Half-Life: Opposing Force - An Updated Review

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Half-Life: Opposing Force is an expansion pack for Valve's science fiction first-person shooter video game Half-Life. The game was developed by Gearbox Software and Valve and published by Sierra On-Line on November 19, 1999. Opposing Force is the first expansion for Half-Life and was announced in April 1999.

[@thestigsdutchcousin]

Fun fact: during bootcamp you also get a training session with a sniper rifle. You can shoot the drill instructor, and the game would end with you awaiting court martial. Pretty cool.

[@XRelays]

YOOOOO I NEED A LINK TO THAT THAT SOUNDS SO FUCKING COOL

[@sv_cheats1970]

Same thing happens if you shoot the soldiers (the ones you hand over your weapon to)

[@Empiro3]

I also like the part where you see Freeman jump into Xen. You can follow him, and see him standing on a ledge while you fall to your death. The game-over report says that you were killed for trying to create a paradox.

[@lambdacode1503]

@@Empiro3 yup, it was awesome

[@dava8058]

There's also a place where if you teleport yourself with displacer gun you will fall into the void and the game says "teleportation mishap" or something like that

[@Greenskull]

What a novel concept: exploring alternate characters as they cross paths with the original protagonist. Such a treat.

[@Regularguy220]

Gta 4 did this pretty well I think

[@rockhound3.14]

Very much agree m8

[@floydhebert3684]

Aside from Half Life and GTA IV, do any other games do this?

[@remasteredretropcgames3312]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ6Xe4Gojqdqjrc The best spam youve ever seen noob.

[@dopaminedreams1122]

@@floydhebert3684 last of us 2

[@Wizardmom]

If only Drill Instructor Barns could see me now.

[@narrowgauge0727]

sniper school sure paid off today

[@jjlsn1204]

I'm a natural born alien killer

[@missingindy]

Yes

[@CourierSiix]

Man my dogs are barkin!

[@OldCouches]

When this is over, I’ll buy you all a round of beer... hell, I’ll buy the whole damn bar!

[@jjbussey]

Fun fact about that scene with Gman locking you out of the helipad while everyone else escapes. If you stick around that area you can hear explosions off in the distance, implying the helicopter gets shot down with everyone on board dying, so he saved Sheppards life again.

[@larkstonguesinaspic4574]

Holy shit! I gonna use this as an excuse to replay the game... because I never heard this

[@masterexploder9668]

He is also visible in one more window when first arriving in the area leading to that big monster screeching like a hawk, Blast Pit 2.0, but shorter. G-Man was also observed in the bootcamp, so it's clear that while Shepard was a dangerous witness, G-Man showed unusual interest.

[@ramadhani201]

​@@larkstonguesinaspic4574have you heard it?

[@prossnip42]

Shepard is probably his Ace in the Hole to be unleashed to deal with things if they fully fuck up and even the G-Man loses control of a situation@@masterexploder9668

[@Loopy1330]

The marines in Opposing Force were also voiced by Jon St. John. Also, to anyone reading this who hasn't played Opposing Force or any other Half-Life game yet, the entire series is now free to play until Half-Life: Alyx comes out in March this year. Yeah, I didn't stutter.

[@horridbeast4089]

yep, 8 weeks remaining, install that shit if you havent

[@slanggemz2419]

On steam ?

[@PartyCrasher04]

Wait really????

[@horridbeast4089]

@@slanggemz2419 yes, its the top option on the page

[@dallinpenney1116]

Where will Jon St. John appear next?

[@shurbrrt]

fun fact: shooting the engineer's propane tank causes an explosion. learned that the hard way

[@solarwrath1313]

also, if a remember correctly, if you shoot the tank when he is working the blowtorch in a door, he won't die until he breaks open the door, i mention this if you wanna have some because if you shoot his tank with a mp5 o the m249, the tank will keep exploding lol

[@MegaLordGaben]

fun fact: every time you shoot a gun in half-life, it fires a bullet from your weapon

[@shurbrrt]

@@MegaLordGaben fun fact: pressing your legs against the ground causes you to launch into the sky

[@bitterman7258]

shut the fuck up pinkerton

[@Tawper]

@@bitterman7258 pinkerton is best blue is 2nd

[@SubjectX07]

11:15 Not to mention the engineer also ignites his cutting tool with his cigar which is.. just badass.

[@okacha_0632]

Wow I played Opposing Force and didn't know that thx for telling.

[@itwontcomeout5678]

Ohh I just realized that it’s not the other way around, I used to think he lit the cigar with his torch haha

[@stiky5972]

And the medic is like kinda the nerd guy. Wait... I have thick glasses and almost always played the medic guy in games... HMMM

[@ZigealFaust]

@@stiky5972 I usualy play Medic in games if only so I can objectively say "That wasnt MY fault" and actually mean it.

[@jockeyfield1954]

@@ZigealFaust i just like playing medic because its so fun to just heal people to full health, be responsible for saving someone's life and be the reason someone is dead without killing them

[@jackkreacherr9339]

Back when this game came out, playing as the military in Half-life seemed like a childhood dream come true...and god dammit, it was.

