Half-Life

The Good
Half-Life. Hundreds of publications and web-sites have praised it's gameplay and innovation. Thousands of people play the game and it's various incarnations. After purchasing Half-Life, I have one thing to say.

It has lived up to all expectations and then some.

The opening of the game feels like a movie. You are Gordon Freeman and you are a scientist at the Black Mesa Research Facility - Anomalous Materials Laboratory, a decommissioned military installation in Arizona. As you arrive to work, you ride the tram into the facility. A great aspect of this "typical" ride in is that it isn't a movie. It's all rendered in real-time using the game's engine. So you can walk around the tram, look up and down, and watch the credits go by. But the intro does something else. It immerses you into the role. You get a sense of vastness and complexity, just by looking at the size of the facility.

As you start your day at Black Mesa, you start to learn and piece together facts about what you do, and what type of research is conducted. In fact, there are area that you cannot gain access to until you get your Environmental Suit. So you need to go to your locker and suit up (like if you actually worked there) before exploring the game. I like the fact that you learn about what happened as you go through the game, similar to System Shock 1 and 2.

Half-Life runs using the Quake II engine. But trying to compare Quake and HL is like comparing Castle Wolfenstein and Wolf 3D. The basis of the engine is intact, but the guys at Valve have modified it so much that it's considered a completely new graphics engine. Running on a NVIDIA 3D card, the graphics are absolutely fabulous.
Cool electrical effects run rampant through the game, as creatures from another world materialize before your very eyes. And they seemingly appear at random as well, so if you walk into a room, always "check your six", because you never know if one will pop up behind you. Luckily, the electrical noise that is made is very distinct, so if you hear it, you can be sure that their is a creature around the corner.

Another nice graphical touch involves the numerous weapons you find while escaping from the Black Mesa Research Facility. Most FPS weapons are stationary in front of you. You are always holding them, ready to fire at any given moment. In HL, If you are holding a rifle, you'll occasionally move your hands, as if you are getting tired of holding the weapon (if this affects gameplay, I'm not sure. I haven't seen it have any drastic affects yet). It's nice to see this type of attention to detail in a FPS, especially considering the state they were in when HL released. Also, you need to reload your weapons. Take the shotgun, for example. The shotgun is a powerful weapon, but only holds 8 cartridges. So after firing 8, you'll need to reload. But you'll actually see your character loading the weapon. If you are in the middle of a firefight, then you are left defenseless. So reloading your weapon also becomes a tactical decision as well.

The controls are standard FPS layout, which can be modified as you wish. I personally feel that the initial layout is a bit clunky (but then again I feel ALL FPS shooter's initial layout is clunky) but remapping your keys is a breeze.

The sound is unreal. If you run across walkways, the metallic thumping sound is quite realistic. Yet, if you decide to crouch/walk over the same walkways, the sound is muffled, and sounds like you are making an effort to keep quiet (which is useful in some levels). Digital panning and echo effects make is sound like you are in a sterilized, cavernous research facility.

In addition to the Half-Life game that is present, they ability to switch to other single player games is easy. Instead of exiting the game and having to "program" the new levels in, it simply a matter of copying the files into the directory, and clicking "Activate". There are quite a few single player MODS out there that have a polished feel to them, so scout them out. PC Gamer's "They Hunger" and "U.S.S. Darkstar" are a couple to check out.

And then you have your online component. HL makes for an absolutely incredible online experience. From the start, HL was design for the average user to just make a few mouse clicks and then POOF you are online and actively playing. Be it Counterstrike, Team Fortress, DeathMatch Classic, Day of Defeat, or any of the countless mods that ordinary people have released (OK, not ordinary, but unbelievably talented people), there is something for everyone's taste in blowing up the bad guys. And hats off to Valve for making the source code open and available, allowing the people that play the games to play in the sandbox with the big boys. They have opened up what used to be a rather closed community, and have let regular artists, musicians, programmers and gameplayers in on all the fun

The Bad
Well this is only a personal gripe for me, and it pertains only to the single-player game. It's hard. Real hard. Even on easy, you need to use your quicksave key a lot. Now I'm not saying that it should have been easier, but for those who don't eat, sleep, and drink Quake/Unreal, it could have been easier. But I'm determined to finish the game without using cheat codes (I'm in LAMBDA CORE and it's using up all my available willpower to do so!)

