Man, I remember the first time playing Half Life 2, I was mesmerized by the sheer immaculate design of the sandbox, the cultural exposition of science fiction, just how cohesively both storytelling and gameplay is joined. Games didn't rely on cheap cutscenes, instead everything was happening right infront of you.
Entropy Zero 2 is the same immaculate design, cultural exposition, and cohesive storytelling that the base game brought. And this is a fan-made mod starring a sharp-tongue, foul-mouthed combine officer; named Badcop(AKA 3650, AKA Aiden Walker). Entropy Zero is a series made by Breadman, With the first game coming over 5 years ago. Also mind you, these two are free mods, but need the base HL2 game to work. This mod came out 2 months ago, wish I'd checked it earlier now.
I never felt like this before, as if just by playing this game alone, it has put me in a spot to reevaluate just what made sandbox FPS games so great again. Even if it's build on an old software, the experience holds up compared to today's games. And I would love to tell you guys all about it here.
It was time to check in the job for the day, the rank officer tells Bad Cop to check in his with his commanding officer about doing some work for him. Crawling inside the vents, Bad Cop overhears some of the combine cops talking smack about him.
A profiler checks his records and identity, throwing a verbal exposition of whom the Bad Cop is, what was the reason he took the job, and his entire tragic backstory being laid out before being looked at as a loon and having his life ruined before him. Bad Cop goes into a psychotic episode and kills them all.
I never managed to touch the first Entropy DLC, but didn't feel the need to after this intro. He has been living between a rock and a hard place, working with an organization he doesn't fit in, only to be used for his ends of finding where his daughter is, plus the guy has psychological problems, so he goes full ham between the action.
In the base HL2 games, I'd always known the Combine as these mutated, muzzled talking soldiers that were just fodder for Gordon's wrath. In here, you see the humane and social aspects of them, both good and bad. It doesn't change the fact that the Combine are still terrible people, but rather reveals that they do have dimensions to them. But different post-Black Mesa era.
Then there's this guy, Bad Cop (3650). The protagonist himself is constantly on edge, even going to the extent of insulting his fellow workers in the line of fire. This one moment where he clears out the camp since backup didn't arrive, soon after they do, he goes on a short rant and the line delivery made me chuckle. In fact, there's plenty of his dry wit, and sardonic humor. Contrast to the serious nature of the Half Life world.
It's obviously not a canon story, since it just fits in-between the HL lore without affecting its main canon in any meaningful way. But what I like about this game is how it is exploring the other side, outside just one character from Half Life 2, this game features an entirely new cast of characters to introduce. You even get to hear the Combine advisors to talk to you directly. Just stuff you never got to experience from the Valve games themselves can be found here.
Entropy: Zero 2 is, in a lot of ways, a Half Life game. Outside of it being a mod DLC for HL2, the game is this linear roller coaster of set pieces, spectacle, and engagement. It balances and juggles moments where exposition is done, and where the action begins. Even then, it's also different in numerous ways.
MC gets a pistol that has infinite ammo, is an authoritative presence in the game being able to command combine soldiers at his whim, gets access to weapons that Gordon never got around to, and he talks; adding a layer of humor over a dark, dystopic Sci-Fi game. This is a Bad Cop game in a Half Life world.
The sense of security I got being a badass and working for the Combine started to fizzle once the action picked up and the shenanigans kept getting bigger. I am good at playing FPS, but the game knows how to throw twists and turns in certain encounters. Radioactive zombies going full Chernobyl by hiding in the dark. Rebellion soldiers, even if being in large numbers during corridor shootouts, setting booby traps in interesting places. Also, headcrabs are still irritating as they were in the original game, because of how well-placed they are. It's stuff like this is what makes me wonder why linear games lack real fun today.
All this coming from one modder (and maybe he had a little help), it feels like not only hearkening back to the great FPS era, but also a contemporary imagining of what playing the other side would be like. I wish Valve could look at this and officiate it in their own games. Maybe they will throw a few nods here and there.
There are mods like Brutal Doom that, still to this day, really define how gameplay design and mechanics old as they are, still feel fresh long as you expand on the fundamentals as well as fine-tuning the experience.
I never played the first DLC of this series, but from what I've read in places, this is a larger improvement for that. All anybody need is Half Life 2 on their Steam library, and the download is free. It doesn't top the revered Call of Duty MW campaign, yet I was having a good time playing this without being reminded it's a downloaded mod.
