AFTER WAR & PATIENT ZERO (more Half-life videos)

After going through a few more videos, here are two more short films (and one bonus) made by fans set in the excellent Half-Life universe. Both are excellent, but very different in execution. I would even argue that one of them is more on the artistic spectrum, while the other is direct in what it set out to depict – a brutal combat scenario between the resistance and the Combine foot soldiers. Enough of me babble, let’s get into it.

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LZ – Sparrow

Got into the mood for some Half-Life action, since the universe Valve created is cool and fascinating – especially from a military sci-fi viewpoint. It also has clear horror elements sprinkled on top, when you consider the zombies, mind sucking aliens and general despair of humanity being on the brink of extermination. Everything to make it as fun as possible in what I would call a good time all around. Well, unless you are one of the characters stuck in this world, like the soldiers in LZ – Sparrow.

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Crysis – Living Nomad

After 17 years, I can finally run Crysis on the highest setting. Rejoice! Jokes aside, it’s actually still a fairly demanding game, as I got a few dips and crashes near the end when a billion things tried to kill me and each other at the same time. However, it’s a game that still impresses, considering its age, with how modern it feels – filled with tech that is not so common nowadays. For example, the incredible physics and the AI for the enemy. Another big plus is that it was made for PC, which comes through with its easy and smooth controls (remember using Q & E for leaning?). A few things are missing, like the option of making crouching a toggle. It would have made life a little easier, seeing how much crab-walking you will do to avoid detection. Then we have the story.

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Hollowbody – Demo Impressions

Hollowbody is a futuristic dystopian take on the survival horror genre that takes place in England (I think). While the atmosphere sure is there with everything being gray and decayed, it hit me that some parts of the poorer areas of the British Isles already look like that. If it wasn’t for the shambling undead, it could have been set in our times! Jokes aside, the atmosphere is tight, and can probably be best compared to Silent Hill 4: The Room. It has the same kind of depressive aesthetics of a rotting urban sprawl of concrete and crushed dreams. A similar area that I myself have lived in once, so certain stuff hits close to home and makes things just a little more unsettling. I like.

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