[@DJL3G3ND]

I never realised the only reason adrian and the others werent killing the bm staff was because they never got the orders, Ive always felt like adrian is a good guy who never considered that in the first place

[@waterbears9874]

DJ L3G3ND allied soldiers actually are still programmed to shoot scientists

[@DJL3G3ND]

oh really? I never saw that, I guess there's no part in the game that you'd see it? maybe it's not canon OR they happened to receive the orders from someone else

[@waterbears9874]

@@DJL3G3ND I dont think everyone you meet in the game was on a crashed helicopter, and there isnt really a point where its obvious they can shoot scientists, but it can happen during a part of the game

[@DJL3G3ND]

@@waterbears9874 yeah thats what I mean, the guys who landed safely would have been told the orders so it could be explained that way

[@adenowirus]

I see it like this: A scientist tells Shephard that other soldiers are killing Black Mesa staff right at the beginning, so he probably realises that it's a part of his mission, but killing civilians is not a thing he's going to do without a direct order.

[@tripleb5197]

The fact that your fellow soldiers make you feel less lonely was exactly the theme I got from playing Opposing Force - or rather the exact opposite. When I started the game, you felt like even though you were in a hostile environment, you were surrounded with your brothers in arms and you weren't alone. As the game progressed, and I started seeing less and less HECU soldiers, the game became more alien and creepier. I don't think a video game has ever made me feel as lonely as Opposing Force did - in a good way.

[@bathynomusgiganteus2916]

The whole point of the Displacer teleport is to get extra health and ammo, it's actually really useful if you use it at the right times.

[@gabbyprincip1575]

I only used it to explore other areas Its pretty neat ar first but its pointless towards the end of the game since you always teleport to the same place

[@XenoSpyro]

@@gabbyprincip1575 Because every map has it's own designated teleport location. So you only want to use it once per map for a good chance at resupplying.

[@user-je2yq7ru8w]

pretty sure it also leaves behind a shockwave to kill enemies that were near you

[@dansmith1661]

@@user-je2yq7ru8w That would explain why my allies always turned on me when I came back. I thought it was trash since it always killed me.

[@user-je2yq7ru8w]

@@dansmith1661 xD yep, it's just as if you fired it at a wall and it exploded but the source is you

[@chronicdelight879]

I’m really hoping Tripmine studios does this game justice with their remake (Operation: Black Mesa). They’re also working on the Blue Shift remake (Guard Duty) for anyone interested. After the release of Black Mesa my expectations are high.

[@ognok6698]

why would you have high expectations after black mesa if its a different development group

[@confidentbottle]

@@ognok6698 Tripmine has posted a fair few technical sneak peeks and everything that's been shown looks very promising. Only time will tell, though.

[@nopushbutton]

I feel like it's gonna end up being like 3 maps with really, really cool weapons

[@dutchdoggo]

Im so pumped for both of them

[@joshstephens4198]

Its too bad the names aren't sciencey double entendres like blue shift and opposing force. Guard Duty is especially a lame name.

[@brainc0la-_-]

Adrian Shepard is still untapped potential for the HL lore. :c

[@forthesakeofthenationalist9375]

There WAS a mod called Opposing Force 2. But it was left abandoned as the developer needed to focus their real life ahead.

[@T--kq3pj]

@@forthesakeofthenationalist9375 Also there is a mod called Awakening about Adrian Shepard. Also there is a mod called Prospekt about Adrian Shepard. Also there is another mod with Adrian Shepard in works. Also there are countless other mods made by some kids with various levels of shit quality.

[@forthesakeofthenationalist9375]

@@T--kq3pj But none of them are great as if Opposing Force 2 in its final production. Then, we all have another collection in our list of Half-life series.

[@samw2670]

For the Sake of the Nationalist whaaa? I thought they were still developing and blue shift

[@forthesakeofthenationalist9375]

@@samw2670 Blue Shift remake is still working. But as for other mods played as Adrian is pretty much average or above it. Most notably is the prospekt, which considered to be the FAILED half-life game by many people. Until, Hunt down the Freeman released.

[@jacobdesioreviews]

The barnacle grapple is honestly a genius edition and it shows they were really trying to push the limits of the world while keeping it authentic. I love this series

[@colinj5291]

I had the original version on CD-rom back in 1999. Still play the Steam version every couple years. In a lot of ways, it's more fun and fast-paced than HL.

[@Grim_Pinata]

I always thought the Displacer's self-teleport was for a bit of extra exploration within the confines of Half-Life's linear structure. Like, if you're low on health or suit charge, you can try your luck at teleporting to Xen to look for supplies. A bit convoluted, but it's a fun idea and rather unique.

[@shadyone6620]

This was meant to be used to access secret areas, it teleported you different location on every map. It could be a very cool idea when applied properly, like involving puzzle elements where you have to teleport between Xen and Earth to progress.

[@abhaybhatt4286]

That's pretty much how I used it. Primary fire was only useful on voltigores cause of how slow they turned, but I'd use secondary fire between gunfights with black ops. Kill half of them, be dangerously low on health, and then teleport out. There was always a healing pool and/or a couple batteries to wherever you teleported, so I'd stock up and then go back to deal with them again, usually at a better vantage point while being unnoticed. Oh yeah, and the game really is balls hard on the highest difficulty. It basically becomes a game of kill first, but at least you have a lot more insta-kill weapons unlike in the original. Protip: remember to camp the spore fruits on the wall to fill up the launcher, cause each pod insta-kills a Black ops.

[@Ramk0core]

The problem was that it could also randomly kill you. Sometimes it teleported you into some bottomless abyss.

[@abhaybhatt4286]

@@Ramk0core I think it only did that on certain maps though, which I guess is fine to shake things up. It shouldn't always be a get out of jail free card.

