Half Life: Opposing Force Review

Those of you who haven’t played Half Life before, the game is about a scientist that has to escape the Black Mesa Research facility due to an experiment gone wrong. While escaping the scientist encounters aliens and marines as he makes his way to the surface. Originally the Marines were sent in to “rescue” the scientists, when they find out the experiment opened a portal to allow aliens from another dimension into our dimension they decide to destroy all evidence, which includes you. So basically in Half Life, your mission is to get to the surface as a scientist.<br>In Half Life: Opposing Force, the roles are switched. This time around, same scenario with experiment gone wrong and aliens, only you are the Marine going in to rescue scientists/destroy all evidence. Unfortunately for you, the government decides to leave you stranded, and you end up running into special government “black ops” troops, which along with the aliens, are trying help you get to your afterlife. <br><br><br>Graphics –<br> Using the same engine as the first game, there wasn’t much improvement, if any at all. Some of the new models look cleaner but no whole lot of graphic changes. Still, the graphics are very nice. They are very clean and sharp. Unlike most FPS currently hitting the market, Half Life tends to keep the graphics on the realistic looking side rather than the colorful cartoon like graphic. Also the details are very good on a lot of the models. The weapons for example have some incredible animations. I was very impressed with not just the shells that would fly out from my gun, but also the kick back that some of the guns had. Like the first game, there are some “biological” or “living” weapons that have their own unique animations when not even firing. One for example is a specimen that spits bombs from its mouth, while not in use, the marine would reach its other hand and pet it on the head. All in all, a good job with the changes in new models and levels, but not much to improve upon when using the same game engine. I must say though, it’s a great engine.<br> <br>Sound –<br> The music in the game was also very good. As usual the music tends to be up beat and mood setting for each of the levels or situations. When encountering lost of enemies the music would become faster or louder, as opposed to situations when you are sneaking around, it plays cautious music. The music adds a lot to the overall feel for the game. Sound effects are also really good. Footsteps were a major effect that I noticed change several times for many of the different environments that I ran across. Those heavy Marine boots were good to hear, although the use of walking rather than running didn’t eliminate the sound of my boots from my enemies.<br>All of the new enemies and guns have amazing sound effects to match. With my Altec Lansing ACS48 Speakers, firing off a chain of rounds from my heavy machine gun was just too exciting.<br><br>Gameplay –<br> Everything pretty much identical to the original Half Life, of course the AI has been improved a lot. The Black Special Ops, were just a fright to encounter. Not only was their incredible AI frustrating, but the fact that they could run and jump higher and faster than I could. Trying to ambush the Black Ops is like trying to ambush a gang of Harley Davidson Riders with a scooter. It was great though, trying to sneak up on a trooper, when they hear you scuffle around the corner, immediately you hear their incredibly fast footsteps as they run off in some unknown direction as they toss a grenade in your direction. No matter the difficulty, the AI will be of some challenge to most players. However, on the most difficult settings they are still not impossible to overcome, but it takes patience not to get overly frustrated with their AI. <br><br> Another part of the gameplay that I really enjoy is the fact that the whole game is not based on running around and shooting everything in site. The environments call for a variety of tactics, from crouching to fit in small areas, jumping to overcome gaps or higher ledges to advance. Also the use of elevators, ladders, pipes, and just about any other obstacle that separates this game from the rest of the 2 dimensional levels of other games. Plus there are some switches and other “puzzles” to solve as well. <br> <br> Moving on, there is still the addition of the Multiplayer action of Half Life: Opposing Force. The original multiplayer mode was incredible, and still dominates a lot of the action on the net with the addition of MODs and Add-ons (Counterstrike, Team Fortress). Especially with the addition of a sniper rifle, Opposing Force will give an even more exciting multiplayer experience. Any “campers” of the original crossbow, will pick up the sniper rifle as second nature. <br><br>Overall –<br> Like the first game, there can only be so much added, changed or improved to make a game better. Gearbox pulls this one out of the hat! This is a great add-on to the hit game Half Life. If you have not played Half Life, then you are missing out, and you must go out and get Half Life. Then after you have played it, beat the game, and master multiplayer Half Life, then pick up this game. It is an incredible add-on. Not only is the multiplayer just as good if not better than the original, gameplay is even more developed with the use of teams to command, and a new AI to face. This is definitely a game I recommend to any FPS or Half Life lover. Even if your not into the whole frag fest, this single player game is more than just a bunch of bots running around in an arena.