Half-Life (1998)
The first entry in the Half-Life series developed by Valve Software, Half-Life is a first-person shooter game with 3D graphics. It was released in 1998 and is regarded as a staple of the FPS genre. The gameplay involves solving minor puzzles to advance further and using weapons such as shotguns and grenades to kill monsters.
Story
The plot of Half-Life focuses on Gordon Freeman, a scientist working at the Black Mesa research facility in New Mexico. Once he arrives at work, he takes part in an experiment analyzing a crystal sample in a machine called the anti-mass spectrometer. Unknown to Gordon and his fellow scientists, the crystal sample had been swapped with an unstable specimen by a mysterious government agent. The reaction between the crystal and the anti-mass spectrometer causes a resonance cascade, a disaster that causes portals to appear. Monsters from another planet called Xen emerge from the portals, killing scientists and destroying the facility. After acquiring the powerful Hazardous Environment Suit, Gordon sets out to destroy the monsters terrorizing Black Mesa, as well as prevent a hostile takeover of the facility by the United States military.
Trivia
The game's engine, goldsrc, is a modified version of the engine that the video game Quake was programmed in. This engine was used for a variety of games, such as Cry of Fear, James Bond 007: Nightfire, Team Fortress Classic, and Counter-Strike. Two expansions for Half-Life titled Half-Life: Blue Shift and Half-Life: Opposing Force were developed by Gearbox Software and feature new maps and weapons. The expansions also feature new main characters: Barney Calhoun, a Black Mesa security guard, and Adrian Shephard, an army Corporal sent to control the situation at Black Mesa. A cooperative multiplayer expansion titled Half-Life: Decay was also developed, this time for the Playstation 2. This game features Black Mesa scientists Colette Green and Gina Cross's attempts to control the disaster at Black Mesa. The first Half-Life is regarded as one of the best games and has won numerous Game of The Year awards. The sequel to Half-Life titled Half-Life 2 was released in 2004 and had two expansions, Half-Life: Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007). Half-Life: Episode 3 was set to be released in 2008, but was canceled and remains unreleased to this day. The third entry to the Half-Life series, Half-Life: Alyx was released in 2020, ending a twelve-year hiatus.
