Since the release of the original Doom, gamers have been clamoring for the next level of 3D shooter -- the Big One, so to speak, that would manage to incorporate a real storyline, cinematic elements, and massive amounts of content. Games like Quake II and Unreal have made an honest-to-god attempt to raise the bar -- but while the graphics got prettier, the gameplay remained much the same. But when you thought the first-person genre was all out of fresh ideas, along comes a sparkling gem called Half-Life.
You assume the role of theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman, who�s a half-hour late for work at the Black Mesa Compound, a top-secret military complex similar to the U.S.�s Cheyenne Mountain. The game begins as Gordon takes the transit train to work, in one of the most enveloping intro sequences ever achieved -- it�s just like a ride at Epcot Center. The train chugs its way deep into the mesa, giving you an intriguing view of nuclear warheads, toxic spills, and scientists making their daily rounds.
Once you make it into the compound and begin exploring your surroundings, you�ll notice that you don�t have a gun. In fact, everything seems normal for the first half-hour of gameplay; Gordon is simply another suit-and-tie government researcher, and it�s just another day at the office. After locating his HEV (Hazardous Environment Suit), Gordon chats with several scientists about the daily experiment, and heads into the test chamber to earn his paycheck.
And then the crapola hits the fan. In a botched attempt to create a "resonance cascade," Gordon is partly responsible for opening an interdimensional gate to somewhere -- where the denizens are anything but friendly. After a delightfully disorienting disaster sequence, Gordon gains consciousness in the ruins of the test chamber, his comrades slaughtered by the extraterrestrial horrors that jumped through the gate and spread to every corner of the Black Mesa.
Needless to say, things look bad. You�re a good mile underground, the base is in tatters, and almost every means of escape is blocked off. A skeleton crew of scientists and a handful of barely adequate security guards remain in hiding. If you escort these lab-coated geniuses around, they�ll be able to open locked doors -- and the security team will be happy to back you up in a firefight.
Eventually, the few friendly escorts you encounter will stay behind or be killed, leaving you all alone with your HEV, your flashlight, and any firearms you�ve salvaged. Half-Life never lets you feel like you�re completely safe -- at any moment, a half-dozen scurrying headcrabs (small basketball-sized eating machines with legs) could smash through the ceiling tile overhead, a wall could crumble as an alien behemoth bursts through, or even worse -- nothing could happen at all, leaving you in terrifying silence.
As the game progresses, the scientists keep hinting about the Lambda lab, where a disaster response team seems ready to counterattack. But now the monsters aren�t your only foes. A team of U.S. Rangers -- also known as the "cleaners" -- have been given orders to execute everything on site, including �innocent� scientists who now know far too much. These guys are absolute bastards -- and I mean that in the nicest way -- conforming to military squad tactics, scouting for recon, and tossing grenades as they shout orders to each other in attempt to cleanse the facility.
And here�s where Half-Life sets itself apart from nearly any other first-person game. Though it uses the Quake engine, there are so many enhancements, optimizations, and special goodies added that the resulting game is light years beyond anything id (or anybody else) has produced. Simply put, Half-Life�s gameplay environment is absolutely seamless. This world is alive. Scientists placidly pace the hallways, pounding on broken soda machines and cowering in fear whenever gunfire erupts. Security team members start chatting it up whenever they see another human. And an eerie metallic voice frequently echoes through the empty hallways, instructing scientists to return to the surface or coldly ordering military teams to terminate all lifeforms.
Half-Life keeps the player familiarized with the environment via slight repetition -- though the game is mostly linear, several hub-based sequences will take you back to places you�ve been before. If you see something you can�t get to, chances are good that you�ll be inadvertently making your way there later on. The game is absolutely enormous and is broken up into hundreds of small and quick-loading level chunks.
Half-Life consists of around about 10 episodes, most of which contain a certain theme or goal. On A Rail is one of the most adrenaline-pumping; you drive a high-speed transit train through a series of underground tunnels, while military death squads take pot-shots at you -- it�s similar to the mine-car sequence in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom or Sega�s arcade shooter Rail Chase.
Graphically, you couldn�t ask for much more. Half-Life features all the trimmings you�d expect, with vivid 16-bit textures, colored lighting that looks better than Quake II, and chrome-mapping that gives characters an amazing sheen. The skeletal animation system used in the game is the way to go -- the movement is nearly flawless, right down to the swiveling of the characters� heads.
Using the benefits of its skeletal animation system, Valve has been able to include boatloads of in-game, interactive cutscenes. As you walk into a new area, you may see scientists trying to escape into an air duct, only to be torn apart by whatever lies in the darkness; or a wounded soldier being dragged into a small hole by something, his legs cracking like a wishbone. Sometimes, you�ll be able to save these helpless peons from a grisly fate, and they�ll reward you with a shot of health or by opening a door.
The weapons in Half-Life are also worthy of mention; each is beautifully designed and gives a beefy kickback. Some of the high-powered goodies are surprisingly original -- guided rockets automatically follow the center of your crosshair after you launch them, and some friendly alien pets scramble after your opponents with relentless glee (these are a laugh-riot in multi-player).
Cool as the weapons are, you can�t simply blast your way through this game. Tact and stealth will come in handy when dealing with the tentacles, four-story blind behemoths that smash against anything that makes a sound. Standard guns won�t fire underwater, either, so clearing the Black Mesa�s liquid pools of man-eating (and man-sized!) piranha requires some thought as well. Several areas that are heavily populated with laser tripwires and claymore mines require calmness and agility -- and the hope that a bumbling scientist doesn�t run in and set them all off.
Another area that Half-Life nails on the head is DeathMatch -- it uses chunks from John Carmack�s incredibly robust QuakeWorld architecture, guaranteeing smooth netplay. It also incorporates a matching service similar to battle.net or GameSpy 3D directly into the interface and has a "quick connect" option that goes out, finds the fastest nearby server, and drops you in with one click.
The only partial letdown is in the variety of friendly characters. There are only four variations of the scientist, and only one type of security guard. A few more faces or outfits would have been appreciated -- I suppose we�ll just have to wait for the sequel.
But these are merely nitpicks. Yes, it�s a shooter. Yes, there are things to kill. But if Quake II is Starship Troopers, then Half-Life is the original Alien, combining incredible atmosphere, a strong storyline, and terrifying suspense to mind-boggling effect. Simply put, Half-Life is an unprecedented triumph of design, content, and execution. This is the missing link between the standard 3D shooter and the next level of gaming -- and, by far, the most significant action title since System Shock. Anyone in the industry who�s creating a 3D game should take a long, hard look at Half-Life; there will be a test in the months to come.
--Colin Williamson