[@EurynomeEclipse13]

I wish we get Opposing Force 2

[@NotASpyReally]

Adrian Shepard represents our favorite unfinished projects. We put them in a stasis and never let them out again.

[@katyushamarikov8819]

Subject: Shephard Status: Detained Pending further evaluation

[@foxydash9992]

Katyusha Marikov if half life Alex succeeds then he may get a evaluation against the combine

[@pandintea]

@@foxydash9992 He could work for the combine.

[@foxydash9992]

Adrian Shephard yo

[@foxydash9992]

41st Pandin no because Adrian is NOT a complete tool

[@cursedhawkins1305]

@@pandintea I don't think that's how that works Pandin, the Combine would capture him first then brainwash him before anything else and since we never see who exactly it is under each individual mask for the entire Combine Overwatch army we could have killed Shepard without even knowing because he was in one of the first groups of soldiers we came across in HL2.

[@mr365truck]

I always found it hilarious how the engineer lights his propane torch with his cigar

[@GeneralTantzu]

Half-Life was creepy in general, but that Voltigore dungeon was absolutely terrifying experience for me as a kid... I'd call it my first proper horror game experience.

[@pekkalaitinen8769]

I second this. It was fucking terrifying

[@kellofkells6002]

That’s funny cause half life 2 was my first horror gaming experience when I was just a kid sitting on my dads lap playing on the computer

[@GGGriggs]

@@kellofkells6002 "...half life 2 was my first horror gaming experience when I was just a kid..." Ravenholm...

[@62cents]

@@GGGriggs god dammit, we don't talk about Ravenholm!

[@arandomperson8646]

the first time I went through the dungeon, it had been a while since I last used mines, so I decided that I'd try to take down whatever attacked me next with them, so I placed around 2 mines and lured in the voltigore, only to hear the explosion and see it still coming at me, few things are scarier than unleasing some of the most effective weaponry in your arsenal just to watch it continue attacking you

[@tysmi04]

Having JUST finished the expansion, that 'xen portal' mode of the gun actually teleports you to different locations depending on the part of the game you're in. When you first get it, you're on a platforming segment with supplies. Another scene will have you dumped in to a load of water with supplies being dropped out of buttholes. Then another you will be, as you just saw, in a tiny oasis with two bullsquids drinking. You can leave them completely alone and bath in the water to get health slowly back.

[@abhaybhatt4286]

Yeah the first sections are really handy because those areas have ammo and armor batteries. The last section is just a healing pool though, it's only useful if you're doing a 1 life run and don't want to savescum

[@galbelol766]

Wasn't that the section that Gordon got teleported to directly after the resonance cascade, then the votes?

[@tysmi04]

@@galbelol766 Unfortunately even though it's just been a year since I last played it I've gone and completely forgot most of the details on it. My brain is just that grenade launcher 'thoomp' noise on repeat trying to remember.

[@galbelol766]

Aight

[@Justin-Theobald]

“My dear sweet grandmother moves faster than you dirtbag.” The Opposing force Drill instructor boot camp.

[@Nk_-1993]

"Can I be in charge around here? Well, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!" Drill Instructor Barnes.

[@ramenramen8072]

"Drill instructor"

[@anomalycenter1197]

When you see Gordon jumping into the portal to zen you can actually go inside too before it closes

[@amonguscock6210]

57 years ago • 1 year ago

[@anomalycenter1197]

@@amonguscock6210 yeah, that makes 58 years

[@dhl5928]

@@amonguscock6210 thats his name on youtube

[@jonathanmckarlison1203]

@@amonguscock6210 ok

[@AnnoyingSwedishGuy]

7:50 the point is to teleport Shephard to "secret" areas with health and ammo, secret because it depends on where in the game you use the altfire. Edit : kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZfWeHuifsmjmNU This video shows most (maybe all?) locations :)

[@leonardorossi998]

The issue is that it uses a lot of ammo from a very powerful gun. It's probably fun when you replay it, but when I went In blind the first time I didn't want to waste it, considering it uses two shots worth of ammo and how strong those shots are.

[@abhaybhatt4286]

@@leonardorossi998 The gun's only really useful against voltigores and occasionally shock troopers though, projectile is really slow and the orb needs to travel a distance to actually teleport them. Spore launcher basically did it's job but better, especially since you could just camp the spore pods on the walls to get Max ammo in 3 minutes or so. I mostly used dispersion cannon to teleport to Xen during long black ops fights. I hate quicksave scumming, and on hard being able to fuck off from a fight means full health, chance to reload, and element of stealth when you return.

[@JACCO20082012]

That sound when people splatter into chunks is legit one of the most satisfying death sounds in all video games.

[@scottl.1568]

@5:18... It takes me longer to play through OF because I have to compulsively stop and wrench 🔧 or knife🔪 every single dead body I come across 😅

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Easily the best expansion pack for a FPS game. Also makes me remember the days of expansion packs rather than "spend $5 to unlock 'your men have slightly more historically accurate headgear' DLC."

[@Gruntvc]

Expansion packs were very pro consumer. Gave you more of the game you enjoyed at a reasonable price. Bonus if it added content for both single player and multiplayer. Today's soulless game industry? Rip off the consumer as much as possible. Milk them dry, often for baloney crappy content.

[@2012Parag]

Agreed but Farcry 3's Blood Dragon was amazing as well despite it not technically being an expansion pack but still.