The Bottom Line
Get it. If you love fast action online gaming, it WILL consume your free time. If you love a great single-player experience with plenty of ways to play, it WILL consume your free time. :)

But regardless if you have free time or not, Half-Life is a great addition to any gamer's library... You do have a library.... right? :)

The Good
id Software rose to stardom in the Nineties when it released its highly successful Wolfenstein 3-D to the masses. If you see the id logo on the front cover, you know that you will be taking home with you an awesome first-person shooter. Hits such as Doom, Heretic, and Quake were being churned out every year. In 1998, Valve, a small company headed by a former Microsoft employee, released Half-Life, and in my opinion, it is a classic. A review I read in PC PowerPlay gave the game a whopping 98%. The only negative thing they said about this game was a connection between hunger and African children. It was Half-Life itself that revolutionized first-person shooters on the PC even further.

Right from the start of the game, I was surprised to find out that instead of a long cinematic showing Gordon Freeman traveling to the Sector C Test Labs on a train, you are free to move around the train yourself. You can even look out the windows to discover construction areas and security offices. Then, once you reach Sector C, you can either explore the area fully or go find your HEV suit. Freeman’s HEV suit is fantastic. Besides telling you how much health and ammo you have, it displays different warnings depending on the environment you are in. It even talks to you, too. With the suit in place, it’s time to enter the test chambers. There are no cinematics in the game; Valve wants you to be immersed in the game world as much as possible.

Eventually, there is a resonance cascade, which is caused when Freeman pushes a specimen in a scanning beam. A portal opens up between Earth and an alien world called Xen. As you progress through the game, you will hear aliens teleporting in your vicinity. The first of these are headcrabs, vortigaunts, and houndeyes. The player will encounter more aliens as they progress, and these can be dealt with using the variety of weapons on offer. They are divided into groups, with the basic ones such as the crowbar on the left, followed by military-grade weapons, then alien weapons and, finally, grenades and other explosives. Different weapons can be selected by using the mouse wheel or pressing one to five on the keyboard.

The security guards and scientists walking around at the start of the game are non-playable characters you have to deal with later. They can help you get into locked areas if you lure them to the door locks. What they won’t do is climb ladders, follow you through vents, or enter very dangerous areas. Both characters have little conversations with themselves if they get bored. You can call their services any time throughout the game, just not before you enter the test chamber. The earliest game I know that introduced the concept of NPCs was CyberMage: Darklight Awakening, but this was an overlooked game back in the day, and you can only talk to them, that’s all.

Another plus of Half-Life is the level design. There are many areas to explore, including offices, rail tunnels, control centers, outposts, and even Xen itself. They are interconnected with each other, and – unlike first-person shooters before it – they don’t require you to press a button to access them first. Some of the areas are littered with puzzles. My favorite is trying to launch an airstrike on the Gargantua. There are bosses you need to defeat from time to time, but it is not just a matter of “shoot to kill”.

In most chapters, the environments in which the player explores look amazing, especially the exterior in “Surface Tension”. For example, the player has to fight HECU soldiers along a cliff. The view of the New Mexico desert is breathtaking, with a little stream at the bottom and huge rocks surrounding it. “Xen” and “Interloper” are outside scenes, and the view looks really good. I enjoyed exploring the planet, shooting alien grunts in the process. In earlier chapters, offices and computer rooms can be entered while players are walking around Black Mesa. I was amazed at how much technology got crammed in the computer rooms, and how good it looks. Furthermore, the offices are clean and haven't got trash lying on the floor. They look better than my bedroom.

Like many games released on CD-ROM, the music is stored as audio tracks. The music in Half-Life is well composed, and what’s unique about each piece of music is that they don’t loop back to the beginning, and each piece only lasts for only two or three minutes. I like how some of them have that beat to them, such as the one played after you don your HEV suit. As for the sound effects, they are quite impressive. My favorite sounds come from the houndeye. When this cute creature sees you with its one huge eye, it sounds as if a door is opening. And as it emits shock waves you can almost hear Freeman screaming even though he is supposed to be silent.

If you’re new to first-person shooters, you want to compete on a hazard course before you start a new game. You will be assisted by a holographic image of a woman who teaches you how to run, jump, duck, shoot, perform long jumps, and climb ladders. It will take you about thirty minutes, given that you may fail at completing a task. You will also learn how to accomplish new tasks such as performing high jumps, using ladders, recharging your HEV suit and health at wall stations, and going around in the dark with a flashlight.

The Bad
I noticed a few bugs in the game, mainly concerning the non-player characters. In some situations, when they finish walking to wherever they want to go, they tend to do a little tap dance. I even remember, in the chapter “Office Complex”, one of the NPCs was walking around and died of a heart attack. Also, I remember in “Blast Pit”, when I opened a door, it seemed to drift out into space as long as it remained open.

