Half-Life
Half-Life is soon to set foot on the PS2. Take a peek inside to see how this great looking shooter is shaping up.
Published: October 15, 2001
Remember that four-year-old PC game, Half-Life? Of course you do, right… Hidden by all the spin-offs made by Gearbox, (not that they weren't great) the original comes back for what seems to be yet another huge crowd pleaser. Yes, this is a PSX2.com article, so why am I talking about Half-Life? Well, in case you've been hiding in the closet for the last few months, you've heard some strange rumors that Half-Life will be ported to the PlayStation 2 and then you thought to yourself, "Oh no, they going to take a best-selling PC game and chop it up to tiny pieces and then loose half of them." No worries however, as they did chop it up, but never lost any pieces in the process, and even added a few in some areas. Below is a good summary of what you can expect from this great looking title.
Half-Life has been named the "game of the year" by over 50 publications, including PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World. A new life on the PS2, hmm…what could they have changed? The answer: not much. Sierra and Gearbox almost made a perfect port of the highly acclaimed first-person shooter, and that's a good thing! A Mr. Gordon Freeman has finally arrived on a console, here are some of the changes made. In the single player mode there are a few loading screens at certain junctions, but we all have experienced that at some point. The textures have been changed somewhat from the original. The biggest change is the new revamped graphics! Half-Life is known as one of the greatest games in PC gaming history. But, believe me it was not known for its video engine. This forever has changed; the new Half-Life has set a standard for high-resolution graphics. Every scientist, alien, security guard, you name it is crystal clear. Just take a look at the screen shots.
The game also supports two different, two-player modes, which makes the deal even sweeter. One downside to this is that it only supports 2-4 player deathmatches. Sorry you popular people out there, no 40 player get togethers in this incarnation. The first, called Decay is unlike any other two-player game made. The object is that you and a friend team up together as Dr. Colette Green and Dr. Gina Cross to complete missions. Yah, so what? The missions are completely separate from the single player mode and they are so involving it may take up to an hour to beat each one. They both have to close the rift between the two worlds, which are Earth and Alien, before everything is lost. While accomplishing this they meet new and returning characters, and if you're lucky you may visit some familiar areas.
The second two-player game is head to head, where two players duke it out and the one with the most frags wins, pretty simple. Players in the two-player mode will get to choose from playing as our hero Gordon Freeman, Drs. Gina Cross and Colette Green, a scientist, security guard, and a military S.W.A.T. member. They're also a number of maps from which to choose your battles. These include stages that go by the fitting names of Snark Pit, Signal, Waypoint, Datacore, Office, Debris, Stalkyard, Skirmish, and Water Canal. Each level has its own distinct features and everyone has plenty of hidden areas to sneak up on opponents, such as vertical attacks and small wedges that can be used for cover.
The Heads-Up-Display or HUD has everything in the PC version, so you don't miss out on anything regarding the original. The HUD provides a hefty amount of information helping you along the game such as, the ammo count, your health, the HEV suit health level, each of the weapon categories, and the flashlight. The game also carries a strong amount of weaponry, our favorite crowbar, crossbow, assault rifle, trip mines, grenade launcher, and the ever-popular 9 mm pistol. A good feature that's been retained is the quick save feature. It allows you to save to the system's RAM instead of using your memory card, but when the system is shut down the data that was stored in memory is automatically deleted.
When I first heard that Half-Life was being developed for the PS2, I must admit I was skeptical. But after previewing the PS2 version, it sounds like a great improvement over its PC counterpart. Kudos to you Sierra and Gearbox! With high-res graphics and three modes of play -- single, Decay, and head-to-head -- this game is sure to become as great as the original. And for those of you who out there who can't get stand playing a shooter with a game pad, don't worry! Sony will soon be releasing a USB mouse and keyboard. This exploding plot and action packed game is sure to become a classic in every fans videogame library. Half-Life is set to be released October 29[sup]th[/sup], so be sure to check back with us for the full review.
Half-Life has been named the "game of the year" by over 50 publications, including PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World. A new life on the PS2, hmm…what could they have changed? The answer: not much. Sierra and Gearbox almost made a perfect port of the highly acclaimed first-person shooter, and that's a good thing! A Mr. Gordon Freeman has finally arrived on a console, here are some of the changes made. In the single player mode there are a few loading screens at certain junctions, but we all have experienced that at some point. The textures have been changed somewhat from the original. The biggest change is the new revamped graphics! Half-Life is known as one of the greatest games in PC gaming history. But, believe me it was not known for its video engine. This forever has changed; the new Half-Life has set a standard for high-resolution graphics. Every scientist, alien, security guard, you name it is crystal clear. Just take a look at the screen shots.
The game also supports two different, two-player modes, which makes the deal even sweeter. One downside to this is that it only supports 2-4 player deathmatches. Sorry you popular people out there, no 40 player get togethers in this incarnation. The first, called Decay is unlike any other two-player game made. The object is that you and a friend team up together as Dr. Colette Green and Dr. Gina Cross to complete missions. Yah, so what? The missions are completely separate from the single player mode and they are so involving it may take up to an hour to beat each one. They both have to close the rift between the two worlds, which are Earth and Alien, before everything is lost. While accomplishing this they meet new and returning characters, and if you're lucky you may visit some familiar areas.
The second two-player game is head to head, where two players duke it out and the one with the most frags wins, pretty simple. Players in the two-player mode will get to choose from playing as our hero Gordon Freeman, Drs. Gina Cross and Colette Green, a scientist, security guard, and a military S.W.A.T. member. They're also a number of maps from which to choose your battles. These include stages that go by the fitting names of Snark Pit, Signal, Waypoint, Datacore, Office, Debris, Stalkyard, Skirmish, and Water Canal. Each level has its own distinct features and everyone has plenty of hidden areas to sneak up on opponents, such as vertical attacks and small wedges that can be used for cover.
The Heads-Up-Display or HUD has everything in the PC version, so you don't miss out on anything regarding the original. The HUD provides a hefty amount of information helping you along the game such as, the ammo count, your health, the HEV suit health level, each of the weapon categories, and the flashlight. The game also carries a strong amount of weaponry, our favorite crowbar, crossbow, assault rifle, trip mines, grenade launcher, and the ever-popular 9 mm pistol. A good feature that's been retained is the quick save feature. It allows you to save to the system's RAM instead of using your memory card, but when the system is shut down the data that was stored in memory is automatically deleted.
When I first heard that Half-Life was being developed for the PS2, I must admit I was skeptical. But after previewing the PS2 version, it sounds like a great improvement over its PC counterpart. Kudos to you Sierra and Gearbox! With high-res graphics and three modes of play -- single, Decay, and head-to-head -- this game is sure to become as great as the original. And for those of you who out there who can't get stand playing a shooter with a game pad, don't worry! Sony will soon be releasing a USB mouse and keyboard. This exploding plot and action packed game is sure to become a classic in every fans videogame library. Half-Life is set to be released October 29[sup]th[/sup], so be sure to check back with us for the full review.