Half-Life (1998)

I did not expect to have as much fun as I did with this "historical" game. Not only is it intriguing and fascinating to play through such a monumental landmark game with a massive cultural impact, it's always a delight to actually have fun in the process.

Writing reviews for gaming classics is always weird. Like, what can you say about Citizen Kane? "4/5 I loved the part where it pioneered modern cinematography techniques." How does that help me know if I'll enjoy this game or not? I dunno, I'll save that for the multi-hour YouTube retrospectives. What I can say is, if you're ok with the graphics and keeping a walkthrough on hand, you'll have a darn good time.

The models are crude and polygonal, and the textures pretty low-res, but there's arguably a cheesy charm to them. Like a toddler bringing you a drawing that's all just incoherent scribbles, and the perspective is all wrong, and the color theory is nonsense, but they tried really hard, and you're proud of them for that. I crack up at the goofy scientist models and the security guards' casual drawl, and the later space levels remind me of the special effects on the Space Mountain ride at Disneyland.

Atmospherically, it's surprisingly immersive for such a historical game. And not just the first hour or so where you're pseudo-role-playing a first day at work, talking to security guards and fellow scientists. When the gameplay gets going, it has an uncanny ability to suck you in and get you poring over the environments, looking for the way forward.

The level design is more structurally interesting and intuitively engaging compared to other historical shooters, where the levels were designed merely as mechanical playgrounds and nothing more. You finished Level 1-1? Good, onto 1-2. Half-Life, though, you're making your way through a connected and remarkably varied set of environments, set pieces, and shootouts. Always on the move, always experiencing something new.

That's really the strength of it, isn't it? You're never really doing the same thing twice. Some moments you're crawling through vents and sewer pipes, next you're fighting off alien hordes and military grunts, soon you're trying to solve a navigational puzzle, or pressing buttons in different orders so that the way forward is unlocked. It's that pacing, that variety, that perpetual freshness, that makes the game fun to play even in 2024.

The gunplay is solid, though nothing spectacular. The graphics, while charming, won't work for everyone. And again, you might need a walkthrough on hand for some parts. But if you're someone who's already curious about playing a seminal landmark in FPS gaming, you'll be pleasantly surprised how much fun it is too.

STORY-DRIVEN FPS - Gordon Freeman triggers a catastrophic event at the Black Mesa research facility, resulting in interdimensional rifts and the unleashing of hostile extraterrestrial creatures on Earth.

PROS:

++ Great level design. For the most part, the level design is great and encourages player to think and interact with the environment in order to progress

++ Immersive atmosphere. Atmosphere, especially near the beginning, was thick and immersed the player in the dire situation

++ Useful arsenal. Weapon selection was solid and each weapon was valuable in different scenarios.

++ Environmental storytelling. Implicit and environmental storytelling that rewards players who pay attention and explore.

++ Revolutionary. Revolutionized the FPS genre by complementing the shooting with a story.

CONS:

-- Terrible platforming. Platforming sections were annoying since movement felt incredibly slippery. It felt like Freeman was skating on ice. Lots of annoying deaths because of this.

-- Xen was frustrating. The final section (Xen) featured an annoying and frustrating platforming section. And overall, Xen was just not as interesting to explore.

-- Gunplay was meh. Combat lacked "punch" because visually, the guns don't seem to hurt enemies and they seemed a bit bullet-spongy. Also, headshots don't put them down faster.

After dodging the hype train for a long time, I thought it was finally time to try the original Half-Life in 2015. I was immediately hooked up and impressed how good the game was and, more importantly, how fantastic it held up today. This is one of the few games that kept me playing without ever boring me or forcing me through it, like some games. Every level was unique and featured a new mechanic of enemy.

