Reviews / previews
Half-Life is a masterpiece of epic
proportions, the Saving Private Ryan of
first-person shooters. You know you're in
for something special right from the
beginning, when the opening tram ride
through the Black Mesa Research Facility
immediately immerses you in a convincing world, and
an accident triggers visions that perfectly create an air
of menace and foreboding. Believe me, your heart will
race.
Never has a game's opening captured me so
completely, and fortunately it isn't an isolated
incident. Half-Life is full of those Great Gaming
Moments, scenes and scenarios that, when first
experienced, make you leap back from the screen, or
scream, or sweat, or laugh. The Moments make
Half-Life eminently replayable-not only am I ready to
start the game over again from the beginning, but I
found myself replaying certain scenarios dozens of
times to try different approaches, watch the
interactions to see what I'd missed or how they'd
change, or just soak in the game's masterful
scripting.
There is so much that's good and right about Half-Life,
it's difficult to know where to begin. The entire game
reeks of polish and professionalism-it feels like it
really wasn't released til it was ready. The interface is
a work of art. The plot is first-rate and unfolds at a
magnificent pace. The vast, gorgeous levels are linear
enough that you won't get lost, yet they still offer
plenty of side areas to explore. The models and
animations are beautiful. Your interactions with the
environment and the people in it are believable.
And that's crucial
because it helps create
an unprecedented level
of immersion. Rather than be pulled out of the
game's world to get an update on your universal
translator or what have you, others in that world
give you information and instructions. You
overhear things. You witness some incredible
and horrifying atrocities. You, as Gordon
Freeman, are asked to think, to solve, and, of
course, to slay.
You won't have an easy time of it. Half-Life is challenging at its hardest level,
yet it doesn't accomplish that by just throwing an inordinate amount of
enemies at you. The monster AI is passable, and the marine AI is
excellent-those squads behave more realistically and with more efficiency
than those in Rainbow Six and Delta Force.
Even multiplay works well out of the box. I'm
sure there will be patches to optimize it, but I
had very playable games on my 56K modem,
and I loved playing. You always have a chance
to wax someone even when you have just your
pistol-a couple head shots, and he's down. The
multiplay levels are also well designed, and I
loved the way they'd get more and more
scarred by blood splotches, bullet holes, and
explosions' charring effects.
If there's one failing, it's the disappointing space levels. While there are many
minor "jump here, jump there" puzzles, they never felt so gratuitous as in
those levels-I felt like I was playing Half-Life when a game of Mario 64 broke
out.
But really, that's a minor criticism made just
because I felt I had to temper my gushing
somewhat. The game's superb ending more
than makes up for a couple levels of hopping
around, and overall, Half-Life is an incredibly
original masterpiece in a sea of FPS clones.-- Willem Knibbe / GamePro
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