Hello there, I'm Jim. I am 16 years old and hope you enjoy my reviews. Don't be put off by the title...
Hello there, I'm Jim. I am 16 years old and hope you enjoy my reviews. Don't be put off by the titles but i can never think of any good ones.
Member since:12.10.2005
Reviews:11
Members who trust:7
Half life is what one might call a major breakthrough. It was, and still is, one of the best first person shooters ever made. The story, although not overly original, is interesting. The real winner here is the game play but more about that later. This game was released by valve that lets face it, at the time, were nothing. This game not only brought the attention to valve but completely revamped the whole 1st person shooter genre. The very original half life was scrapped completely and the project was restarted. Let's thank our lucky stars for that or we may not have what we have today. But anyway, let's get started.
I'll start at, well, the start. Your name, Gordon Freeman. You've got some good science grades behind you and you're looking for somewhere to go. Luckily you come across the Black Mesa research facility that's been set up in an abandoned air base. You're going about your usual business, you take the transport system to work, you don your biohazard suit and you get on down to today's work. Then, suddenly BOOOM CRASH KAPOW and other 60's comic book terms. Everything's gone terribly wrong. Half the place has been destroyed, and those creatures, what on earth where they...? More importantly how are you going to get out alive?
Lets
kick off the actual reviewing the game play. To be quite frank it's amazing. All the way through the game play is smooth, your never taken out of first person mode and its fun. There are plenty of enemies to kill to satisfy your bloodlust and there's the occasional puzzle thrown in as well. Some can be quite tricky but with a bit of careful thought and sometimes sheer luck the answer is never too far away. The area is quite interactive. There are often crates to go smash up with your crowbar and when you shoot a wall you get a small hole in it. And unlike many games it doesn't just disappear into nothingness it stays there for the next time you walk past it, and the next and the next etc, bringing back fond memories of total annihilation.
The A.I in this game is very impressive. It was one of its most outstanding factors that made it that higher class of gaming. In some games of this era it can be obvious to guess what the enemy are about to do but in half life this is not the case at all. Some enemies are very aggressive and others are a bit more reclusive. Also the enemy reactions are realistic. If an enemy thinks it is going to die it actually runs from you in hope of surviving and launching another attack. I call it A.I but when your being flanked by 2 separate enemies from vantage points sometimes it does not seem that it is really that artificial.
Next on my list of things to discuss is the graphics. Even by modern day standards the graphics of half life are not too shabby but at the time the graphics were awesome. Movements are fluid, creatures are realistic to behold and the actual areas you are in are decorated and coloured well. It has a very realistic feel to it in general. Although it's not a gore fest game there are some gorier moments but these can be adjusted on the options menu. I don't think I have ever come across a time where the graphics has caused my pc to slow and believe me when I say my PC could do with some improvement.
Sound in this game is quite intelligent. Instead of having loads of sound files for all situations and all guns the sounds adjust according to the area you are in. For instance if you are in a large area you will get some echo or. If you are in a room with padded walls, the sound becomes more muffled. The actual quality of the sound is good and all sound effects are realistic and tie in with the game.
Next on the agenda are weapons. There are your usual pistols and shotguns and grenades and whatnot but the further into the game you get the more interesting the weapons get. Later on you can get some fun futuristic weapons and boy are they fun to play with. I don't want to ruin the surprise though so that is all I am prepared to say. Except all the weapons are realistic of course but you would expect that from this game.
Now unlike most games there is no proper movie clips dotted about and there are no levels. Instead there are scripted events and the story is told through the people you meet. And from time to time you will get a loading sign come up and this will literally take a few seconds and you will be back in the action. Both of theses little things add to the amount you can sink into the game before you think hey wait a second this isn't really happening. Well ok you never become that engrossed because that would just be scary but you get what I'm trying to say here.
Yet another thing adding to the realism of the game is pickups. There are no stupid spinning health packs littered around the place. Health can be found on medical packs on the wall. You can recharge health from them and the further you go the less of them there are. Also you can get packs on the wall for recharging your biohazard suit to lessen the pain you feel from being shot or from being generally exposed to extreme radiation. Ammo is picked up from dead enemies, crates or even from your companions, dead or alive.
I didn't really know where to put this random information so I am going to shove it in this paragraph. Once you have installed half life you do not need the disc to run it anymore so if you lose the disc all is not lost. There is some multiplayer modes as well that are quake like and the technical jargon of system requirements really isn't necessary as it's so old.
I can summarise this game in 3 words. Try it now! But then again that on its own would be plain silly and an awful ending to what can only hope was a good review. But seriously give it a go. It's not too expensive, it should run on most computers and it is sheer brilliance in my opinion. In my opinion picking this up on eBay will be the cheapest option if you do plan on buying this game, which of course you should.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
The newest installment in the best-selling and highest-rated action game series of all ... more
time. Battle creatures sprawling above and below ground in the White Forest. Then, take a thrilling ride with Alyx in a new modified vehicle as you enjoy the most breathtaking and revealing Half-Life game ever made.Portal:Open your mind to a new way of gaming. Portal blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience unlike any other. With the Portal device, manipulate your surroundings to complete dozens of unique challenges. Are you ready to start thinking with Portals?Team Fortress 2:The sequel to the granddaddy of class-based multiplayer gaming. Join and battle teams with wildly-varying player classes - from the flame-throwing Pyro to the room-clearing heavy weapons guy. Featuring a distinctive visual style, Team Fortress 2 features all-new multiplayer game modes.
Advantages: Everything about it, gripping story, great action, very immersive Disadvantages: slightly outdated these days (was released in November 19, 1998) but you wont care :)
Geddes-i 20.10.2008 (20.10.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Half-Life (PC)
Advantages: Everything about it, gripping story, great action, very immersive Disadvantages: slightly outdated these days (was released in November 19, 1998) but you wont care :)
Geddes-i 20.10.2008 (20.10.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Half-Life (PC)
Advantages: Immense longevity, Great weapons, tense exciting, strategic gameplay, lots of user-made maps Disadvantages: Repetitive, Superceded by Counterstrike Source for Half Life 2
Apr 11th, 2006
exceptional by (5%):
very helpful by (95%):
![Half-Life 2 [Orange Box] PC](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/98513325.jpg "Half-Life 2 [Orange Box] PC")
