Half-Life: Firearms

"imo, Beats Counter-Strike"

I think that Firearms could have a chance at beating Counter-Strike as the most popular online Half-Life Multi-player Mod.

I think the game is far more realistic. It has a stamina bar which lowers when you run and jump. This prevents crazy bunny hoppers as seen in Counter-Strike. If you don't have bandages and heal yourself or get to a medic, you will eventually bleed to death. Your gun clips are actually saved and used later. Not as in Counter-Strike, where you have 1 bullet gone from a cartridge and it doesn't matter. Firearms saves that cartridge. In this game you can also break your leg. And there many cripples to be seen.

After you select your weapons, and there are many to choose from, you select skills. Battlefield agility makes it so you don't have broken legs and medics can also remedy this. Marksmanship I and II make your aim more accurate which means more kills. There are also medic, leadership, artillery skills and a worthless stealth skill.Whenever you get 10 more kills you are promoted a rank and get to choose an additional skill.

There are many weapons to choose from. Many more than in Counter-Strike. Where else can you go out into battle with a GL40 and an AK-47 and snipe with a .44 Magnum?

The atmosphere in this game is also more realistic and warlike. In the background you hear bullets reporting, artillery coming overhead. Soldiers crying medic!!! And soldiers giving orders and their last cry before death. The men are faceless and nameless. The red team has a pink tint and the blues a green color.

The game is won when one team has depleted the other of its respawns one way or another. The gameplay is the best I've seen. Graphics are life-like. I just love watching the smoke-tail from a grenade shot by the GL40 on the iwojima map.

Sometimes though it seems the weapons don't work, such as the GL40 I love so much. I don't know if it's a dud grenade or if it's a bug but some grenades don't work. Some guns are banned on some servers, such as the Steyr AUG, because of its extremely fast killing power, its bigger clip and its cost. Many players also do not like the AR-GL, which is a combination M16 and GL40, but it has less grenade capacity than a standalone GL40. Most pistols in the game don't work for me, but are good for water confrontations. Only one rifle seems to work underwater --the G36E. The Akimbo Mac11s work great for clearing rooms where soldiers are having an orgy.

If you need a game more realistic than Counter-Strike and more fun than Team Fortress Classic, I suggest downloading this game now. And what do you have to lose, it's free.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/25/01, Updated 11/25/01