Who is Gordon ?

Gordon, a virtual man aged 27 years old, loves physics. He was born in Seattle, and got his diploma in quantum physics in 1999.
At the beginning of the game, we can see Gordon traveling in a tram to go to the huge laboratory called "Black Mesa" based in the desert of Mexico (it is the first day he works there). We are inside him, and we can watch what happens in the firm, while the tram runs.
However, we know how this strange guy named Gordon looks. He wears black glasses, he has green eyes, red hair, and a beard. We notice that we always see him with a protective suit, because he always has to survive in the game, against extraterrestrials which "accidentally" warped in Black Mesa.

Here is the logo of Black Mesa, which is also used in physics.

He looks pretty familiar but has both a threatening and a kind look. Moreover, he never speaks, which makes him more enigmatic : we are not able to know his feelings.


Oh, I forgot to tell you his name, which is strange too. His name is Freeman. Why Freeman ? Because it is a common name ? Is it because of the adjective "free" (Gordon always has to escape aliens and Black Mesa) ?

Gordon's main enemy has a kind of link with Gordon too.

His name is G-Man, which remind us the surname Gordon. He also has a face which is nearly the same :

Translation :
Haaransatz : hair
Schädelknochen : skull
Haarwuchs : sideburns
Form und Stellung des linken Ohrs : shape and set of the left ear
Wangenknochen : the hollow of the face
Kiefer Form und Verlauf : the shape and the set of the jaw
Kinnpartie : part of the chin
NasenForm : the shape of the nose

Something is funny with his personality : he always wants to help his colleagues, but he can kill everybody, even his friends during the game (because we control him, so we can make him do stupid things), except in Half Life 2, in which he pulls down his gun when he sees friends; and if the gamer insists on killing them, they won't be hurt.

If you want more information about the character or the game, I advise that you play the games Half Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Half Life 2 ( + episode 1 and 2). Those are cult games, which are worth playing !!

BWAAAAAAAAAAAH !

You might think : "How crazy is this title ! Why BWAAA ?".
Do you remember the video game called Rayman ? Of course you do !
Now, think about the game which has been released in December 2006. It comes to your mind... it is "Rayman Raving Rabbids" ("Rayman contre les lapins crétins" in France).

If you are not a video game nerd, you certainly have still heard of this game when you watched TV and saw those cute rabbits escaping the All Blacks, or Rayman throwing a cow.





Well, if it doesn't mean anything to you, let me introduce them.
Rayman (a hero who has no arms and no legs) in the first game Rayman Raving Rabbids (not Rabbits) has to fight a horde of mad rabbits which want to invade his planet. Why do they want to invade his planet ? Because rabbits have always been mistreated, so they want to take revenge.

Well, Rayman was having a picnic with Globox kids and suddently, rabbits captured him and locked him up in a jail cell. Rayman must escape from jail and fight rabbits to save his world.

You must wonder what scary face they have ! Let me show you the most terrifying enemies you could know.
Don't worry that was a joke ! They don't have a beard, it's a caricature of Chabal, the French rugby star. Their real face is :
They look mad don't they ?
If you know previous Rayman games, you might think that Rayman Raving Rabbids is a platform game too. Rayman Raving Rabbids is not a platform game, it consists of completing three trials, followed by one special 'boss trial'. Completing trials earns Rayman plungers. When he accumulates enough of these, he can build a ladder up the edge of his jail cell and escape to freedom. Completing trials also earns Rayman different music and costumes.


In Score Mode, a player can repeat past trials in an attempt to improve one's score or as a multiplayer party game. The key point of this game is the fact that characters and mini-games are not serious at all. You can also play with friends on your computer or with your Wii.


Let's talk about the current release : "Rayman Raving Rabbids 2" on 25th November 2007 ("Rayman contre les lapins encore plus crétins").

This game has only been adapted in DS and Wii, but it contains many more mini-games which are more and more fun. Here is a preview of mini-games that are avalaible :

This time, they want to invade our planet. They have established their camp in a shopping mall, which is not the best place, but don't forget that they are morons !! Here goes again Rayman once again to save the Earth !

I'll point you to a couple of web sites about Rayman Raving Rabbids 1 and 2 :
the official one : raymanzone.uk.ubi.com
www.gamespot.com


Have fun !

Les Lapins Crétins fêtent Noël
envoyé par FinalFouFantasy

A woman and a video game ? You're kidding !

Jade : - Imagine... a little girl, playing with dolls.

Gordon : - So what ?

Jade : - Well, what would you say if you saw your daughter starting playing video games with her brother ?

Gordon : - She's young, video games will get on her nerves. It's not like dolls, she can't touch it, and anyway, I'm sure that she prefers managing her baby's life instead of wasting her time hurting her fingers on the keyboard.

Jade : - You think so ? Ok, now I'm going to ask you an other question.

Gordon : - Allright.

Jade : - Your girl is now aged 14. You notice that she still plays video games, and she asks her brother to play with him with her own computer. He agrees and explains her that she needs to use a LAN.

Gordon : - LAN ? What is this word ?

Jade : - LAN is an abbreviation for Local Area Network. Let's just say that it allows people to link their computers together if the computers are at the same place. With LAN, you can have 2, 3 players or more playing the same game at the same time.

Gordon : - Ok, so I guess that he explains this word to her sister like you're explaining it to me.

Jade : - Yes, and if she still doesn't understand, he will take time for it.

Gordon : - Wouldn't she think that this explanation is boring ?

Jade : - No, your daughter is curious, and she respects her brother, so she tries to understand his speech.

Gordon : - Ok, so she understands everything and starts playing with her brother.

Jade : - Of course she does ! What would you tell her if you had to ask her to come downstairs to eat ?

Gordon : - "Sweetie ! Come on and join your lovely dad to taste his marvelous food !"

Jade : - You're very funny sir ! You wouldn't use the word "sweetie" to call your daughter would you ?

Gordon : - Probably not. You know, I don't have children, so I can hardly tell you my behaviour in this case.

Jade : - Don't think and just try to imagine and answer me frankly. So, she plays with her brother and starts going to her brother's friend's home to have LANs.

Gordon : - You've just told me that a LAN was just a network !

Jade : - Yes, and I didn't specify you that a LAN is a word used for a kind of party where you can play with friends thanks to the LAN for just an evening or for several days.

Gordon : - I wouldn't leave her alone with those guys !

Jade : - Well, it's a special case... Imagine you're coming to bring her back home and you see her, playing violent games such as Doom 3, UT 3 or Bioshock.

Gordon : - What do you mean when you say "violent" games ? I don't know those games !

Jade : - These games are FPS games in which you have to survive and shoot everything or almost everything you see on the screen. Of course, she can see blood during the game.

Gordon : - My god ! My daughter playing those barbaric games !! If she were a boy, I wouldn't be surprised, but a girl ! You know, I've heard on TV that gamers could become serial killers, and anyhow, journalists say that girls only play lovely games such as MySims or Animal Crossing.

Jade : - YES ! That's what I wanted you to say ! Do you think that those statements are true ? Do you think that women are so different, and that they can't understand the fact that men play video games ? Why is it strange when I tell you that women play video games ?

... Think about it ...



Here's a link that I've just found where you can find a website speaking about this subject :
http://www.womengamers.com/index.php