Half-Life PC Game Review

Half-Life (stylized as HλLF-LIFE) is a science fiction video game developed by Valve Corporation, the company's debut product and the first in the Half-Life series. First released in 1998 by Sierra Studios for Windows PCs, the game was also released for the PlayStation 2; Mac OS X and Linux ports became available in January 2013. In Half-Life, players assume the role of Dr. Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who must fight his way out of a secret underground research facility whose research and experiments into teleportation technology have gone disastrously wrong.
Valve, set up by former Microsoft employees, had difficulty finding a publisher for the game, with many believing that it was too ambitious a project. Sierra On-Line eventually signed the game after expressing interest in making a 3D action game. The game had its first major public appearance at the 1997 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Designed for Windows, the game's engine, GoldSrc, was a heavily modified version of id Software's Quake game engine with code portions from the id Tech 2 engine.
On its release, the game received universal acclaim, with critics praising the seamlessly flowing narrative, presentation and realistic gameplay, and it won over fifty PC Game of the Year awards. Its gameplay influenced the design of first-person shooters for years after its release, and it is widely considered to be one of the greatest games of all time. IGN ranked Half-Life as the number one greatest first-person shooter of all time, stating that "When you look at the history of first-person shooters, it all breaks down pretty cleanly into pre-Half-Life and post-Half-Life eras." Half-Life had sold eight million copies by 16 November 2004, and 9.3 million copies by December 2008. By 14 July 2007, the Half-Life franchise as a whole had sold over 20 million units. Half-Life was followed by the 2004 sequel Half-Life 2, which also received universal critical acclaim.

[@Szederp]

Did I miss it or he really did not talk about the sound design of HL1? The atmospheric and extremely creepy music which radiates science fiction throughout the game. When you fire a weapon you FEEL that you are holding a powerful piece of equipment. When you get the HEV suit and the system make a routine check....it's fucking out of this world. The suit informs you on your health and armor and its computer sound is one of the best I have ever heard. The enemy commandos talk using walkie talkies and blurt out some great stuff (he's fubar). The environment is alive throught the sound of electric discharge, railway sounds etc. The sound department did such a good job it is just unfair to overlook this aspect of the game.

[@wakingfromslumber9555]

Yep I agree , first time I played this and heard the sounds and music it really blew my mind . I remember first time picking up the mp5 and having my first running gun battle with the special forces and their radio chattering in the background just WOW , sounded so realistic and immersive .

[@kuruptzZz]

one thing I disagree with - half-life's human AI was groundbreaking for its time...the way they coordinated and lobbed grenades at you yelling "fire in the hole!" was so badass and unheard of in 1998...for me the game was the most fun when fighting them

[@kuruptzZz]

***** COD came out in 2003 you idiot, my post and this video is referring to 1998 when half-life came out

[@jaaaaacob]

kuruptzZz It's funny how he also said COD so he is a hypocrite, lmao

[@half-lifescientist1991]

+kuruptzZz I think what I love most about the AI is after you're shot at in that vent and you drop into that room with the two cars on those lifts, if you're underneath one of the lifted cars, a soldier will actually kick a button to make it lower to try and crush you. I've fallen for this a few times. Fucking astonishing!

[@zubinarya5564]

+RespectForGames you should try lovely planet

[@DiegoAlanTorres96]

The roach AI in Half life is still better

[@Ikelae]

I would say the elements with G-man and Xen really made the story something special.. Not to mention escaping a massive research facility.. being centered around a scientist. I would call that a unique story in 1998. Not to mention a shooter having a story...

[@rey4874]

69 likes?!

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

Half life 1 is easily one of my favorite games but on a rail sucks ass and blast pit certainly does not drag on too long.

[@AndDiracisHisProphet]

My thoughts exactly

[@Nicomanism]

I agree about those levels. Xan is the worse area . Last boss is dope - tho

[@remasteredretropcgames3312]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJ6Xe4Gojqdqjrc Timeless classic AVP 2 remastered with raytracing + HD textures. 99% polished. More shameless self promotion. I think ive legit earned it, let alone it would be a crime not to reinvigorate the best entry in the entire franchise.