[@Gruntvc]

@Honest Observer, Does Blood Dragon count as a standalone game/expansion? Man, I loved that game. But Last expansion I liked was The Old Blood in 2015.

[@Enclavefakesoldier]

Yeah DLC put an end to the expansion days. some addons like Dark Souls 1's Artorias of the Abyss DLC and Fallout: New Vegas content hearkens back to those days. but now the game industry has gone full Eugene Krabs.

[@Pendleton115]

*Has advanced communication skills* “Doesn’t speak a word throughout the entire game”

[@kveller555]

I'm assuming he actually does speak, even if the player can't hear him. He must use radios somehow, right?

[@pekkalaitinen8769]

"If you want to find Freeman... you gotta talk like a Freeman"

[@LuchoArrival]

It's shown that Shephard does speak, but the player never hears it, like, in the military camp, the instructor asks him his name and his does get an answer since he says "... Corporal Shephard, huh?" The same with Barney in Blue Shift, when Rosenberg asks him about one of his friends.

[@agoodguy8754]

@@LuchoArrival the instructor could have read his name tag

[@jockeyfield1954]

@@agoodguy8754 he can also respond to radios idk if you know this but twisting a knob on the radio without speaking a single word and being instantly recognized as shephard is pretty hard

[@robanator9083]

I'm still waiting for Adrain to come back, because it's implied the Gman has some use for him in the future

[@lavender1538]

i loved this game, when i was a kid always thought the soldiers were pretty cool, loved the way you had to cooperate with other soldiers in oppo sing force

[@ramenramen8072]

"Marines"

[@crunchysn0w]

since half life is free until hl:alyx is released im gonna try this expansion pack it looks really fun

[@damsen978]

I enjoyed it more than the original, as Gman did as well, so hopefully you will too.

[@alexb.e7498]

I also think it's better then the original... but still, play the original first, and then "Blue-Shift", and "Opposing Force" in the end. ( you might not enjoy "Blue-Shift" as much if you play "Opposing Force" first.. because it's still good, but inferior ).

[@SRGIProductions]

Yeah. So, does that mean the games get taken away from those who have them in their library when Half-Life: Alyx drops?

[@mrgrinderman8861]

@@SRGIProductions yeah it's only for a limited time

[@CMONCMON007]

@@mrgrinderman8861 :(

[@schtive81]

Blue Shift is really short because it was designed to be exclusive bonus content for the Sega Dreamcast port of Half-Life 1. Just like how the PS2 port of HL1 got the Decay content. But the port was cancelled during its final stages of development due to the discontinuation of the console. Both Blue Shift and the High Definition Model pack (the models were originally made for the DC port) were salvaged by Gearbox and repackaged as a stand alone expansion pack for the PC.

[@forthesakeofthenationalist9375]

Operation Black Mesa is the remake title of this game. Go and see support if anyone didn't yet. It awesome.

[@T--kq3pj]

So how do you "support" it exactly? And how is it awesome if it's still deep in development?

[@meatycitadel]

@@T--kq3pj there are development images and videos for this mod. Check its ModDB page and KZbin channel for more infromation. It is worth anticipating.

[@thelastminuteman7513]

So they are doing it?

[@LolLol-ok4lr]

The last Minuteman yup

[@T--kq3pj]

@@meatycitadel You telling me things I already knew, possibly even sooner than you,. What you're not telling me is how could it be awesome if there's still no playable demo or level?

[@thegombie]

Having those soldiers with you during those select moments were just awesome and mind-blowing experience back then.

[@Underqualified_Gunman]

The displaced xen fire takes you to a area with healing pools and ammo and armor 90% of the time with only a few times it sends you to a death pit. But it is based on what map you entered.

[@BigJoeMufferaw784]

"If only drill instructor barnes could see me now" my favorite line

[@fulcrum6760]

The REAL Hunt Down The Freeman.

[@handlessuck589]

Not much Hunting Down The Freeman but still more than that "game" I mean its still technically possible to actually shoot Gordon. Just a bit of console magic needed.

[@T--kq3pj]

No it's not. It was never abaut "hunting down" Freeman. It was never about hunting down anything, to begin with. But I guess you understand the game backwards or something.

[@fulcrum6760]

T-1000 Wasn’t it Shepherd’s goal to hunt down Gordon in the game?

[@onutrof1157]

@@fulcrum6760 Nope, he has never actually heard his orders. He could only guess from what scientists and some soldiers were talking.

[@T--kq3pj]

@@fulcrum6760 No. He and his squad didn't even get their orders.

[@andrewmullens9715]

I must have played Opposing Force over 400 times, and even today it never gets old because it was fun to play as an Soldier during the Black Mesa Incident

[@vcr_official]

Same

[@Sheppards1984]

The opening scene in the osprey reminded me of Predator a bit more, but still, aliens come to mind as well

[@Sizifus]

Resonance Cascade event is happening. Xen has joined the chat Xen: "It's a free real estate!" Race X has joined the chat Race X: "It's a free real estate!" Combine has joined the chat: Combine: "It's a free real estate!" Race X has left the chat

[@jockeyfield1954]

Xen left the chat (banned) Combine is now admin

[@ekker7116]

@@jockeyfield1954 combine left the chat (crowbared) Gordon freeman is now admin

[@CodenameBolts]

@@ekker7116 Alyx joined the chat. Alyx: Hey look at me I have a swanky game in VR

[@ekker7116]

@@CodenameBolts shephard joined the chat: i have one game but that game is best game of half life series Barney: (being a depression)

[@CodenameBolts]

@@ekker7116 Dr Rosenburg Joined the chat Dr Rosenburg: Well I designed the anti-mass spectrometer so I'm basically responsible for the entire series

[@PassportBrosBusinessClass]

I never played Opposing Force or Blue Shift. I believe the reason was because, back then, it wasn’t easy getting an expansion pack. Game distribution back then was limited. If Circuit City, Best Buy, KMart, Software Etc or Electronic Boutique didn’t have it- you just went without. Now you download DLC in the comfort of your own home.

