Are You Single? Find Love

Half-Life Review

Winner of countless awards as well as unlimited praise, this game is deserving of everything that it has received. The Valve team have really excelled in creating an atmospheric, immersive, thrilling, and most of all, fun first person shooter.

Everything about the game seems to be fantastic, with the graphics engine still being used by more modern games, albeit adapted slightly. It is an excellent example of what can be done with a little time and effort, as well as expert rendering artists and brilliant graphic designers.

Every single individual character is created wonderfully, with every distinct feature on their face showing up clearly and looking realistic. Their bodies are close to perfect in terms of being life-like, with the proportion of everything absolutely spot on.

The interaction between these characters is apparently seamless, as they talk to one another, going about their daily business, and I even saw a scientist resuscitating one of his colleagues at one point. It's subtle touches like this that make the game even better than it would ordinarily be, pushing it past any set limits of excellence.

I'd better rewind back a little, as already I am complimenting virtually every aspect of the game, and those of you who have been living in some sort of a box for the past couple of years won't yet know what it is all about. The basic story is that as a scientist you conduct an experiment which is inevitably doomed from the start, with a little mistake resulting in an inter-dimensional portal being opened, and wave upon wave of hellish alien monsters being released. Stranded helplessly within the depths of the research compound, it is your mission to escape alive. Of course, it's easier said than done.

With the stunning ahead-of-it's time AI, the game is made particularly tough, with the intelligent enemies back-tracking, seemingly fleeing in order to save their valuable lives. Unfortunately for you though, they come back with a bunch of their friends, ready to gang up on you unfairly.

Of course, to make your job all that little bit easier, an excellent arsenal is at your disposal with some of the best weapons seen in games to date, including the ever accurate and powerful laser-sighted rocket launcher, and the ever-reliable machine gun with second grenade fire. It's great fun using these to their greatest advantages, switching between primary and secondary fire modes in an attempt to defeat the seemingly endless flow of alien creatures hell-bent on killing you.

So let's see…I've gone through the great graphics, the incredible artificial intelligence, the wonderful weaponry, the foundation of the essential plot…what else is there to say? Well, the bosses are great, with different methods to kill each one, and the exploration aspect of the game isn't too much to get the gamer bored, but enough to keep them occupied. In fact, everything about it is brilliant, with the only flaw being a minor one.

When you are nearing the end of the game, as completion sets itself within your sights, you are taken to an alien planet. Unfortunately parts of this tend to be a little dull, merely something to do to waste away a couple of hours on a rainy day. Still though, I've seen a lot worse in other games, and it is only a short little section.

Well, there you have it, basically Half-Life is the greatest gift that the God(s) have ever provided us with, and even if it is fifty years old at the time of reading, then it's still definitely worth a purchase. At the time of writing it is out on budget bundled with Counter-strike and Opposing Force, whilst still maintaining its position as not only the best first person shooter on the market, but possibly the best game, period.

Overall: 97%

Pros: · Great graphics · Ground-breaking non-player character interaction · Some of the best bosses seen in any game · Flawless AI

Cons: · Alien planet is slightly on the dull side