It's here, it's great, it's sick, it's wrong. Turning thoughts into words: Steve Hill
Optimistic theorists predict that within the next ten years, games are going to 'kick Hollywood's butt', with interactive entertainment usurping the more passive - and more popular - medium of film.
It is posited that, sooner or later, a game will come along that does for the industry what Star Wars did for the movie business, achieving universal appeal and spawning the concept of the blockbuster. Half-Life certainly isn't that game, but it is a step in the right direction, evoking emotions on a par with some of the best films, the tension supplemented by some deeply disturbing images. For once, the marketing skunks' soundbites about 'wholly immersive environments' ring true, and at times it is genuinely shout-out-loud terrifying. It is, in short, a good thing.
How have they gone and done that, then? For the last couple of years, the game has largely been shrouded in mystery. Developers Valve have been beavering away at their base in the woodlands of Washington (state, not Tyne & Wear), deep in the heart of X-Files territory, and aspects of this have clearly filtered into the game. Half-Life is rife with conspiracy theory, and the aliens are only too real - not restricted to the archetypal little green men variety, but comprising grotesque monstrosities with a penchant for feasting on your vital organs and spitting you out as giblets. This is one game that certainly doesn't skimp on the gratuitous visuals, and some of the death sequences are above and beyond the call of sickness. It is far more than a straightforward splatterfest, though, and often relies more on the fear of the unknown than on mass butchery.
JACKANORY
As is becoming almost a prerequisite these days, the storyline is crucial. For years, the plot of a game was something slapped on the back of the box at the last minute, and a number of old-school developers still maintain this practice. You can't get away with that sort of thing any more, though, and intricately scripted storylines are becoming more prevalent.
The storyline of Half-Life is as intricate as they come, although it begins in a fairly mundane fashion. You are Gordon Freeman, an employee of the Black Mesa Research Facility in New Mexico, and you're late for work. This becomes apparent in the compulsory real-time intro, as a monorail transports you through the labyrinthine chambers of the complex, the title sequence taking up at least a good five minutes of your life. It does give you the chance to come to terms with the scale of the place, though - something that becomes more evident as the game pans out.
As well as having a bad name (see Gordon Is A Moron panel, page 91), Gordon is having a bad day. Of course, this can happen to anyone, whatever soul-destroying, mind-crushing task you perform for desultory financial reward. You've all been there: you're late, the photocopier's playing up, that fax hasn't arrived, you've been ritually humiliated by your superiors and, to top it all, the pie shop's all out of steak and kidney. Small potatoes indeed in the world of Gordon Freeman, who turns up for a day at the office and within the hour is fending off alien beings with a crowbar while his colleagues are eaten alive in front of his eyes. We've all been in a World Of Shit (traditionally around deadline time), but this is in a different class. A very good reason to stay in bed, if ever one was needed.
TALK, TALK, TALK
The way Half-Life sucks you in is ingenious. To begin with, you are genuinely going about your business. You can saunter around the place, go for a piss, get yourself a can of pop and talk to your workmates. Yes, talk. Half-Life employs a character interaction system that elevates it beyond the glorified shooting galleries that make up much of the genre. Strolling up to someone and pressing the 'use' button prompts a series of responses such as 'I'll stay here' or 'Let's stick together', enabling you to manipulate your colleagues to do your bidding. Scientists can open private areas, and when it all kicks off, security guards can help repel the alien hordes. Simple but effective, it's an ambitious idea, and the lip-synching is excellent - a far cry from the Heidi-standard efforts of yore. And as a - perhaps intentional - side effect, it is difficult not to feel a slight pang of concern when you see the walls painted with the blood of someone with whom you were recently chatting. Grim indeed.
It would be unfair to give away too much of the story, but suffice to say that when it goes off you had better be prepared to run, dodge, hide and bludgeon, often at the same time.
In keeping with the unassuming opening, you begin the game unarmed - not a situation that will stand you in particularly good stead. You're a scientist, not a fighter, but thankfully help is at hand. Once located, the default crowbar is a master stroke, enabling you to smash through windows and grates, as well as lash out wildly at all and sundry, particularly the despicable face huggers. The damage these parasites cause is clearly demonstrated as they take over the bodies of fellow scientists, forcing you to cleave the skulls of your erstwhile workmates, accompanied by suitably gruesome sound effects. It's not all close combat skirmishing, though - looting the still warm corpse of a butchered security guard yields a rudimentary pistol.
ALIEN NATION
Different aliens cause different kinds of pain, including spitting a poisonous substance at you, and even creating a fatal sonic boom. Twisted. It's a scary business, and approaching beasts can often be recognised by their individual sounds, which is more than enough to give you the habdabs. Those who prefer the stench of charred human flesh are also catered for: in one of the game's many twists, you end up doing battle against what seems to be the entire military, whose weapons you can then pilfer. This gives plenty of scope for more ultraviolence. For instance, tossing a grenade round a corner can often yield the remnants of a human head and a couple of stray limbs, flayed of skin and barely recognisable. For no apparent reason, this is hilarious. And just for fun, you can also shoot at your fellow scientists, forcing them to cower and whimper before you slay them at point-blank range. Again, this is hilarious, although grown men crowding around a monitor laughing maniacally at cold-blooded murder surely cannot be a healthy thing. Were you to witness a similar occurrence in 'real life', you would be scarred indefinitely,the images haunting your every waking hour, and years of intensive therapy would be required to come to terms with the horror. Funny old world.
TOOLED UP
Of course, a 3D shooter wouldn't be complete without a ludicrous array of unlikely weapons, and Half-Life doesn't disappoint, progressing through the perennial crowbar, a pistol, a very useful magnum, a shotgun and a machine-gun which doubles as a grenade launcher. Satchel bombs also come into play, as do laser mines, a laser gun and a pseudo rail-gun. There's a tranquiliser crossbow that can be used under water, and also a realistic rocket launcher that has to be steadied on your shoulder. The most bizarre weapon of all, though, is actually a living creature which, when thrown at your enemies, proceeds to bite chunks out of them. Another point to note about the weapons is that rather than floating around in mid-air, they generally have to be looted from bodies or discovered in boxes. Likewise, health boosts are administered at first aid centres or via injections from scientists, ably suspending the sense of disbelief.
Furthermore, the levels are largely seamless, melding into each other fluidly. Many of them require a lot of retracing of steps, and getting lost can be annoying, although at no point do you ever actually want to stop playing. This is a game that will steal hours of your life, but you press on regardless because not only is it immensely absorbing, but you actually want to know what's going to happen next in a plot that takes numerous unlikely turns. Something sinister is afoot, and the fleeting appearances of a mysterious besuited man add to the conundrum.
PSYCHO-THRILLER
Half-Life is a sensational game, with a massive variety of gameplay. Some parts are in the mould of a psychological thriller, and if we want to get all Barry Norman about it there are clearly nods in the direction of the Alien films or even John Carpenter's The Thing. Other parts are simply all-out war, with tanks and helicopters raining down on you. There is also a good deal of lateral thinking involved, with a bit of Crystal Maze-style box-shifting thrown in for good measure.
The Quake engine has been stretched to its limit and Half-Life has something for everyone. It stays resident in the brain for some time, with rapid eye movement remaining a problem for a good couple of hours after playing, and sinister tentacles invading your consciousness. Half-Life is a virtual world of horror and pain and it toys with your mind. Pull yourself together - it's only a game.
// Overview
Verdict
A thing of grace andbeauty
Uppers
Genuinely frightening Sick and twisted Compulsive storyline
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Genuinely frightening
