Battlebots 2015: Episode 1 Review

Finally got around to watching the opening episode of this new Battlebots, and you know what? It wasn't too much different from the old Battlebots. I recognized at least half of the 8 teams present, and two of the robots were old veterans. I mean, it wouldn't be Battlebots without Nightmare, would it? Anyway, the fights were good, I wish there had a couple more of them, 4 was not quite enough.

Icewave vs. Razorback

The robot with the big horizontal spinning bar beat a robot that really didn't have any way to counter a big horizontal spinning bar. Razorback got KO'd pretty fast, and that wasn't much of a surprise.

Wrecks vs. Plan X

Plan X controlled the fight for almost the entire match, until it apparently got stuck on something and Wrecks shuffled its way over (and I do mean shuffled) and destroyed half of the other robot. Went to a decision, with the victory ultimately going to Plan X. I agree with that decision, if only for the reason that I really don't want to spend any more time looking at Wrecks. I mean, I've seen some pretty stupid designs in all the years I've been watching Battlebots, and a robot that relies on momentum from its saw to shuffle awkwardly across the room is a pretty stupid design.

Warhead vs. Bite Force

This one went the whole 3 minutes, but it was no contest. Warhead, the old veteran robot from the old Battlebots, got shoved about the entire match, and did virtually nothing to its opponent. An easy victory for Bite Force

Warrior Clan vs. Nightmare

The robot might be different, but we all remember what happened the last time when the Whyachi team went against Nightmare. It didn't go much better for Nightmare this time around either. At least it didn't lose any wheels.

Some random thoughts to close out here:

Where are the stage hazards? Specifically, where were the Killsaws? I know they have them, but I never once saw them. Where's the more than a little crazy guy to control the hazards? I mean, there hardly seems like a point if they don't get used.

I guess this is just heavyweights for this tournament? Maybe? There's only 24 robots here, which is a much smaller scale than the old Battlebots, which had 4 divisions and more than a 100 robots in total. Of course, we never got to see every fight, and maybe ABC is just testing the waters to see if Battlebots still has an audience. Hopefully if we get another season we'll see a more diverse field.

I miss the old stage announcer. That guy was awesome.

All in all, I'd say that Battlebots still has the charm that I remember, and I'm looking forward to seeing more robot fights. Hopefully I can review the next episode in a slightly more timely fashion.

Thoughts on Half-Life 2 Episodes

Well, that's it then.  I've played all the main Half-Life games, and now I, just like millions of other
people, get to wait for a game that may never even come.  I really hope that we do get a Half-Life 3, just to complete the story, because there's nothing worse than an unresolved plot, and Episode 2  concludes with a big plot twist.

I enjoyed the Episodes, but I did not like them as much as the full game.  I wanted to consider Episode 1 and 2 as a full, standalone game, but I couldn't do that.  That's too bad, because it would have helped the immersion factor immensely.  You progress through Episode 1 so fast it never has a chance to really suck you into the world.  I got through it in less than four hours, which is about the same amount of time I took to play the original Portal game.  That still managed to be immersive though, because it was very minimalistic, where as Episode 1 is not.  Just as you start to get invested in the game, it's over.

Episode 2 is a bit better, because it's longer.  At just under 6 hours, it is more of a very condensed
game than the first episode.  It has a definite beginning, middle, and end.  Unfortunately, the ending of Episode 2 is basically, "Insert sequel here," as a major character dies and the situation goes from bad to "Oh crap."  Episode 2 was released in 2007.  It is no 2014, and as far as we know, we are no closer to that sequel now then we were seven years ago.  I feel sorry for the people who played Episode 2 back when it was released and have been waiting all this time.  It wouldn't be so bad if the Half-Life games weren't some of the most critically acclaimed video games ever.  But they are, and now, I have to wait for Half-Life 3, just like everyone else.

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