Half-Life

Half-Life

Released: November 19, 1998
Type: Main Game

Platforms:

Linux PC (Microsoft Windows) Mac PlayStation 2

Genres:

Shooter Puzzle Adventure

Game Modes:

Single player Multiplayer

Themes:

Action Science fiction Horror Thriller Warfare

Player Perspectives:

First person

Ratings

User Rating

88.4
Based on 2489 ratings

Critics Rating

80.0
Based on 1 ratings

Total Rating

84.2
Based on 2490 ratings

Summary

Dr. Gordon Freeman doesn't speak, but he's got a helluva story to tell. This first-person roller-coaster initiated a new era in the history of action games by combining engrossing gameplay, upgraded graphics, ingenious level design and a revolutionary story that may not be all that it seems, told not through cutscenes, but through the visual environment.

Storyline

Dr. Gordon Freeman arrives late for work at 8:47 am in the Black Mesa Research Facility, using the advanced Black Mesa tram system that leads through the facility. He arrives at the Anomalous Materials Lab, his work place, and he is informed by the security officer that the scientists have a special experiment today, so he goes to the locker room and puts on the hazard suit. He goes to the lab's lower levels, and arrives at the Anti-Mass Chamber, where he is instructed that the specimen to be used that day is the rarest and also the most unstable specimen. He is tasked with pushing the specimen into the scanning beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer for analysis. However as soon as he pushes it, it explodes, and creates a sudden catastrophe called a "resonance cascade", opening a portal between Earth and a dimension called Xen. Freeman is apparently teleported to an alien planet and catches glimpses of various alien lifeforms, including a circle of Vortigaunts, shortly before blacking out.

Involved Companies

Sierra Entertainment

Role:
Publisher

Gearbox Software

Role:

Valve

Role:
Developer Publisher

Game Engines

GoldSrc

Keywords

aliens assassin bloody gravity death military run and gun steam multiple endings conspiracy tank slavery teleportation silent protagonist alien invasion one-man army darkness boss fight explosion radiation death match digital distribution voice acting human polygonal 3d wasd movement non-player character retail games with steam activation checkpoints falling damage melee real-time combat a.i. companion blindness instant kill friendly fire difficulty level quicksaving quickloading vending machine interaction mercenary cheat code digital rights management destructible environment scientist interactive environments invisible wall suicide game with chapters mod support multiplayer lan speedrun team deathmatch linear gameplay meme origin in-engine cinematic dedicated servers inverted controls scripted events vent crawling jumping puzzle first-person platforming burning infinite spawn outside of the map text dialogue elevator ambush fully customizable controls foreshadowing god mode another world strafe-jumping machinima professional gaming novint falcon support pc to console port animal weaponry e3 1998 e3 1997 male protagonist regional censorship

Alternative Names

Half Life Quiver HL HL1 半条命

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