100 Half-Life 1 Mods: page 5

Half-Life: Black Guard

In Half-Life: Black Guard, you play a security guard named B. Brad, who works in Black Mesa. The events in the mod are pretty nicely intertwined with the ones from the original, where the failed experiment caused the Black Mesa incident. The game attempts to familiarize you with the story via video sequences, scripted events, subtitles and speech cut from various sources. Although all the techniques used look promising, I have had difficulty following the story. Video sequences and scripted events were annoying because they take control of your character and lock you in a area via invisible walls, the subtitles are written in hard-to-understand broken English, and listening to NPCs is often difficult due to loud background music that can not be made quieter. I'm not quite sure where the Intro (Hazard Course) series of maps fits into the timeline, but it certainly looked as some kind of a pre-employment simulation.

The level designs are clearly inspired by the original, but most maps are unique enough, to avoid the feeling that you are playing something already seen. The maps are very good in terms of architecture and have numerous details, and they also have commendable complexity. There are giant branches in the road in some places, which give the impression of non-linearity, and there are also some secrets. The branches are not optional, but mandatory, because you will have to perform an action in them, or pick up an access card. Additionally, one of the branches also contains the way forward. This decision is poorly thought out, because if you choose wrongly in the beginning, you will need to return to the previous branch, and then go all the way back to the second branch. An additional poor design choice are also duplicate sections. In addition to the aforementioned puzzles, you will also find some that require pure luck to be solved, puzzles in which you will use explosives, do hard jumps, enter codes given by announcer via the keypad, guide NPCs for absurd lengths, and I could go on and on.

As far as fighting is concerned, the game very quickly switches to a higher gear. Very soon after a very peaceful start, hordes of Headcrabs, zombies and mutant dogs will start attacking you, and soon after this their ranks will be joined by other Xen monsters, soldiers and female assassins. The opponents are largely unchanged from the original, the exception being zombies that release Headcrabs when they die, and a more durable form of zombies called Gonome. In addition to good positioning and regular scripting surprises, the main trump card of the enemies is their abundance, as you will be mostly attacked by at least two enemies at once. Difficulty is fairly constant and rather high, but your battles are made easier by a varied weaponry with plenty of ammunition, and a wide range of medical packages and armor (batteries can't be used). Although some parts are quite difficult, I could finish the game on the Hard difficulty, as the amounts of goodies were high enough.

The visuals of the game are excellent due to the already mentioned good geometry, color schemes and lighting, and the good impression is further strengthened by high resolution models of NPCs and weapons. Parallel events will give you a feeling that something is constantly going on in the complex, but the authors overdid the amount of them. Continuous earthquakes in certain sections got on my nerves, and I got tired of constant blathering of the announcer, which reduced my concentration in the fights. The nice visuals are quite taxing, as they cause stutter in certain places, but fortunately such moments are rare. I needed around 3 hours to complete the game, and I used more than 20 minutes of this time for the Intro section.

Half-Life: Echoes

Half-Life: Echoes is the newest modification in my collection, as it was released just a few months before the 20-th anniversary of the first Half-Life game! The game takes place in Black Mesa, and you play as an unknown person, which is referred to as Candidate #12. You are one of the many scientists who have applied for the testing of the purest, but highly unstable, crystal from Xen (GG-3883), which caused the resonance cascade in HL1 and, consequently, a disaster of epic proportions. The story is extremely interesting and is revealed to you via events that take place in the complex, video sequences and excellent speech, which is very skillfully cut. In addition to presenting an alternative view of the HL1 incident and linking with its story, the game also tries to explain some other events in the Half-Life series, but I won't spoil it for you ;). The game consists of a rather large introductory part (almost 20 minutes long), which familiarizes you with the complex and the background story, and later nicely connects to the events that followed the failed experiment.

