The Xen Problem

 I think everybody knows what Half Life is, it's a game that needs no introduction.  If you don't know what Half Life is then I suggest you close this page and go play it right stat now because what the fuck is wrong with you? But no matter if your a die-hard fan or casual player I think almost everyone can agree that the games final area, Xen, is a gigantic pile of garbage and it would be more fun to eat a box of thumb tacks than play through this section.

The solid first person game play of Half Life takes a drastic change when you hit Xen.  Low gravity, sparse ammunition, flying alien babies, weird terrain and really on paper that doesn't actually sound so bad on paper but when you play it the experience is grueling.  Low gravity gives way to stupid, annoying first personal platforming with alien babies blasting you on all sides while you're trying to figure out where to go and how to not die.  The weird layout makes this a pain to get around and sometimes you aren't even sure if you're actually making progress or not.  Ammunition is sparse but enemies are plentiful so I hope you like using the Hive Hand because otherwise you're going to be struggling.  To top it all off as well you have to fight what is probably the most annoying boss in FPS game history, Nihilanth, a giant floating baby that will just teleport you into random jumping puzzles whenever the fuck it wants.

But I'm just talking about the original there.  The remake, Black Mesa, completely re-did Xen in an attempt to make it more enjoyable and I have never seen a developer fail at a goal with a remake as hard as Crowbar Collective failed with this.  Not only are all the old problems still there but they made Xen WAYYYY longer.  Not only is it longer, but it's also full of stupid switch and plug puzzles that bring the pace down to a snails pace.  There's even one extremely pointless bit where you have to deactivate 3 barriers by doing the same combat room over and over again.  We do have to give them credit though, the Nihilanth boss is significantly more fun in Black Mesa than it is in the original game, I can at least admit that was a welcome change.

Half Life has a massive legacy and for good reason but it's such a shame that it has to be tarnished by that absolutely fucking AWFUL final section.  Luckily though Valve realized what a terrible pile of shit Xen was and didn't include it in any of the sequels.  Hopefully it will stay that way if they ever decide to release Half Life 3

Glitches and Cheating: A Short Speed Run Rant

Never would I have thought in my life that idiots on the internet would get to me as much as they have with this one, here we go!

Speed Running is a thing I have enjoyed watching for a pretty long time, but only very recently have I got into trying to do them myself.  If you look a few posts down from this one you'll be able to see the first full run I've put on They Bleed Pixels.

Anyway, no matter if you're into speed running or not, as long as you're into games like Half Life and stuff, chances are you have seen the insane runs from a group of people going under the banner of Sourceruns on YouTube.  Their Half Life 2 and Portal speed runs are insanely good and between them they have managed to produce some really good times.

Now if you hop on YouTube and watch these runs, you may noticed that they are glitched to shit.  Lot's of accelerated jumping round levels, going out of bounds and all sorts of funky stuff that allows them to beat the game as fast as they do, but this is where the problem lies. 

It's not just these Half Life runs, it's basically ever speed run that involves glitches ever but there is always some moron in a comments section complaining about how "the run isn't legit! they used so many glitches!  They are just cheating!"  This is complete horseshit and I'm going to explain to you people why.

First of all, what's the point of a Speed Run?  Well it's to get to the end of the game as fast as you possibly can without cheating or modifying the game in any way.  This has of course evolved over time so generally speaking, what's known as "any%" runs will be extremely glitched out in a lot of cases while "100%" may not be as glitchy, or glitches will be used to make certain goals faster rather than skipping huge chunks of the game.  This is not the same as cheating, such as using codes or other tools like game shark to give yourself an advantage in order to beat the game.

A good example of this difference really, is with Sonic speed runs.  If you've ever watched a Sonic run you'll see the runner zipping his way through the walls of the levels to reach the end of the stage as fast as possible.  This is NOT the same as using a level select code or level skip code or a no clip in a game genie password or some shit because you still have to actually PLAY the level.  There is a degree of skill required to shove yourself inside a wall at just the right pixel and at just the right speed in order to make the zip happen, and the only thing making is happen is you and the controller.  THAT'S the difference between cheating and glitching.

So bottom line really is if you're going to pass judgements on people's Speed Runs, clue yourself in on how fucking Speed Running works before you start slamming the keyboard with your stupid hands.  A lot of work goes into these runs and its infuriating to see people dismiss them for such a stupid fucking reason.  If you don't like Speed Running, then fine, but don't shit on other people just because people are enjoying games in a way that you couldn't even begin to understand.

Goddamnit