It's that time again. Today has been rather uneventful, so I've taken the liberty of writing up another mod I think the community shall like. So without farther adieu: Research and Development.
The title is what got me on this game, what made me check it out at first, the words "Research and Development" seem to naturally lure my curiosity senses into checking something out, and for the most part, I'm glad I did.
What?
R&D is a strictly puzzle based game. That doesn't mean that you don't kill or maim or destroy anything, far from it. It simply means that instead of using your twitchy trigger finger, you need to use your intellect to find away to dispose of the incident. With the exception of the gravity gun and pheropods (bug bait), you're on your own.
The mod in its entirety is actually rather long compared to most others, I'd say about an hour and a half for a single playthrough, so it's decently paced.
The Story
Research and Development's weak point is probably its storyline, in my opinion. "You're a mute scientist, escape your laboratory and survive." pretty much sums it up.
The Gameplay
The modification itself is extremely well-made and captivating for that matter. All of the puzzles are presented in a subtle way, but not so hard that you won't have any idea of what to do next. There was this one puzzle where you need to deactivate a force field to get the gravity gun, and it had a very unique way of solving it. So much so that I would often play the game just to get to that part.
Just because it's a puzzle based game doesn't mean there's no violence, for those of you out there. You'' take part in a few Episode Two-esque Helicopter battles, and numerous combine soldiers, antlion guards, and so forth.
While most of the puzzles are well executed and very nice, there were two in particular that I had problems with. The first one was a maze-type puzzle where you had to guide an electric fuse with your gravity gun, but if you touch the walls, you lose. The hitboxes in that puzzle are rather annoying, and you only have a few fuses before you run out, so you need to get it right.
Another one is where you have to go through a metal corridor that is electrified by a loose wire that you need to move with your gravity gun. Maybe I did it wrong, but I ended up spamming primary fire on my gravity gun and jumping like a madman, it was rather glitchy.
Also you get to build your own custom vehicle. Okay, its not so much custom as it is putting pieces together, but its a nice break from the Jeep/Airboat/Jalopy.
Despite the few glitches, the ingenuity of the other puzzles certainly make up for it in the long run.
The Screenshots
The game really is beautiful, and my screenshots don't really do it justice, but nonetheless...
The Verdict
Another excellent mod, if you liked Portal, you'll like this. If you didn't like Portal, you'll still like this. As it's a free download, you really have nothing to lose.
The Download
Research and Development can be downloaded here:http://gamesmodding.com/planetphillip/2009/july-09/hl2-ep2-sp-research-and-development.rar
Have fun, and enjoy.
Z'Edit: You'll need Episode 2 to enjoy this game to its fullest.
The title is what got me on this game, what made me check it out at first, the words "Research and Development" seem to naturally lure my curiosity senses into checking something out, and for the most part, I'm glad I did.
What?
R&D is a strictly puzzle based game. That doesn't mean that you don't kill or maim or destroy anything, far from it. It simply means that instead of using your twitchy trigger finger, you need to use your intellect to find away to dispose of the incident. With the exception of the gravity gun and pheropods (bug bait), you're on your own.
The mod in its entirety is actually rather long compared to most others, I'd say about an hour and a half for a single playthrough, so it's decently paced.
The Story
Research and Development's weak point is probably its storyline, in my opinion. "You're a mute scientist, escape your laboratory and survive." pretty much sums it up.
The Gameplay
The modification itself is extremely well-made and captivating for that matter. All of the puzzles are presented in a subtle way, but not so hard that you won't have any idea of what to do next. There was this one puzzle where you need to deactivate a force field to get the gravity gun, and it had a very unique way of solving it. So much so that I would often play the game just to get to that part.
Just because it's a puzzle based game doesn't mean there's no violence, for those of you out there. You'' take part in a few Episode Two-esque Helicopter battles, and numerous combine soldiers, antlion guards, and so forth.
While most of the puzzles are well executed and very nice, there were two in particular that I had problems with. The first one was a maze-type puzzle where you had to guide an electric fuse with your gravity gun, but if you touch the walls, you lose. The hitboxes in that puzzle are rather annoying, and you only have a few fuses before you run out, so you need to get it right.
Another one is where you have to go through a metal corridor that is electrified by a loose wire that you need to move with your gravity gun. Maybe I did it wrong, but I ended up spamming primary fire on my gravity gun and jumping like a madman, it was rather glitchy.
Also you get to build your own custom vehicle. Okay, its not so much custom as it is putting pieces together, but its a nice break from the Jeep/Airboat/Jalopy.
Despite the few glitches, the ingenuity of the other puzzles certainly make up for it in the long run.
The Screenshots
The game really is beautiful, and my screenshots don't really do it justice, but nonetheless...
The Verdict
Another excellent mod, if you liked Portal, you'll like this. If you didn't like Portal, you'll still like this. As it's a free download, you really have nothing to lose.
The Download
Research and Development can be downloaded here:http://gamesmodding.com/planetphillip/2009/july-09/hl2-ep2-sp-research-and-development.rar
Have fun, and enjoy.
Z'Edit: You'll need Episode 2 to enjoy this game to its fullest.
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. I don't think that was even part of the puzzle.
