Half-Life

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Half-Life
Developer:	Valve Corporation
Publisher:	Sierra Studios/Electronic Arts/Valve Corporation
Release date:	PC North America - November 19, 1998 Playstation 2 North America - November 15, 2001
Genre:	First-Person Shooter
Game modes:	Campaign and Multiplayer
ESRB rating:	Mature (M)
Platform:	Microsoft Windows Sony Playstation 2
Media:	CD, DVD, Download

Background

Half-Life is a first-person shooting science-fiction video game developed by Valve Software, first released by Sierra Studios on November 19, 1998 as a computer game.

In Half-Life, players take control of Gordon Freeman, a doctor of theoretical physics. He must fight his way out of the corrupted Black Mesa secret underground researching facility, whose teleportation technology has gone wrong.

Gameplay

Half-Life urges players to engage in combat and solve puzzles in order to progress through the various chapters. Opposed to the game's competition during the time of release, Half-Life marked an important breakthrough in video game history—scripted sequences, composed of aliens ramming through doors to major plot points in the game. The game's peers focused on cut-scenes depicting the next chain of events, rather them happening while in actual game play. Half-Life proved as an original success for first-person shooters, taking ideas to the next level.

Puzzle-solving plays a major influence in Half-Life. Players must regularly integrate puzzles, such as using the environment to kill an enemy, or navigating through terrain in special ways in order to advance on.

The player predominantly battles with firepower through the game, occasionally coming across assisting non-playable characters, helping to fight and further explain the plot. In Half-Life, a wide variety of enemies populate the game. Headcrabs, bullsquids, headcrab zombies, Vortigaunts, as well as human opponents such as the HECU Marines, and black op assassins, who are dispatched to contain the alien threats and silence witnesses.

Weapons (Half-Life)

• Crowbar
• 9mm Pisto|
• .357 ‘Python’ Revolver
• 1.4 9mm Fully-Automatic Weapon
• 12-Gauge Combat Shotgun
• 1.6 Crossbow
• Tau Cannon
• Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher
• Gluon Gun
• Hivehand (Hornet Gun)
• Fragmentation Grenade
• Satchel Charge
• Laser Tripmine
• Snark

(Opposing Force)

• Combat Knife
• Pipe Wrench
• Desert Eagle
• Barnacle Gun
• M-249 SAW
• Displacer Cannon
• Shockroach
• Spore Launcher

(Blue Shift)

• 09mm Pistol
• SPAS-12 Shotgun
• M4-Rifle

Expansions and Sequels

Expansions

Two PC expansion packs were released by third-party developer Gearbox Software: Half-Life: Opposing Force, and Half-Life: Blue Shift. In Opposing Force, the player is put into the eyes of HCEU marine Adrian Shephard, who is sent to cover up the evidence of the incident following up to Half-Life. Adrean Shephard gets disbanded from his squad, finding himself fighting for his life. This expansion pack introduced new firearms, non-playable characters, and unseen areas of the original Half-Life game. Blue Shift featured slight variations opposed to Opposing Force, such as differing character models. Both packs featured eleven chapters, whereas there was nineteen in Half-Life.

In Blue Shift, the story returns to the Black Mesa timeline once again, this time as Barney Calhoun, one of the facility's security guards. There are little differences between both Opposing Force and Blue Shift, aside from updated graphics. Blue Shift was originally supposed to be an exclusive bonus chapter for the canceled Dreamcast version. This expansion came along with the High Definition pack, which allowed an update for Opposing Force in the fields of graphics and content in Blue Shift.

Half-Life: Decay was another expansion pack created by Gearbox Software. Decay was only featured as an extra for the Playstation 2, as part of the original Half-Life. This version allowed players to team up cooperatively.

An assemblage was put together in 2000, consisting of Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress Classic, and Half-Life: Opposing Force. This compilation was titled "Half-Life: Platinum Pack", and was re-released in 2002 as "Platinum Collection" and "Generation". These two iterations included the Half-Life: Blue Shift expansion pack. In 2005, Half-Life: Anthology was released, containing Steam-only editions of Half-Life, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life: Blue Shift, and Team Fortress Classic.

System Requirements (PC Version)

Taken from Steam.

Minimum: 500 mhz processor, 96mb ram, 16mb video card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

Recommended: 800 mhz processor, 128mb ram, 32mb+ video card, Windows 2000/XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection

==Half-Life (Series)==
Half-Life | Half-Life 2 | Half-Life 2: Episode One | Half-Life 2: Episode Two
The Orange Box | Portal | Team Fortress 2

Major portions of this page were written by: Trendy 11