Advantages: Great graphics and sound, amazing physics, Great Immserive world
Disadvantages: Slightly short, Bland enemy design, Poor AI

...of a disappointing lack of them, and/or originality in them. Whereas Doom-3 monsters really have that 'classic' effect, with the first time you saw a Mancubus or a Hellknight really sticking in your mind for a long time afterwards, Half life 2's monsters are sadly, quite forgetable. Other than the crabs theres the Barnacles, which are only really evident during the early game, these things are stuck to rock surface and use their long extended tounges to trap you and draw you up into the mouth. Zombies, which are basicly men with Crabs on their heads, Man Hacks, flying buzzsaws, that are easily too kill but annoyingly fast. Ant Lions, which are basicly slashing green bug things, Combine soldiers, basically mercenaries with a taste for rather bland AI, and Striders, being the most exciting enemy, a towering mutli legged beast that smacks terribly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Good graphics, addictive gameplay, overall a brilliant gaming experience
Disadvantages: Too short

...on puzzles at early points in the game, which was made extremely frustrating by the fact that the learning curve was especially sharp. This was followed by incredibly easy parts that could simply be waltzed through with the aid of a shotgun or other powerful weapon. I think the duration of the game was sufficiently long, but Half Life 2 did not build up the difficulty throughout the experience, and I think it suffers as a result of this. The ending was pitifully easy; I don't know what happened to the frustratingly difficult bosses of old but I want them back. It felt like an achievement to finally complete the game, but it was a hollow achievement. I wanted the difficulty of the game, the time and effort that the developers put in, to culminate at the end with one terrific boss fight. Alas, this was not the case, and if you were expecting... Read review

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Advantages: Absolute stunning Scouse Genius - You Have Never Heard Anything Like This
Disadvantages: Hard to track down - Phone Probe Records - Liverpool

...Somewhere in the depths of history (early 1985 to be imprecise) Half Man Half Biscuit (hereon referred to as HMHB or The band) released the “Back in The DHSS” album. This was followed by the “Trumpton Riots” ep. Now these two absolute gems have been grafted together on this superb CD. The reason I’ve finally arisen from my lethargy to produce this review about the finest thing to come of Liverpool since Brianlfc is an excellent three page spread in the Guardian which eulogises about HMHBs latest ep “Editor’s Choice”, which has just been released, and told me loads I never knew about the band as well as a lot I do know about them. By the way I’m breaking from my usual tradition of giving an overall review of the album to do one of these track by track jobs. HMHB... Read review

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Advantages: Being a lazy devil
Disadvantages: Having to do it eventually

...I asked Ciao to put this option on in light of my other half being on a sunshine (but it`s raining)holiday playing Golf. I am `Home Alone`. Well almost, the girls are here when they are not at school and work. I am still off on sick leave, so I thought this may cheer you and me up a little. Last Sunday my better half flew off to Spain to play a few rounds of Golf with some buddies and left me feeling a little lost. But then I thought. Now he has gone, I can get away with murder (not literally of course). This really should have been entitled things you can and can not do, but never mind. Here goes it. 1) I have not had to pick up a pair of smelly socks all week. 2) I have not had to replace to top on the tootpaste (the girls know I will shout if they do it). 3) I have been able to sprawl out in bed and it has... Read review

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Advantages: Time to myself
Disadvantages: I miss the Bugger!

...Although I’m not living with the Boyf I do spend nearly all my time with him so feel able to write under this topic. One day a week we have a night to ourselves where we each go our separate ways and do our own thing. Here’s my list of 10 Things you DO NOT have to do whilst your other half is on holiday (or away for the night!... 1... I do not have to listen to his incessant talking about cars. He just cannot grasp the simple fact that I have no interest in how many revs an engine does a second, I do not want to know the difference between MPH and ABS, and no I do not care that Top Gear is on BBC 2 in half an hour. I look forward to my one night without his explicit details about how wonderful his sexy Renault Clio is. Honestly, anyone would think it was another woman! 2...I do not have to feel guilty about txting my female... Read review

