Half-Life
Back to homepage
Half-Life is a masterpiece of epic proportions, the Saving Private Ryan of
first-person shooters. You know you're in for something special right from the
beginning, when the opening tram ride
through the Black Mesa Research Facility
immediately immerses you in a convincing world,
and an accident triggers visions that perfectly
create an air of menace and foreboding. Believe
me, your heart will race.
Never has a game's opening captured me so
completely, and fortunately it isn't an isolated
incident. Half-Life is full of those Great Gaming
Moments, scenes and scenarios that, when first
experienced, make you leap back from the screen,
or scream, or sweat, or laugh. The Moments make
Half-Life eminently replayable-not only am I ready
to start the game over again from the beginning, but
I found myself replaying certain scenarios dozens
of times to try different approaches, watch the
interactions to see what I'd missed or how they'd
change, or just soak in the game's masterful scripting.
There is so much that's good and right about
Half-Life, it's difficult to know where to begin. The
entire game reeks of polish and professionalism-it
feels like it really wasn't released til it was ready.
The interface is a work of art. The plot is first-rate
and unfolds at a magnificent pace. The vast,
gorgeous levels are linear enough that you won't
get lost, yet they still offer plenty of side areas to
explore. The models and animations are beautiful.
Your interactions with the environment and the
people in it are believable.
And that's crucial because it helps create an
unprecedented level of immersion. Rather
than be pulled out of the game's world to
get an update on your universal translator or
what have you, others in that world give you
information and instructions. You overhear
things. You witness some incredible and
horrifying atrocities. You, as Gordon Freeman, are asked to think, to solve,
and, of course, to slay.
You won't have an easy time of it. Half-Life is challenging at its hardest
level, yet it doesn't accomplish that by just throwing an inordinate amount
of enemies at you. The monster AI is passable, and the marine AI is
excellent-those squads behave more realistically and with more efficiency
than those in Rainbow Six and Delta Force.