[Review] Half-Life (outdated)

(This review needs a dire revamp, a more in-depth version should be done at some point)

Half-Life is a classic first-person shooter, running on the GoldSrc Engine, developed by Valve Software, published by Sierra Entertainment on November 1998.

In Half-Life the player fill in the shoes of Dr. Gordon Freeman, 27 years old theoretical physicist late for his first day of work at Black Mesa Research Facility. He gets in the Hazardous Environment Suit, the experiment goes wrong, Resonance Cascade happens. Soon enough the first day on the job turns into a cataclysmic event.

Valve keeps Half-Life up to date, so the game runs flawlessly on a fresh install ''out of the box'' on modern systems and hardware. It doesn't need any mods for it to run properly which is a godsend when it comes to older titles such as this one, most publishers just slap a DOSbox on their games and call it a day.

Structure and pacing

Half-Life is one of the first FPS games to make the jump from disconnected abstract maps chained in an episodic format to a fully story-driven game. While I appreciate the simplicity and merits of its predecessors like Quake, Half-Life would go on to raise the bar and set a new standard in terms of quality (with the exception of a few levels), not only for gameplay but for environmental storytelling and writing, both aspects that were yet unseen for the FPS genre of the time.

An instant classic that would change the way FPS games are designed forever. Its influence and success would cement Valve as a gaming landmark and give birth to future iconic games and franchises equally successful such as Counter-Strike, Portal, and Team Fortress.

Weapons and gameplay

Over the course of the Black Mesa incident, Gordon will acquire a large arsenal of military-grade armaments, experimental weapons, and tools. From the humble Glock and trusty crowbar to the exotic crossbow and destructive Gluon gun. There's always a good weapon for the situation you are in. And what are weapons for if not killing things? throughout Black Mesa you will encounter no shortage of hostiles from all sorts of Xen fauna, HECU, and black ops, there's a good variety of enemies for the time, and they interact and with the player in different ways. However the threat is not only found in enemies, but the hazardous environment of Black Mesa is in itself a danger, sure the HEV suit does a lot of heavy lifting for Gordon, but it won't save you from dissolving in a pool of acid of getting crushed by the collapsing facility debris.

In terms of controls, Gordon is fast, his air control is insane, and the movement is good and responsive, however, I've seen complaints about Gordon feeling ''slippery'' this is a GoldSrc thing that comes from its Quake roots, you keep part of your momentum when you stop running, it doesn't bother me at all, but I see how it could bother someone else.

Music and art direction

When it comes to the soundtrack, it is rather shy, but when it kicks in it's pretty iconic and fits well with the energy and situation the player is in. It was uncommon for an FPS game to have a world that feels like a real location, maps connected seamlessly with each other (aside from loading screens) and these elements would go great lengths to create a sense of immersion the series would be known for.

Run, think, shoot, live.