half-life2 and mirror's edge

i have no energy at all today. and its so dark - as dark as it usually is by 4:10, not 3:10.

just a quick post really - i started playing half-life2 on the pc last night (i had started it on the xbox and found it way too hard - i think i can only play sniper on xbox because it still takes me about 10 times longer to aim at things). and i must say: this game is amazing. or, the start of this game is amazing. i played for about 2 hours last night and in that 2 hours the pace never slowed. you are thrown into the action after about 5 minutes and from then on you are running from guys, heading blindly into a city that you have no idea about, taking corners seemingly at random (i say seemingly because the level design guys really had their heads on right - it feels like there are dozens of turnings and byways that you are missing, but you are on the right path all the time). it makes me think of that bit in the matrix after neo fights the agent and then takes off running - not knowing where he's going just relying on tank's directions. it has that same feel of "don't stop and think, just keep going, keep alive."

i was playing mirror's edge last night too. now that is a game that got the level design totally wrong. in this game, more than any other, you should get the feeling that i got from half-life2, but the level cues are so obscure that half the time you have to stop and look around and get totally frustrated because you don't know where to go next. the game is about free-running and should have the most amazing flow ever, you should never have to stop, never get stuck. the new prince of persia comes to mind as what mirror's edge should have been more like - in that game it is always clear where you can jump to next, you never stop running and leaping and climbing.
i got to the last chapter of mirror's edge and stopped because i just didn't care enough to have to stop-start my way though what i guessed was going to be the worst designed level yet, with no clear path and multiple dead-ends.

right - going to go now.