Half-Life

"Ok, I get it now"

It's been a while since I ever played a FPS game. DOOM and MoH (PSone) were the first ones and probably the only ones that I have ever played. Till now. I bought a PS2 mostly for the sports games, and didn't even have SECOND THOUGHTS of purchasing a FPS (first person shooter) game or one that was ported from the computer (like this one). Then I heard about these kind of games, like Red Faction and Half-Life. I just got through most of it and decided to tell you about my thoughts on this game:

Controls (9/10)- In my mind, the most IMPORTANT aspect of a FPS game. For those Red Faction players, the controls might seem SLIGHTLY similar. When I first played this game, I was told by people that if I had played the game Red Faction, the controls wouldn't be too much of a hassle to get used to. My thoughts on this: ''Yeah, the LOOK/MOVE controls are the same but what about the rest???''. The look/move controls (the two analog sticks, R3 AND L3) is the HARDEST by far to get used to if not used to it already, but you'll eventually catch on, but NEVER listen to someone who says SIMILAR controls to Red Faction!!! Firing weapons, switching weapons, item controls, its ALL different in my opinion. However, the controls are still rather good, but I deducted one point because of the fact it takes a while to get used to at first.

Story (10/10)- What kind of things come to mind when someone mentions FPS? Before Red Faction, usually FPS games lack story but made for it with intense action. This however is completely opposite of that. The story makes sense, and takes you places you never would've thought. It starts out with you coming into the roll of Gordon Freeman, a Black Mesa plant scientist. Instead of SHOWING you a cut scene to get the game started, you yourself create the cut scene and remain active even when NOTHING IS GOING ON. It might sound useless, but I myself thought it was a nice little feature. Anyway, you later find yourself in a lab testing a sample when something goes HORRIBLY wrong. You are then tossed head first into a battle for you life *the introduction to this is quite disturbing, and I thought was one of the freakiest (yet most interesting) thing I've seen in a video game, and I actually said to myself OH NO!!*. When the game actually BEGINS to get interesting, you find yourself in a lab that SEEMS the same, but you have not seen the worst of it! Battle your way through the maze of rubble and creepy monsters from other dimensions (aliens I've been told), and fight for your life! You'll meet up with security guards that will tag along and protect you, and scientists that will heal you, as long as you keep them alive! You'll also see a ''government clean up crew'' that will come in to eliminate the creatures, survivors, and YOU!!! The ''remote'' lab was a nice touch, in the fact that it REALLY sets a mood. Another nice touch.

Gameplay (10/10)- This was a strong point, for it is the STRANGEST FPS game I have ever seen. In games like MoH or DOOM, you were required to run through rooms full of foes blasting left and right, creating chaos, showing absolute NO MERCY!!! TOTAL CARNAGE!!!!!!!!!......... wow, sorry I got carried away, actually what I was trying to say was that this game is the complete OPPOSITE of total carnage, in where it makes you think. Ammo and health is rare, so you cant just go through room after room blasting everything you see *and the clean up crew in the game doesn't exactly help you stay patient*. For the most part you should try to find ways to either GET AROUND the enemy or ways to exterminate large groups while saving ammo. This can get REAL annoying for FPS junkies that LOVE to create chaos, but may be a blessing for those who love to battle wits instead of gunfire. In my opinion you are given JUST enough ammo to get by and kill when appropriate. So fair warning to ACTION fans: YOU ARE NOT RAMBO IN THIS GAME, YOU ARE A SCIENTIST TRYING TO ESCAPE WITH YOUR LIFE *keyword: ESCAPE, not stick around, cause havoc!:)*, unlike most FPS games, the enemies in this COME HARD, and COME STRONG, and probably will rip you apart if you don't play it right. This is the only minor complaint of mine is that the A.I. is not forgiving when it comes to making mistakes, meaning one wrong move can you land you in some DEEP DEEP troubles. Although it is possible to recover from your mistakes, it does get pretty rough if you don't play your cards right!

Graphics (10/10): VERY VERY PRETTY GAME!!! nothing else I can say. Monsters look cool, human's seem to interact alright, very pretty!

Replay Value (10/10): This should be short: if you like it the first time through its fairly fun to play it again.

D.L., SHOULD I RENT OR BUY THIS???
Ummmm, well..... I don't know. If you like games like Red Faction, I'm sure you'll like this too. Even if you don't its still worth a try since they are SO different from each other. Fans of FPS games will love to take this for a spin. So IMO, if you bought this game, you most likely wouldn't be disapointed!!! But rent to make sure its the game for you! On almost all games I discourage ''blind buying'' or ''reviewer's note purchases'', meaning, this review is GOOD because I LIKED THE GAME, it might not be the same story for you.
Conclusion: Beautiful game, believe it or not, it HAS come a long way from its computer predecessor. OVERALL 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/16/01, Updated 12/16/01