[@murderousmayhem6362]

It's crazy how things change. I barely shop irl now get almost everything online and delivered.

[@kitano47]

really? i got it when it came out in Scotland pretty easily when I was a kid

[@deathwings51]

I actually started with Blue Shift and then played the original and then Opposing Forces. Story felt really weird back then to a 15 year old me :D

[@DrP33lz]

Limited? You literally had to go to store with games,electronics. Even in shithole like Poland we could buy games and stuff without a problem. Are you from Uganda or what? :P

[@BluCat86]

Takeshi Kitano 😂

[@DeepseaOddities]

I am SO happy to see this getting some fresh love. One of my favorite games of all time, best arsenal of any HL game and so many crazy and memorable enemies to fight...not to mention running around with your HECU buddies and, best of all, *Otis* . The multiplayer and mods are an absolute blast too-- backwards compatible with HL1 content, has a CTF gamemode, there's just so much amazing content packed into this game. If Shephard ever got a follow up, it'd only be right for Gearbox to do it!

[@frydemwingz]

I was so hyped for this game when it came out. I locked myself in my room, drank Surge and played this for days. I wanna enjoy a game like that again, bros.

[@Brissles]

So hyped my dudebros.

[@87you87tube]

1:42 The subtitle reads "Half-Life: Blue [___]"

[@indeimaus]

game clip BEEEEEEEEP

[@JazzyUnderscoreTrumpeter]

or press 1 for more options

[@remasteredretropcgames3312]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ6Xe4Gojqdqjrc R2 is c u m m i n g.

[@Dharnthread]

Was a great experience playing this at release. I still have the original boxes for Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift.

[@Brissles]

Strange, I thought you'd have thrown them away

[@Byrnzi360]

Probably the greatest expansion pack ever made.

[@sirab3ee198]

well witcher 3 kinda changed this :D

[@trekkinmain4974]

@@sirab3ee198 i put down Witcher 3 after 2 hours of playing. You should've mentioned another FPS, cuz open world RPGs aren't everyone's cup of tea.

[@sirab3ee198]

@@trekkinmain4974 we'll takeing into consideration amount of content and price Witcher 3 had the best DLC.. But also loved "blood dragon" expansion from Farcry

[@iplyrunescape305]

@@sirab3ee198 Bloodmoon and Tribunal from Morrowind come to mind

[@TheTriangle444]

Dont forget Frozen Throne. Its up there

[@Ikelae]

I remember being completely immersed with this game immediately. It has one of the few fun tutorials in gaming, and the perfect transition to the openning osprey scene. You did a great job capturing the magic of this title.

[@aleidius192]

"You better like this SHEEEEET, Otherwise you're dead to me. Unlike yah mum."

[@Skiivin]

you forgot to add "sonny jim" at the end lol

[@XenoSpyro]

Schwacked

[@85jamesr]

Yo GmanLives, your channel is awesome. It’s literally my new addiction. I’ve binged all of your uploads and look forward to much more. Mainly due to the fact that your reviews and commentary are pure entertainment and humorous. It definitely brings a bit of levity to the norm. Thanks again.

[@DeadGothicRed]

My fondest memories is using the console commands so extensively, that I could spawn in more Marines at any given time to fight for me and it just made it more badass to spawn back into the original half life levels as Corporal Shephard and using the marines to fight with me.

[@timpeachey9394]

You need to explore the weapons more. The grapping arm can be used to suck enemies towards you that then get impaled on the spikes. It also allows a number of alternative paths to be taken to provide variety in how you complete the levels.

[@aladad8460]

"So, Corporal Shephard, we meet at last!" Thank you Gman, finally someone remembered Adrian Shephard, the best add-on for all time and the best game for me

[@uss_04]

22 Years old. Holy crap these ages seem so relevant now. Like how Gordon was 27

[@toaster9922]

“these alien bastards shoot down your ride” Nice Duke Nukem reference!

[@EnclaveSOC-102]

You know there are still some problems with the GoldSrc Pathfinder AI with allied HGrunts particularly with the shotgun equipped Beret Soldier trying to follow you onto the elevator when you first meet him and the Engineer.

[@Hellucard360]

7:55 Actually, if you use the secondary often enough you can actually encounter Gorden Freeman running and jumping around in Xen. You don't get to fight him, but it I think its a fun little easteregg that sets the continuity

[@leftory684]

Uh... no? That literally doesn't happen in the game.

[@a78yashsunilparab40]

That doesn't happen.

[@Brissles]

Gorden

[@mikebravo891]

I loved the tadpole spore launcher gun thing. I named him (or her) Fishy, and headcannoned that its digestive process turns the spores into something volatile and explosive. Your reviews are great, keep 'em coming.

[@endless2239]

didn't the spore bounce around and exploded when you shot at them, in those stuff where they spawned? I don't think the launcher was the reason the spore were volatile.

