L4D and Fallout 3

I'm dying with this lack of a gaming computer.

So, Left 4 Dead's demo came out some time ago, and I had to start my broken computer just in case it runs, and I could spend a few hours on L4D with friends. I had already tested the game out on Slaver's computer, since he bought the game in advance and thus got the demo beforehand, and needless to say, I wanted more.
So my graphics card stayed alive so that I managed to play 1,7 hours of Left 4 Dead with PlayStation graphics. And then it screamed in agony and promptly died. So much for L4D demo then.
I have a new computer underway, finally, and it should arrive this week if everything goes well. Intel's quad core processor, ATI Radeon HD 4670 (I wanted a GeForce, but the Radeon was much cheaper), 2 Gb RAM, I should be getting nice graphics and a constant high FPS in TF2 and other games.
And I can't fucking wait to get to play TF2. The first thing I do when I get the new computer, I'll install TF2 and play. For hours. Everything else be damned, I need it.

But Left 4 Dead? Is simply awesome. The AI Director is, apart from being a complete fucking sadist (it always spawned a goddamn Tank when half of my team was dead and the rest had like 1 HP left - yes, we kept playing on Expert, because that's where the true L4D experience lies) a marvellous invention, it really does make the game feel fresh even if you do play the same two maps over and over and over again.

I love the soundscape, I love the true feeling of panic the game causes (I still get a chill every time I hear the "horde's coming!" soundcue, and automatically look for a wall to press my back against), I love the atmosphere, I love the hordes of running zombies, I love it how it almost feels like slow-motion when you fall down and there are zombies everywhere screaming and clawing at you and you shoot and shoot and it's completely in vain and you're on the verge of dying, heartbeat deafening you and eyesight going and then there's a friend blasting through the wall of zombies with a shotgun and helping you up.
It'a fucking brilliant.



Then everyone's a team-killing fucktard, everyone shoots at cars, giggling while they're at it; you throw a molotov when a friend is getting pinned by a Hunter and there's a horde coming and after that you beeline straight towards the safe room and lock everyone out; you always refuse to put out your flashlight when you hear crying and you HAVE to shoot at the Witch, and it's all fun and games even if everyone gets completely slaughtered by the Tank when half of the team is dead and the rest have 1 HP left. Seriously, having done all of that, or been in the receiving end of the molotov and being locked out of safe room, it's always a blast. Maybe not playing with strangers, but with friends shits and giggles is always a good thing.

And almost all the guys on my class got totally hooked on the game, so at least I'm bound to have company to play with whenever a need arises. I don't know when I'll be getting the full game, probably at 21st when Europe gets it. Providing that I have the new computer at my disposal.

What else? I've been actually playing quite a lot of Fallout 3 at a (boy)friend's place, and I'm loving it as well. I'm playing as a woman named Steve, she's a greedy and impatient wannabe bad guy specialised in all kinds of thievery and bullshitting. Deep inside she's a real doll who fights for the good. I blame it on the fact how devastated she was when she learned the truth about her father and the whole Vault 101 dealio: she wants revenge, but she doesn't know how to pull it off, thus she's lost and trying to do mean things, only to fail gloriously and end up doing ... nice things.
I mean, I was supposed to blow up Megaton. I talked to Burke (and ew ew EW the most disgusting conversation EVER, stupid Black Widow perk and my greediness!), and got the thingamajig to rig the bomb with, and I wanted to kill Moriarty because he was a complete fucking ass for being right about my dad.
But I couldn't do it, because I liked Gob too much (I love ghouls, and Gob made my day by always having his day made by me. I couldn't just blow him up, not when every time I talk to him he's relieved and genuinely happy to see me, calling me a friendly face. And while I want to steal something from Moriarty, anything, fuck I just want to see him suffer, I CAN'T because Gob would probably get mad at me or worse, Moriarty would blame it on Gob and make his life even more of a hell. Yeah, I should probably stop from getting attached to NPCs), and I also took some really weird sort of liking to Moira of the supplies. Who's batshit insane and cheerful to the point of being so obnoxious I just want to hit her. So I'm helping her to write her book, and this far I have been blown up my mines, sniped by a sniper, raided a Raider-infested ancient supermarket, walked into a grenade - twice, jumped from a roof and drank lots and lots of radioactive water, just for her.
I seriously don't know who's more insane in the end: she, or I.
So in the end I couldn't blow Megaton up. So I didn't. I disarmed the bomb, got hooked on Mentats in the process (cheers, Megaton, you fucking owe me) and settled down with my creepy robotic butler.
But at least I could finally empty my pockets. I'm a compulsive junk-gatherer, I take everything cool with me and carry it around until I can't anymore, and then with heavy heart I part with my teddybears and toy cars and all other cool stuff I had found. Sigh.

And I might have to kill Moriarty anyhow, I might have to put a grenade in his pocket. I want the stupid asshole dead. And I don't want to have some Jesus-level karma, geez! I'm a bad person, bad, grr.

Well, yeah, my badness is strictly tied to how I feel about a person. The "mayor" of Arefu, you know the guy, I hated him. He was an idiot, and a complete wuss for not doing anything about the Family, and taking care of the citizens of his crappy little village (and Jesus Christ that one woman in Arefu, she is SO OUT THERE you wouldn't believe!). So I broke into his house and stole everything I wanted. That oughta teach him.
Or this one sad little village full of idiots who were completely pussywhipped by Super Mutants. There was this girl, though, who tried to hit on me, that was fun. But anyway, I left their stupid village just to run straight into some minigun-wielding Muties, and because I'm a total coward when it comes to fighting (I'm a thief! I'm sneaky, I sneak behind people's backs and stab them, I don't engage in firefights with ugly giants with miniguns! At least not when there are two of them! I even try to avoid Raiders), I of course ran away. And lead the mutants right into this idiot village, and left them fight them off. Sorry, idiot villagers!
Or the Family, goddamn I wanted to kill Vance. And his wife. And all the idiot vampire brothers of his. One day, one day I'll sneak there and steal all their stuff and kill them when they sleep. I just don't get the logic, oh no we can't be cannibals that's barbaric, let's just drink blood instead. Absolute bullshit.

So if I don't like an NPC I break into their house and steal their stuff. Or plan to put a grenade in their pants. And if I do like an NPC I'm a total angel to them. But even to people I like I act impatient and I always ask for more money or whatever for my services. Adventuring's not free, you know. I need money to buy stuff for my house. But it's got me some really nice deals, so at least it pays off.
And to ghouls? I'm always an angel. They have hard time anyhow, if there's anything I can do to make them feel better, I'll do it. I'm planning to go visit Underworld as soon as I have a good excuse to enter DC. Gob wanted me to say hi to Carol for him.

So yeah, I really like Fallout 3. It's tons of fun, there's so much to do, the NPC's are compelling (even when I don't like them, and hey, it takes character to be obnoxious!) and I've really taken liking to my character. I really don't know what I'm set out to do, I guess I'll keep thieving and trying to do bad things, and helping out ghouls as much as I can and whenever possible. I guess I'll just go where adventure takes me.
Can't wait to buy the game for myself and make a male character with a girls' name and be total fucking antichrist and blow Megaton to high heaven. I won't even talk to Gob, if I never knew him, I can't feel sorry for him. And who knows, maybe the-guy-with-a-girls'-name really hates ghouls.

I guess that's all I wanted to say. For now.