#Half life 2 barnacle bowling series

In the opening minutes, a Combine guard knocks over a can and tells you to pick it up and put it in the trash before you can pass. You might have certain memories of the world. Achievements appear on occasion and expose all the game's tricks. But the illusion of integrity is also fading from Half-Life 2. This time, on the Xbox 360, the game has a hard time maintaining that sense of mystery.

Where had Gordon been since the end of the first game? Who was the G-Man? What was inside the Citadel overlooking City 17? What year was this? What was about to happen? The narrative pulled me through the game and the pain of physically playing it. But it kept its integrity (it did for me, anyway - other fans experiencing the bug threatened to sue Valve). I'd shoot a Combine soldier in the helmet, listen and watch as the glitch diced my gunshot into a half-dozen equal pieces, shoot again, and repeat. A video stutter derailed my game once every 30 seconds.

#Half life 2 barnacle bowling series

The next time I pick up the controller, I'll push Gordon forward into the ambush and this moment will dissolve into a familiar series of reflexes, a physical echo of the first time I played Half-Life 2. His eyes are staring at the red farmhouse, where memory tells me zombies are standing.

At this time, Gordon Freeman is frozen on an airboat whose nose is pointed away from City 17. For the final edition of this column, I'm replaying Half-Life 2.