100 Half-Life 1 Mods: page 6

Conundrum 2

Conundrum 2 takes place in a mysterious complex that has appeared thirty miles south of Black Mesa. The researchers discovered a secret dimensional room in it, which has locked itself before it could be explored. You play dr. Gina Cross, who was chosen to get to the room and solve the puzzles that are locking it. Even though the story is weak, the events make a much bigger sense than in the predecessor.

The map design has received significant improvements, because a lot of maps are architecturally more complex and contain more details. I especially liked those that contain modern architecture, because a lot of effort was put in them. The puzzles remained diverse and were pretty interesting to me. In addition to jumping challenges, pushing objects, avoiding traps and finding hidden paths, you will walk over invisible bridges, navigate a maze with a fixed camera, and have to do jumps on the terrain, which changes constantly. Most of the predecessor's problems have been eliminated, but there are still places where you take fall damage, and (fortunately rare) illogical triggers. To help overcome obstacles, the game offers tips that, in my personal opinion, are placed on too easy puzzles, but are absent on the harder ones.

Battles are rather rare and limited to Xenian opponents. Since there is enough ammo for human weapons, and there is also ample supply of medkits and batteries, I recommend playing on Hard. As far as appearance is concerned, it would be difficult to say that the game stands out from the average, although some surfaces are covered by nice and sharp textures. The exceptions that stand out are maps with modern architecture, where destruction is extremely well presented. I needed about 1 hour and a half to complete the mod, and I needed substantially less help than in predecessor.

Dav Sub

Dav Sub is a direct continuation of the Dav Train mod. In the latter, you managed to avoid G-Man's evil plan of erasing your memory by escaping with the Osprey air carrier. During your escape, an attack helicopter begins to track your aircraft and damages it critically. You survive the crash, but you are now stranded on enemy territory and will have to find an alternative mean of transportation that will allow you to escape.

The map design follows the recipe from the predecessor and upgrades it, offering a much more interesting gaming experience. Architecture is again good with quite a few details, but unfortunately, the maps still contain unrealistic long and curved corridors, which are somewhat claustrophobically narrow. There are a lot more side paths and alternative paths to the goal, which give the impression of nonlinearity. As in the predecessor, there are virtually no puzzles. There are quite a few occasions in which you will need to find a keycard to unlock a door. When you back track, maps can change, and new enemies appear. I thought the included flooded levels improve the experience, but they could be made much more interesting. I also liked numerous very well executed scripted events, which enrich the gameplay.

The way to your destination will again be hindered by combinations of soldiers, female assassins and various monsters from Xen. The positioning and abundance are again very good, with the cherry on the cake being hard fights inside the submarine. It's a pity that the pace of the action fluctuates too much. The weapon set is more diverse this time, but it is still limited to human ones. Ammunition and healing packages / batteries are numerous enough to play on Medium, but I do not recommend a higher difficulty due to the challenge inside the submarine.

The visuals of the game mostly do not stand out, but I liked that the background music was sometimes switched on. I spent about 1 hour and a half of gameplay to complete the game.

If the game crashes in the hlsub2 map, the solution is to find out in which direction you need to look to trigger a crash, and then simply don't look there at next reload :P.

Deliverance

Deliverance takes place after the events in the Half-Life: Uplink demo. By aligning the antennas you've contacted the outside world and found out that the government wants to mask the Black Mesa incident as a terrorist attack. You have also learned that the army has captured two of your colleagues and that they are forcing them to develop a super weapon based on the Black Mesa research. Your task is to infiltrate the complex and save those scientists.

Maps take inspiration from the original, but they are well-adapted so you do not feel like you are playing something already seen. Architecture is good, quite diverse and contains many details. The only exception are certain empty and boring corridors and stairs, which can ruin the good impression. The maps are well connected to each other, and you will often have to make a detour to get to the destination, and sometimes even back track. There are also some secrets where you can find goodies and secret weapons. Gameplay is quite diverse, because you must solve interesting puzzles and overcome some jumping challenges. The key part of the game is certainly accompanying two scientists to their rescue.

