Review By

Mike Bracken

As gaming evolves, the line between movies and interactive media continues to blur. The earliest incarnations of videogames offered up nothing in the way of plot or story, offered no resolutions (the games often went on forever), and featured no characters. As technology progressed, games became more sophisticated. They featured rudimentary stories, goals that led to a defined ending, and even characters with a bit of personality. Todays games have taken things even further, creating rich worlds, characters that arc and develop, cinematic scores, voices, cinematic camera angles, and gameplay that is supported by the story itself. Some of them even set up sequels.

Trying to gauge which game was the first to blur the line between game and movie is a daunting task (and one sure to inspire more than a few arguments). However, the game that tends to stand out as one of the first to do it effectively is Half-Lifea classic PC game that is now making its debut on the PlayStation 2 gaming console.

Half-Life, a sci-fi based First Person Shooter (FPS) is the gaming equivalent of big-budget action film. Players take control of physicist Gordon Freeman, a new employee at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Strange things are going on at Black Mesaand things get really out of hand when an experiment opens up what appears to be an interdimensional doorway between Earth and another planet. Soon, alien monsters are killing off the research staff, and Gordon must figure out how to make his way to the surface of the Black Mesa facility. Unfortunately, he not only has to contend with aliens, hes also got to deal with a squad of government commandos sent to the facility to eliminate everyone.

What makes Half-Life so intriguing is the way it blends film elements into traditional FPS gameplay. Early titles in this genre were light on story (Doom, for example) and featured gameplay that revolved around finding keys and blasting everything in sight. Half-Life moves in a different direction (much like another highly touted PC game, Deus Ex), featuring no shortage of action, but with story that ties everything together and doles out the plot piece by piece as the player progresses through the game. Because of this, the story is an integral part of the gamethe backbone that supports everything from the gameplay on through to the different scenarios Gordon will encounter. And while other games have attempted to mix cinema with gameplay, Half-Life is one of the few games to achieve the perfect balanceone element never overwhelms the other.

Yet, while Half-Life still stands as a classic game, the years between its initial PC release and conversion to the PlayStation 2 havent been as kind as they could have been. For its time, Half-Life was a revolutionary game, one that captivated gamers for quite some time. However, now in the age of games like Halo, Half-Life is starting to look a little rough around the edges.

The game received a graphical makeover for the PlayStation 2 release, but that doesnt change the fact that it still looks old and a little blocky overall. Textures could use some work, character models have little in the way of variety, and many of the games locales are fairly redundant. In the games defense, it does feature a smooth framerate that appears to run consistently in the neighborhood of 60 frames per second (frames per second refers to the number of frames of animation used in each movementthe higher the number, the smoother the character and game moves). Still, compared to a current FPS like Halo (with its amazing bump mapping and texture work), Half-Life isnt pretty.

Of course, gaming isnt all about pretty graphicsand this is Half-Lifes saving grace. The game may be showing its age visually, but the gameplay still draws the player in and keeps him immersed in the games environment. Half-Life features a broad based gameplay system that has Gordon not only blasting through countless enemies, but also features some stealth elements, puzzles, and instances where might isnt always the proper way to get through a situation. While its not as open-ended as Deus Ex, it does give the player more to do than the standard Doom-styled game.

During the course of his journey, Gordon will find a multitude of weapons, enhancements for his bio-suit, and assorted other odds and ends. Hell have to fight his way through certain spots, as well as do some platform-styled jumping. One of the biggest complaints about PC ports to console systems is that the controls are never as fluid on the console. The PC game utilizes a mouse and keyboard, while the console has to map all of the games commands to a controller with far fewer buttons. Deus Ex, which was also recently ported to the PlayStation 2, suffers greatly because the control is awful. Meanwhile, a game like Halo (which was developed with a console in mind) has one of the best control schemes Ive ever encountered in a first person shooter. Half-Life falls somewhere in the middle in this category. The controls are much more responsive and intuitive than the ones in Deus Ex, but not quite as good as the ones found in Halo. At any rate, theyre solid enough that the player wont find himself dying cheap deaths with any kind of regularity.

The PlayStation 2 version of the game also features a new mode called Decay. Decay is something of a side story to the main game, wherein two players can control two female employees of the Black Mesa Facility. The two women must work in unison to reach the surface and escape with their lives, making cooperation vital. Decay is an interesting addition, and works best when played with two players. Gamers can tackle it on their own, but theyll have to work both characters separately to get through the complexand its an incredibly difficult task.

Half-Life may be showing its age in this era of games like Halo, but that doesnt change the fact that the game is still one of the coolest FPSs around. While the graphics are starting to look dated, the gameplay is still as solid as it was when the game was first released on the PC. Add that in with the engrossing storyline and solid control, and you wind up with a game thats more than entertaining. The PC is still the best way to experience Half-Lifes charms, but the PlayStation 2 version provides a nice alternative for those who prefer their games on a console.