A Green Mushroom

I think this VR game was done quickly as a partnership between Valve and the Surgeon Simulator guys.  It's the same structure of a game as Surgeon Simulator but instead of having crazy controls you have exact one to one controls with your hands. It completely changes the game but I actually found that I loved it on a totally different level.  This is one of the few VR games that I finished and immediately wished there was more to it.  It's only one level with one scenario and it's just not enough.  I now want to play all of Surgeon Simulator in VR with fantastic one to one controls.  I would love it! Please make this happen?

In a recent article, which can be read here , Game Informer announced that Valve is creating Dota 2. Creating a Dota 2 is a very interesting move by Valve. For years now, Valve has been a FPS developer. That's what they were, that's what they are, and that's their forte. Meaning, Dota is a very interesting choice for a project, and a huge retooling of their source engine will have to take place, or has already has taken place, to turn the FPS engine into an RTS engine. Not only is it a huge technical project, it's a dangerous one. They're essentially taking something that's free right now, and trying to turn it around into a retail product. This means, that to some extent, they're going to have to improve the product to make it worth paying for, all while not screwing over the well established gameplay. Those are some big shoes to fill.

I am!  I can't wait for the release of Portal 2 next Tuesday.  Portal is one of the best games I've played and I can't even imagine the mind bending that will happen in the sequel. I like the idea of thinking with portals, but here's the sad news.  If I had a portal gun in real life I would probably just use it to get rid of my commute to work.  Lame, I know, but if I tried to do much more with it I would definitely have a portal related accident. Anyway, if you loved portal there's no reason to skip Portal 2.  A whole new single player campaign.  New twists in the gameplay.  And best of all, Co-op!  Seriously, who doesn't want to be part of a portal slinging robot duo?  My brother and I are going to dominate that mode. I also stumbled across this awesome Portal comic from valve.  It's worth checking out for the art style alone, but the story helps bridge the gap between Portal and Portal 2 too. If you don't already have Por...

Team Fortress 2 is one of my favorite games.  I especially love it when I run out of other things to play.  It's a great fallback game to have on hand.  With the launch of TF2 on Mac this weekend Valve is offering a free play weekend or - better yet - you can pick up the full game for only $10.  This is a game worth way more than 10 bucks.  If you don't already have it, now is the time to grab a copy of your very own.

I have mentioned before that I like achievements.  They add replayability and diversity to game play.  It's nice to see one pop up while playing the game normally, but there is a huge sense of accomplishment when I complete an achievement that I've been striving for. I replayed Portal last night because of achievements . Portal is a great game in its own right but I haven't thought about replaying it for quite some time. That changed last week when Valve released an update for Portal which added hidden radios throughout the game.  The player needs to retrieve the radios and then take them to an unspecified location in the level, then the radio tunes and gives a secret message.  There is an achievement for doing this with all 26 radios.  These messages have led to an entire mystery surrounding Portal 2. Now the community has a mystery to solve, players have new goals to achieve, and Portal 2 is building some hype.  As usual with achievements, everybo...