You play as Gordon Freeman, the silent protagonist that is late for work at his job in the Black Mesa Research Facility. As part of an experiment, you casually put some sort of unknown crystal in a device called the anti-mass spectrometer. This goes horribly wrong, and everything explodes and a portal to another dimension, called Xen, is opened. Immediately, Xen aliens are going through the portal and attack every living soul in sight. The US military is also alerted and sends a special force called HECU to cover everything up, including you and the personal of Black Mesa.

Gordon learns of a way to close the portal and makes his way to the surface. He battles a giant tentacle monster, kills a lot more new alien species and tries to make his way to the other side of the facility. He gets captured by the HECU, is left for dead by the garbage compactor, escapes and makes his way to the Lambda Complex. He then learns that the portal is controlled by a mighty entity in the Xen world that keeps it open. He gets teleported with the aid of the scientists there to Xen and searches for the beast. He encounters the thing, called the Nihilanth, kills his ass and is then greeted by a slim, creepy figure of a man called G-Man. He is offered employment for G-Man and his buddies. If you refused, you get obliterated by a thousand soldiers. If you accept, you are put to sleep in wait of your next assignment.

For the time, this was a huge and epic story that still holds up today. It combines everything that makes an FPS great; killing enemies, hunting a boss, being chased by enemies, collecting enough ammo etc. The best part is the huge world you play in, the unique “real time” story telling rather than cut scenes and the puzzle solving that the game features.

The mechanics in Half-Life are unique. In the first place, it is your standard FPS, you collect different weapons, find ammo, kill enemies and move forward. But then you got the puzzle mechanics in which you need to stack boxes to reach a higher platform, navigating mazes, or figuring out what the best path will be to reach a certain area, without falling to your death. You also use the terrain a lot more than other games. When facing a strong enemy, you can use the environment for cover while fighting, something that is impossible in games like Doom and Duke Nukem.

Lastly, you got a badass HEV suit that grants you more protection and offers a ton of neat tools like a build in flashlight, oxygen for swimming sections, a compass, and your HUD. The suit absorbs a lot of damage and runs on a energy meter. When the suit is depleted, functions like the flashlight do not work anymore. You can recharge your health and suit energy at special stations scattered throughout the game.

The combat mechanics are fluent and feel very responsive and satisfying. It is fast paced, accurate and a ton of fun. You can use various weapons and choosing which weapon works best for each fight is a must. And of course, your most iconic weapon is your good old crowbar.

The graphics are nice and solid in Half-Life. It is a little polygon like, and some enemies and characters have some square shapes edges, but it is smooth and the textures on them are fine. The weapon detail, bullet impact and explosions are great. The animations are a little stiff when looking at it today, but for the time, they were excellent.

The sound is also excellent. Weapon fire sounds realistic, the fancy sounds your HEV suit makes are great and the voice acting is spot on.

In terms of controls, the game plays fluently. Everything is responsive and feels natural. The only problem I encountered is the abrupt tilt in the screen when you expect to land on a platform, but you missed the jump by an inch.

Overall, Half-Life lives up to its title of one of the best games ever made and, even today, it still holds up and is truly a masterpiece.

Definitely recommend it to everyone.

You are Gordon Freeman, arriving late at work, at the Black Mesa Research Facility, and soon a seemingly normal day will go horribly (horribly) wrong. Immersion and atmosphere is some of the best ever done in Half Life and it holds more than a few iconic and unforgettable moments. Gameplay just feels good and like second nature overall, and you can interact with vending machines, air dryers and other objects around you as the game encourages curiosity and exploration.

You’re free to explore and check off rooms or areas as you wish, while staying on the main story path, and the level design is brilliant and rewarding in this way. You can also speak to scientist and guards as they respond in funny or cryptic ways. There’s quite a lot of platforming, but it’s all fun and responsive and designed in a smart way that we all had to learn and master - before eventually carrying those skills over to Counter Strike.

Half Life gets difficult pretty fast and can be scary and stressful at times. You will die from monsters and enemies and environmental hazards. A lot can kill you, because Half Life is dangerous, but it is one of the best games of all time and one of my personal favourites as far as story, gameplay and design. If you for some reason has not experienced this masterpiece yet, you simply must. After all, it’s just another day at work…what can go wrong?