Most of the enemies come from all kinds of soldiers who often have the aid of machineguns, and at the beginning, even a tank and a helicopter. The Xen creatures are somewhat rare, and mostly involved in fights with soldiers. The most memorable types of Xen enemies are the Headcrabs, which will surprise you numerous times and, of course, the annoying Snarks. Opponent positioning is good, and there are also some sneaky surprises. The difficulty curve is not good in my opinion, because the overwhelmingly difficult game start is followed by a fairly easy middle, with tons of ammunition and health kits. Later, almost at the end, the difficulty increases slightly again. If you manage to get through the beginning, you'll definitely enjoy the game more on Hard than on Medium. Another minor problem with the game were the scientists, which were responsible for some frustrating moments. In some cases they can be left behind, but sometimes I had to become a human shield to absorb the damage, and this did not make me happy.

The visuals of the game do not stand out too much, but the scripted events are extremely well executed. If you overlook some rude surprises, you will definitely love them, as they greatly enrich the game and give the feeling that the complex lives and something is happening in it constantly. I also loved the modified speech. I needed around 1 hour and a half to complete the game, and completing both endings. The idea of the split is interesting, but I did not like the execution. The maps for the endings were taken from original, the difficulty difference was too big, and the harder of them was bad (sad).

Destination Black Mesa

In Destination Black Mesa, you play Gordon Freeman, who is instructed by G-Man to capture dr. Elia Vance. The latter is supposed to be located in the northern part of the Black Mesa, in which fierce battles between beings from Xen and human forces are still being fought 18 hours after the defeat of Nihilanth. In addition to the classical weak canon fodder, there is a bunch of Vortigaunt and Alien Slaves in the maps, which are very often involved in battles with all sorts of soldiers. Both of the types can suddenly appear in an area and surprise you: Xenians with teleportation, and soldiers abseiling from Ospreys or blowing up the doors. Fights can be quite good, as opponents often ambush you, and sometimes you will also have to run away as enemies can infinitely appear in an area. The threat is further increased by machineguns and helicopters. Your armament is very modest as far as the types of weapons are concerned, but there are many bullets and healing packages available, so that you can reach the ending at Medium difficulty without major frustrations. It will take you 1 hour and a half to do it. Unlike for other modifications, I advise playing Hazard Course only to the most persistent players, as it's brutally difficult.

Most maps are nicely designed in terms of architecture and excite with a bunch of details and good lighting. There are also some of them that leave only an average impression, but this is improved by numerous scripted events. The maps are well connected, and several times you will return to a certain area by another route and continue through a newly opened section. The puzzles are extremely diverse and interesting, and they contain a lot of skill challenges, pushing buttons, and sometimes you will also need to find a hidden way forward. Unfortunately, all of this has a few huge problems. The biggest one is that the modification relies on the original Half-Life too much. Thus, some sections are almost complete copies of original maps, but are slightly modified, and the same applies to puzzles. With a little more originality, it could be an extraordinary mod, but it gives too much of the »already seen« vibe, and I tried to reflect this on the rating summary. Another thing that bothered me, were forced explosions that can badly damage you, and paths with no return, which can fortunately be avoided by loading automatically saved games.

ETC 2

ETC 2 or Earthquake Test Centre 2 is a direct sequel to the predecessor. In the former, you tried to save yourself by using a teleporter, but unfortunately, you fell right into the hands of the military forces. ETC 2 starts a few days after your capture. The creatures from Xen attack the military base in which you are imprisoned, and thus provide you with a opportunity to escape. The scarce amounts of story are uncovered to you during your progress, with the help of quite humorous conversations with the NPCs.

The design of the maps was already nice in the previous mod, and in the sequel it has extensively improved in practically all areas, making it almost perfect. The quality of design has thus become outstanding, and the same applies to complexity of the levels. The maps are far more colorful (also because of the nice selection of lightning), they contain much more detail, and they are often transformed through excellent scripting events, making your progress possible again. Because of alternative paths and many secrets, the levels give you an incredible feeling of non-linearity, which will be loved by all who love to explore. Your path will take you through very well-connected internal and external maps, and even a tiny amount of Xen. The puzzles were also considerably upgraded, as they include jumping challenges, diving, creeping through the ventilation, riding trains, door unlocking, search for hidden paths, level destruction and other things.

