100 Half-Life 1 Mods: page 4

Escape 2

Escape 2 continues where the predecessor stopped. When you killed the final boss, you were teleported to the unknown. It was unfortunately not your freedom, as you landed deep in Black Mesa again. Unlike the predecessor, this mod doesn't seem to contain any story at all and friendly NPCs are also missing, your task is simply to reach the end. Again, your path will be blocked by numerous opponents who are very well positioned and will provide for the fiercest fights. The first part is again dedicated to Xen monsters, the most common being diverse zombies, Headcrabs and Vortigaunts. The last two types are often teleported to your surroundings at certain events (way too often), so always have a full clip ready :). In the later stages, the soldiers with machinegun support get involved, and near the end you also get to fight special forces and tanks. Factions constantly fight each other, which can be used to save on health (again, you do not have H.E.V.) and bullets. Both of these resources are hardly sufficient on Medium difficulty. The weapon set is fairly limited, and if you want to have the crowbar, you must install the provided patch!

The map design has improved considerably compared to the predecessor - both in terms of architecture, as well as the use of textures and layout of elements. The only level which stands out negatively is a completely dark section in which you must find the way forward while shooting your way through dozens of zombies. Sections are often open, so you can reach the goal by another way. The scripted events that transform the maps have become rarer and increase in numbers just towards the end; however, the amount of visual effects has undergone a significant upgrade, but, unfortunately, this is sometimes results in stuttering. Most of the puzzles from the first game have been cut, as the game practically does not contain them. It is true that you need to find a card or two and go back, press a few buttons, ride a train, and do some tricky jumps, but this is a bit too modest, considering the overall quality of the maps.

I spent about 1 hour to finish the game. Be sure to set the keys before playing!

Escape from the Darkness

In Escape from the Darkness you are playing a scientist named Alex Johnes, who gets involved in the incident from the original Half-Life. Since you attended a self-defense program three months ago (play Hazard Course), you definitely do not want to surrender and die. You discover some weapons in your hiding spot, and use them to attack soldiers patrolling outside. Your current objective is to get to Gordon Freeman, who will surely know what to do. The story is enriched by custom speech and video sequences, and gets weirder during your progression towards the end. During gameplay, background music will occasionally turn on, but it's not well chosen and is therefore annoying. To be honest, I would rather see it was not included at all.

The maps are complex and full of details. They have excellent architecture and lighting, and are definitely the main trump card of the game. The terrain is extremely versatile and only rarely contains completely flat surfaces, which contributes to authenticity, but at the same time you will constantly get stuck in it. I was extremely fond of rich vegetation, which is not just a visual treat, but also a hiding place for enemies. The levels are composed of varied external and internal areas, which are very well connected to each other, and they also contain quite a lot of side paths. You will travel through labs, offices, snowy fields, mines, canyons, sewers, etc. The puzzles are quite diverse and among others include destruction of environment, activating buttons, jumping challenges, protecting NPCs, search for well-hidden ways forward, and so on.

During your journey you will be attacked by a varied mix of classic and new enemies from Xen and Earth, and you will also be threatened by helicopters, artillery and machineguns. The positioning of enemies is very good, and the same applies to their numbers. The battles are intensified by quite a few scripted surprises, soldiers in camouflage clothing, and attacks from dense vegetation. This mod uses a different approach to battles as the others do. The weapons are extremely deadly, which increases the sense of realism, but I really didn't like it. Because of this, any fight must be finished as fast as possible, as any delay leads to death and consequently reloading. You have an extremely large arsenal of modified firearms that are more or less balanced. The shotgun has, for example, ridiculously long range, and AK47 is painfully inaccurate making it completely useless. The ammunition is plentiful, and health and batteries are just right for the Medium difficulty. I used around 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the end of the game.

ETC

In ETC (or Earthquake Test Center) you play Gordon Freeman. The scene is Black Mesa which is full of soldiers and aliens. Your task is to get to the Lambda complex, which is located on the opposite side of the base. Your mission will certainly not be easy, as numerous opponents will stand in your way, with very well-placed soldiers of all sorts being certainly most memorable. They will attack you from multiple directions at a time, and you should also prepare for a lot of evil surprises. There are several types of enemies from Xen, but their numbers are pretty low. Headcrabs are again the most annoying ones (soldiers seem to dislike them too), and Vortigaunts are also worth mentioning. The difficulty curve could be set better, as the start is more difficult as it should be. The weapon selection is very varied, as it is missing only biological and futuristic weapons, and the amount of ammo on Medium difficulty is more than enough. A different story are the amounts of healing packages and batteries, because they are just right.

