Synergy

I just downloaded Synergy mod for Half-life 2 and played for about half-an-hour. It lets you play co-operatively with your friends. I never got the chance to play the co-op Half-Life campaign becuase everyone was too interested in playing specially built co-op maps which come along with the mod and kind-of tie in with the Half-Life 2 storyline in the sense that you're a group of resistance fighters taking over a city controlled by Combine soldiers. Still, it departs no further than the original Half-Life expansions detailing in greater detail the events which occured at Black Mesa. And it supports the fan-made single-player levels which bring greater depth to the overall story. Actually, it supports a fair bit but I can't find the entire list just yet.

I want to get Half-Life 2 on another computer so that I can play it co-operatively with someone else at home. Thing is that whenever I ask for the parent's credit card and my reason is to buy another copy of Half-Life 2 (of which I already own one copy) it's just a no-brainer for them. And I have an unfortunate reputation for throwing money at things on small impulses and chances that it might turn out to be really fantastic. And I already bought a set of games this month (just after I got my laptop, Multiwinia, all that). However, it would help with the Source SDK becuase it's not totally happy with me pre-loading the Half-Life 2 map and model files without actually having permission to run the game. Oh well, as part of my noble effort to get parents to experience this brilliant medium, I shall tonight sit down with them and get them to experience a little bit of the Half-Life 2 (single-player) story.

Bottom line is: Half-Life 2 remains the most fantastic game ever made. Synergy mod just made it even more fantastic. Parents will play and appreciate games or, if not, they'll understand just a little bit.