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Abe Sargent · 07-28-2006, 09:20 PM

As I mentioned before, I believe there is a big jump in game quality from #15 on my list to here. Let's take a look at a more recent classic, and the best game in a very popular genre:

14. Half-Life
Valve/Sierra
1998
PC
GameSpot Review - 9.4
First-Person Shooter

Half-Life on Steam

In fact, I'd say that the modern age of PC Computing began in 1998 with games like Baldur's Gate and Half-Life.

For those of you who may be living in a very deep closest, allow me to explain. Half-Life is a PC game that revolutionized the first person genre by taking it one giant Lambda step forward in technology.

For one thing, Half-Life was completly about immersion into the game. From the beginning sequence where you spend five minutes in a rail car moving through the Black Mesa Complex to the platform where you work, you get the idea that this is a different game.

There are no cutscenes, no written dialogue, level transitions, or anything. Nothing breaks the mold of a living, breathing Gordon Freeman trying to fight like hell to get his way out of Black Mesa and survive.

This was innovative. In previous first person shooters, there was a cutscene at the end of the level giving you your kill count and percentage hit ratio, or mission briefings or cutscenes. Half-Life was simply about being there, with a crowbar, and maybe a gun.

The first time I saw that giant tentacled thing pouring up through a central corrider up several stories and I had to walk softly past it, or else one of those huge clawed tentacles would kill me. The first time I saw that, I held my breath as if to say, "My God."

Here is the big giant tentacled thing viewed from several floors up:

There are no spinning and glowing icons to represent health, weapons, ammo, or anything. Instead, placement is very logical. For you, its on a shelf, in a crate that you have to destroy, on a corpse of a dead person, and so forth.

There are no levels, the game is just one never ending romp.

Some bad guys are spawning in front of Gordon:

One major thing Half-Life had is a very believable squad AI for the human opponents. See, as the reasearch facility explodes, special forces head out the kill anyone in there, alien or human, and shut the place down. You'll be fighting these guys who have a very realistic AI. Shoot down one of a group from around a corner and all of the remaining characters will dive for cover, peek their heads out, and start laying cover fire while one or two others will creep to your position.

If you run into a room, they aren't stupid. They'll just toss in agrenade or two to kill you or flush you out. All of this is amazingly realistic.

The result is a very nice single player mode.

However, Half-Life does not end with a single player mode. Any review of Half-Life would be missing half of the review if it ended there.

Multi-player is a major aspect of the game. I know players who bought the game just for multiplayer. Valve intentionally created a very moddable game and we'll talk about a certain mod in a bit, but for now, let's just talk about Deathmatch multiplayer.

I loved playing against real people in this environment, with interesting maps and believable characters. This is my second favorite multiplayer gaming experience of all time.

Living in a residence hall, as an RA, with almost all of my residents and myself playing on the same server with our doors open and taunting each other.

Nothing compares to that. You got a chance to slap some people silly all while taunting them, or running around saying, "Where are you hiding, bitch?" and whatnot. The game was awesome.

I loved learning new maps. I started with some maps that everybody else liked, but I began to host because I had a fast machine, and I got to choose new maps that everybody began to like, ie The Mansion and X-Bow2.

Of course, everything changed when the Counter-Strike mod was made. Counter-Strike was a multi-player mod created just for Half-Life and was truly significant in the evolution of multi-player FPS. It was an amazing game using Half-Life textures and whatnot but with a more realistic, military feel to it.

Counter-Strike:

Another CS screenie which I think looks very cool:

It became hugely popular, so much so that Sierra began selling this player made mod in retail stores for a cheap price.

From mods to multiplayer to an amazing reality, Half-Life is truly one of the greats.

-Anxiety

07-28-2006, 09:20 PM	#81
Abe Sargent Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Catonsville, MD	As I mentioned before, I believe there is a big jump in game quality from #15 on my list to here. Let's take a look at a more recent classic, and the best game in a very popular genre: 14. Half-Life Valve/Sierra 1998 PC GameSpot Review - 9.4 First-Person Shooter Half-Life on Steam In fact, I'd say that the modern age of PC Computing began in 1998 with games like Baldur's Gate and Half-Life. For those of you who may be living in a very deep closest, allow me to explain. Half-Life is a PC game that revolutionized the first person genre by taking it one giant Lambda step forward in technology. For one thing, Half-Life was completly about immersion into the game. From the beginning sequence where you spend five minutes in a rail car moving through the Black Mesa Complex to the platform where you work, you get the idea that this is a different game. There are no cutscenes, no written dialogue, level transitions, or anything. Nothing breaks the mold of a living, breathing Gordon Freeman trying to fight like hell to get his way out of Black Mesa and survive. This was innovative. In previous first person shooters, there was a cutscene at the end of the level giving you your kill count and percentage hit ratio, or mission briefings or cutscenes. Half-Life was simply about being there, with a crowbar, and maybe a gun. The first time I saw that giant tentacled thing pouring up through a central corrider up several stories and I had to walk softly past it, or else one of those huge clawed tentacles would kill me. The first time I saw that, I held my breath as if to say, "My God." Here is the big giant tentacled thing viewed from several floors up: There are no spinning and glowing icons to represent health, weapons, ammo, or anything. Instead, placement is very logical. For you, its on a shelf, in a crate that you have to destroy, on a corpse of a dead person, and so forth. There are no levels, the game is just one never ending romp. Some bad guys are spawning in front of Gordon: One major thing Half-Life had is a very believable squad AI for the human opponents. See, as the reasearch facility explodes, special forces head out the kill anyone in there, alien or human, and shut the place down. You'll be fighting these guys who have a very realistic AI. Shoot down one of a group from around a corner and all of the remaining characters will dive for cover, peek their heads out, and start laying cover fire while one or two others will creep to your position. If you run into a room, they aren't stupid. They'll just toss in agrenade or two to kill you or flush you out. All of this is amazingly realistic. The result is a very nice single player mode. However, Half-Life does not end with a single player mode. Any review of Half-Life would be missing half of the review if it ended there. Multi-player is a major aspect of the game. I know players who bought the game just for multiplayer. Valve intentionally created a very moddable game and we'll talk about a certain mod in a bit, but for now, let's just talk about Deathmatch multiplayer. I loved playing against real people in this environment, with interesting maps and believable characters. This is my second favorite multiplayer gaming experience of all time. Living in a residence hall, as an RA, with almost all of my residents and myself playing on the same server with our doors open and taunting each other. Nothing compares to that. You got a chance to slap some people silly all while taunting them, or running around saying, "Where are you hiding, bitch?" and whatnot. The game was awesome. I loved learning new maps. I started with some maps that everybody else liked, but I began to host because I had a fast machine, and I got to choose new maps that everybody began to like, ie The Mansion and X-Bow2. Of course, everything changed when the Counter-Strike mod was made. Counter-Strike was a multi-player mod created just for Half-Life and was truly significant in the evolution of multi-player FPS. It was an amazing game using Half-Life textures and whatnot but with a more realistic, military feel to it. Counter-Strike: Another CS screenie which I think looks very cool: It became hugely popular, so much so that Sierra began selling this player made mod in retail stores for a cheap price. From mods to multiplayer to an amazing reality, Half-Life is truly one of the greats. -Anxiety __________________ Check out my two current weekly Magic columns! https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/?action=search&page=1&author[]=Abe%20Sargent Last edited by Abe Sargent : 05-01-2022 at 12:05 PM.