Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7871 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sierra
• Released on: 2002-03-22
• Platforms: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 95

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most influential first-person games, Half-Life is the big daddy of its genre. Released in 1998, it still manages to be one of the most played games online and in this pack is bundled together with add-on packs, Opposing force, Blue Shift and Counter-Strike.

With an equal balance of action and storyline, you play Dr Gordon Freeman, a professor starting a new job at a black ops research facility. However, soon after you arrive, things go horribly wrong with some of the experiments. Left to your own devices in a locked down facility, you basically have to get out alive. The game is based across one seamless level--the facility.

Half-Life broke the rules of the level-to-level games before it. Here you get immersed into the Half-Life world, yet it isn't just the maps that are different from what you have come to expect from this genre. Where Half-Life excels is the multiplayer options; as a standalone package this game will keep you busy but with three add on packs you'll have hours of FPS action.

Opposing Force expands the original Half-Life experience allowing you to play as a soldier sent in to eliminate Freeman. You'll play through some totally new levels using new weapons and commanding small teams of miltiary specialists.

In Blueshift you play Barney, the security guard who you originally met entering the top secret Black Mesa facility as Gordon Freeman, who also decides to go after the invaders from Xen. Fans will be relieved to see more of the same first-person exhilaration experienced in the first two games, viewed from a new angle.

The same choreographed set pieces that form the narrative are still evident, including a brilliant scene where the player is trapped in a broken lift when the aliens first arrive at the facility.

Half-Life: Counter-Strike contains all the elements of the popular online multiplayer game originally built as an add-on for Half-Life. The team-based gameplay divides players into terrorist or antiterrorist squads. Each team has access to different real-world ammunition and equipment, and all players have unique attributes plus the ability to upgrade their gear after completing missions. Missions have different goals, such as defusing a bomb or rescuing hostages.--Jason Hamilton

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest games of all time
In my opinion, the original Half-Life deserved all of the critical acclaim it received. For those unfamiliar with the concept, you are a scientist named Gordon Freeman and need to complete numerous tasks, including killing aliens, disabling power supplies and more.

The singleplayer game was awesome when it came out, with very varied gameplay and challenges, each level flowed to the next, and the storyline was blended excellently with the gameplay. While things have progressed since 1998, even today, Half-Life's singleplayer campaign is one of the best and most rewarding experiences available. Some thought the Xen levels late on were a letdown; while I thought they weren't quite up to the standard of the earlier levels, I still found them to be very good.

There are a few minor niggles such as occasional clipping problems and a few dodgy sequences, but nothing that detracts significantly from the overall experience.

Then there's the addons. Blue Shift and Opposing Force are also solid singleplayer experiences, they do smack of "more of the same", but this is not a problem when they are all bundled within one pack instead of you having to buy them separately. Then there is the legendary Counter-Strike which is the most popular multiplayer game of all time. Even the vanilla Half-Life multiplayer, such as Capture the Flag and the deathmatch, has things to offer that should keep the prospective gamer occupied.

In short, if you haven't played Half-Life yet, and you are even remotely interested in first-person shooters, buy this now. You will not be disappointed.

If you have played Half-Life but don't have two or three of the addons offered in this pack, I can also recommend it, since two or three of the addons are worth the price of the pack alone.

Big bag o' goodies!
This is serious value gaming. Half-life is currently the best first person shooter (FPS) ever. Some people will say that other FPS games have surpassed it in terms of better graphics and a more 'realistic' setting, but they are missing the point. No other game has anywhere near the hold over the PC game world that Half-Life does, and probably will have, at least until Half Life 2 finally comes out.

I first played Half-Life back in the day on a AMD K6-2 300MHz machine with 64MB RAM, and a ATI Rage Pro graphics card. That was just about enough to play it at a resolution of 640 X 480 with a fair bit of chugging when the action got heavy. Play it now on an up to date machine and you can set the resolution as high as you want and the whole game flows as smoothly as silk, and looks lovely too. If anything the improvement in PC specifications has just allowed the game to show itself to it's full potential rather than making it look dated like most other games from the time it was released.

Watch the opening movie from Half-Life on a up to date system set at a high resolution and you are totally sucked in. The sound, if you have an EAX capable soundcard and decent speaker setup, is amazing, and the game music is perfection. The buzz you get from the music when you first put on your environmental hazard suit is unrivalled in any game, and that is just an unimportant bit near the beginning! This game will convince you that PC games only have a few, very short, steps to take to reach cinematic standards in visuals, sound, and storylines. Besides all this, the character you play 'Gordon Freeman' is the hardest geek scientist ever. Now that's special!

Half-Life is not perfect though. The later levels are a touch below the quality of the early to middle ones, but we can all live with that, especially as the game is not short.

'Opposing Forces' is a classy expansion of the game, having you now playing as one of the soldiers sent in to 'clean up' the situation in the Black Mesa facility after Gordon Freeman's little experiment went pear shaped. You pass through many of the same locations you went through as Gordon Freeman in the original game, but from a different perspective, which rounds out the whole experience quite well. Opposing Forces also has some of the most memorable fighting sequences of the Half-Life bunch. The 'black ops' guys that try to do you in proving to be something really special in terms of their 'intelligent' and aggressive tactics.

'Blue Shift' is the weakest of the pack, but still immensely playable. This time you play one of the 'Barney' security guards, and yes, you do see Gordon Freeman pass by at least once in the game, so there is that element of seeing things from yet another perspective. The big downer here is that Blue Shift is really quite short. But if you play through all three parts one after the other this will not matter.

Counter Strike, the last part of the package, is the multiplayer offspring of Half-Life that totally dominates the world of online gaming. Despite all the immense problems with cheats and foul mouthed kids who think they are god's gift to gaming, Counter Strike still proves to be the one game that most online FPS players want to play. Counter Strike will not appeal to everyone though. If you don't have a fast internet connection then it is a waste of time, you also have to get used to wasting a huge amount of time doing nothing as you will get cut down swiftly and savagely innumerable times before you become even remotely useful at playing it.

So there it is. Monster value package of Half-Life, Opposing Forces, and Blue Shift together, and the world's most popular online game as a bonus. The games will run on quite low spec machines, and are silky smooth on fast ones, and the whole thing has aged remarkably well. If you haven't already got this you better snap up this bargain now before it disappears!

Why not buy?
You have no reason not to buy this amazing pack (unless you already have it). Half Life is still the best FPS ever in my opinion. The level design is fantastic, the AI is intelligent and there are some really amazing weapons. Opposing Force is my fave add-on of all time, adding yet more fun guns, including the wrench and heavy machine gun. Blue Shift isn't the longest game, but it's fun while it lasts. Plus it updates all the graphics from HL, OF and itself. The mods are brilliant. Counterstrike is the most popular mod in the World, and Team Fortress Classic still packs a punch.

In short, this pack is the best ever, if you haven't got Half Life, there's never been a better time to join us in the enjoyment of a classic game.