The set of enemies is far more varied compared to the predecessor, as you will fight against almost all enemies, known from the original Half-Life 1. You will be confronted by soldiers and female assassins, various Xen monsters, and you should also prepare for encounters with numerous machine guns and even a tank. Opponent positioning and their numbers are very good, and there are also some surprises, so you will have use tactical approach in fights. Your battles will be fought with a very wide array of weapons, from which only futuristic ones are absent. The amount of bullets is well balanced. Health kits and batteries are numerous enough to play on Medium, but more experienced players who like to explore, should play on Hard difficulty for more fun. It's only a shame that the game is relatively short, since I barely managed to accumulate a hour and a half of playing time.

Force of Evil

In Force of Evil you play an agent, who works for the secret section of the Ministry of Home Affairs. You start the game by escaping from a prison, led by a military organization which is hostile towards your employers. Your current task is to visit the laboratories where they are researching teleportation, and finally return home via a teleporter. Here, a new mission awaits you. You will have to prevent a nuclear disaster in the nuclear power plant Temelin, which got occupied by activists. The story sounds interesting, but since the speech and the subtitles are in Czech, you will probably have problems with following the flow of the game, and also with understanding the tips and tasks the game gives you. The gameplay is enriched with video sequences, and in some cases, custom background music.

I kind of liked the level design, because the maps have good geometry, lighting, and interesting details. Most of them are internal maps that are very different from the ones found in the original, and the rest is urban environment. In the latter, I really didn't like the numerous invisible walls. The Hazard Course with a medieval theme is also worth mentioning, as it will keep you busy for a pretty long time. Levels are filled with many side paths and secrets, which might contain interesting treats or just Easter eggs. Certain paths forward are well hidden, and there is also some vent crawling. The puzzles consist mainly of pressing buttons that can often be quite well hidden, and will cause you quite some problems. Here and there you will also have to find an access card.

Conflicts are rare, but mostly very tough, sometimes you will also have to react quickly. The biggest problem with the fights is, that the gaps between encounters are pretty large, and thus the mod feels empty. You will be attacked by female assassins, which will be later joined by soldiers, activists, guards and machineguns. Often, you will have to fight your way through the levels with a minimum set of weapons, as you start each new mission as a civilian. This means that you do not have the H.E.V. suit, and all previously picked up weapons are removed. Thus, even the activists armed with sticks suddenly become a dangerous opponent. There are no surprises regarding the weapon selection: the set is very limited, and only the crowbar is visually changed. Amounts of ammunition and healing packages are sufficient to play the game on Medium difficulty, but be ready for frequent reloading. I finished the game in about 1 hour and a half, including the Hazard Course, which contributed about 15 minutes to this total.

Half-Life: Infestation

In Half-Life: Infestation you play Gordon Freeman, who has been locked in a cell at an unknown location all the time since the original incident in Black Mesa. One day he is approached by G-Man, who wants him to finally clean Black Mesa of all the Xen infestation situated in it. Gordon must fight itself through the complex, find one of the not yet detonated nuclear devices and activate it. An explosion will destroy the entire complex, and thus clear all evidence of the event. You can find more details about the story in the Readme.txt file which is located in the archive.

I had mixed feelings about the map architecture. On the one hand, I really liked how elements from Xen were intertwined with the human Black Mesa ones, but on the other hand, I disliked the simplicity of maps and disproportionately large elements present in them. In particular, Xen is the most problematic and also quite monotonous. The maps are well connected to each other, there is quite a lot of non-linearity and back tracking. The two long and equally interesting paths to the ending deserve a special mention, as they together contribute almost a third of the playing time. The gameplay itself is very diverse, because you will need to solve a lot of interesting puzzles, overcome very entertaining jumping challenges, and you can also find some secrets.

On the way to the nuclear device, you will encounter practically all the enemies that are present in the original: humans, military equipment and creatures from Xen. Due to good positioning and abundance of them, the fights are very tense, full of action, and additionally intensified by many surprises. The modification contains all the weapons from the original, and there are just right amounts of ammo available for them. Batteries and healing packages are kind of scarce at Medium, but fortunately you will also be able to meet scientists and dip yourself into healing pools. I needed around hour and a half to complete the mod. Keep in mind that I decided to take both routes to the ending :).