The maps are inspired by those from the original and are quite well-made in terms of geometry and lighting itself. The selection of textures did not impress me, since they come mostly from the greyscale spectrum, but the game redeems itself with a number of excellent scripted events, which greatly enrich the gameplay. Occasionally the background music turns on. I also thought the NPCs mustaches were a pretty humorous addon :). The progression through stages is mostly linear, but here and there there will also be moments where you need to do something and then go back, and sometimes parts of maps get modified. Puzzles are limited to pressing buttons, but in few instances you also need to take advantage of NPC help. The weak point of modification is definitely its length, as I spent only 30 minutes to complete it.

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.

Fate Reversal

Fate Reversal takes place some time after you (Gordon Freeman) managed to stop the invasion from Xen. When G-Man offered you the choice between certain death and further co-operation, you have chosen the latter. Just before you went into stasis, the process was interrupted and you got teleported to Black Mesa. At first, it seems like you do not have a clear goal, but in later stages the game quite skillfully connects to the other parts of the Half-Life series. The pretty interesting story is uncovered via progression, clever scripted events and also video sequences.

Levels are divided into several different thematic sections. You will be roaming through Black Mesa labs and warehouses, sewage and city streets, and you will also visit more exotic locations, which I will not reveal, because it might spoil your experience. I liked most of the maps very much, because they contain interesting details, have nice lighting and are also architecturally good. New textures and models contribute to a good visual impression, and I also liked how time of day changes during gameplay. The paths forward are mostly opened by activating triggers that are located in side paths, or with access cards. In multiple cases you can also return to the previous section by removing the one way blockade. It's a pity that the author did not integrate more complex puzzles in the game ...

As far as battles are concerned, the beginning is quite rough, because you have only the crowbar to fight against Vortigaunts, and soon after the pistol becomes your only defense against Alien Controllers and soldiers. The initial diversity of opponents is maintained through the entire gaming experience, as you will fight against virtually all creatures from Xen and also the soldier threat, which is backed up by helicopters and aircraft with reinforcements. The action is quite good due to enemy positioning and abundance, with scripted events and battles between different factions further increasing it. The difficulty curve remains quite constant, and although it massively drops near the end, it is quickly corrected. The weapons are limited to those of the original, but it is commendable that some are reskinned. The bullets and the health / batteries amounts are enough to play on Hard, and on this difficulty I finished the game in about 1 hour.

Focalpoint

Focalpoint takes place several hours after Adrian Shephard and his squad crashed in an unknown location. The army headquarters quickly assembled a rescue team to search for survivors, and at the same time find out why the Osprey crashed. Unfortunately, the plan fails when alien vessels emerge from nowhere, destroy your plane and kill your squad. The story was very interesting to me, and it is told through scripted events and conversations with NPCs.

The map design is great and really deserves praise. Not only because of the excellent and varied architecture, which is full of details and cleverly placed elements, but also because of the connections between the maps. During the game you will encounter many divergences that either represent alternative paths to the goal, or are parts of the paths that will be unlocked later. Backtracking is not problematic by itself, but it is ruined in this mod by the excessive use of lifts. The latter are extremely buggy in the original and nothing improved in this mod. I got crushed and glued to the ground several times during the play-through, and had severe problems with doors not opening. I was thus stuck multiple times and couldn't proceed without using the noclip cheat. The puzzles are very interesting and include searching for objects, cards and keys, as well as jumping challenges, searching for hidden paths forward and pressing buttons. The distance between them can be massive, so prepare for long walks.

The choice of enemies in Focalpoint, reflects the fact that you are a soldier. You will be attacked by a limited set of creatures from Xen, and here and there you will have to fight against aliens from the Race X and security guards. The fights are (somewhat surprisingly) a big weak point of this modification. The enemies are set too far apart, which in some cases is clumsily replaced by their abundance. The main problem is also an extremely limited arsenal, which, in addition to the knife, contains only a gun, a revolver, a machine gun and a shotgun, and the amounts of bullets for them are barely enough on Medium difficulty. Since the same holds for medkits and batteries, I spent most of my playthrough without the shield and with a life below 50.

The game inherits the looks from the Half-Life expansion called Opposing Force, which is different enough from the original to offer a fresh experience. The maps are very aesthetic and contain a number of advanced effects, which is unfortunately bad news for the owners of slower computers, as the game can stutter. A great feature of the modification are the extraordinary scripted events which greatly add to the overall atmosphere. You will need about 3 hours to complete the mod, and you will need Opposing Force installed to run it.

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.

