Dear Esther...

I realize I was a bit slow with this one. There is a small chance you've already heard of Dear Esther. But I've just now stumbled upon it myself. Regardless, for such an amazing and unique experience, one more recommendation can never hurt.

The game is littered with beautiful music.

Dear Esther is a Half-Life 2 mod. It's a free game, and I believe only took me about 2 hours or so to beat. The similarities to Half-Life 2 are limited to the engine and the first person view perspective though. From there on out, Dear Esther is if anything, more comparable to Braid, for they share unique storytelling methods and slightly disturbing themes.

Dear Esther is a story driven first-person adventure game. At least that's how I would describe it. It's possibly one of the slowest paced games I've played in the recent years, yet it's no doubt one of the most interesting. It's full of beautifully disturbing music, haunting scenery, and chilling atmosphere, all brought together with a story that is worth listening to. I would give you a loose outline of the plot, but I believe that listening, exploring, and interpreting the story based on what you find is what the game is all about.

So if you're in the mood for something different. Slow, sad, meaningful, and very atmospheric then go give "Dear Esther" a download (It's free, c'mon!). You do need Steam, and since it is a mod of Half-Life 2, I believe you need some form of that as well. I was able to play it with only HL2 Deathmatch installed.

Dear Esther, should not be viewed as a traditional game. It should be viewed as an example of what games can do. The feelings they can bring, the stories they can tell, and the experience only they can give you.

Download "Dear Esther"

Truly in HD + Orange Box impressions

Yes indeed, as reported before, I now have and HD TV, but until today I wasn't getting true HD gaming. But my package from Amazon arrived today! Component cables for the Wii, and the HDMI/USB 2 pack for the Playstation 3. And I purchased The Orange Box for the PS3, and test it out too.

I will first state the obvious that the Component cables dont really imrove that much. But, there was a notable difference in clarity on the menus, and on my VC titles; with more vibrant colors all around. The only disc based game I tried was Brawl, and deflicker on or off, the menus just look strange. However gameplay looks quite nice with the extra space and size.

Now, the Playstation 3 however.. whoa! I'll have you remember I made the jump from standard AV cables to HDMI, there was no component step or anything. So think 480i converting directly into 1080i, its quite the jump. So no, my TV is not capable of 1080p, but 1080i is more than enough from what I was used too. Right off the bat, the XMB is just as sharp as can be, and the PS Store and Browser are crystal clear. The jump from 480i Portal, to 720p Portal wasn't that drastic, but the clearner edges, and smoother color transitions were much welcome. I happen to really enjoy Portal so far. The only other part of The Box I played was Team Fortress 2; all I can say is I love the style, but I'm not too keen on the gamplay. Gonna play Half Life 2 later, I'd like to beat it before I step into the Episodes.

Still don't have an HD cable box... but I do get the 8 or so local stations in HD. The TV's wierd, i get like decimal stations. For instance, 4 is plain NBC, 4.1 is NBCHD, and 4.2 is NBC Weather Plus... who made it alright to have decimal stations?