Half Life 2:Deathmatch Review
My Specs:Intel 2.4GHz, nVidia GeForce 5500, 1GB RAM
Don't buy it. It was interesting for about an hour, and I feel I still didn't get my moneys worth even after getting it free.
Basically, it is a very repetitive First Person Shooter. You go online, and the first thing you notice is that the map download speed is terrible, and connection issues can become frequent.
The second thing you notice is that you spawn with guns. Now this might not be unusual, but if you like CStrike like me, you're going to be HIGHLY disappointed. You have to run around looking for gun spawns, hoping that there isn't a moron camping them with whatever.
Amongst the weapons you do not spawn with is the RPG(Rocket Propelled Grenade) and it is the most retarded(est) thing that Valve has ever invented. You get remote controlled missiles that are basically impossible to miss with that kill you instantly. Another is a Magnum, that for some odd reason, is used to snipe with. It as well gets a one hit kill, and unless you're blind, you're going to get at least 8 kills for every time you find one.
Now theoretically, thats great and fun, except since you wait 5 seconds each time you die, you'll find yourself like the angry German kid. You might approach it saying "Well they can get a Magnum/RPG too," but the fact is is that with random player spawns and bad map making, it can be very difficult to find a good gun. Most servers have spawn and chat protection, but that doesn't keep it from getting retarded.
After about two hours of gameplay, I found that I was approaching the game poorly. I'm used to aiming and firing in bursts, you know, having recoil and not being Rambo. In this game you find yourself in a situation not too different from Command and Conquer Renegade, where you hold your finger on the trigger and hope you hit. Reloading is fast, and you don't have to have eyes to win the game - all you need is a blindfold and three fingers! One for 'a', one for 'd,' and one for left click! Woopee!
The people are not that much fun to deal with. Most of the ones that own mics are hillbillies and intend to rape them. The server admins do NOT know what they're doing, and it is pathetic to see them struggling to ban the random hacker. The only way commands they know concern godmode, jackass pranks, and map changing. If they aren't hillbillies or plain morons, they're going to be pre-adolescents who the admins have to protect from cuss words.
If you can't handle a cuss word, then do not play a MATURE GAME. High School yet? Thankyou.
Now those are the bad, onto the good.
The gravity gun is amongst several weapons, allowing you to pick clutter up and throw it at people. Very fun when you're in the mood.
The physics for this game are just amazing. If my computer was a little better, I know that this would be easier and a lot more interesting. Even with an old pre-2000 computer, it's still impressive to see objects fall almost analogically.
Now for the issues that really make this game fail.
Suit.
Yes, Suit. Suit is this obnoxious rip-off from Halo. Remember how you got a weak shield that would replenish itself outside of combat? Well, the designers of HL2DM decided they would steal that, except change the name, buff it and put in zones where you had to recharge.
Take a minute to guess how players react.
They camp in a deathmatch. Now, depending on the server and map, this won't be a problem. If you're good, you can catch people recharging off guard(they have to face the wall) and massacre them. Otherwise, you're going to find yourself trying to kill the same person who is recharging faster than you die, respawn, and run back.
The other big problem is this trip mine. Initially, it was intended to explode when you ran into the laser. I mean after all, thats what a trip mine is for! Except people don't use it that way. It takes a moron to walk into a bomb that is clearly visible with the nice red light. Heck, most of the time you can just jump or duck under it!
Except it isn't used for explosions. It's hilarious when someone dies from it, but it triggers a noise bigger than its explosion, and winds up being used as an alarm clock. Actually, this is a problem paired with an "Orb." You get this unlimited respawn that some trash will always camp over, and basically get 15/1 ratios with a fastmoving ball of light that bounces off of the walls twenty times and kills you in one hit. Not a problem really, except it runs through you and kills all of your team if they're in the same room, while doing nothing to the idiots who fired it because of no friendly fire. <-- Team Deathmatch only
Honestly, thats about it. Every map comes with its own set of extreme problems. I'll give you a list of the ones to avoid. Snipe, killbox, and anything starting with js_. If you're going to play a map, look at fragyard or runoff.
There is no effective use of Sound or Audio, unless your opponent is throwing grenades everywhere or running rampant with an RPG, besides of course the trip mines, and even then it will not help you much.
Rating:6/10
Not worth your money unless you are really impressed by the same thing over and over again.
Shits and Giggles Rating:8/10
My scale interpretation:6:OK, 8:Good, 10:Perfect
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