Two of the bestest games ever in the history of gaming are The Secret of Monkey Island and The Secret of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (the other games in the series were pretty mediocre). These two games were created by Ron Gilbert, who recently made a tongue-in-cheek post on his blog to the effect that the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie rips off ideas from his games.

Now, anyone who is a dirty Monkey Island nerd (and frankly that should be everyone) knows that Gilbert ‘borrowed’ some of the ideas for his two Monkey Island games from the Disney ride that the Pirates… movies are based on. But despite that and the fact that his post is a pretty blatant joke, some people are still taking his ‘claim’ seriously. Fools!

Regardless, I can’t wait for the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie; the first one was fantastic and anything that makes me want to dig out my Monkey Island collector’s edition CD can only be a good thing…

As I mentioned below, I’ve been playing Half-Life 2: Episode 1 over the past few weeks - in fact, I completed it the other day.

For those that don’t know, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (stupid bloody name) is the first release in a three part experiment in episodic gaming; Valve regard this trilogy of episodes as Half-Life 3 and HL2:Ep1 picks up right where Half Life 2 ended by revealing how Alyx Vance survived the explosion at the top of the Citadel. And it’s great: it’s been criticised by many as being more of the same and that’s true - but I don’t think that’s a criticism because I happened to like Half Life 2, gott damn it.

Alyx plays a much bigger role in this adventure than in HL2. Valve have described it as ’single-player co-op’ and she does indeed accompany you for most of the game, helping to dispense with baddies, offering hints about how to beat certain puzzles and generally helping to alleviate some of the tension, of which there is plenty.

Much of the middle third of the game is spent in complete darkness, the only light source your HEV suit’s built-in flashlight. Which, of course, can only run for a limited period of time before its battery needs to recharge - usually when you’re surrounded by zombies. Alyx needs your light in order to take out the baddies and quips about asking Dr. Kleiner to increase the battery life if you get out of this alive…

My only real gripe with the game is an entirely subjective one and that is that there are too many damn zombies! I’m not a fan of the ‘horror’ sections in the Half-Life games so the middle third of this wasn’t as enjoyable for me as it could have been but that’s not to say that I didn’t entirely enjoy it. It’s probably a compliment actually - I don’t like the horror sections because they freak me out so much, so the games must be doing something right. However, where some people would have savoured every moment, taking their time, I felt inclined to rush through as quickly as possible.

Can’t wait for episode 2. Oh, if you play this, make sure you watch the credits; otherwise you won’t see the teaser for the next installment and you won’t show up properly in Valve’s stats.

I haven’t written anything on my blog in weeks because the weather has been so unseasonably good here in Ireland that it has seemed almost criminal to spend any more time at a PC than is necessary for work. I was also in Portugal for a week courtesy of my gorgeous wife - a surprise birthday pressie.

The weather has just turned shite though (yay Ireland) so I’ve no excuses. Er - other than not being arsed, that is.

So, what’ve I been up to…

Well, there’s the aforementioned holiday in Portugal which was very relaxing. We ate, drank and slept in the sun for a whole week. Didn’t do anything else and sometimes did all three of those things at the same time. The part of Portugal that we were in - Quinta do Lago, in the Algarve - is absolutely beautiful and there are loads and loads of great restaurants so we were spoiled for choice on that front. It’s almost embarassing how cheap the place is compared to Ireland as well. Highly recommended.

Aside from that I’ve not been doing much - a little work in the garden, playing some Half Life 2: Episode 1 and reading. Oh, and working of course.

So how’s about some pics:

Dead crab, Portugal

Sunset, Portugal