[@mikebravo891]

@@endless2239 oh yeah? You're probably right, it's been years since I've played it. 🤔 Maybe it needs the agitation of being bounced around to make it go boom (more violent than being in Fishy's digestive tract as it swims around). But I still think the spore is changed somehow in the digestive process... there needs to be a scientific study on this crucial matter 😁.

[@SuperCHAOSXXX]

I still to this day like this game, there're still couple of servers running, so it's worth checking :).

[@stefangla6878]

Whenever I check there are either no servers running or it laggs terribly.

[@SuperCHAOSXXX]

@@stefangla6878 Yeah, that's why i said "couple" and besides it's not that bad :).

[@stefangla6878]

@@SuperCHAOSXXX On my side it is. While the Tab screen tells me I got a 60 ms ping, I still can't move without heavy laggs. I'd love to play mp again. :(

[@SuperCHAOSXXX]

@@stefangla6878 Nowadays no one bothers to make a nonline server for these Half-Life expansions.

[@user-uy5he7jl6v]

Recently, Anitalink closed the game’s access to pirates on its 4 servers, so now there’s no people left in multiplayer because there is nowhere to play.

[@DeaDaR03]

The discount BFG doesn't send you to Xen exclusively. It sends you to different locations depending on how far you've progressed through the game. If you would pay attention, you would notice that the areas it teleports you to usually have supplies.

[@6thsavage]

I remember downloading the DEMO for this game overnight with my desktop that sounded like a god damn tractor. Worth It! Not to mention, I lost my virginity to that desktop.

[@jimjacob7709]

This game literally made me interested in joining the Marine Corps, which was the best decision I ever made.

[@moistvibes5697]

Did you kill any headcrabs on the way?

[@Adrian-vy5vn]

Til they give you the orders to kill all the scientific staff in area 51

[@drsnakhenry653]

ok ??....

[@artmex7815]

Are u suffering any consenquences ? Like ptsd..

[@bobtheoofnoob]

@@artmex7815 quite unlikely, only about 20-10% of US Soldiers who fought in the Afghanistan suffered from PTSD, Most people suffered from PTSD are not violence and they will most likely to harm themselves than anyone else.

[@pandahsykes602]

Still have my blue shift and opposing force cds in my closet somewhere ... such great games .

[@Swiggity369]

The first time I ever played the original Half-Life and blue shift was on those old WON discs, I had bought opposing force on steam first because I had a metaphorical hard-on for the Marine corps as a kid. I also had the team fortress classic and Counter-Strike discs unfortunately the Counter-Strike disc blew up in my CD reader, but this led me to put the CD key for Gunman Chronicles into steam, which apparently gives you the entire half life Platinum collection, so there's that.

[@KOTYAR0]

Have you heard of Shepard's Mind and Barney's Mind?

[@marekcernoch1355]

The handheld barnacle can also be used to eat enemies (they are counted as organic surfaces too) - useful in the dam encounter with Gargantua

[@littoww]

The displacement canon taking you to xen is for ammo and health pickup's they have there, as you said, if you're in a bit of trouble and need a quick escape

[@slyking3825]

i really really want Shepard too come back to the story and have a part in the story again

[@shadyone6620]

"Ran out of ideas after Opposing Force" OF was developed by Gearbox, completely different developer, under Valve's license. So it's more like Valve ran out of ideas after Half-Life itself. Also, Valve completely disregard Opposing Force and it's events, that's why there will be no sequel for OF.

[@MetalX34]

more like volvo's next idea was the sequel while expansions were delegated to gearbox, so titles could still efficiently be released during hl2's development. dunno where you get your idea from when that was a pretty basic strategy to surf on a franchise's success.

[@SRGIProductions]

Well, I think it's canonical, even if Half-Life's canon is just as convoluted as the Zelda timeline.

[@vaak2144]

Nuclear bomb explosion at black mesa is canon

[@SalvageET]

One of the developers said "OF being canon or non-canon is up to G-Man and what he is going to do with Shepherd". So instead of taking responsibility and accepting that OF was better than their own DLC, they just chickened out and tried to use the lore as a scapegoat.

[@joshstephens4198]

he was talking about Gearbox, their next expansion was blue shift and was really uninspired compared to opposing force.

[@seldrakefox8995]

fun fact: sometimes when you use the displacement cannons secondary fire, you get teleported to the hazard course, with a vortigaunt trying to swipe at the hologram lady

[@benjaminizquierdo4700]

lol

[@onutrof1157]

I'm simple man. I see someone playing Half-Life with HD pack off, I leave a like.

[@sonicdash9652]

Me too.

[@sneezebiscuits7239]

I like the HD shotgun, but ehh don't really care if shit's HD or not

[@bluegem8582]

@@sneezebiscuits7239 as do i, and i also like the change they made to the submachine gun/MP5, but im like you, i dont really care either way overall

[@jayvanx154]

I hate the HD pistol and smg but I somewhat like everything else

[@cookiesontoast9981]

HD versions of any old games I don't care for. Older graphics are charming and unique compared to the boring overused realistic look of modern graphics, no need to remove all of the uniqueness and replace it with graphics that aren't really any better or worse, just people think that "realistic means better"... Fucking closed minded, uncultured swine. Same with older films too.

[@divyavyas9003]

Word of advice: Don't blow the engineer up while he's opening a door. I tried it and it crashed the game and bricked my save.