[5] / [5]

Half Life is a 1998 first-person shooter game.Valve, the producer of the game, and Sierra Studios, who have taken over the distribution of the game, have done a great job.The story of the game is as follows.Gordon Freeman, a newly hired physicist at the Black Mesa research center, causes an accident during an experiment.The gameplay is as follows.in this game consisting of 18 chapters, you are trying to kill the creatures and pass the chapter.The music of the game is beautiful.The graphics of the game are not bad.My rating for the game: 10/10 (y) Good games to everyone 🙂

Half-Life: The Infected By Neclipse

Single-player mod that combines the weapons and enemies from Half-Life and Opposing Force (Does not require Opposing Force to play) Has a nice industrial aesthetic. Good (but short) maps with decent level design and lighting. Keeps the same tone of the original game(s) but overall just plays shorter. Few puzzles and fairly straight forward. Overall, okay but a very middle-of-the-road experience.

Rating 3/5 2 Hrs, 30 min playtime

A pleasant Community fan pack of very short maps with original and clever spontaneous ideas. What caught my eye was the Von Braunn Map which 'borrowed' very recognizable assets. The thesis of this mod is you start from the rooftop and work your way down. Most floors last an average of about ten mins. Some are action oriented and some are puzzle based. This mod is just a fun grab bag of ideas.

It's Pizza-Time! Collect all the Half-Life Classic Discs and unlock a secret challenge level!

I had a good time playing this and would recommend it

I will never forget loading up Half-Life for the first time. As I watched the opening credits run, I was kind of bored. Then, I accidentally touched the mouse and my screen moved!

No way.

These weren't just opening credits, it was an immersive tram ride. I was sucked in from that moment on.

For it's time, Half-Life let the user do pretty much whatever they wanted. Talk to people. Run, jump, climb, shoot. Heck, you could click on the soda machines and get a small HP boost from the can that actually came out.

Again, this may not sound like a big deal today, but it was something special back in the 90s. Truly a beloved classic and for good reason!

I have played the most of the mod Absolute Zero, which was an attempt at recreating Half-Life before it became as we knew it; an early beta. A group of devs used various sources and familiar resources to make the experience as close as it was in its early years, back before Valve decided to polish it further.

As a Half-Life fan, I find it interesting how different the models were on the grittier side, the levels were either simplistic or too spacy for a tight gameplay. Even the enemies cut from the original release were implemented and provide new challenges by maneuvering or toxic treatment. Otherwise, the plot is just as minimalistic and similar as it was in the original.

Alas, since this mod project bumped into too many adversities, regarding coding and staff issues, Absolute Zero was finally put to rest unfinished. As long as this mod is available for download, this rough mod serves as a true fan service in opposite direction to the remake Black Mesa.

Beat on Hard. I can't believe I missed this game back in the day, given that Doom and Duke Nukem 3D were 2 of my favourite games growing up, and Half Life is right up there as one of the best FPS of all time. I even played Half Life 2 around the time it came out; the beginning of that game makes a lot more sense now.

I rarely used the crowbar since ammo was so plentiful, but did on occasion use it to kill head crabs, vortigons and soldiers. I used the pistol to snipe from long range and found it highly effective. 9mm ammo was so common that I used the smg (which looked like an M4, which I thought was weird but I read it is from a texture upgrade) as my main weapon, with the grenades being a great power weapon for unexpected battles. The revolver was good vs soldiers and I tried to get one shot head kills. The shotgun was great at close range, and I almost always used the double shot, though never so much that I ran out of ammo. I did not use the crossbow all that much but it is my kind of weapon; much of the combat is at too close a range for this kind of weapon, and the times when there is long range the pistol works too. I mostly conserved the power weapons for helicopters and tanks, though there were a few times near the end where there were so many enemies at once that I used the energy weapons to mow them down. During the end game, starting at the Lambda reactor level and through to the final boss, I started using the bee gun mostly to conserve ammo. I found it highly effective as long as there was cover (the flying fireball throwers are easy enough to dodge in the open though) and especially liked the homing nature. I did not use the various types of explosives all that much. Satchel charges have extremely limited use but I got a few kills with them. Trip mines were good for soldiers and bee warriors, and the bug grenades were a decent way to distract soldiers.

