alve Software's 1998 release of Half-Life shook the gaming world's
foundation. Gamers played Gordon Freeman, a workaday, Black Mesa research
facility scientist caught in the midst of events that rapidly spun out of
control, opening a portal into an alien world teeming with horrific aliens
just itching to enter our own reality and destroy everything in sight. The
game was soon voted everybody's everything and quickly became Sierra's
all-time bestseller. The Opposing Force sequel was released in 1999,
giving players the chance to experience Black Mesa as one of the soldiers
sent to put a lid on the alien incursion. Now, Gearbox Software, the
developers who coded Opposing Force are back with yet another
follow-up, Half-Life: Blue Shift.
In Blue Shift, gamers become security guard Barney Calhoun as they try
to save the Black Mesa facility from the alien hordes, overly macho
soldiers and obstinate scientists. Played from the typical first-person-shooter perspective, Barney must solve puzzles, kill those who oppose him
and stay alive. Many of the puzzles are the move-this-crate, jump-this-void
and manipulate-this-object type, but they are nevertheless believable and
fun.
Also included with Half-Life: Blue Shift are Half-Life: Opposing
Force and the Half-Life: High Definition pack. Opposing
Force includes the complete game of the same name, while the High
Definition pack enhances the somewhat dated graphics from the original
game. Of course, if this is a first-person shooter, there must be a strong
multiplayer element. Half-Life: Blue Shift supports LAN and TCP/IP
multiplayer for up to 32 players, with games such as deathmatch and capture
the flag, to name but a few.
A short Life, but a happy one
Gamers who don't like Half-Life: Blue Shift just don't like
story-based, first-person shooters. Once again, Gearbox Software has blended
an intriguing story with more action than a James Bond thriller. The game
does start a bit slowly--players spend the first few minutes traipsing
through the facility, donning body armor and drawing their weapons. But once the alien heads start rolling, the game will spellbind even the
most jaded gamers.
Yeah, the action is fast, but not overwhelming. Much of the gamers' time is
also spent solving puzzles that usually boil down to "Now, how in the heck
do I get there from here?" Fortunately, these structural dilemmas are
logical, and can be solved by sliding a box here, jumping a chasm there and
crawling through a tunnel or two.
On the down side, the whole game can be solved in less than 10 hours.
Half-Life: Blue Shift was originally designed as a special add-on for
the Dreamcast version of Half-Life. With the Dreamcast's demise,
Sierra decided to release the game for PC. Accordingly, it doesn't take long
to complete. Expert gamers can expect to wrap it in one four-hour sitting;
others may take a bit longer.
Brief or not, this is a quality game. For those enthralled with the Black
Mesa universe, Blue Shift provides another fix. For the uninitiated,
the game provides a quick introduction. Either way, Half-Life: Blue Shift
is sure to provide its share of first-person fun.
Yeah, it's short, but the package also includes Opposing Force and
the High Definition pack, which makes it worth 29 bucks. And for
those who already own Opposing Force, Sierra offers a $10 rebate.
Sounds fair to me.
-- Mark
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