The levels are composed mainly of internal parts, which are occasionally connected to external sections, and both of the types are of exceptional quality. We are not just talking about carefully crafted architecture and massive amounts of detail, but also about the sizes of the rooms, which will often blow your mind. Despite the spaciousness, the rooms don't look dull and empty, as they contain plenty of elements. Your progress through the sections will often be blocked with puzzles that need to be solved before you continue. The set is not limited to pressing buttons, jumping challenges, moving objects, and guiding NPCs, but it often contains multi-layered problems that can sometimes completely change the appearance of the map, you are residing in. Some of these problems are extremely long and highly complex, and could thus be easily split into a smaller, independent modification. During the game you will also return to certain areas that you have already visited, but are now completely different because they were adjusted to the events in the complex. I think this was greatly done, and I liked it very much.

Even with all these puzzles, the author did not forget to iron out the fights. The first half is devoted to a very varied range of zombies and monsters from Xen, and is later spectacularly expanded by soldiers, female assassins and all the heavy machinery the army has. Due to the good enemy positioning and abundance, you will have to survive several challenging fights, and the action is further amplified by scripted events and ambushes. Every now and then you will have to fight against boss opponents, and a few times you will also have to stay hidden or even run away. The available weapon set is very strictly regulated, which means that the firearms get gradually unlocked. However, players that like to explore, might find certain weapons much earlier. Although the weapons are taken from the original, they have certain changes that will require some careful examination before charging into battle. The most prominent changes are the limited barrels on the shotgun and the machine gun, and additionally, the total number of bullets you can carry, was limited. Since you do not have the H.E.V. suit, you can not pick up batteries, but you can wear the security guards helmet and armor. The amount of goodies and bullets is just right to play the mod on Conventional difficulty, but more cautious players can also try to finish it on Stringent.

The game runs on a modified version of Spirit of Half-Life, which helped the author to create an incredible visual appearance. With the help of a good selection of textures, color schemes, special effects and new models, the game appears almost 10 years younger, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. The highlight of the modification are, in my opinion, the movie-like scripted events with good background music, which are taking place in parallel with your gameplay, and have made me feel like I'm part of the game. An example of them, are the NPCs who perform everyday tasks, chat, give you advice, fight for their lives, run away, etc., and everything is enriched by very good animations. Exceptional appearance occasionally overloads the engine and reduces the number of frames per second, but luckily such moments are very rare. I needed about 3 hours of gameplay to complete this masterpiece.

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 :).

Half-Life: Ultimate Attack

In Half-Life: Ultimate Attack you play as David Johnson, a corporal who was sent to Black Mesa along with his comrades with the mission to cover all traces of the incident. The story of the mod is linked to the Half-Life series timeline via the events in the Opposing Force expansion, in which the army is already leaving the complex, because they suffered heavy losses. Soon after the mod begins, you'll see that the army's decision was wise, as the complex is swarming with enemies.

Your life will not only be threatened by the Xen monsters, but also creatures from the mysterious Race X and the military forces. The set of opponents is very varied and includes almost all creatures from Xen, three monsters from Race X and, of course, soldiers. These factions are constantly fighting with each other, and these battles will be regularly joined by your allies - the special units. The high number of enemies is the main reason for pretty hard fights, but there are also a lot of ambushes and scripted surprises that keep the difficulty high. You weaponry is extremely limited, as you only have the revolver, the shotgun, the machine gun and explosives, and only in the later stages you can pick up the Shock Roach. Despite tough fights, the mod is not very generous with first aid and batteries, but the quantities should be enough to complete the game on the Medium difficulty.

Because the game happens in Black Mesa, the maps bear some resemblance with the original, but they are unique enough. The visual impression is pretty good, but it would be difficult to say that the game stands out from the average by a lot. The maps are otherwise colorful enough, well lit and have quite a lot of detail. Especially commendable is the variety of environments, as you will walk through warehouses, laboratories, tunnels, exterior and even Xen, but it's really unfortunate that your way through them is completely linear. With the exception of rare side paths with treats, you can forget about exploration. Additionally, the set of puzzles is extremely modest and consists out of button pressing and rare jumping challenges, everything else is not worth mentioning. You will need around 1 hour of play time to complete the game.

