Half-Life: Opposing Force
It should be a foregone conclusion that last year's undisputed "Game of the Year" has found a happy home on each of our readers' hard-drives, but let's review for the sake of that overworked patent lawyer who still hasn't played Half-Life:
It was another stimulating day at the subterranean Black Mesa Research Facility. The loyal staff of privileged scientists at the Sector C Test Labs arrived for work in anticipation of another in a series of attempts to create a "resonance cascade." A mysterious "sample" delivered that morning by military escort created quite a buzz, and the lead scientists were under pressure from the administrator to deliver success. Pressure, it seems, that was applied too hard.
Stark pandemonium struck the facility when a malfunction opened a pan-dimensional rift through which hostile aliens entered our world. Gordon Freeman, a scientist who aided in the dreadful incident, awoke from unconsciousness to a Black Mesa wrought with destruction and chaos. Aliens were terrorizing - and mutating - his fellow humans. Armed with a crowbar and whatever weapons he could scavenge, Gordon slowly crept toward the surface. Eventually, the cavalry arrived in the form of a crack military unit sent to rescue the Black Mesa stuff.
Or so it seemed. Before his astonished eyes, shadowy US marines assassinated Gordon's innocent colleagues. The armed grunts were not there to rescue, but to cleanse and silence. Stunned, terrified and enraged, Gordon silently calculated his escape strategy. Trusting no one.
The rest, as they say, is gaming history. Gordon, with our help, evacuated the facility, traveled to the alien world of Xen, conquered the alien threat, and saved the world - and his own neck - in the process. A final cryptic encounter with a mysterious government agent served to draw the curtain on the story, leaving unanswered questions and a neon vacancy sign for a sequel.
It was only a matter of time before that space was filled, but we were skeptical that the follow-up would live up to the intriguing plot and design quality of the original. To our great surprise and satisfaction, Opposing Force surpasses every expectation. Just as Half-Life set a new precedent for action games, Opposing Force raises the bar for expansion packs.
Leaving conventional sequels in the trenches, Opposing Force takes place during the action we experienced in Half-Life. This time the player fills the role of Marine Corporal Adrian Shephard, sent to the Black Mesa facility to execute Gordon Freeman in the wake of the resonance cascade. So hang up your bleached scientific gown, maggots, and strap on those army boots - because you're headed for Boot Camp.
No kidding, either. Boot Camp replaces the original game's Hazard Course training exercise, and is not to be overlooked. Overbearing drill sergeants set the tone for the player's new callous persona. "Where are you from, soldier," Drill Instructor Dwight T. Barnes asks another member of your platoon. "Texas? Holy cow, you know what comes from Texas, don't you?" he remarks, tipping his hat to Stanley Kubrick. Luckily, Shephard won't have to endure months of basic training. For our sake, he's been bumped to the top of the advanced training list. It's a twenty-minute crash course that should be more than adequate for any Half-Life veteran.
The full game begins with an opening segment every bit as original and atmospheric as the groundbreaking intro from Half-Life, though not nearly as long. Enroute by air to the Black Mesa facility, Shephard and his wisecracking squadmates are suddenly struck by an alien craft and forced to crash land. After coming around from unconsciousness, Shephard finds that a scientist has rescued him from alien autopsy, and we're off and running.
Not ten minutes into the game, the now-infamous order is received via radio: "Forget about Freeman." The alien threat is too much, and all marines are ordered to pull out. But in a brilliant scripted scene, Shephard just misses the last helicopter transport out, and suddenly the player's M.O. is simply survival, which proves to be a great sport of its own. It turns out that Freeman didn't encounter all of the creatures that crossed into our world. In addition to most of the ones we're familiar with, Opposing Force introduces about ten new aliens, all of which have a penchant for human flesh. Some run as fast as Shephard, while others use organic firearms that continue to attack once their owner is eliminated. Another - perhaps the most frightening - represents a further stage of head crab mutation. It spits innards from its stomach and flails its claws maniacally as it runs in your direction.
Shephard, like Freeman, also runs into human opposition. As before, they prove to be every bit as formidable as any abomination from Xen. Known simply as Black Ops, these black-clad ninja types represent another battalion covertly sent in by the government with their own set of objectives, and they have little respect for "grunts" like Shephard. Wanting just to deliver their mysterious and malevolent "package" and get the hell out, they'll execute nosy Marines on sight. Maneuvering through their lairs can be hairy, and will require frequent use of the quick-save key.
Thankfully, Shephard is not alone in his struggle. At key points in the game, he happens upon other stranded marines from his platoon who will assist and fight alongside him. The friendly officers specialize in a variety of classes, including a Heavy Machine Gunner and a Medic who can provide much-needed first aid. The Engineer is helpful in opening locked doors with his blowtorch.