[@SayakMajumder]

Is it weird that, Gman adores the FPS genre but hasn't reviewed the HUNT Showdown? The gun works, the shooting smoothness and relentless addictive stress inducing it offers is FPS goodness.

[@wanpokke]

Maybe because it's only multiplayer, and is a twist of a battle royale game mode. Clu made a great video on it tho - highly recommended

[@SayakMajumder]

@@wanpokke Well, Digital Foundry made the best Hunt: Showdown coverage yet. It was like FPS porn for them. But I also want what FPSpartan Gman has to say about the experience coz game's one half is totally PvE.

[@Armageddon2077]

I think the banter in the Osprey helicopter is closer to the scene in 'Predator' especially with the red lighting

[@salokin3087]

You're reading this in 2020 and you havent played OpFor yet? What is your major malfunction!?

[@sandercohen9712]

Dirtbag

[@goldenwolfe5085]

No money nor credit card

[@waldevv]

@@goldenwolfe5085 All of the half life games are free on steam for the next month or two. Good time to play them now if somehow you've managed to miss them which is very unlikely. Might ruin modern games for you when you realize how shite modern games are in comparison

[@goldenwolfe5085]

@@waldevv well i just played hl1 might give try this one

[@goldenwolfe5085]

@@AlexanderIksander Half life 2 felt like a down grade with weapons and enemy varerity

[@ihatethis103]

actually the second fire for the displacement cannon isn't just for saving your ass, when you're teleported to xen you can also find some ammo health kits and suit battery's in case you need it

[@Jthe5th]

This in LAN multiplayer was the thing back in the day, awesome deathmatch multiplayer. The scientist with the head crab attached against female black ops, that was awesome.

[@vhoang1029]

U didn’t mention that handled barnacle also can kill enemy

[@TheOdst219]

*GET OVER HERE!*

[@vhoang1029]

TheOdst219 what do u mean?

[@Nk_-1993]

You also can kill that Black Ops Operator operating the Mortar Launcher by using it as a shortcut in the chapter "The Package" with the Barnacle. The Barnacle can only kill small less dangerous aliens like Headcrabs and Pit Drones if i'm correct.

[@nicholasseitler4997]

@@vhoang1029 A reference to Skorpion's grapple attack in Mortal Kombat. He says "get over here" every time.

[@holycheburek6298]

@@Nk_-1993, no, it can kill anything. It just needs more time to kill something bigger.

[@Bacony_Cakes]

Expansion packs ain't dead, it's just that everyone calls them "DLC" now, and they're worse, thanks to EA and the Game-Ruining Gang.

[@NoobGyver]

the closest thing to an expansion pack today is doom eternal's ancient gods part 1 and 2

[@Gamerfan2000]

I miss expansion packs. This is how DLCs should be, not what(or at least the majority) is still being released.

[@Gruntvc]

I miss the late 90s/early 2000s era of gaming in general. Lots of great games on both pc and consoles. The sky was the limit. Today? Rip off the gamers and often lecture them too.

[@Redsparx]

Fun fact: A fan game called “Prospekt” actually takes the question of Adrian Shepards fate into their hands and makes it into their own story. Not an official game but still better than where they left it off

[@citrine9622]

cheese is just a loaf of milk

[@yosefyonin6824]

nah fam, milk is just liquid cheese

[@masamune471]

Sometimes I dream about it...

[@RockRedGenesis]

I'm amazed that the game still gets updates in modern times, last on one Steam was in Oct. 2019. We may never get Half-life 3, but it's nice to see a company still issue bug-fixes and updates to a game released in 1999. And i feel the same Gman, in many ways, I prefer Opposing Force to vanilla HL, and would love a follow-on to Shepard's story after being "stored away" by the G-Man

[@jockeyfield1954]

first hearing about opposing force, i thought it was originally about gordon freeman but picking up a soldier's outfit and working with the military to clean up the rest of black mesa that was before i heard of half life 2

[@enclavehere.7995]

Man, I remember buying this on steam after I learned what Half Life was and its expansions. To this day I think I've played through this more than any other Half Life game out there. There's just something so good about it

[@warbossbenny6877]

No matter how old I get, how better graphics games get, this type of visuals and gameplay will always be close to my heart

[@PfizZz]

Same experience playing half-life growing up. Everyone came to my house to play, watch, and fuck around with every mod. Loved the expansion packs so much; my friends and I used to draw our own half-life comics with our own characters in the hazard suit. Thanks for the upload, this brought me way back!!!

[@EdgeZXY]

I noticed that the devs changed the model of the MP5 to an M4 in the version I got from Steam

[@EdgeZXY]

I'm not complaining at all. I thought it was a nice touch. First time seeing the MP5 model with a grenade launcher threw me for a loop

[@P3RF3CTD3ATH]

@@EdgeZXY now your M4A1 carbine sharing ammo with your 9 mm Beretta M9 will throw you for a loop instead.

[@EdgeZXY]

Yeah that really did, but I got over it by thinking of DOOM

[@sonicdash9652]

@@P3RF3CTD3ATH That is NOT and M4A1 Carbine, it's a Colt Model M727 which is a "M16A2 Carbine" btw.

