Freeman must open his way across rumble and corpses to flee the underground layer, return to the surface, and ask for help. The most common are the Vortigaunts, otherwise known as “slaves.”Īn alien horde flooded Black Mesa and murdered the personnel. However, Freeman accidentally opens a portal to Xen, a parallel world populated by alien creatures. After a long introduction where you get to see the facilities, you go about your tasks, put on the HEV suit, and head on towards an experiment. Then, the game takes ideas from Resident Evil, Doom, Quake, and The Mist novel by Stephen King. Black Mesa is a secret underground lab in New Mexico it’s inspired by Area 51 tales. The plot follows Gordon Freeman, a Black Mesa researcher. By the latter term, I mean its strong suspense is explained by science. Half-Life is an FPS title that mixes sci-fi, survival horror, and techno-thriller. Notably, Sierra Studios was the publisher Valve was still in its infancy. In 2002, it became available for PlayStation 2. The 1998 game debuted for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Half – Life – 1998 Half-Life’s original game engine is “GoldSrc.” On top of the main games, there’re six expansions, two remasters, three spin-offs, and one relevant third-party remake. Every Half-Life Game in Order by Release DateĮven though there’re only three main Half-Life entries, the grand total is 15 games. These are linear games where you go from A to B, and the challenge is surviving. That said, there’re no RPG elements and no choices. On PC, for example, you carry weapons on numbers 1-to-9, similar to Doom. It’s a wide arsenal, with a combination of melee weapons, pistols, assault rifles, sci-fi laser beams, and alien weapons. That also means the narrative flows through from beginning to the end, and the only loading screens connect one chapter to the next. Instead of standard cinematic cuts, the relevant plot points come through scripted events. Moreover, it comes with an AI voice and a myriad of sound effects that are hard to forget.Īnother core element is how the story comes through. It protects Freeman from environmental damage like toxic wastes and grants HP and shield. alien war.Įither way, the next element we’re discussing is the HEV suit. For now, you should know it’s a story of free will, corruption, humanity, ethics, and enslavement set within a human vs. We’ll continue exploring the plot as we go through the series. His loyalties come into question frequently by the presence of the mysterious “G-Man,” a man in a suit that comes and goes, capable of using Freeman to do his bidding. As the ultimate irony, he’s not free: he obeys everything others tell him to do. Nevertheless, Gordon Freeman doesn’t speak. A failed experiment opens up a portal to another dimension, and you’re one of the only survivors. He begins as a scientist for the Black Mesa laboratory. The next core element is the protagonist, Gordon Freeman. It offers guns-blazing action against aliens, soldiers, ships, vehicles, and everything in between. You have a flashlight in your suit, but it can run out of energy at any time. Imagine a dark sewer filled with dormant zombie-like aliens at the corner. Underground settings add horror elements. Players spend part of the playthrough in underground locations and the rest on surface locations. The name of the game is due to how it works. At the core, Valve’s franchise is an FPS experience that relies on environmental storytelling, dynamic environments, and varying scenarios. Half-Life debuted in 1998 to introduce the many formulas in the series. The Half-Life series Half-Life is one of the most iconic FPS series of all time. But if you’re a newcomer, give them a try. The thing is, they’re probably more entries than you realize, including a great third-party remake.Īlso, I couldn’t stress enough how good Half-Life games are. If anything, you saw or played Half-Life: Alyx hailed as the best 2020 VR title. You’ve probably heard about Half-Life games before. Therefore, they changed the landscape forever by launching Steam, the biggest video-game storefront. After their successful FPS hit, they became the massive behemoth they are today. There’s an after and before Half-Life in Valve’s history and the video-game industry as a whole.īefore the 1998 debut, Valve was a small indie developer.
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