It works, no question, though wish I would’ve thought to mark it somehow, tell if it was replaced or repaired. I was halfway hoping they’d include a couple months of Live or something, consolation for losing my ‘box in the Lone Star state. Nope, nothing, though getting it running again was painless, thanks to the detachable hard drive that I kept while the ‘box was away.
In other news, I took the time to download Half Life 2: Lost Coast. It’s not fun. But then again, it’s not meant to be. Just like everyone else, I assumed Lost Coast was another piece of the Half Life story, an expansion. We were all wrong; that’s what Episode 1 is for.
Lost Coast ties to the Half Life story by the thinnest of threads, and the gameplay hasn’t changed in the least: Head shots for the Combine, rockets for the helicopters, and don’t forget to recharge your suit. But that’s all just background – the whole point of Lost Coast is to be a technical showcase for new graphical improvements. Lighting, textures, water reflections, they’ve all been rethought and improved by those hard working folks at Valve.
As a showcase, then, it shines, with well-placed commentary and side-by-side comparisons. Still, two n’ a half gigs for some dev commentary and a helicopter fight? I’m not sure.
In the game, yo.
