n Half-Life, players assume the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist who works at the Anomalous Materials Lab deep in the bowels of the Black Mesa Research Facility. Freeman performs grunt work (flip that switch, push that cart) for his fellow researchers while they run a series of mysterious experiments on a strange substance that has fallen into government hands. But the Black Mesa scientists are being pushed hard to come up with results, and their willingness to take risks leads to a dreaded cascade resonance scenario. In a quick flash of anomalous materials gone wrong, the Black Mesa Facility is nearly destroyed.
Freeman, securely encased in his Hazardous Environment Suit, escapes unscathed. But he and the rest of the survivors find themselves trapped deep below ground. Worse still, the explosion seems to have created at least one portal into another world, and hostile aliens are starting to appear all over the place. It soon becomes clear that the only way Freeman is going to get out of Black Mesa alive is to fight his way out. Luckily, the complex is loaded with all types of weapons. Unluckily, government troops are en route to clean up the situation...which means killing everything--and everybody--involved.
Half-Life is played via a first-person perspective just like Doom and Unreal. But unlike those two shootfests, this game is primarily driven by plot, not ammunition. Which isn't to say that Half-Life doesn't have its fair share of weaponry, because it does. There are guns, grenades, rocket launchers, a few alien gadgets and even a crossbow with a sniper scope. But the goal in this game is not to kill everything in sight, but rather to find a way out of Black Mesa and figure out just what happened. And sometimes that means not killing things.
It's a story, not a game
Half-Life is one of the most hyped games to hit stores in recent memory. But for a change the hype is coming from gamers rather than the manufacturer. Which is unusual, because on the surface this title offers nothing new. In fact, it's based on the somewhat dated Quake II game engine, and judging from the box there isn't a lot to distinguish this one from all the other Quake II clones out there. Until, of course, the game starts.
When the action begins it's clear that Half-Life is somehow different from the average shooter, and that difference is the story. For one thing, Half-Life actually has a story, a real, honest-to-goodness story that's central to gameplay, not just a few words that were thrown into an instruction manual in a vague attempt to justify killing lots of stuff. And this story is interesting, with a great main character, some interesting side plots and even some surprise endings (that's right, "endings" is plural).
Another thing players will notice about Half-Life is that the stupid computer-controlled bad guys aren't that stupid. In fact, they can be quite intelligent...and really hard to kill. Gamers who chuck a grenade at the government commandos might be surprised when the commandos not only dodge the hot potato but also retaliate with a pineapple of their own. And the soldiers aren't nearly as tough as the highly trained and heavily armed female ninjas that pop up from time to time.
These realistic opponents, combined with Half-Life's engrossing story and engaging characters, make this game a breakthrough title that succeeds not because of technology but because of plot.