I did find the soldiers a little bullet spongy, which encouraged sniping them from afar and using explosives and power weapons to kill them ASAP. Otherwise it is very difficult to not take damage. They were also bastards with grenade spam. The alien enemies were good with a nice balance of attack types. I sometimes had a hard time figuring out what to do and had to check a walkthrough a few times. Biggest problem I had with the game was basic movement and platforming. The strafing speed feels too fast, which makes it somewhat difficult to do precision movement to get on ladders and not fall of ledges. I don't feel I should have to hold crouch or walk to bring the speed down. The jumping is also wonky and I had to save scum to do simple things like jump across the electric train rails without taking damage, nevermind the actual hard platforming. By the time I got to the alien world, I said fuck it and used noclip to bypass the platforming. And if I play through the game again I will be making liberal use of noclip. The platforming is well designed though with believable environments, I just wish it controlled better.

No doubt there are a ton of mods and maps to play, so at some point I will check them out.

Fantastic game that truly revolutionized the FPS genre. It's almost hard to believe it came out in 1998 since it was so ahead of it's time.

I played it years ago on PS2 but didn't fully appreciate it until replaying it on PC. I was totally immersed in the world from start to finish. From the moment the game fades in to Gordon's tram ride to work, you ARE Gordon Freeman. Few games even today do environmental storytelling better than Half Life. There are no cut-scenes in the game, except for maybe the very end. The story is told in real time from the scientists and guards you come across as well as the world around you. Black Mesa feels like a real place with real people working in it. The game is also very well paced - bringing you slowly into the action then ramping it up as the game goes on with breaks in between so it never feels exhausting.

There were a couple frustrating parts of the game, the Xen area at the end was pretty meh, and the final boss wasn't all that fun to fight in my opinion. These are small complaints in an otherwise great game, however.

All in all, Half Life was an incredible experience from beginning to end. It's extremely impressive to see what the team at Valve was able to pull off when gaming was still in it's early years.

Played the Source update up until the Xen levels, then switched to Black Mesa (remake).

As someone who never played Half Life as a kid and thus has no nostalgia for it, I can appreciate the impact this game had on FPS's that came afterwards. It's story and atmosphere and character are all fantastic, and the gunplay is great. The AI is challenging without feeling cheap. Some of the level set pieces are super memorable and I get why this game is held in such high regard.

However, the occasionally frustrating level design and irritating platforming got in the way of my enjoyment and made this game a chore to get through at times. It got to the point where as soon as I got to the Xen levels I felt I had to switch over to Black Mesa - graphics were too gross and the platforming too much of a piss off.

Overall, I agree with the idea that everyone should play Half Life at some point, and though I'm happy I stuck with the original as long as I did, I think playing through the updated version may be far more fun for most modern gamers.

Recently completed this game for the first time, as my first delve into the Half-Life series. It was an enjoyable experience with some memorable moments.

The Pros:

• Intriguing settings with a cool story.
• Good physics which left for enjoyable gameplay.
• I just love that low poly look. :)
• Liked the array of weapons which lead to different answers to problems, not too repetitive.
• Xen was interesting.
• Liked the Gonarch boss fight.

The Cons:

• Enemy encounters got repetitive.
• The whole section with the army areas became a bit prolonged.
• Very slidey movements (got used to it in the end, but the smallest movement would make Gordon go zooming!)

Overall liked the game and its challenges, but became a bit long throughout the middle of it.