The wait is over. You have heard
about, read about, dreamed about it, now you can devote your life to it. Half-Life, the
newest kid on the FPS block has shown up with a bag full of goodies to keep your hard
drive toasty this holiday season. I don't want to get gushy this early in the review, but
I am seriously impressed this game. Half-Life all around awesome with its impressive
graphics, artificial intelligence, and an intriguing (gasp) plot. Ok, now that all the
"tellin-you-what-you-wanna-hear" is out of the way lets get down and dirty, Game
Over style.
 The
Quake 2 engine never looked so good. Using technology licensed from iD Software, Sierra
Studios have created a visual experience which is amazing and subtle at the same time.
Drastic use of shadowing and light sourcing creates a truly scaring atmosphere. In game
speech is accompanied by accurate mouth texture movements, a very impressive effect.
Overall the graphics are not on par with the current 900-pound gorilla of graphics,
Unreal. Even with the enhancements to the Q2 graphics engine, Half-Life cannot compete
with Unreal's fire and sky effects. Another thing that erk'd me was the total lack of
"tweaking" in graphic detail levels. I have to admit here that I do not have the
Ultimate Gaming Rig, and on occasion I have to adjust settings to get things running
smoothly on my 266. Half-Life gives no means to change any settings to improve frame-rate
performance. It is possible that "tweaking" is possible via the various .cfg
(configuration) files. In-game menu based performance settings is a must for today's
games, and Sierra Studios should have known better.
The sound in Half-Life is all about subtle ambiance. Fluorescent lights buzz to life,
cement hallways echo footsteps and expended shell-casings, motors and fans whir and hum
continuously. Great care was taken to convey all the nuances of the various environments
encountered in this game. The voice acting is well done, as it is basically your only
guide to what the heck is going on in the game. With no direct text based means of
discovering the next objective you have to listen carefully to what is happening around
you; Nearby guards will drop hints, wounded scientists will direct you to exits, and
security officers will advise on areas you should stay clear of. At various points in the
game the music will kick in, but its fairly generic "action" music, and I found
myself turning it off after five minutes.
Rather than write a plot summary or a five-page spoiler on level descriptions I will try
to summarize the highs and lows of gameplay in Half-Life. Without going into heavy details
let me just say that this the most ambitious and compelling FPS game ever. Not since the
classic Doom ][ have I experienced a FPS as immersive as Half-Life. The story builds
quickly and takes a number of very unexpected plot twists. However overall the level
layouts are very conventional in regards to what we have seen before. Many of the levels
are much of the same "find the button, open the door" that has become standard
for first person shooters. A lot of the tasks and situations are similar to things that
have previously been done in other games. I do not want to give away the story, so I will
spare any further explanation. If you have played other FPS titles, you will see what I
mean. I want to clarify that even though some of the tasks and aspects are similar, you
will not be bored with this game. There is a difference between invention and innovation.
Another recently released game, Trespasser is an excellent example of an inventive game.
It broke new ground with its incredible realism and fresh approach to the FPS genre. And
with that invention came new difficulties, such as high system requirements and an even
harder to thing to obtain, an open mind to new gaming experiences. On the converse,
Half-Life represents an innovation in the gaming world. It combines many successful and
previously seen aspects of first person shooters into one truly spectacular game.
 I do not want to paint the picture of a patchwork effort by Sierra Studios.
Half-Life has its own inventions, particularly in regards to its incredibly clever AI.
Like the box hype says, most creatures (mainly the ones that walk upright) are not on
suicide missions. Often after taking a few shots enemies will run away or hide behind
corners. The intelligence levels are scaleable, meaning the some enemies will exhibit more
than others. I have been ambushed, feinted, and tricked by a variety of creatures, both
human and non. On occasion I had to rethink my action strategies, and actually develop
plans of attack. This new level of AI raises the bar for all future games that want to
hype "incredible AI" on the back of the box.
Other new features in Half-Life include expanded character movements, including a long
jump and pulling/pushing of objects. Also well done is the in-game weapon selection menu,
which is broken down in a series of 5 columns, based on strength. Speaking of weapons, can
I get an amen for the kick ass variety of killing tools in Half-Life. More than 15 weapons
provide a great mix of both conventional (shotguns, rugers, crowbar) and experimental
(laser flame thrower, alien launcher, bug grenades) armaments.
Multiplayer is very much the same as the weapon selection, loaded and ready for action.
It's all here: skins, WON.net support, a built in Gamespy-ish server finder and more maps
than you can shake a semi-automatic rifle at. The multiplayer level layout is nice and
roomy, with battle space for 20+ gamers. The much hyped spray paint can is cool, but less
so than expected. It allows you to tag a wall with a logo or image, which can be imported
using bitmap images. However much like the weapons mod for Q2 it's a frill we could do
without, but it's a nice addition overall.
Overall Half-Life weighs in big. Solid graphics, a fresh plot and superbly implemented
multiplay make this game the title to beat for Best Game of the Year bragging rights. Both
new comers and members of the Doom Generation like myself will get plenty of thrills out
of this new face in the FPS crowd. It's atmosphere and unique style have changed the face
of PC gaming. I guarantee playing it for five minutes will make you think twice about
calling Half-Life "another Quake clone."
12/09 poptik@yahoo.com
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