[@lizardizzle]

I'm really really glad you made the clear point that Shepard and his buddies were never given orders. I've seen so many reviews about this game that praises it for "Letting you play Shepard the way you want - You can choose to kill the scientists or you can choose not to." It was never the intention to make Shepard be anything like the enemies faced by Gordon, which connects the player to Shepard much better, I think. I always felt for Adrian. He nearly dies en route to his mission, wakes up with news of evacuation, and gets locked into the facility just before he can escape. He's just a guy with military resources and colleagues in the same situation as him instead of the plain bad guys with orders to shoot on site. It's a pipe dream, but I truly hope Valve does something with the character somehow. How dare you call the M249 the best gun when you have the spore launcher that Shepard pets and feeds. He loves that little guy, and I love him too. (I jest) The displacement cannon is more of a utility and exploration device (and a chance to let Shepard see areas from HL1 in his own perspective, like the hazard course.) to see new cool places and get supplies or get in fights. The game definitely doesn't make it obvious to the player that the gun will teleport Adrian to a different place after each level load, so I can see why you might get the idea that it's for escaping a situation. The barnacle is probably the neatest addition, and being a bit of a sound design buff, I love the noises it makes. Grappling to the pre-set traversal areas isn't the standout, as it essentially does the same thing that a staircase would do, but grappling to headcrabs and other enemies is just a load of wacky fun. I especially love how (if I remember correctly) it will pull headcrabs TO you and eat them up in a gibby mess instead of pulling you to it. I could be wrong about the direction of the pull. The lore behind the scientists detaching the creature from a ceiling and running tests with it is also neat.

[@dhood1980]

So many fond memories of this game. I think you nailed it in the review too, it's arguably a better experience than Half Life.

[@scorch2155]

The alt fire on the teleporting gun doesn't just take you to Xen. Each new loaded area has its own place, sometimes its another rparr of Black Mesa. There is always health and armor recharging plus a bit of ammo and other gear. Maybe a couple weaker enemies but the point is to resupply you if you are somewhere without health, suit or ammo. I'm honestly shocked this wasn't figured out as it was pretty obvious with my first play through it is a mobile resupply gun.

[@Nopityforthemajority]

This is literally my favorite my expansion, I’ve replayed it a few times already

[@Finalzero]

The Displacer Cannon teleports you to different secret locations where you can find weapons, ammunation and health. So yeah I would say it's very usefull to use. It's also fun to find the different locations you can go to with that gun.

[@henrynelson9301]

I beat this game a couple days ago. It’s so much fun.

[@TheSpacey52]

Training cadre in the USMC are called Drill Instructors. Only those in the Army are called Drill Sergeants.

[@OK-zo3cq]

OG's would know this is the most nostalgic lines in HL OF: "Do you have any idea who's in charge of this operation?" **Uhh roger that!**

[@Nk_-1993]

"Who needs an marksman Shepherd hehehe?" H.E.C.U. Engineer in Friendly Fire

[@OK-zo3cq]

*_*Check your zones!*_*

[@Nk_-1993]

@@OK-zo3cq man my dogs are barkin'!

[@SPNKR76]

"My ass is HEAVY!

[@baddude1337]

This whole operation is outta control!

[@foreignuser_]

i'll always love the footstep sounds from the original halflife games

[@Anno888]

7:56 you can actually heal in the water. Thats what its for.

[@costa8509]

the reason the secondary fire for the displacement cannon is you can get ammo and health from the survey teams dead corpse making it really useful actually

[@SIMIFU]

With the upcoming release of Half-Life Alyx spinoff, there might be hope for our future pending marine. 😇

[@CrizzyEyes]

The barnacle grapple was really intended for multiplayer use. At the time Quake was at its multiplayer peak and an extremely popular mod was the grappling hook addon. It just made the insanely fast movement of Quake 1/QuakeWorld MP even faster. I'm pretty sure they were inspired by that, but nerfed it a bit by making it only work on designated spots on the map. However they added a whole slew of new maps for MP and most of them were excellent. They also added new game modes, notably CTF. These maps had lots of features that the old ones didn't like tactically-placed .50 cal turrets on team maps. Lots of these maps had great placement of the "goo spots" that allowed you to use the barnacle to grapple to, and a lot of the maps/modes would start you with the barnacle. OpFor has an excellent campaign but it also took Half-Life multiplayer to a whole new level as well. Unfortunately you'll miss out on that if you try to play it now, I think.

[@DAClarkism]

I don't know this for a fact, but I would imagine the reason we haven't seen more of Shepherd (other than not having gotten to him yet), is that he's Gearbox's property. Given how much everyone wants to see more HL, I doubt Gearbox is going to give him over to Valve for cheap. Now with that out of the way, here's an idea for a Shepherd game: Shepherd gets brought out of Stasis during Gordon and Alex's "long teleport" from Nova Prospect, and becomes the instigator in the uprising.

[@Breached18]

That would mean they own Barney as well

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

They did try to do a spin-off: Opposing Force 2: Ravenholm, it was developed by Arkane Studios, most known for the Dishonoured series, and it featured Shephard fighting actual zombies and headcrab zombies with Father Grigori before the events of Half Life 2. Arkane actually have a working playable near finished build of the game that they said they would release if there was enough demand for it: There is a Petition for it if you’re interested.: www.change.org/p/arkane-encourage-the-release-of-an-unfinished-build-of-arkane-s-half-life-2-return-to-ravenholm-273b1585-73cc-49c7-9d51-09433e172f80

[@cdsatcher]

3:43 Nah he still saved your life. If you stick around a little bit longer, you'll find out that that evac chopper crashes after taking off.