😱 <- that's me, scared $#!%less to talk about this game. 😅
There are few titles in gaming history that demand the respect Half-Life does. 💯 These are the Mt. Rushmore of gaming - they are the cream of the crop, as it were. You can count them on one hand, and the responsibility one feels tackling these behemoths is vast. So let's not ef it up then!
Because yes, this is one of the most important titles to ever be released. It's what put Valve on the map, and what carries their legacy to this very day.
And so❗️ In this edition of Through the Lens 🎞, we'll be taking a look at Valve's game-changing, industry-defying FPS from 1998: Half-Life, Roll it! 📽
🔶 UP TOP 🔶
I usually recommend listening to the soundtrack while reading these, but I don't want you jumping out of your seat. 😅 This soundtrack is scarry. Atmospheric and fitting to the setting. I remember when I was a kid I was scared $#!%less playing this game.
Take a listen as to the prime reason why: // eh, who are we kidding? it was those damn bugs (snarks) that jump on your face...
My first experience with Half-Life was in an internet cafe. I remember my simple, little kid brain getting blown out by what was happening on the screen. 🖥️ Ah, good times. By today's standards when you look at Half-Life you be like 'what's the big deal?' but in '98? In 98 this game was jaw-dropping revolutionary.
Not only was the single-player dope, but the multiplayer was better than it had any right to be. This game had it all. 😤 And yes, this is gonna be one of those glowing pieces where I just praise the title. Were you expecting something else? It's freaking Half-Life man, come on...
🔶 SETTING 🔶
Very few games at the time committed to a setting like Half-Life did. I mean, young et to travel through the entire facility in a train. 🚄 Can we talk about that?
As a kid, that felt completely unnecessary. The train ride was so long, it felt neverending. But now, reading and actually understanding the dialogue, it sets you in this mindset of, yeah, I am entering a state-of-the-art, futuristic-even type of lab. The whole intro of the game is phenomenal.
You play as genius mofo Gordon Freeman Ph.D. A physicist out of MIT, on a mission, to save the world and kick some alien 👽 @$$e$. Gordon is one of the, if not the most, badass silent protagonists in gaming. The whole intro sequence is there to not only make us feel a part of the world but to also characterize the mute we're playing. // he's not an actual mute btw
The intro sequence was a stroke of genius. You get to freely explore the facilities and perform all kinds of unnecessary actions. Like trying out a radiation-mech suit. Hehe, who'd need that, hehe? As you are going through the offices, drinking coffee, and meeting with scientists, everyone praises you for the amazing mind you are.
You as the player feel great as you go into the test chamber, right before all hell breaks loose. 😈
🔶 SURVIVOR 🔶
I remember I used to play in the intro for hours, and dread whenever the experiment goes wrong. 😅 I was like, why can't I just be a scientist and do my experiments? The aliens are scary! (and they factually were) can't I just stay here and -
No! You're emeffing Gordon Freeman! Get out there and save the world!
Fine...
▶️ Picks up the crowbar.
Crowbars have never been as cool as when discussing Half-Life. This trusty weapon is by your side from the very beginning to the very end. And it's proven to be a fit adversary to any alien head. 👾 // especially those that jump for your head aaaaaaaaaaaaa
And you need it because I wasn't kidding when I said all hell breaks loose. This game, especially its beginning, is hell.
🔶 HELL 🔶
This game is hard. In the beginning? When you don't know the mechanics? Yeeesh. Nightmare fuel. I remember being so turned off by the difficulty as a kid that I never truly played the game from start to finish. Instead, I'd load up sections that other people have played and go from there. // no judging please, I was like 7 years old, thank you
Half-Life is really the first AAA game that incorporated physics in the way it did. It was a truly immersive experience. And the fact that it was hella hard only added to the overall experience.
Even though it's an FPS, it straddles the line between FPS and Immersive Sim pretty thin. Not in its design, but more so in the overall approach to combat encounters and underlying systems. It's this weird mish-mash of ideas that just feels revolutionary. Giving the game a feeling that not many have emulated since. And that was 25 years ago. 😅
The gunplay was/is also superb. Half-Life had a thriving multiplayer scene at one point, and you don't get that if you're not at least semi-competent. And HL was anything but semi. It was this whole new type oF FPS that would come to dominate the market in the future (i.e the Counter-Strike clones).
There's a reason why 'Half-Life 3' is a meme to this very day. This series left a distinct imprint on a lot of people. It embedded an itch that has not been cratched in decades, and the people want more! 😤
🔶 LEGACY 🔶
I love writing the Legacy sections for these types of games. 😁 Where I can just heap praise without feeling like a fanboi. There are very few of these games left, however, >>> The greatest of all time.
And make no mistake that's where Half-Life is. Defined a genre and an experience people are longing for til this day. Started off Valve as this heavy hitter of a company that has morphed into something on a totally different level nowadays. 💯
As I said, Mt. Rushmore of gaming. What else is on this hypothetical mountain? That's a good question, might make an article on that one day. 😉 Suffice it to say Half-Life is among this preteen list of gaming giants.
Its legacy is as secure as it could be.
Thank you for reading, you rock! (and maybe roll) 👏👏👏
Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
I mean after Counter-Strike this one was obvious to be coming out next. Half-Life was a great part of my childhood and I'm always happily revisiting these games.
I am once again in that limbo where I dunno what's coming up next. So we'll see, I'm bound to figure something out. 😁
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I hope that everyone has an amazing start to their week! New week new opportunities! Let's get it! 🙌🙌🙌