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Advantages: Unique plot telling technique
Disadvantages: Some what repetitive and over use of precision jumping

...are set on by a squad of army types. While half-life has its flaws as a game it more than makes up for these downfalls in terms of sheer gameplay and while it has been described as "revolutionary" or "best game ever" etc. these statements are only partially true because as it is a revolution in terms of storytelling allowing for better player immersion it still seems to relay more on standard fps convention than a lot of other shooters out there. Even so the game has set new standards for many newer games to copy and expand on and hopefully in many cases improve upon. Opposing Forces: Much the same as half-life both in style of gameplay and graphics but both have been refined to a higher level of perfection than in its parent game in fact the game is harder in some respects and easier in others those others being the lack of precision... Read review

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Advantages: Antiquity, architecture, atmosphere
Disadvantages: Cut in two

...on the other. The top of the bastion is on the Turkish side, and is now devoted to a public park with a café. As you emerge from the checkpoint into Greek Cypriot Nicosia, you are overlooked by people seated at the Turkish tables perched ten metres higher up behind the barbed wire atop the solid stone walls. On a warm Spring day, with blossom on the trees, the atmosphere is superficially peaceful, and the stern signs forbidding photography or trespass seem incongruous. Then you notice that the bricked-up houses adjacent to the crossing are scarred with gunfire, a reminder that the origins of the division are far from peaceful. * We had gone to Lefkoşa primarily to experience the crossing, but I'm glad to say we stayed to take a look around the city, or at least the Turkish half of it. There is much to see, and the pleasure... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Great storyline, amazing locations, interactivity with lots of chracters
Disadvantages: Multiplayer needs updating to the latest version quite regularly

.... When you first play it, there is a 'Hazard course' which allows you to practice moving, jumping, shooting and other stuff you'll need to do in the game. The controls are pretty standard for action games. It's best to use the mouse to look around and shoot, and the arrow keys to move. That way you can check out everything round you, and you will want to... There is a scientist guy watching you and telling what to do and where to go next, helping you learn all the controls. After the hazard course, you'll want to start playing the game properly. This is where it really gets going. In the main Half Life game, you play a scientist called Gordon Freeman, who works in an underground research facility called Black Mesa, researching a parallel dimension (or something). When you start, you are riding along in the facilities transit... Read review

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Advantages: Sometimes Money IS Everything! The Finest Craftsmanship. Complete Original furniture and Fittings. Wonderful Gardens.
Disadvantages: Best Not Visit On Busy Summer Weekends / Bank Holidays. Can Be Uncomfortably Hot In House.

...The very word "Rothschild" will bring to mind wealth in any circle. As it happens, before visiting Waddesdon, a place that, until spotting it in the National Trust Handbook last year, we had not heard of, I knew very little indeed about the Rothschild family, only that they possessed almost unbelievable wealth. The overall experience gained from a visit to this, or any of their other many houses, can only reinforce that opinion. In actual fact this is the ONLY Rothschild house now open to the public - at the turn of the last century the family had 42 such houses spread all over Europe. Not bad going considering that this rags to riches story had started less than one hundred years previously in the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt. WHERE TO FIND ALL THESE RICHES? Well the "smart" answer is that you will find it on page 163 of the 2007... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: The latest and greatest FPS
Disadvantages: You need a DVD player, broadband, and a high-spec machine

...It has been many years since Half Life came out and with its attempt at realistic animation of scientists, soldiers, robots and aliens; it is still a very playable game today. The bumbling uncertainty of the scientists under pressure to complete their experiments with the help of Gordon Freeman, and the catastrophic appearance of aliens from another dimension combined to make for an entertaining, absorbing and frightening scenario for a First Person Shooter. Added to this, of course, was the unprecedented development of the code, textures, etc, being used by enthusiasts to create the biggest online game of all time, Counterstrike. That – and other variations – not to mention the online multiplayer deathmatches based on Half Life itself, gave this title legs. It has