[@0xVENx0]

was so happy to finally get out of rails level

[@damienfinnegan8272]

on a rail sucks and blast pit kind of dragged on for way to long (mainly because I got lost and didn't know what I was doing)

[@TheSwiftFX]

This is why you're my favorite reviewer. You review older games which I much prefer but you also cut the overly nostalgic bullshit and actually mention problems that come up, that other reviewers seem to ignore. You don't try to justify it annoying mechanics either with a stupid lore explanation or something, but you're also completely fair. Keep up the good work cause I watch every video :)

[@Gggmanlives]

***** Thanks mate.

[@MrThorne02]

Gggmanlives Review Half Life 2

[@abcdefzhij]

+TheSwiftFX Yea, I value the ability to see a game's faults through the nostalgia as we'll but in this specific case I flat out disagree about the things he said were faults. The combat with the marines is amazing, rewards tactics not just aim,the exact opposite of what he said. This is because you can use things like grenades, unexpectedly moving positions to surprise enemies (whichDOES work because marines don't turn around instantly) and I have no idea what he was smoking when he said every single bullet hits you; at long range, almost all of their bullets will miss. After all, they use the mp5, which is the most inaccurate gun in the game! I also don't really understand why he hates the plat forming in Xen so much. My only complaint about the long jumping would be that it's too easy.

[@Gophilio4567]

Andrew Ricklefs You would be surprised about how many people dislike Xen. I personally don't, I'm just saying.

[@Ramdileo_sys]

@@Gggmanlives Yes .. Half-Life.. the best game of history.. because 30 years after his release.. is still people making and releasing new chapters (mod's) for the game.. simple as that.......... What other game have this?..... no Quake .. no Duke Nukem .. no Doom has this .... and Doom 2016 had a software to create chapters (mod's) .. much easier and faster than half-life ..... and?? ... how many Mod's are there for Doom 2016 ?????... and how many for Half-life???? Man !! ... I mean Half-life 2 .. no wait.. Half-Life: Alyx has been out there for a year...... and the custom chapters (mods for HL:AX) are a handful compared to the thousands ...... that are there for half-life...... and they keep on going..... being created day after day ... look .. just released .. today ... >> kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2bQo4Wifs5-d9U

[@a.c.e5877]

I still think that Black Mesa setting still holds up to me as still better than City 17 or anything from Half Life 2. Since it felt more engaging and relatable for a guy like me. Compared to this Dystopian like setting that I could never get into, except for Brazil and HL2 etc. The world felt more like a good escape from the government and trying to survive than the sequel more lighthearted and revolution against the aliens theme.

[@Sing_LoveWRS]

Well it is relatable if your from europe

[@VinVonVoom]

@@ThisBirdHasFlown Half-Life 1's only goofy when it comes to Scientists, and even then those are your moments of reprise anyway. The Rebels are still far more goofy and on the nose than the Scientists are anyway.

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

The only thing I dislike about the Half-Life series, and it's the ONLY thing I dislike, is that the human enemies are a bit bullet spongy. I mean you saw at 5:39, he emptied a SHOTGUN round at near-point-blank range, and he had to switch to the MP5 to finish him off. This can be a bit off putting, & can break the atmosphere when a soldier can take a huge punishment like that, & shrug it off like it's nothing. But other then that, it's still a fantastic game, and even though the visuals have aged a bit, it's better then most games today. Great review Gggmanlives, stay awesome.

[@RevanStarrrR]

Not to mention that they don't even have painstate that was seen as early as Wolfenstein 3D

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

RevanBladeZ Well, in Wolf3D, they could shoot THROUGH their own allies, so the painstate is a balancer. In Half-Life, the soldiers can't shoot through their teammates, but I still think they need recognition from pain.

[@magic666z]

yes i agree with you 100%

[@KopfTrommel]

They were bullet spongy in HL1 but the human enemies were push overs in HL2. Valve couldn't seem to find the in between.

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

ИX Wrath Not really, it was harder to aim for the head, & all the combine had body armour

[@wildwest1832]

This game literally invented many of the things like in engine scripted cut scenes to tell a story, or not having separate levels but loading everything seamlessly. We are doing this same stuff 30 years later that this game invented and did first.

[@samuelmumby7982]

I like the platforming in half life. I think it's a good way of exploring a cool environment and it isn't nearly as frustrating as most FPS platforming.

