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Half-Life is a game I wasn’t really interested in during its heyday. But when I was in high school, I became very interested in Counter-Strike which was initially a mod for Half-Life. A friend introduced me to it and if memory serves, it was 2003 or 2004 and Counter-Strike 1.6 came bundled with Half-Life at the time. But I didn’t actually play Half-Life until years later. And I think the primary reason I wanted to check it out was because I enjoyed the sequel, Half-Life 2.
Developed by Valve and published by Sierra Studios, Half-Life was released for PC in November, 1998, and PlayStation 2 in November, 2001. The game was ported by Valve to the Source engine and released as Half-Life: Source in 2004. Half-Life was also remade in the Source engine by the Crowbar Collective and the remake is titled Black Mesa. Originally published as a free mod, Black Mesa was eventually approved for a commercial release. It released as an early-access title in 2015, followed by a full release in 2020. For this review, I played the original PC game and Half-Life: Source. We will cover Black Mesa separately.
Half-Life: Source is one of those games that doesn’t sit well with everyone. Some people enjoy it, others don’t and many of the ones that don’t go so far to claim it’s objectively inferior to the original and is not worth playing. Yeah, it’s one of those deals. The Steam page for Half-Life: Source describes it as a “digitally remastered version” of the PC game. Unfortunately, it does come with bugs and from what I understand, more were introduced in a 2013 update. I did consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page which led me to the Half-Life: Source Fixed mod which features a ton of fixes and I did play through the game using the mod. Half-Life does come with a multiplayer component but this review will only focus on the single player.
The story in Half-Life puts the player in the shoes of theoretical physicist, Gordon Freeman. He arrives at the Black Mesa Research Facility and participates in an experiment that goes horribly wrong, creating a “resonance cascade” that severely damages the facility and a portal opens to another dimension known as Xen. Gordon survives the catastrophe and as he makes his way to the surface, he discovers that scientists may have found a way to close the portal and sets out to assist them. But along the way he has to defend himself from various aliens and the soldiers sent to cover up the incident by killing all the aliens and surviving personnel.
I think for a game released in 1998, the way the story is presented was unique. Not only that, it remains a pretty good tale with solid pacing. There are no traditional cut scenes so most of the narrative is conveyed through dialogue and listening to and seeing what’s going on as you progress. I enjoy Half-Life’s narrative but I fully admit I’m a sucker for science fiction and alien invasion stories and I enjoy Half-Life’s concept of interdimensional aliens. I also like the sense of urgency the story conveys. Gordon, like the other surviving personnel, is being hunted and will face a lot of hostiles during his journey. And as he progresses, it becomes obvious things are getting worse so figuring out a way to close the portal is crucial. The story makes it clear why Gordon needs to be constantly on the move and what the stakes are. And adding a sense of mystery to the narrative is the G-Man, an NPC who appears in different locations and appears to be following or watching over Gordon, and can be easy to miss if you don’t pay attention.
In addition to telling a pretty good tale, I also feel Half-Life conveys an interesting and unique tone and atmosphere. The game often gave me Die Hard vibes with a slight touch of horror. That may sound weird but what I mean is Die Hard in the sense that a good chunk of the game takes place in a single location overrun with foes. Black Mesa. The game does a good job at portraying Black Mesa as a massive complex in the New Mexico desert. Gordon will have to navigate through numerous areas, vents, pipes, rooms, and corridors to progress and the environments flow very nicely together. Just like a lot of other games, you are technically moving from level to level but in Half-Life, they’re all connected with load points to indicate transitions but the transitions never take you out of the gameplay, making for a very immersive experience in my opinion.
Half-Life is a first-person shooter and Gordon is a silent protagonist. You run around the environments killing enemies and must figure out how to proceed. You will get your hands on numerous weapons, some traditional and others more unique. In both the original game and in Source, you have the option to enable content from the HD Pack. This pack was created by Gearbox Software and the contents were originally included in the expansion, Half-Life: Blue Shift. It includes upgraded character models and changes to the arsenal. The Glock was replaced with a Beretta and the submachine gun was replaced with an assault rifle and new sounds were given to some weapons.
Half-Life: Source is the same exact game but runs on a newer engine. It does include some better textures, the weapon models looked better to me, it features much better physics, and better lighting. The changes to lighting is probably one of the more noticeable differences. At least in my experience. Personally, I think most of the cosmetic changes are fine. But I can understand bugs being a problem and turning people off. I played through portions of Source a few times over the years but never did beat it. I had only beaten the original. Until now that is. I remember the last time I played Source, I encountered some missing textures or some odd visual bugs here and there. So this time I played with the Source Fixed mod and I can honestly say I didn’t encounter anything like that or any immersion-breaking issues for that matter. The mod aims to fix numerous animation issues, subtitle issues, graphical problems, audio problems, and a lot more.
Source also includes better gore effects in my opinion and showcases some better visual effects. I think the gunplay is great in both games and while I feel it is slightly better in Source, thanks in part to the better gore and physics, I do think Half-Life showcases some better muzzle flashes, specifically for the assault rifle. Sometimes it’s the little things that go a long way. Audio is also a big part of what makes the gunplay and combat feel great. Many weapons sound amazing, explosions sound booming, and splattering enemy blood, turning them into gibs, and seeing their bodies ragdoll is always satisfying.
