New details: Half-Life PS2

GameSpot has learned further details on Half-Life for the Sony PlayStation 2. The game, which is being developed by Gearbox Software, will feature improved visual details, such as higher poly character models, enhanced particle and lighting effects, and increased texture detail. Complementing the specific graphical enrichments will be a new two-player mission, known as Decay. This multiplayer mode is played in a split-screen perspective in which two human players or one human and a computer-controlled partner progress through a new spin-off adventure based in the Black Mesa research facility.

Gearbox hopes to create a highly cooperative gameplay experience with the decay mode-- players will have to constantly communicate with and aid one another to solve specific puzzles and complete mission objectives. To that end, playing with a "bot" as a co-op partner will let players switch back and forth between the two playable characters and therefore have control over specific tasks.

The story in this multiplayer mission takes place during the early stages of the broader Half-Life narrative, as players assume the role of two female hazard trainers. From this foundation, the story closely parallels the larger plot.

Half-Life will be released on the PlayStation 2 this summer. GameSpot will have further details as they are available.