100 Half-Life 1 Mods: page 6

Hour-Glass

Hour-Glass takes place after the events in Black Mesa. Gordon Freeman is employed by the Intergalactic Time Reassurance, where he works as an agent who takes care of the correct timing of world events. When comparing all the collected data, the ITR finds that manipulation has occurred and was performed by the mysterious G. Mann. The latter managed to take over the world by traveling through time-space and poisoning Coca-Cola with a mysterious chemical X. The story is interesting and is provided via intermediate sequences with texts (press Pause). The intros can be up to a minute and a half long, so be patient.

Because the modification is divided into missions that take place on different planets, the levels are very diverse. The mapping quality is pretty good, although some areas could use more details, and there could be less corridors and duplicate sections. I really liked the feeling of freedom that is conceived by alternative routes, occasionally you will also have to track back. Many of the doors are locked with keys or security cards, and occasionally you will also need to flip a switch. The maps also contain secrets with nice rewards, but beware, I managed to get stuck quite a few times during exploration! Some of the levels were clearly influenced by Duke Nukem 3D (explicit content), so I advise you not to play this in front of your family members: P.

You will mostly fight against soldiers, which are later joined by a limited set of monsters from Xen. The enemies are well placed, so the fights are intense, and some scripting events will additionally increase the difficulty. The final stage can be a nightmare for many, as the enemies become invisible, but fortunately you have heat tracking weapons in the arsenal. The latter is pretty standard, although it might not seem so because of reskins. There is enough ammo, health and batteries to prevent the gameplay from being frustrating.

The visuals of the mod are ok, but don't stand out, well, with the exception of erotic content and new designs. The game contains a lot of humor and new sounds, so I highly recommend playing with headphones ;). To finish the game, I spent 2 hours and a half on the Medium difficulty.

Life's End

In Life's End, you play a scientist named Luther Johnson, who works in the mathematics department of Black Mesa. You arrive for work a few minutes before the alien invasion, but unfortunately, you are late again. Your superior, Dr. Omstein, is fed up with your incompetence and fires you at the spot. But at that moment everything goes wrong ... The story takes place in parallel with the original incident, but in another part of the laboratory complex. I liked both, the dialogues between you and other characters, and notes, which give you some insights into past and present happenings in Black Mesa.

The map architecture is not bad, but it is commendable that it keeps improving considerably during your journey to the end. There is also a lot of non-linearity. I loved the flooded parts of the maps and the parts with lava / radioactive materials, and the fantastic map with the Xen laboratory hybrid. During gameplay you will also sometimes hallucinate due to different chemicals, and the maps reflect this. Although the idea is interesting, it just didn't work for me - the same goes for some other mini-games. I was also disappointed with the weird ending and with some maps that simply did not fit into the package because of the poor quality. The way forward is very often prevented with mechanical and electronic locks, for which you have to find keys or keycards. These items can be sometimes found in very unusual places, but players who love exploring, will have no problems finding them. Much more work will have to be put into finding some very well hidden paths forward. One of the common puzzles is also to search for giant batteries, which you can then use to start certain machines.

The set of enemies is very varied and includes both soldiers and almost all Xen creatures. The fights with the opponents are very good, not only because of their good positioning, but also because of their numbers. Sometimes the factions are slaughtering each other, which gives you the opportunity to skillfully avoid confrontation, and carry out your task without fighting. The action level increases very well with your advancement towards the end, but it has some problematic moments. Due to specific animations of some models, it is advisable to turn off HD Pack, but if you don't mind a few graphic inconveniences, you will be able to finish the game with it turned on. Despite many surprises, there are enough health packs and ammunition to get your through the game on Medium difficulty without significant problems.

The visuals of the game are solid, and sometimes very appealing. I was impressed the most by many good scripted events and by demonstration of the destruction caused by the Black Mesa incident. Certain moments will also be memorable because of well chosen background music. There is also some humor in the game. I needed about 3 hours to complete the game. Playing mostly went smoothly; I just had to turn on the Software video mode in the le24 map because the game kept freezing in the OpenGL rendering mode.

Sweet Half-Life

In Sweet Half-Life, you play Gordon McGinley, a warehouse keeper at Black Mesa. Your tasks and functions in the complex can be learned in a 10-minute Hazard Course, which already strongly suggests, that the story is interwoven with the events in the original. The latter is later confirmed during gameplay via events taking place in parallel.

The mapping has a very strong Half-Life vibe, but it's original enough and maps are also high quality. I liked the architecture and layout of the elements, also, the diverse parts were nicely integrated into the whole. Many of the puzzles were in my opinion pretty ingenious, and for some problems, you can also use an well hidden, but easier, alternative approach. Paths forward are sometimes well hidden - be on the lookout for buttons you need to shoot. Somewhere in the last third there is even a giant fork in the road that leads to two ends. Unfortunately, somewhere at this part, the modification becomes kind of weird (Xen or Space Ships) and this kills the fantastic atmosphere which has been building from the very beginning. What a pity!

