Half-Life Video Game Review

WARNING: This review has screenshots of blood and gore from a M rated video game. 

Pre-Opinion

PC Cover art.

I had just gotten into a big shooter kick. Never had really played any before! Besides Fortnite. (which kind of stinks) But I was playing DOOM, Quake 2 and HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED/ 2.

I enjoyed Portal and thought: "Hmmm. Half-Life... Portal was good so... yes. next Steam sale." (IT IS 99 CENTS.) I never got it... until the 25th anniversary. it was free! since then, it became my most played game of 2023 with over 10 hours put into it!

Plot 

(All screenshots are from my playthrough!)

The story begins with scientist Gordon Freeman arriving late to the Black Mesa Research Facility.  He gets into his H.E.V. Suit and heads to the test chamber where all heck breaks loose. The experiment that Gordon was working on backfires and brings all manner of ALIENS to Black Mesa.  The survivors of the incident urge Gordon to make his way to the surface. Gordon has to fight his way there fighting aliens from Xen, Headcrab zombies and the HECU who was actually supposed to SAVE them.

After a big battle with HECU marines.

 On the way Gordon fries a big Tentacle monster and blows a big blue beast away.

Boiling the Tentacle creature

 Gordon powers who-knows-what everywhere (There is a LOT of powering on.) After traveling on an old railway system

The railway system 

 Gordon reaches the satellite complex with the intention of closing the portal to Xen.

The satellite launch

 ultimately it fails. Gordon is trapped in a garbage compactor by the HECU to die. of course, he escapes. Gordon discovers MORE aliens captured before the incident. Eventually the HECU pulls out because they are getting overwhelmed by the Xen. Cue airstrikes. Gordon fights his way to the Lambada Reactor complex. There he discovers that the portal to Xen is being forced open by a powerful entity. Gordon kills the entity and is confronted by the G-man. he gives you a single choice: Help him or not? it's up to you...

Soundtrack

Soundtrack cover

The Half-Life soundtrack is free on steam so you can go listen to it to yourself! It is pretty good. It has a very creepy sound to it. it reminds me of Portal a bit. It branches from eerie ambiences to dramatic action themes for combat. I have listened to it while writing posts for my blogs! It has some meh songs and some really good songs. overall, the soundtrack is perfect for the game. only problem is it is drowned out by gunshots and alien screams...

Gameplay

Half-Life has been hailed for its gameplay. I can see why. The game has an interesting combination of FPS, Puzzle, Open world and 3D platformer mechanics. if you think about it, you might wonder how it works. it works great! to begin: FPS mechanics are implemented to begin with. as soon as you get the pistol it starts. Half-Life is mainly a shooter of course. 

Blasting a zombie with the Colt Python gun

The weapons vary a lot. from 2 small arms to a laser weapon and alien pets. The best weapons in my opinion are the MP5 Assault rifle like weapon with a grenade launcher (Dropped by HECU) and the Colt Python .357 magnum that is like a mini shotgun. (which takes a while to find) The enemies vary too. There are tiny foes like the iconic Headcrab and gigantic beasts like the Gargantua. There are also exploration elements in the game.

Spying on marines from an air vent (I killed them)

In the above screenshot my character is in a ventilation shaft. This happens a lot. in the game there is TONS of exploration through areas. It's very easy to get lost. In other styles of play we have Puzzle! There are simple-ish puzzles throughout the game. a good example is all the power switches. for example: You have to kill creature. to kill creature, you need to bypass it and turn on these systems. now that you turned on system B you have to blow up the trip mines to get to system A. now that system A and B are powered on you can kill creature to progress the game. 

From a puzzle in the railway.

Platformer elements are all over the place. Examples: in the tentacle level you have to jump a huge gap over a pit of radiation emitting liquids. And early in the game there is a parkour room where you have to jump over tables and climb to a vent over electrified water. there is also a horror element to the game. (Some areas are downright terrifying.)

From one of the later missions.

Post-Opinion

A screenshot from Half-Life Uplink. (A demo of the game)

Half-Life deserves ever reward it has ever received. It is arguably the best FPS of all time. here are my favorite points about it:

• The Gameplay is an amazing combo of genres.
• The story is really good (Why isn't there a Half-Life novel or film yet!?)
• It keeps the action going. when it starts to get boring, they spice it up!
• It has so many add-ons to keep it going! (Half-Life Opposing Force, Blueshift and Uplink)
• The characters are great too! Gordon, Barney and Adrian are fun to play as!

Here are my scores:

Soundtrack: 81%

Soundtrack can't beat Portal or Halo. Still a good track.

Story: 100%

HL has one of my favorite stories to date! Valve can WRITE!

Gameplay: 100%

The gameplay is as perfect as it could be. The combination of all of those genres is awesome!

Overall: 100% 💎

One of my favorite games of all time!