Half-Life 2 Heaven

I'm in Half-Life 2 heaven all over again. I got immersed in this game - and the revamped original, Half Life: Source - when I was off work with cataracts at the beginning of 2005 (I could see well enough to shoot the combines and headcrabs, but the driving sections were a bitch). I actually felt sad when I completed the games.

I bought it from Amazon, using a free £20 voucher I had. It came in a big tin box complete with tee shirt and booklet. I sold the box, tee shirt and book on eBay for £19. Sound, eh? But I kept the games. I just love shooting things, see. And hitting the dead bodies with a crowbar to watch the ragdoll physics in action is pretty cool, too.

There's a contradiction here. I used to cry at school if I saw a fight, while all the other kids would be forming a circle and chanting Scrap! Scrap! Scrap! I detest boxing or kick-boxing or any variation of those combative sports. I feel slightly panicky when I see violence in films and I've switched off the news more times than I care to remember, unable to stomach all those scenes of war, violence and tragedy.

But yesterday, when I found the mod called MINERVA: Metastais I installed it, booted it up, and within minutes was experiencing that familiar thrill that comes from sneaking up behind a guard and killing him with a single headshot.

And then pounding him with a crowbar, just to check he's dead.