Half-Life: Visitors

In Half-Life: Visitors you play a lawyer named Alan Green, who was sent to a desert in New Mexico to analyze the security protocols used in the Black Mesa laboratories. Because the story of the mod is intertwined with the original, an incident occurs during your visit and the Xen monsters flood the complex. As your life is endangered, you have no other choice but grab a weapon and start fighting your way to freedom. The position in the timeline of the original universe keeps revealing itself during gameplay, and also through video sequences and cross references, but somewhere in the middle of the mod there is a really strange and unexplained scene jump.

Maps rely heavily on levels from the original HL and expansions, but are very ingeniously transformed into a unique and varied experience. They contain tons of very interesting puzzles that will test your ingenuity and ability to observe the surroundings. Sharp eyes will also be needed for some very well hidden paths. It's hard to find any major irregularity in level design itself. The levels are full of detail and are perfectly connected to one another, players that like to explore will love them. I recommend that you save regularly, since you will encounter countless traps and surprises during gameplay.

In regards to the enemies and weapons, there seem to be no major surprises (with the exception of the parameter adjustments). You start fighting the Xen monsters first, later on they are joined by soldiers, special forces and assassins. Their positioning and numbers seemed just right to provide nice fights. The difficulty curve is polished pretty well. On the difficulty of Medium there are just enough healing packages and armor to avoid frustration, and in worst case scenarios, you can also get some help from the scientists. Interestingly, you can find batteries in the levels, but they can not be used. The same holds for certain types of ammunition. The arsenal is fairly standard and unlocks during advancement, unfortunately, there are no biological weapons.

Although the modification does not offer big graphic improvements (with the exception of a couple of new models and textures), authors managed to create a very appealing look with the placement of elements in the maps. Some of the locations were extremely well-lit and had an excellent color scheme, and this was further strengthened by scripted events and background music. I needed about 2 hours and a half to complete the mod.

Hard

In Hard you play an agent named Jeffrey Hard, which is sent to Black Mesa disguised as Gordon Freeman to check why the facility stopped responding. Problems with the game appear immediately after the introductory sequence, as the truck does not want to drive backwards. The solution is to enter map hard1 into the console to skip the level. Fortunately, this jump will not cost you anything. Another problem are completely changed keys, so you need to reset them before playing.

The quality of the maps is extremely variable. Some of them are pretty good, with nice lighting and scripted events, others are cuboid holes without a single detail. Routes forward are often well hidden, not only through the switches / buttons that need to be pressed, but are also found in unclear places. Sometimes you will also need to go back to the already visited area, but prepare for hard fights. There are also some challenging jumping challenges present.

The game is hard and unjust, levels contain tons of soldiers, Xen monsters, machine guns, cannons, rockets, snipers and lasers. Threats are reinforced with nerve-breaking scripted events that can not be escaped unharmed. To frustrate the player further, several levels contain Snark nests with large amounts of these annoying creatures. There are no surprises about the weapons set, the amount of ammo is just right. Number of health packages and batteries is barely enough at the Easy difficulty, so I recommend frequent saving.

The appearance of the game does not impress, occasionally the music is turned on. To complete this mod, you will need about 2 hours and a half of gameplay, but this time can be extended considerably because of hidden paths.

Hard 2

Hard 2 is the second part of the modification in which you play Agent Jeffrey Hard, and continues exactly from where the previous part ended. For some weird reason, our hero looses all weapons and H.E.V. suit during the crash, but luckily you are able to regain it after a few minutes of playing. Similar to the first part, you should also reset your controls. The game contains a lot of annoying bugs (doors do not open, NPCs get stuck, etc.), so keep saving regularly and do not be afraid to approach some situations in a different way to avoid them.

Maps follow a similar pattern to the previous one, but progress is definitely visible. Some of them are still simple empty cuboids, but the amount of those with solid design, tips the scale. You will be out of luck looking for logic or story for level transitions or element placement, as they seem to be created via current authors inspiration. This mixture often results in extremely awkward visuals (urinals on the women's toilette? XD), but at the same time it provides exceptional diversity, so you will certainly not be bored in the 3 hours and a half long gameplay. There challenges are pretty varied and range from puzzles to jumping trials and tense fights. Certain levels are a gigantic non-linear experience, which is very commendable.