The set of enemies is very varied and, in addition to almost the entire spectrum of Xen monsters, it also includes soldiers, assassins and Grey aliens from Roswell. Fights are not only difficult because of the enemy abundance or positioning, but also because of scripted surprises. But fear not, during your adventure you will often be accompanied by security guards and scientists in H.E.V. suits armed to the teeth. Your (and theirs) arsenal consists of well-known weapons, which are joined by a heavy machine gun, a quick machine gun and a plasma launcher. The bullets are abundant, so do not worry running out of ammo. The situation is more delicate with regard to medical packages and batteries, but on the Medium you really shouldn't have any major problems finishing the game.

The appearance of the game is excellent due to good architecture and colors, but it later gets pretty freaky. The new models are well integrated into the whole package, with the exception of a female scientist who simply doesn't fit in ... I loved the video and scripted sequences, which, in combination with background music, gives the mod almost a movie like touch. There is also a speech in the game, which is not well executed. You will need about 3 hours to complete the mod.

Timeline 2: Iced Earth

Timeline 2: Iced Earth is the second part of the Timeline series, in which you play Gordon Freeman, who tries to fix the broken timeline. This time, G-Man sends you to a parallel universe, in which the ice age plagues the Earth, and to make things worse, the weakened planet is under attack from the monsters from Xen. If they succeed, the captured planet could be used as a starting point for invasion on our planet.

The mapping quality did not impress me in the previous part, but this time is different, since the author has made great progress. The maps are very varied and despite simple architecture full of interesting details. Different themes are very well intertwined, and passages between external and internal maps are also appealing. Many of the puzzles are multi-layered, and sometimes you will need to find a well hidden access card or passage to continue. There are also some skill challenges, for example walking on ice shelves will require a lot of patience. I really liked various transportation methods which are used for traversing different parts of the game. There are also traps and unpleasant surprises in the game, so save regularly.

In the first part of the game, you will mostly fight against the already known monsters from Xen, which are later joined by assassins and grunts. Opponents are not only well-placed, but also many, so the battles are very intense. Particularly frustrating are parts in which teleporters supply an endless stream of enemies, and you need to figure out how to shut this down. The main problem of modification is a chronic lack of ammunition in the first part and health / batteries in the second part. I did manage finish the game on Easy difficulty after 3 hours and a half of gameplay, but it was a close one. Too bad.

The appearance of the game is fairly solid, and in some cases very good. The visuals are also improved by interesting scripted events. With the exception of new textures, there are barely any other visual changes.

Escape

In Escape you are playing a scientist named dr. Jim West, who works in the anomalous materials section of Black Mesa. The day begins with an experiment as usual, but it soon turns into a nightmare when something goes wrong. Half of the Black Mesa research center is destroyed, and creatures from Xen appear everywhere. Your task is to save yourself and your colleagues, but the situation gets complicated when the army gets involved. In the first part, you will mostly fight against the Xen monsters that consist of all kinds of zombies, Headcrabs, Bullsquids and Vortigaunts. The latter stand out in particular because they are not only well placed, but are also surprise you by teleporting at certain events. The second part is dominated by all types of soldiers who are equally well-placed, and have the support of machineguns. Your arsenal is very limited, as you have only a crowbar and a gun in the first part, and only later you get a shotgun, a machine gun and explosives. Ammunition is fairly limited, but it should be enough for Medium difficulty. The same applies to medkits. Note: you can't collect batteries, as you do not wear the H.E.V. suit.

I had mixed feelings about the map design. On the one hand, the maps contain tons of exceptionally simple rooms without details and boring corridors; on the other hand, some sections are extremely detailed, have fantastic lighting and layout of elements. On average, the visuals of the mod do not stand out, but they are slightly improved by some scripted events. Levels are mostly interior maps (among them being also a Blue Shift link), and several times you will also get to the surface. Your path through the game will be mostly linear, although you will find some side paths here and there. Puzzles consist of rare jumping challenges, button pushing, train rides, crawling through vents and driving with lifts. It sounds diverse, but during playing I had the feeling that the tasks repeat themselves.

I spent about 1 hour to finish the mod. I would also like to point out that the ending battle crashes Half-Life if you reload a savegame, so avoid saving.

