Having played Half Life Alyx...

So I did it, I finally got to the end of Half Life Alyx. Is it the brake through VR game that's going to make it mainstream? Probably Not (not that I think it ever could even if it was perfect). Really thought if you already have a head set, it's a must have game. I'll just say if haven't played it, you might want to stop reading now if you are worried about spoilers. They game really takes the sentiment that a lot of critics have said about Half Life games being rollercoster rides and pretty much embraces it. It's a theme park attraction through and through. The Big difference being this took me 14 hours. I honestly found this quite shocking. I get that it's a $60 game but god damn! Don't expect to play this in one sitting(I could only play for about an hour at a time, but I might just be getting old). You will be guided by the nose, even more so than past Half Life game. Even this game's collectables will be more close to the main path than lets say the Lambda supply cashes in HL2. And I had my gun fully upgraded well before the end of the game, so don't sweat it. The new Gravity gloves are a no brainer upgrade from the Gravity Gun. saving me from having to bend down for ammo. and yeah Just picking up and tossing bottles is just as fun and novel now, as it was in HL2. Gun play is where things get interesting. Reloading and aiming are no longer as simple as moving your mouse and clicking. This lead me to some rather panicky moments (wonder if the Devs played Wolffires Receiver). This works great if feel with shambling zombies, than Bullet spoongy combine. Who's encounters I feel are often more frustrating than thrilling. And I kinda feel like the devs knew this, because firefights with them are surprisingly rare throughout the game. On a note of stuff I love, the world and environments. City 17 feel a lot more wild in this game. I get the feeling like the Combine's rule is still new and I can still feel a lot of the old world still linger. Oh and they pulled in a lot more of the alien setting form HL1 and Zen, Big plus. All the characters and writing felt solid. the change in VA for Elie is unfortunate (RIP) but he dose a great job still. Russell feels like a more toned down Wetly form Portal 2 and I'm cool with that. Now for some spoilery stuff. most of the game I really could just file under, solid HL2 style stuff but I do have some highlights. The part sneaking around a unkillable zombie monster, named Jeff. plays like a lot of the sneaky Horror games you see on the PC. And it's a great fit for VR, unnerving and tense for all the right reasons. I feel like the zoo level should have been longer. it's a great bit of irony to have it be the level that the Antlions are reveled (feeling a bit more like Starship Trooper bug, eh ok) We just need more zoo levels in games. The climatic part with the Strider would have gone over a lot better I feel if the artillery gun worked better. And the finale part in the big ship you've been working so hard to get to pulls all the same notes as the sidadal, but better. the crazy Inception style levels are a great treat and breather after the Strider battle. not much to say about the powered up Gravity Gloves other than it made me feel like Shazam! now on to the Big spoiler! So it's not Freeman you rescue but Gman. He gives his sepal and gives Alyx the choice to kill the Advisor that killed her father in Episode 2. I didn't wait to see if there was a HL1 style ending. Now the big thing is after the credits (thankfully short for a VR game) and wow Elie is a live and hands you (Gordan Freeman) the crowbar. Still don't know how I feel about this. So, over all HL Alyx is great, but my back and legs hurt after an hour of playing and my face gets sweaty.