Half-life

Game: Half-Life
Developer: Valve
Platform: PC (later PlayStation 2)
Release Year: 1998
Stephen's Rating: 8/10

Half-Life was a ground breaking new take on the first person shooter genre by Valve Software.

Basic Plot

The story revolves around Gordon Freeman, a scientist at Black Mesa. The player takes the role of Freeman during a scientific experiment which opens up a portal to another universe (Xen), and allows the alien organisation known as the Combine to invade Earth.

Gordon spends the rest of the game trying to find his way out of the Black Mesa complex, avoiding the collapsing structure itself as well as battling the alien parasites who now reside there.

Gameplay

One of the key features which makes this game groundbreaking was the inclusion of scripted sequences throughout the game. The player might approach a lift to travel up it, but moments before you hop inside the lift breaks free from its cable and falls aimlessly down the shaft. This kind of action meant the player was always alert, anything could happen. What made these scripted events unique is that the player still had control and could look around while they were happening - there was no "cut scene" that stopped the player interaction.

Before everything goes horribly wrong.

There were a variety of weapons available throughout the game including some technology borrowed from the other universe. Each weapon had a use, even toward the end of the game.

The feeling of the game was pretty lonely - you're on your own. You encounter some other characters in the game, most notably Barny the security officer (star of Half-Life: Blue Shift).

Positives

The biggest positive was the scripting sequences and really putting the player in the shoes of Gordon Freeman. You get to live that moment of the failed experiment, it's you who pushes the final piece into place and starts the whole thing off.

Head-crabs anyone?

The Half-Life engine (GoldSrc) is a heavily modified version of the Quake engine. It became a platform for many modifications to the game including Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life: Blue-Shift, Ricochet, Team Fortress, not to mention literally thousands of maps and fully-fledged mods created by fans. The extensibility of the game gave it a great shelf life.

Negatives

I can't really think of any. Perhaps the weapons and enemies in this original game were a bit limited, that's all I got.

Memorable Moments

The scripted sequences for sure. I can't actually remember any other than the lift that collapses while you're in it... or the one where you're in a lift and dozens of head crabs start falling down the lift shaft to get you.