I think Half-Life puts up a good fight. In fact, it can be brutal if you play on the hardest difficulty and don’t know what to expect. In general, enemies aren’t the brightest bulbs. Their reaction times and behavior is sometimes questionable but when they hit, they can hit hard. You’ll be outnumbered much of the time so you can get overwhelmed if you’re not careful. Entering a vent or door only for a Headcrab or multiple to leap at you can sometimes be annoying and enemies like Soldiers and Vortigaunts feel like hitscan types and some encounters with them can prove to be frustrating. I can’t confirm if the Soldiers truly are hitscan foes but I do know if you’re in their view, you will most likely get hit. They carry assault rifles or submachine guns and shotguns and will often lob grenades. You encounter them frequently throughout the game and usually multiple at a time.
One difference between the Soldiers and Vortiguants is that the Vortiguants have a tell before they unleash their attack and this gives you some time to get behind something. Soldiers will just unload on you the moment you’re spotted and lob grenades right at you. Then there’s Alien Grunts which are probably some of the toughest foes you’ll face. They are armed with Hivehands that launch homing hornets that can ricochet. Needless to say, the game will often keep you moving during combat. Always be on the lookout for ammo because some weapons are better against certain threats and situations and it’s wise to utilize things in the environments to your advantage like explosive boxes and barrels and you can even man turrets and use them to quickly blow away multiple foes.
Other than some frustrating encounters from time to time, I feel the game is fair enough, overall. Most enemies are dangerous and in my opinion, that adds tension to the gameplay. You should always be careful and alert. Take your time, check your corners. There will be some ambushes, enemies will sometimes spawn behind you, a helicopter will be gunning for you at one point, you’ll have to contend with tanks, and you’ll sometimes come across Soldiers engaging aliens which is always fun to witness. Half-Life is the kind of game where you’ll benefit greatly on subsequent playthroughs, just knowing what to expect. It’s the kind of game where knowing what weapons to use and when will be a big help. And it’s the kind of game where surviving a firefight with a low health may not be a good thing. You might be better off loading a previous save and trying the encounter again. And you should always keep an eye out for rooms and areas off to the sides that house resources like health and ammo.
If there’s anything I truly don’t enjoy about Half-Life, it’s Xen. You spend most of your time at the Black Mesa Research Facility and the environments there are exceptionally well crafted. The areas flow and blend together in a way that feels somewhat realistic. You’ll have to solve environmental puzzles, there’s some platforming here and there, and you’ll have to backtrack from time to time, and for the most part, the way areas and things are connected makes sense. In my opinion, what’s great about the puzzles and the environments is that most don’t feel staged or contrived. In an obvious way, that is. Listening to what NPCs say and reading things like signs and things on the walls can be helpful and point you in the right direction but answers are typically not shoved in your face. And the game does encourage exploration. Taking the time to look around will often lead you to resources but you may also find alternate routes to destinations. Half-Life is the kind of game where you can easily get stuck if you’re not sure what to do or where to go and not everything is obvious. I know this because I got stuck quite a few times on my first playthrough years ago. You will come across scientists and guards every so often and you can recruit them to follow you and sometimes you’ll need them to gain access to certain areas. And then you get Xen.
During your time in Black Mesa, the game does a good job at building towards some epic final moment and then you finally get there and it’s Xen, and then it just keeps going. It’s a contrast to Black Mesa and nowhere near as fun. At the very least, I do like the way it’s visually presented. It’s supposed to be another dimension and I think the developers did a great job with the aesthetics, making Xen feel very alien for lack of a better word. But the level design here isn’t consistent with the rest of the campaign and it seems to be by design. Ammo is lying around but you do have to look for it, there are some tedious jump puzzles, teleporters or portals take you to new areas and these environments just don’t have the same kind of flow as those in Black Mesa. And I really don’t care for one of the final areas. It’s filled with Vortigaunts and Alien Controllers that fly around and unleash energy blasts and it can be a real slog to get through.
As for the presentation, both games show their age but I would argue that Half-Life: Source does look better. The better lighting, better physics, and improved textures are immediately noticeable and the environments are well detailed and diverse. Source does include additional options to configure and even comes with an FOV slider which is not an option in the original game. But I was able to adjust it using a console command. The audio work in general is great and music doesn’t back the action all the time but it does kick in at the perfect moments helping to elevate tension, and the soundtrack consists of a good mix of intense and moody tunes. On the technical side, both games ran smooth and Source crashed on me once. Other than that, I did not encounter any major issues or bugs so I guess I would say the Source Fixed mod did its job.
I love Half-Life. It’s one of my favorite shooters. I first played it years after it released and remember thinking I liked it more than Half-Life 2 despite many of the sequel’s gameplay improvements. The pacing is great, the action is fun, and the level design is amazing. I also really enjoy the setting, atmosphere, and tone and the sense of urgency and tension. When the soldiers arrive to cover up the incident, that’s when things really get exciting in my opinion and it just picks up from there. And all is great until you get to the end. Xen is where things fall apart but, luckily, you don’t spend too much time there. I do think Half-Life holds up really well and remains a solid shooter to this day. There’s very few things that I feel haven’t aged as gracefully as others. But, overall, the good outweighs the bad. It’s well designed, it can be challenging but fair, and it keeps you engaged with a compelling narrative, tense combat situations, clever puzzles, and rewarding exploration. As for Half-Life: Source, I think it’s a fine way to experience the game if you can get around all the bugs. I would recommend the Source Fixed mod or any mod that fixes the issues. Source is certainly not the best remaster ever made but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t come with any improvements.
I would absolutely recommend Half-Life. I would not recommend Half-Life: Source over the original for a first-time playthrough. That is unless you install a mod to fix the bugs. Despite some hatred you may see aimed at the Source version, it does showcase some good things. Not everything about it is awful. The bugs are certainly unacceptable but the wonderful fan community surrounding Half-Life has managed to address them. Nevertheless, the original game still holds up really well and still runs really well in my experience and it’s an incredible game. A classic. Definitely check it out.