The selection of enemies is extremely varied, but there are no new ones. Their positioning is pretty good. Along with scripted events it will put some stress on your mouse and keyboard =). It is very commendable that the number of frustrating and unjust situations has dropped to a minimum, so I dared to play this mod on the Medium difficulty. Ammunition is quite plentiful, and the same goes for healing packages and batteries.

Hardman - in the City

Hardman - in the City takes place in an unknown city, whose streets are full of drug addicts, police officers and armed members of a criminal organization. Gameplay takes place on the streets and inside buildings, with both types having extremely simple geometry, a lot of flat surfaces, and a small number of elements. I also disliked many invisible walls, which could be solved much better by using barricades. The impression is slightly corrected by use of fairly high-res textures, which could often be placed with better precision. The beginning is relatively linear, but eventually the number of side paths increases, and there are also some secrets. The traversal through the maps is pretty varied, as you will be crawling through the sewage and vents, riding with lifts and trains, breaking barriers, overcoming obstacles, pressing buttons, etc. In any case, it's much better than the author previous creation: Pimp My Car.

You will only fight soldiers in this mod, and you will be able to ask numerous street policemen to aid you in this task. Artificial intelligence can often be clumsy, and is sometimes placed away from you when you enter an area, but this only slightly reduces the general action. Soldiers mostly attack in teams, they often charge you from multiple directions, and are also well hidden many times, so prepare to be surprised. The situation gets quite intense when grenades, explosive charges and secondary shotgun shots get used, and let me tell you, the soldiers are not afraid to use these combat techniques. You weaponry is gradually unlocked, and consists of a rather limited reskinned set of weapons from the original. The goodies and ammunition are plentiful enough to play on Hard difficulty. The game ends by throwing you back to the main menu, and I needed about 45 minutes of gameplay to experience this.

Hazardous Course 2

Hazardous Course 2 is some kind of an extreme version of the Hazard Course or Training room from the original Half-Life, which takes place in the Black Mesa Training Facility. In the latter, new players get acquainted with the H.E.V. suit, jumping and ducking, interaction with objects and NPCs, diving, environmental hazards, and a smaller section is also dedicated to weaponry. Hazardous Course 2 takes all these mechanics and extends them to an unprecedented scale, with the result being exponential increase in difficulty. This modification is therefore suitable only for the most patient and skillful players who know the basic physics mechanics of the GoldSrc engine, have a perfectly developed timing, and are not afraid of a challenge (or humiliation :).

You start the game in a central hub that is full of traps and fun scripted events in which you or NPCs can get slaughtered. This section is followed by the Basic Training, in which each of the jumping challenges from the original Half-Life is extended with additional dangerous elements such as for example fire, circular saws, crushing blocks and radioactive waste. Navigating in the dark will be performed in a maze full of zombies and Headcrabs, and you will also have to keep balance on a narrow bridge full of pendulums and electric traps, with your source of light being only your flashlight. The difficulty is taken to the extreme after you get the long jump module, as you will need to overcome almost impossible distances (look straight or slightly upwards during a jump!) and balance on slippery surfaces. The diving section is also made harder with the inclusion of a crazy complex maze of underwater shafts. This first part is followed by highly original sections in which you will have to lead Barney through a factory full of hazards, drive the train through an extremely complex labyrinth of tracks, and then climb up the insanely high tower with the help of the ladder system, moving platforms and jumping surfaces (almost Prince of Persia like).

By fulfilling the above mentioned challenges, the player will only scratch the surface of the game, because the mod contains more than twenty secret areas which are hard to spot and even harder to access. In some cases, you will need keys and in other cases, access codes that you can read in different places or hear via speakers, so keep a notebook ready. Paths forward are often located at extremely difficult to reach places, so you will need to have a huge amount of skills and foresight in addition to keen eyes, but all the effort will definitely be worth it. In the hidden areas, you will be able to see the backstage of the test program, find tips for the coming up sections, or even reduce the difficulty by turning off certain hazards. The secrets you find, will also allow you to access the giant bonus sections, and help with finishing the mod.