The Long Night

The Long Night takes place in Black Mesa, 18 hours after the events from the original. You play as Gordon Freeman, and that's basically all the story there is. The mod does not hide it's connection with the original, as you will notice the influence of the latter almost in every map available. Architecture is relatively simple because it contains quite a bit of flat surfaces and also relatively few objects, but the impression is corrected by a good choice of color schemes and textures, and above all diversity. The path will lead you through warehouses, offices and flooded areas, and you will be able to catch some fresh air in the complex surroundings and even visit Xen (which did not really impress me). The level design is pretty non-linear, and I liked it very much. It contains alternative paths, side paths with goodies, secrets and tasks that you can finish in any order. The puzzles are fairly varied and interesting, but for my taste they are too similar to those from the original Half-Life.

In the pauses between the puzzles, you will fight against the Xen monsters, soldiers, female assassins and machineguns. Interestingly, the opponents are not gradually introduced as you might expect. Already in the very beginning of the game you will have to fight soldiers and Xen Warriors, and their numbers are definitely not lowered to ease your step into the bigger fights later in the game. Enemy positions are pretty nice, and you should also be prepared for ambushes and scripted occurrences. The difficulty thus remains fairly high through the whole gaming experience, but is unfortunately lowered on Xen. The weapon set is limited to human weapons from the original. The amount of bullets and health / batteries is just right to finish the game on the Medium difficulty, and I needed about 1 hour and a half to complete this task.

Peaces Like Us

Peaces Like Us takes place in an alternative universe, in which people and beings from Xen live in harmony. You play Gordon Freeman, who is employed at a research station set up on a floating island somewhere in Xen. The story begins when the station is suddenly attacked by military forces, lead by none other than the mysterious G-Man.

The map design could be divided into three parts. In the first, and largest, the classical lab architecture is very well intertwined with the Xen elements and it's also detailed enough. This part is very diverse and contains imaginative (and also frustrating) jumping challenges, alternative routes, a lot of secrets and surprises, and everything is rounded up pretty well by challenging combat against soldiers and assassins. You can bypass certain challenges with the help of your Xen friends, which is a really nice idea, I wish there was more of this. The second is a distorted alternative universe, in which the Xen creatures are suddenly enemies. The battles are pretty tough, and there is barely enough of healing packages available on Medium. Puzzles are mostly consisting of annoying jumping challenges, some of them can be solved by using knowledge gained in a short Hazard Course (target ;). The last part is just Xen jumping challenges.

The appearance of the mod is pretty nice, but it doesn't bring any new weapons, opponents or textures to the table. Interestingly, the HUD was changed in the way that numbers have become something that looks like Chinese characters. To solve the problem, rename the sprites/640hud7.spr file into e.g. sprites/640hud7.spx. I was very fond of scripted events that take place independently of your location and enrich the gaming experience. I also liked the background music which was also included in suitable places. I needed about 1 hour and a half to complete the mod.

Arctic Incident

Arctic Incident takes place in a research complex somewhere in the Arctic. Researchers are drilling through the caves with a laser, and during this operation they discover a number of new lifeforms that have completely adapted to the cold and are ready to defend their territory in every way possible. The survivors call military backup, but their rescuers want to exploit the discovery on their own and do not want to have any witnesses. You play one of the scientists trying escape from the chaos.

The maps represent a mixture of internal and external maps, which are very well connected in a homogeneous and very diverse experience. Laboratories and other buildings are fairly monotonous, but the game is redeemed with a fantastic snow-covered exterior, which can sometimes create a remarkable impression with the addition of well chosen colors. The levels contain quite a few side paths and secrets, and occasionally there are also alternative routes. The puzzles are pretty straightforward and consist of pressing buttons, searching for cards / keys and jumping challenges.

In addition to soldiers with machine guns, you will be attacked by Xen monsters with excellent winter skins. The author has not only changed their color, but also the accompanying effects, which now inflict cold damage. The opponents are very well positioned in tactical places, and are sometimes also backed up by machineguns, which means that you are in for some action. Although the enemies do not appear via teleportation, they will often surprise you during your return to an area. The weapons set is quite limited. You will be able to use a pickaxe, a gun, a machine gun, a crossbow, grenades and a rocket launcher, with the weapons being gradually unlocked. Amount of ammunition and health is just right for experienced players to finish the game on Hard difficulty in about 1 hour and a half of playtime.