Typically though, all the human soldiers in the game exhibit terrific intelligence. Remember how terrifyingly smart they were in Half-Life? Well, now that AI is on your side, and it makes a real difference when the chips are down. When injured, they'll retreat under cover of friendly fire, peer around corners, and lob grenades over obstacles. They'll even duck and cover their heads if a grenade falls nearby. Best of all, they're ace sharpshooters. As the ranking officer, Shephard can command his units to stay and guard specific areas or cover his six. Friendly soldiers will only go so far, however - they'll stop following Shephard at certain designated points, so don't rely on them too much.
Working alone is not as futile as it may seem. Once Shephard scavenges a few decent weapons, he becomes a resourceful fighting machine. Even his lowly wrench packs a wallop far fiercer than the old crowbar. Remember, Shephard has muscles in places where Freeman never even knew he had places. The .357 Desert Eagle with its affixed laser sight is extremely useful, while the stealthy sniper rifle is just plain fun. Another new weapon, the belt-fed SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon), is simply the most blazingly cool machine gun since the M56 Smart Gun from Aliens.
Additionally, plenty of extraterrestrial firearms make their debuts. Most unique among them is a machine that fires an orb of teleportational goodness capable of warping anything in its path to another dimension. The secondary fire button actually teleports Shephard to a small corner of Xen replete with health and ammunition. When ready to return, a warp gate is available to throw him back into battle.
As for level design, Opposing Force is the most detailed and diverse 3D action game since...well, since Half-Life. Thankfully, Shephard is not made to wander through any one environment for an unnecessary length of time. Among other settings, he'll explore labs and wide open spaces on the surface, scale cliffs, dive under water, and immerse himself in pitch-black underground tunnels. And mercifully, there's very little Xen in the game - just one very short trip is made; a thoughtful reaction from Gearbox to player criticisms that the alien dimension was the least fun part of the original Half-Life.
Half-Life purists should be ready to make one major concession. Opposing Force has many more puzzles than the original and may require die-hard first-person shooter to dig a little deeper into their gray matter than they previously had to. Instead of wildly shooting clusters of enemies over and over, Gearbox opted to break up the action with environmental brainteasers. If you liked Half-Life more for its action than for its crate-shoving and jumping antics, there's a chance you'll be disappointed by Opposing Force. The Half-Life vets here at PC Gamer have all welcomed the extra challenge, however.
Something else that Half-Life fans will appreciate is the way in which Opposing Force cleverly references back to the first game time and time again. Since this mission takes place at the same time as the events of the original, you'll see a lot of familiar events replayed from an all-new perspective. You'll even bump into your old alter ego Gordon Freeman! One of the luxuries Gearbox had with doing Opposing Force as an add-on pack is that it allowed them to assume a much closer familiarity with the events of the first game than would be permitted with a stand-alone sequel. Gearbox really seized this opportunity, and everyone who paid close attention to the little details in Half-Life will be rewarded handsomely for it here.
One strange inconsistency some have noted is the reaction the scientists have to Shephard. Freeman remembers a research facility swarming with militia sent to hunt down human survivors. The scientists should be hiding in the floorboards, but for some strange reason they show little fear of Shephard. In fact, they're so kind as to offer a shot from a hypodermic when he is wounded. Of course, the player is free to execute any egghead he pleases.
Bad endings have been the downfall of a hundred good games. They're an insult to the rest of the adventure, and can ruin all that's come before. Unfortunately, the ending to Opposing Force is mediocre and anti-climactic at best. The showdown with the final boss creature is little more than a disappointing exercise in puzzle-solving. While such conundrums serve a great purpose in the middle of the game, an action title should have bookends of fiery missile-launching death. There is one final encounter with the mysterious G-Man, but it doesn't tie things together.
As terrific as the single-player experience is, multiplayer hasn't been overlooked. Again departing from the norm, Gearbox contracted elite mercenary level designers to do their dirty work for them. Designers include Ritual's famed "Levelord" and Tom "Paradox" Mustaine, as well as David "Kevlar" Kelvin of Legend Entertainment. The result is thirteen original maps, each with its own look and feel, custom-designed for the new Opposing Force weapons. While we'd love to see additional modes of play, the terrific single-player experience more than compensates.
In short, Half-Life: Opposing Force grabs the player's attention with the strength of an alien-possessed Marine and steadfastly refuses to let go. It's so good that, had this been released as a full-price, stand-alone sequel, I doubt many people would have complained. We can only wish that most complete games were so well-designed, and applaud Gearbox for living up to such incredibly high expectations.