OMG:
Its finally here ! The FPS that changed all FPS's now available for your PS2 console this game is a classic no disputes. If you've never played the legendary PC game for whatever reason your in for a damn good treat.
Story:
You are Gordon Freeman (the man who made the crowbar famous) a scientist working at the Black Mesa facillity, whilst working on an experiment to create a new substance somthing goes wrong, unable to shut down the problem you are knocked out. You then begin to have visions. Luckily you are not dead protected by your HEV (hazard suit) you come round. All around you there is destruction scientists and guards crumpled on the floor lie in there own blood. You must find out the what happened to Black Mesa and escape at all costs.
Gameplay:
This game revolutionised FPS and is really stunning while you wander the black mesa complex you can do almost anything you can break glass crawl through spaces, press buttons, pull levers, smash crates. There are lots of interactive things which makes the game seem much more whole.The atmosphere is unriveled in any game yet, it is just so chilling and believe me this game is every bit as scary as Doom 3, you hear strange noises as you walk round corners you never know what will happen doors crash down as aliens tear through them or you can just watch the zombie aliens feed off your human companions. Play this game on a dark night and trust me you wont sleep soundly.
Now we havent talked about guns and guns are what makes an FPS so lets get down to the dirt, to blast the aliens you have an arsenal of 14 different weapons the:
Crowbar
9MM Pistol
Magnum
Shotgun
MP5 Machine Gun
RPG
Crossbow
Gauss Gun
Gluon (Egon) Gun
Hive Hand
Snark
Frag(mentation) Grenade
Satchel Charge
Trip-Mine
Most of these weapons also have an alternate fire for example the 9mm can fire at twice the speed but with reduced accuracy, you might have noticed that there is no Sniper Rifle but thats what the crossbow is for. For extra stopping power you can also man gun turretsto really blow your enemies away.
NPCs:
The game is full of NPCs ( non playable characters ) who will aid you or try to destroy you, on the good side we have the
Scientists: all they can do is open doors for you though most of the time the only time you'll see a scientist is when hes dead. If you are lucky enough to find a living scientist he will usually just tell you that hes not coming with you.
Security guards: armed with a 9mm these guys can actually fight ! They will follow you and you can tell them to wait. If you attack them they will shoot at you and yes they do die.
Erm well thats it now let me tell you about all the baddies you will find:
Headcrab: Lets just say small but effective these things will leap at you at latch on your head sucking away your health. Guns are pretty useless dealing with these things as they are so small use the crowbar.
Zombie Alien: Slow shuffling zombies they are pretty dim and can usually be beaten with a crowbar, if they do manage to hit you you will take fair damage so watch it.
Alien Slave: These really do look evil they have an electricity attack which charges up and fires a powerful energy blast. Get rid of 'em quick.
Barnacle: They have long tentacles which hang down from the ceiling ready to pick up dim witted prey, if they capture you shoot them before they bite or you've had it !
Houndeye: Aliens come in all shapes and sizes this alien is like a dog and makes doglike sounds they have an energy wave attack which will hurt so keep away. Although they are aliens they are nicer than your average aliens so if you dont let off a volley of bullets at them they may let you past unscathed.
Bullsquid: Seal-esque creature but no where near as nice these foul creatures spit purple goop at you.
Alien Grunt: These guys are the alien foot soldiers they will call for backup and have advanced weaponary. The shotgun is particularly useful against this goon.
Tentacle: This is a plant alien, it is huge and if you shoot it it will undoubtedly eat you. You can sneak past them if they are distracted.
Ichthyosaur: This is actually not an alien at all but a dinosaur, these creatures live in water and can swim at high speeds. Do NOT get in the bath with one of these.
Snark: Alien creatures you can gain control of but due to there weak minds they will attack anything and everything. Yes that includes you.
Garg: If you invade this beasts territory it will destroy you. Dont bother trying to take this thing out with a headshot because it wont work. Sneak past it or use the RPG.
Controller: Flys and attacks with energy blasts. It flys fast so taking it down is really tricky.
Gonarch: This thing creates headcrabs, you will need the firepower of a small army to destroy this scum of the universe. Oh it also creates baby headcrabs which attack you. Baby headcrabs are smaller headcrabs which are difficult to kill time to get the crowbar out.
As if that wasnt enough he government think you have seen to much, they have sent there own troops into Black Mesa to eliminate the aliens and YOU. You will encounter:
Army Grunts: Basic soldier, equipped with assault rifle and with orders to take you down. They will work as a team so listen out for the radio chat.
Assasains: Is that Catwoman ? No it isnt these leather clad babes will shoot you with a silenced 9mm. What are you waiting for blast her !
Luckily thats it but remeber there are tons of them and only one of you so you will need to utilise all your skills to beat this 30 hour+ frag fest.
Play with your Friends (or enemies):
This mode was never in the original Half Life but if this is what we get to replace Counterstrike its pretty lame, you get 6 maps to frag your opponent on. Thats it no capture the flag domination or anything else and you can only play with 1 opponent. You can also go through the game in co-op mode which sounds great but it is shoddy and I have noticed some bugs. No worries though the main game is class and these things are just minor distractions.
Controls:
Now this is actually a big issue, controls I can tell you are not as good as a mouse and keyboard, but they are perfectly adequete and you will get used to it.
You do also get a rumble which you cant get from a mouse and keyboard. BUT for all of you who must have a mouse and keyboard the PS2 has 2 USB ports to accomodate for you.
Graphics:
The graphics are great, I think they are every bit as good as the PC despite what others say, sure a normal TV only supports 640x480 only 1/2 of what can be achieved on the PC but it still remains graphically sound, come on its a 7 year old game and you wont know it ! What more could you want ?
Sound:
The games music is quiet creepy and very chilling adding to the incredible atmosphere of this game. You need to experiance this first hand.
Publisher: Universal Vivendi
Developer: Gearbox Software
Price: £9.99 - £19.99
If this is Half Life I wonder what a Whole Life is 
