"A different MOD experience for Half-Life"

-=-=[Introduction]=-=-

Even though it was released in 1998, Half-Life keeps going. People still buy it, and new MODs come out for it all the time! Now, most multiplayer MODs for Half-Life are pretty much the same. They're all Realistic Teamplay mods. There are, though, a few MODs not like Counter-Strike, Firearms, and Day of Defeat. Science and Industry is one of them. Instead of going for the Hyper-Realistic goal of most MODs, Science and Industry is more light-hearted.

It has two teams. MCL and AFD. Blue and Green. These are two rival corporations that fight it out for the most money at the end of each game. Another big difference is the guns. There are great new guns, such as the Rocket Pistol, a mix between a rocket and a pistol, the Flesh Eating Virus, a grenade type weapon which eats away at the enemy's health for a while.

The setting is an interesting one. Two companies fighting it out for being the most successful! The maps are designed to just be two random companies. Your job just happens to be to kill the other company's security guards and kidnap their scientists.

-=-=[Graphics - 7]=-=-

Well, Science and Industry is made to be a fairly colorful game. The two teams are not clothed so similar to the point you can't tell the difference. Instead of going for the Dark Camo VS the Light Camo, we have Blue and Green suits. Now, before you go insult their style, lets think about that a little. How much fun is it play a map against a team that perfectly blends in to their surroundings? Not much, not surprisingly, that team tends to win all the time. With the suit colors, which don't look that bad at all, you can actually tell who is on your team and who isn't from a ways away.

Now, the weapons are fairly well modeled. They are not quite up to Firearms' new weapons, but they work, and a new version is about to come out, with team-specific models! I could talk about that, but I won't until the new version actually comes out.

The maps range from quite bland to extremely good looking. Some of the older maps, while they have great frame rates, are quite boring. The map I'm thinking of, though, is having a re-make. The new maps are VERY good quality. Cadaver makes maps for Science and Industry. He's made 7 so far, actually. You may know him as the creator of DE_Vegas. The other new maps are also top-notch quality.

-=-=[Gameplay - 10]=-=-

Ah, this is where Science and Industry really stands out! What it may lack anywhere else is made up for in the sheer, 'fun value' of it. I'll describe the gameplay for you.

Science and Industry is a teamplay MOD, but it doesn't focus on realism. It has many hi-tech guns, and no, it doesn't have an AK-47. It does have a tommy-gun, if you like your automatics, though. The games in Science and Industry are MUCH longer than most rounds, and even games of, say Counter-Strike or Firearms. The games are around 40 minutes! Don't worry, the maps don't get dull. They get more fun as time passes, and here's why:

The main part of Science and Industry is research. All players vote for technology to research after one is completed. You actually have to think in order to know what to research. Sure, you could get the Double UZIs, but you could also get regenerative technology, which can cause your Health, Armor, or even bullets to regenerate themselves! Of course, the stuff will be around for you to research later, but what do you really need now?

Another very interesting part is Scientists. They do your researching. The more you have, there are 6 total in each map, the faster you research technology. So, you'll need to get more, and fast! The only way to get more scientists is to steal them from your rival company. Now, how would you do that? You can't offer them a higher salary for working at your company, so how will you get them...

The answer is, your briefcase! That's right, a briefcase! It serves two purposes. It's your melee weapon. Think about it for a minute. You can research Bionic Muscles, and then you can bash your opponents head in before they can blow you away with a shotgun if they aren't careful! Also, it's just plain fun to beat the competitor with your briefcase. The other use, is the most important one. First, you sneak into the enemy labs. Next, go up to a scientist. They may run from you a little, so pull out your briefcase, and chase them down! Then, when they are close, hit them with your briefcase. That knocks them out cold, and you carry them on your shoulders! Then, you need to sneak back to your base with them on your shoulders. Be careful, though, since you are much slower carrying a scientist, and the other team will probably go for YOU and ignore your friends.

There are two more main gameplay elements. Resource capturing, which is a little like scientist capturing, and sabotage. If you can sneak into the enemy's computer labs, there are breakables around. Take out your briefcase, and smash the computers up! You will want to read the readme before you play each map, since that tells you where the breakables are. If you break them, the competitor must pay to repair them. Plus, their research goes slower.

To win, you must have the most money. The technologies you research determine a lot of this, but the biggest factor, is how many of the six scientists you have. The scientists make money for you, while providing research.
Also, breakables are a large factor. You can lose large sums of money because of those. In a typical game, the winner will have between $800,000 and $1,000,000 at the end.

-=-=[Balance - 10]=-=-

This is one of the most important things in a multiplayer game. It could be considered part of gameplay, but it's supposed to be subtle, plus the gameplay section is too large already.

Science and Industry, in previous versions, had a balance problem. Guess what? It's gone! The maps are extremely well balanced. I can't think of a single map where one team has an advantage. There's only one map where anyone EVEN argues that, but I still think they are even, and the creator even says that all the resources are the exact same distance from each base. There isn't a problem where everyone piles to a certain team because they want to win. Either team has an equal chance!

One of the major problems in previous versions was that the games were just too long! They may have been the same length in time, but there was a balance problem. Once one team got a little ahead, they pretty much won. But now, it's been fixed. Due a talented programmer, there is a teambalance system. It basically increases the losing team's speed a little bit, and it makes them take more damage. Now, say MCL gets $200,000 ahead of AFD, and MCL has all scientists. AFD will find that MCL is much easier to kill, and that gives them a chance to capture scientists again. Sure, they're behind in technology and probably won't catch up, but with some work, they still have a chance to win! Fortunately, as the score evens, teambalance fades too.

-=-=[Summary - 10]=-=-

This is truly a unique MOD. In my opinion, this is could be the next Counter-Strike, with a little time. Fortunately, you can always find places to play, even with Half-Life's in-game browser! The community is also very strong, and it's clan league is doing great! This Half-Life MOD is definitely worth the download and time to try out!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/02, Updated 06/04/02