The map design starts with a fairly average linking hub and the first section, and eventually transforms into an extremely complex visual treat. The architecture is excellent and contains massive amounts of details, and the effort that went into all the scripted elements is admirable. In spite of all this praise, however, there are some very annoying problems in the mod, caused by the bugs in the GoldSrc engine. The NPCs often have a will of their own and it is very difficult to escort them across areas full of dangers, which do not forgive mistakes; vertically moving platforms suffer from the same problems as the lifts, so you will sometimes get crushed when they ascend; the train will sometimes not cross forks in the road (save and reload); manually operated platforms get stuck and fall down (use noclip). What a waste of potential! For these reasons, I was forced to lower the final score of the mod.

I finished my playthrough in about 6 hours of playtime on Medium difficulty, but it should be noted that I did not manage to find all the secrets. The total playing time for a new player which will go for all secrets is thus probably around 10 hours.

Heart of Evil

The story of Heart of Evil is set up in the time of the Vietnam War. You play Percy Freeman, a special forces captain, who is assigned a mission to kill a renegade colonel called Kurtz (did you detect any connection with the Apocalypse now movie yet?). You are not alone in your mission as you are accompanied by Barney, an indispensable assistant which will be of great help through the game and will also be driving you through enemy territory. The story is extremely interesting and it is revealed through events, dialogs and documents.

The modification consists of gigantic sections, which are connected by vehicular transport. Each of them consists of a large number of maps that are incredibly well-connected to each other. The developers have provided an enormous amount of freedom to the player, as sections can be explored almost indefinitely, but in my opinion, the paths should be more limited. Although some places contain way points and you can read some useful navigation tips from the documents, you must be extraordinarily focused to not get lost. Because your progress depends on Barney who will often severely slow you down in the numerous corridors, it is advisable to leave him in a well-marked place. This way you can quickly find him when his help will be needed. I also advise you to play with pen and notebook, as certain puzzles will require you to perform a certain sequence correctly, and it can be really useful to also mark areas which were already explored. Progress through certain sections will often be disabled with one side barricades or locks, and sometimes you will also need to blast your way through or find certain items, so keep an eye out for interesting things.

The enemies are extremely varied. First of all, you will encounter well-armed renegade US soldiers supported by tanks and extremely dangerous choppers; then there are lesser armed, but still dangerous enough, Viet Cong people; and last but not least, there are zombies accompanied by other monsters. The factions are hostile to each other and are constantly fighting, so there is always lots of action, additionally, their fights can be used to your advantage to save health and ammunition. Opponents are not only skinned AI from the original, but have modified parameters that make the fights more demanding. Soldiers can take cover, attack you with a rocket launcher, and they really like throwing grenades. Zombies are extremely resistant, some of them will also attack you with weapons. Gorillas surprise you with long jumps and a scary screams. And we could go on and on ...

Your arsenal is very diverse. You can kill opponents with a machete or a chainsaw, poke some holes in them with several types of machine guns, pistol or shotgun, and disintegrate them with grenade or rocket launchers. You will also be able to use grenades, laser bombs and (very interesting) Snarks ... Weapons are not well balanced, and for some of them you can carry a ridiculous amount of ammo. Medkits and healing stations are plentiful (especially if you love exploring), and there is also a lot of armor available. Even though some situations may be very challenging, experienced players should be able to finish the mod on Hard difficulty without any major problems.

Because it's a total conversion for Half-Life, the game has mostly new models and textures. Although the latter can sometimes be low quality, I still liked the overall appearance of the game. There are enough details present, architecture is good enough, and everything is enriched by pretty good scripted events. In addition to custom voices and music, you will also find some humorous things in it, but they can sometimes be distasteful. I ended playing the game after about 5 hours and a half of playtime, because at an end of a boring boat trip a door didn't open.