Breakdown 2: Afterwards

Breakdown 2: Afterwards is a direct continuation of the events in the first part. In it, the soldiers managed to capture you (Dr. Jonathan Wood) and lock you into an improvised prison cell, which was poorly chosen. When you woke up, you managed to escape, but the path to your rescue will not be easy. You are in a completely unknown part of Black Mesa, and thus have limited access clearance, additionally, you have no idea where to go. Unlike the predecessor, the second part has a story, which has some flaws, but regardless of them, I liked it quite a bit. You uncover it with the help of video sequences, monologues and through reading the notes that lie around. Custom speech also provides some information, but I wished it would be recorded in better quality.

The predecessor did not really impress me with the mapping quality, but the second part improved in practically all areas. The maps are more complex, they contain more detail and new textures, they have an excellent layout of elements and lighting, and everything is nicely rounded up by the good connection of parts. The levels contain quite a few alternative routes to your target, there is some backtracking, and there are also tasks that can be done in any order. All this greatly increases the feeling of non-linearity. Playing is very diverse, because the set of puzzles is quite varied and it includes everything from pressing buttons, searching for access cards, guiding NPCs and also jumping challenges. I didn't like that some puzzles were made too obvious, and I also didn't like the innovative, but otherwise boring, car ride.

The set of opponents is quite diverse and contains a vast array of creatures from Xen, among which you will find some reskinned or otherwise modified enemies. The more resilient and dangerous Houndeyes impressed me the most, as they were no longer cannon fodder, but a serious adversary. Later in the game, soldiers with machine guns join the list, and at the very end you will also encounter very dangerous soldiers with shotguns. The difficulty curve is much more flat than in the predecessor, despite numerous scripted surprises and excellent ambushes. The weapon set is very limited and it is gradually unlocked. Unlike in the predecessor, you can pick up the pistol very early. The absence of a shotgun to the very last part is noticeable, and it forces the player to play more tactically. The amount of bullets and healing packages will allow good players to enjoy the mod on Hard difficulty, but to everyone else I recommend playing on Medium. I needed about 1 hour and a half to complete the game.

CWC MapPack

CWC MapPack is a modification made up of interlinked maps of various authors. Since the topic was not defined, it is a very varied package, which unfortunately does not have a story.

The mapping quality varies greatly, but unfortunately there is no map in the package, which really excited me, because each of them has some disadvantages. Some are architecturally too simple, others contain illogical architectural elements. Some exaggerate with the number of enemies, others frustrate with unclear paths forward, which will make you run around in circles, etc. Since the transitions between the maps have not been accurately defined, they can be pretty crazy and sometimes even buggy, so save regularly. Frequent saves are recommended also because of the numerous bugs and places without exit. The mapping theme encompasses internal and external maps, and Xen is also present.

The enemies were taken from the original game, their number and positioning are dependent on the individual author. Difficulty of some fights is just right to be enjoyable, and in some cases you can get rid of the opponents in an alternative way. Ammunition is plentiful on Medium difficulty, and the same applies to healing packages and batteries. I disliked very much that the first map did not offer me a crowbar, but I got it later, unfortunately, almost at the end of the modification.

Visually, most maps did not impress me, but of course there were some exceptions (Kane) that had a nice layout of elements, lighting and also scripted events. To complete the map pack, I spent about 2 hours and a half playing it.

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.

Brave Brain

In Brave Brain you play Thomas Redgrave, a research assistant who works in Black Mesa laboratories. After you arrive at work a hour early, you decide to go to the Hazard Course to kill some time and refresh your skills. But something happens during training and the situation quickly turns into a disaster. Since the story takes place in parallel with events in the original, you will be able to meet the heroes from Half-Life and expansions. Sometimes NPCs explain the situation to you, but I would wish for the custom speech to be better.

The map design strongly relies on maps from the original and expansions, and some are even directly re-created. On the one hand, this makes the architecture very good and the maps visually convincing, but on the other hand, the levels lack originality. I didn't like some parts between the maps, because they were too simple, and on some of them lightning was completely off. I was also not keen about the simplistic Xen segment, but it was fortunately rather short. The levels are satisfactorily connected to each other, but I was bothered by too much crawling through ventilation shafts and pipes. Puzzles are not limited to pushing buttons, but also contain several jumping challenges (you also have a long jump module), and here and there you will have to escort and protect the NPCs. In some places parts of the level are also transformed via scripted events, which is very well done.

The set of opponents could be characterized as being classic, and includes all kinds of human and a limited range of Xenian opponents. The enemy placement was mostly unconvincing, as the emphasis was on their numbers, but fortunately, the scripted occurrences of opponents were much better. The latter provide quite a few dramatic moments, especially if you have low life points. A limited range of weapons from the original is joined by a movable machinegun in one of the levels, which I thought was a great idea, but it could have been more refined. Amounts of ammo, healing packages and batteries are just right to complete the game at Hard, and to do this you will need about 1 hour and a half of gameplay.

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.