I wanted to write an article about story. The article about design would take significantly longer to write, and if you haven’t noticed, I’ve published like 18 things on Kotaku since yesterday morning, and I’m prepping more to go soon.

This article occults what we, as gamers, are praising about the game ; actual game mechanics.

You’re arguement is pretty good, except for one thing: you’re forgetting about the Vortigaunts. They’re why Gordon Freeman has the reputation he has in Half-Life 2. They were previously enslaved by the Nihilanth (who may have been a rebel against the Combine, but was the one leading the assault against Earth in…