-Quick Review-
The Half-Life Series is really a story about a man and his crowbar. This platonic love story has been heralded as a classic within the video game community and was a better love story then Twilight …and Half-Life came out years before.

Half-Life is an early First Person Shooter, and a Classic to Steam, having been one of the first available games on the platform when Valve still made video games, Half-Life was released in 1998.

Review Video:
If you don't like reading, or are curious about watching gameplay check out my video here:
https://youtu.be/_HNtRhZ9mB8

-Detailed breakdown review-
Story: Our story begins in the morning on the Black Mesa Transit system Tram at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. You play as Dr. Gordon Freeman a graduate of MIT, having earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. Not that you’ll need to know any of that when everything goes sideways and Gordon Freeman is forced to take up crowbar against an invading alien force.

As you play you’ll encounter some military personnel who have been tasked with cleaning up this disaster, but part of that clean up involves the death of everyone in the Black Mesa Research Facility, especially Gordan Freeman as he has come to realize his true purpose in life: Button-presser, trigger-puller, crowbar-wacker.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3348614907

Gameplay: Half-Life was more tough than I expected. I was all confident walking into this game thinking “Hmmm, yes, yes, I’ve played many First Person Shooters, put me at your normal difficulty coach, I can take it”. I guess by that you can say I got what I deserved for being over confident.

The game holds up very well, even though it was released in the late 90’s. I’m not sure if that’s more a testament to the good simple controls of the game, the simplicity of First Person Shooters, my experience with the later Half-Life 2 games… or some blending of all the above.

Nearly all the controls were exactly as expected with standard WASD controls, crouching with CTRL, Interact with E, Flashlight with F, switch between weapons with the scroll wheel or number keys.
There were two surprising mechanics I didn’t learn about until the end of the game. First: There’s a “Long Jump” you don’t get access to until the end of the game, where the scientist who gave me the module said “hopefully you’ve taken the Black Mesa Training”. NO I HAVEN’T TAKEN THE TRAINING, I THOUGHT I KNEW WHAT GAME I WAS PLAYING! Here’s what you do: While running press crouch and then jump. You can’t beat the game without it. After taking the training course (which I was certain I didn’t need) I learned you can also grab and pull boxes towards you by holding down the interact key and moving backwards.

https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3348617412

Conclusion: I’ve played and reviewed a bunch of different games from all kinds of different times; but I’ve always enjoyed having the chance to go back and revisit classic games. Other than going back to visit a classic game, or nostalgia for a different time… I don’t know what else you’d be doing by playing Half-Life.

If you’re interested in checking out Half-Life or thinking about buying it, you can always wait for a Steam Sale. I picked my copy up on a 90% off sale. I punch those numbers into my calculator and it makes a smiley face.

[u][b]-Quick Review-[/b][/u] The Half-Life Series is really a story about a man and his crowbar. This platonic love story has been heralded as a classic within the video game community and was a better love story then Twilight …and Half-Life came out years before. Half-Life is an early First Person Shooter, and a Classic to Steam, having been one of the first available games on the platform when Valve still made video games, Half-Life was released in 1998. [u][b]Review Video:[/b][/u] If you don't like reading, or are curious about watching gameplay check out my video here: https://youtu.be/_HNtRhZ9mB8 [u][b]-Detailed breakdown review-[/b][/u] [b]Story:[/b] Our story begins in the morning on the Black Mesa Transit system Tram at the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico. You play as Dr. Gordon Freeman a graduate of MIT, having earned a Ph.D. in theoretical physics. Not that you’ll need to know any of that when everything goes sideways and Gordon Freeman is forced to take up crowbar against an invading alien force. As you play you’ll encounter some military personnel who have been tasked with cleaning up this disaster, but part of that clean up involves the death of everyone in the Black Mesa Research Facility, especially Gordan Freeman as he has come to realize his true purpose in life: Button-presser, trigger-puller, crowbar-wacker. https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3348614907 [b]Gameplay:[/b] Half-Life was more tough than I expected. I was all confident walking into this game thinking “Hmmm, yes, yes, I’ve played many First Person Shooters, put me at your normal difficulty coach, I can take it”. I guess by that you can say I got what I deserved for being over confident. The game holds up very well, even though it was released in the late 90’s. I’m not sure if that’s more a testament to the good simple controls of the game, the simplicity of First Person Shooters, my experience with the later Half-Life 2 games… or some blending of all the above. Nearly all the controls were exactly as expected with standard WASD controls, crouching with CTRL, Interact with E, Flashlight with F, switch between weapons with the scroll wheel or number keys. There were two surprising mechanics I didn’t learn about until the end of the game. First: There’s a “Long Jump” you don’t get access to until the end of the game, where the scientist who gave me the module said “hopefully you’ve taken the Black Mesa Training”. NO I HAVEN’T TAKEN THE TRAINING, I THOUGHT I KNEW WHAT GAME I WAS PLAYING! Here’s what you do: While running press crouch and then jump. You can’t beat the game without it. After taking the training course (which I was certain I didn’t need) I learned you can also grab and pull boxes towards you by holding down the interact key and moving backwards. https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3348617412 [b]Conclusion:[/b] I’ve played and reviewed a bunch of different games from all kinds of different times; but I’ve always enjoyed having the chance to go back and revisit classic games. Other than going back to visit a classic game, or nostalgia for a different time… I don’t know what else you’d be doing by playing Half-Life. If you’re interested in checking out Half-Life or thinking about buying it, you can always wait for a Steam Sale. I picked my copy up on a 90% off sale. I punch those numbers into my calculator and it makes a smiley face.