kidding. But as far as Descent I believe that Pumo's works are exceptionally good.
Whether you are carving cubes or using brushes (which basically are cuboids instead of polys) is only a question of tools. Level and texture design are a matter of of creativity, and Pumo has that.
Besides that I have to say that I am not very impressed with Half-Life 2: It is uninspired, linear, plain vanilla shooter stuff. 10 years after HL 1, the AI hasn't become much more impressive. HL2 is more about gorgeous level design and graphics than about gameplay. Just compare with STALKER. I'd give STALKER a 9 out of 10 for its overall design and gameplay, plus its graphics are just awesome (think of Pripjat or the Reactor). I'd only give HL 2 a 6 out of 10. It was so predictable and foreseeable - uninspired. Episode 2 was somewhat better than the rest, so a 7/10 for that.
I have also seen what it takes to impress Valve when playing the "Minerva Metastasis" mod. While it was well executed and Adam Foster, the author, knew his tools, I have to say that apart from the fact that it was fan and not professionally made it didn't impress me any more. It was just more of the same stuff, all the comments about the atrocious purpose of the facility you had to infiltrate in that mod stayed vague, and I have to say that I really disliked the often foul and aggressive language of the hidden actor "Athena" guiding you. It sounded like dull, uninspired teenager talk when they try to sound cool and manly.
I think I don't like the whole turn Half-Life has taken. It's miles away from creating any of the intense excitement thrill HL1 created in me. Since STALKER managed to create such feelings, it's probably not because age and experience have made me jaded.