The Bottom Line
Half-Life is a fantastic game. There is so much to do here - destroying aliens; restoring power to some areas; and interacting with both scientists and security guards, to make them get you access to locked areas. Most of the graphics are breathtaking, and an excellent soundtrack is heard while you play. There are certain aspects of the game that the player might enjoy doing.

Originally released for Windows in 1998, Half-Life also made its way onto Mac and Linux thanks to Valve themselves. This version - distributed on the Steam platform - is the same as the original retail version but without the flashy menu screens. There is also an updated Source port which I recommend you avoid; it contains too many bugs Valve couldn't be bothered fixing. If you love first-person shooters and you want to do something new, other than blast enemies all the time, give Half-Life a go.

The Good
STORY You are Gordon Freeman - research assistant at the Black Mesa - goverment run - science facility. Your day starts off as normal, a ride in the tram to your post, the standard checks and so on and so forth... Then it all quite simply - goes to hell. An experiment goes horribly horribly wrong, and a whole bunch of interdimentional aliens arrive at black mesa - they don't bring peace. Things get even worse when the Military being sent in to rescue you are really there to clean up the mess.

GRAPHICS Ok it's 2003 and well back then the graphics were not too brilliant - but I'll just shut my eyes and take myself back to early 1999 where the Quake 3 engine had just started to hatch and we all went "oh my!" The textures and characters are by todays standards - horribly outdated and just plan "ewww!!" Back then in 1998 they were not really concidered brilliant - but nevertheless passable. There are some cool things, like the gibs the excessive amounts of blood one scientist can have and so on. The animation of the characters are very well done, very fluid (for 1998) and nicely done. From the multiple feelers of that large squid alien that likes to spid acid and charge you, to the headcrabs that lunge from nowhere groping in the air with their claws for your face. Other animations like the guards, hapless scientists and other miscalanious things are all well done in my opinion. Other cool things are the random piece of junk that burst out of boxes and bits of debris that fall from things.

Characters are a bit lax, you see THE SAME guard over and over again while there's at least 4 different scientists...Alien models are generally well done, fairly detailed and such, the alien guns are pretty cool as well - like the little alien mine critter that tries to eat your finger.

CONTROLS Standard FPS config, WASD for movement, E for activation, Left mouse for shooting, Right for Secondary fire and so on

SOUND Very very good. While the echos are a bit grating on my latest sound card (it just loves reverb) all the small effects like footsteps, alien sounds and such are well done. And there are also the small things like the wirring of a sentry gun, and the beeping of it locking onto you, plus how in echoy rooms you can hear things crawling in the darkness and so on. The voice acting is also pretty good - while a bit sterotypical (nerdy scientists) it's ok.

GAMEPLAY Now firstly - the game is linear - totally 100% linear - no alternate paths, no different ways though a situation it's 100% scripted. So what makes it so great? The answer is in it's moments, and details. Half-Life is like being in a very high octane movie with something new always around the corner. You turn to go across a catwalk, only to have a large creature teleport in mid-air and crash onto the catwalk destroying it. Things that hang from the clieling and drag you up to be eaten spew remains when killed, fans whirl hapless scientists into them, monsters eat and claw hapless scientists. a scientist hangs off a piece of debris before falling off...(yes they are cannon fodder) What also makes this game great are the situations that you are placed in - they do require you to think a bit. And while keyhunting is almost completely non existant, it's trying to work out how to defeat this seemingly invincible boss....then you hear a guard "it listens for things" Yes - no longer does a boss mean you pummel what ever you have into it - no this one meant you had to sneak around it then activate the fuel and oxygen of the blast chamber and fry it to pieces. The other two bosses were also interesting, one was completely invincible, the other well that was a shame. It looked like a giant baby...thing....and it required a but of a jumping puzzle to kill. But what makes this game replayable - it's just the situations there are so many moments in Half Life that make it so hard to forget.

The Bad
Well...ok it was a tad hard. Especially the jumping aspects of it. Some parts were just almost insanely hard that you just gave up for the night, Mainly thoese parts involved some mechanical thing that tracked and shot you - or the guards with their devious AI.

The other niggle about the game is the linarity of it - while a situation may be cool at starters - other times it's plain annoying when you've seen it for the 15th time after dying from it.

Also the ending just sucks...it is really a truly disapointing end to such a great game. The final levels are more or less like Turok rather than Half Life

The Bottom Line
Play it if you have not. For this a rare game that is a stunning classic