Agree with BigRedCat I don't even bother to compare HL2 to anything like the miltary Rainbow Six stuff since its meant to be a diffrent experience.

I generall put FPS in 3 catagories

1- Serious Sam, Painkiller type games
2-Stuff like Halo, Half-Life etc
3- Rainbow 6, Ghost Recon style(one shot your dead type military shooters)

Not sure what I'd call the catagories. Maybe someone else can think of good names.

I got 'em:

1- Serious Sam/Painkiller types
2- Halo/Half Life types
3- Rainbow 6/Ghost Recon types

sorry, couldn't resist

One thing I have to bring up is that I think there is a lot of semantics going on- revolutionary, evolutionary....you have to admit that the game engine does things that have never been done before.

Sure, it is a linear FPS....that's what HL2 is- a linear FPS.

That is the starting point but from there, it takes the FPS so far beyond games like Far Cry (which I love very much -heh 2 levels to go) but frankly other than huge beautiful maps, it is a vanilla fps, and Doom 3 which is by far the best looking flashlight simulator ever.

There is only so much "revolution" you can do in an fps...but what Valve has done is create an engine and a game that is so far superior to anything out there is just amazes me.

Now, if you didn't like HL 1 or don't find enjoyment in an FPS, well HL2 is NOT for you plain and simple.

My opinion but in a game where you can pick up a barrel and use it as a shield...come on, or using bricks to make a see-saw move to make a ramp...that ain't been done before!

An think of the mods...oh man Natural Selection with this engine... woohoo!

lol, yeah quick and fast... but they might be a bit underpowered... eh- first bike, good price- 500 under list, brand new.. and 99 bucks a month financed- hard to turn down.

Ducati Monster...mmmm- expensive to fix but I think everyone drools over those

BAD TEMPERATURE DROP!!!!!!!  BAD!!

Heh, what a stupid movie--- the wolves.. lol.

Sure some of the effects were ok but frankly the silliness overshadowed ANYTHING good about the movie.

Not sure what the good was though...anyone?

Having recently acquired my motorcycle license I feel the need and pull to buy a bike.

I am new so a big bike is not really for me just yet...and the one I have now is way too small-only good for in town commuting.

Anyway I found a great deal on an 04 Buell Blast...its a 500cc and a good size for me to get the hang of more long distance riding, highway and freeway driving without being too big.

Anyway people seem very polarized on the bike-- oh it's a piece of crap because Harley makes the engine... get ready to break down to yeah sweet bikes now, last few years they completely redid the bike and it rocks now.

Everyone here at work rides Harleys and sadly I just can't afford one... so cheaper it is but oddly I know noone that owns a Buell...maybe there is a reason. So I thought I would ask if anyone here has an opinion.

Last Christmas anyone who asked was told to get me gift certificates for Fry's.

I ended up with about 550.00 worth, waited for components I wanted to go on sale and for that price-I picked up a nice rig- less a gfx card for that price-

It has been a year, and it still runs great- haven't hit a game yet that it won't handle... but this year it is definitely time to replace my GF3ti200....

As an asside, I was very glad I took the opportunity to build my own gaming computer...I learned a lot and will continue to upgrade- my current mobo will handle an Athlon 3000 but after that it is replacement time- but one thing- I will not build another machine.

Not that it is hard but it seems that you are forever tweaking, fiddling and just doing stuff to a machine you build... and as another poster stated- what you can get a Dell for under 1000 bucks-- or just get a lower end rig, add a better card, another HD and more ram... cheaper still...

Anyway like I said, glad I had the experience but also glad I got it out of my system.

See, I think your right- it really should be that easy.. my only issue would be:

1) using it as a full time machine- althogh really it wont be one for more than probably an hour  each day

2) getting a converter that will take the load...

Then again, it might just be easier to get one there and pay a bit more- if I can get a good price, and not have to worry about conversion issues.

I appreciate the reply... still scratching my head but at least I know it sould work.
thx

First off, yeah first post- been at GG for years- a minor poster but one thing I found was the at the hardware forum was a great place for help...fingers crossed that CG is as well...

The issue- it is way cheaper to buy a PC in the US- my Uncle would like to get one here and bring it back to England.

Most likely I will recommend a Dell only becuase of the ease of use, set up etc... (I get a lot of dell bashing but he cannot build his own, he is retired and frankly only wants email, internet, and some websurfing)---hmm maybe a new IMac....?

Anyway for half the price he can buy here but the issue is the voltage-- eg 110 vs 220.

possible fixes:

Use an adaptor-- I used one on my trip to recharge all my camera batteries and I did often leave it plugged in over night- but I don't know how stable they are and whether they can be used long term....

I know that powersupplies often have a switch- 110/220- so what if I flip the switch and get say a cable like this and just plug it in?

The final issue is the monitor- it needs 110 so maybe use an adaptor for that?

I imagine someone has had this issue before...hopefully you guys have some thought on this-- I really appreciate any help.