Gut Reaction

In Gut Reaction, you play Gordon Freeman, which is employed by G-Man to solve a serious situation in the Lambda Complex. One of the reactors in the complex got occupied by beings from Xen, which now use its nuclear energy to spawn additional allies to the facilities. Freeman's task is to shutdown the reactors and spoil the plans Xenians plans. Unfortunately for him, the army still patrols the complex, making this task a difficult one. The story was, in my opinion, quite interesting, and it's gradually uncovered during gameplay. I recommend that you reset the controls before starting the game.

With very rare exceptions, I really liked the design of the levels. Not only because of the details and good color schemes, but also because of scripted events and the connections between maps. In addition to the variety of ways to move between parts of the levels, I also enjoyed alternative paths that give the game the impression of non-linearity. The way forward is often well hidden, and sometimes you will also have to back track. The puzzles are quite interesting, among them you will find jumping challenges, swimming, pushing buttons and more. On important occasions, background music is turned on, and NPC voices are skillfully used.

The enemies represent a selection of the ones found in the original, which includes all human and a large proportion of Xenian opponents. Very good positioning and map design provide for some nice action, which is additionally spiced up by the teleportation of creatures from Xen and soldier break-ins. There are also quite a few fights between the factions that can be used for your advantage. The battles have a fairly high tempo right from the beginning, but they slow down a lot near the end, as they are substituted with other gaming mechanics. The weapon set is fairly limited and contains only the weapons from the original. The amounts of ammunition, medical packages and batteries are just right for YMedium difficulty. On this difficulty you will end the game in a modest 1 hour. It's a shame that it's doesn't last longer ...

Half Secret

In Half Secret, you are playing a chemist named Dyson Poincare, who works in Black Mesa. One day during your train ride to work, an incident occurs (which is probably related to the one in the original) and in it, you lose consciousness. When you finally wake up, the complex is full of enemies, and that's basically all of the story this modification has. All the maps are internal and, as far as architecture is concerned, very simplistic. There are plenty of flat surfaces and the elements are scarce, which makes the levels look pretty empty. Some improvement is provided by flooded and barricaded sections, and also by quite some scripted events. Although progress is mostly linear, several sections are circularly connected and get split into a new section right before re-connecting to the old one. Puzzles and skill challenges are virtually non-existent. You need to push some buttons, and find and use a security card a couple of times, but that's about it.

Interestingly, a completely different experience awaits you as far as the fights are concerned. Your skill will be tested by all kinds of monsters from Xen, and also soldiers which have the support of machineguns. Lots of action is achieved by nice enemy positioning and their abundance, and everything is spiced up with scripted occurrences. The latter deserve a special praise, because they are often performed in such a way, that the opponent with a long range attack appears only when you are already placed in front of a stressful close range situation. This challenge will require a quick reaction, but at the same time it is balanced enough to always be fair. The weapon set is quite varied, as rarely seen extraterrestrial weapons are added to the classic firearms. Instead of Snarks you will use Chumtoads, and the rocket launcher is replaced with explosive bats called Stukabat. Amounts of bullets and healing packages are at the boundary for the Hard difficulty, so I definitely recommend it to more experienced players. On this difficulty I ended the game in about 45 minutes.

Half-Life Prison

If I try to guess the story of the Half-Life Prison (the speech is in Russian), I would say that it starts in a highly guarded Siberian prison, where our hero Gordon Freeman is imprisoned. One day the prison gets flooded by aliens and Gordon is able to escape from captivity, but the story is not over yet ...

I had mixed feelings about the mod level design. On the one hand, the maps are extremely original, full of skill tests and puzzles, and on the other hand, they could get annoying with unfair situations and traps that you can not foresee, if you are playing for the first time. Quick saving and loading is a must, it's a pity that the autosaves are not more frequent. Paths to advance are often not obvious at first glance; often, some machine or mechanism needs to be activated, there are also some timed events. There are quite a few hidden secrets in the levels, which will increase the amount of ammunition, batteries, or health, but on the lowest difficulty you will be able to get through to the end even if you find none of them.

Some enemies were taken from the original and some more resistant were added in the mod. The latter will certainly put your shooting skills to the test. There are also a lot of dangerous giant monsters (Gonarch, Gargantua), who often appear in groups. Fortunately, ammunition is plentiful, and your arsenal is good enough. A selection of weapons from the original is present, and the shotgun has undergone a visual transformation. Difficulty curve is quite good with rare exceptions, and you will also have to fight bosses.

The appearance of the game is exotic because of the unconventional design of the levels, and the same is true for the sounds. Some of the latter could be omitted without any big loss :). The mod contains quite some scripted events and video sequences which enrich it. I recommend playing the mod on Easy, and on this difficulty you'll need about 4 hours and a half to complete it.