[@saturn9611]

Same. I'm not really good at platforming (the Residue Processing level took a few tries) but it's not rage-inducing. Once you get the hang of a level it's actually kinda relaxing compared to action and puzzles.

[@ShyBoy6ty9]

I've never hated first person plstforming. I love it. I grew up playing platformers, third person and side scrolling of course, but it just felt natural to me once I got into shooters.

[@FoxUnitNell]

@@ShyBoy6ty9 There was also Sony's Jumping Flash which was sort of like Mario 64 but in first person as some spaceship.

[@Froggen88]

Although without crouch jump the game is impossible, and it does a shit job at telling you it’s a thing. I had to read online that crouch jump was a thing. Ditto when you get the jetpack. There’s nothing in the game that tells you how to use it.

[@Caparzoshow]

Good review Gman, but you forgot to mention something VERY relevant, Half-life has one of the largest and oldest modding communities in gamming, with award winning mods like Cs, Dod and Teamfortress, and Total convertions being made till this very day

[@northwindkey]

+Battlefield 1942 Argentina Well, it is based off of the Quake engine.

[@GuyOnAChair]

He did bring that up.

[@DiegoAlanTorres96]

Team Fortress was not invented by HL1 modders, they only made it popular.

[@mazombieme4045]

Battlefield 1942 Argentina Team fortress was before Tesm fortress classic a quake mod

[@ivanvenne]

Doom still has an older modding community.

[@SeriousGamer753]

How the hell aren't you famous ?!?! Your videos are really good !!! I mean you're interesting to listen to and you actually make facts !!! You got a sub

[@Gggmanlives]

+SeriousGamer753 Thanks for the sub!

[@Dragomire]

+Gggmanlives I agree here too, the quality of your videos in regards to your editing and sense of focus remind of much more popular channels. This is no fault of your own, rather the effort you put into your videos is even more impressive as a result. Here's hoping you swell up with many more subscribers soon.

[@darkentity1000]

+SeriousGamer753 He does old games, morons nowadays just wanna see the new crap.

[@tldr7159]

+Filthy Swine the old games has already been covered...

[@darkentity1000]

TL DR But I see so many people nowadays overlooking old games simply because they are new to gaming and only want to stick to whatever is popular at the time, or they are put off by old game graphics. Either way, covering old games can be beneficial because it introduces newcomers to the timeless classics, and broadens the horizons of those who might be initially put off by old games.

>"Half life does have its fair share of faults" >Inner fanboy awakens >Tempted to click dislike button >"Shooting isn't all that great" >RAGE ACTIVATED >YOU JUST SUCK >"Enemy AI dishes out a lot of damage, always hit you" >IT'S MORE CHALLENGING >"Environmental hazards are dumb" >IT'S MORE IMMERSIVE >"FInal level suck" >B-BUT ALIEN WORLD, MUH BOSS BATTLES >GABEN GIVE ME THE POWER TO STRIKE DOWN THIS HERETIC >Slams dislike button >Realizes it's Gggmanlives >whatHaveIDone.JPEG >Immediatly likes and praises video for providing facts and not fanboyism For real tho, Half Life is so nostalgic to me most of the time i just won't accept the flaws lmao Good review on your part though!

[@nukkleargarlicbread]

This is KZbin, not 4chan. >mfw

[@half-lifescientist1991]

I don't think I've ever played a game that I've been so defensive over. Doom is the game that's closest to my heart, but even that I'm not entirely defensive over.

[@IMCR8Z]

7:49 [insert random 9-year old kid screaming "HALF-LIFE RIPPED OFF CALL OF DUTY!" here]

[@Dampzombieslayer]

I don’t think anyone’s said that

[@MrJenssen]

It's ironic, because the Black Mesa Source mod had the EXACT same problem with hitscan enemies as HL1. It's frustrating beyond anything when you play it on high difficulty. It doesn't feel challenging, but rather cheap and unfair.

[@Gggmanlives]

MrJenssen This guy gets it :)

[@Andres33AU]

I love Black Mesa Source, but the grunts really are dead-eye dicks in it, it can get frustrating at times, lol.

[@charly6066]

The houndeye hitboxes are just out of this world (see what I did there?)

[@MrJenssen]

***** No. Not yet, anyway.

[@modzmodzz]

The mod is basically a demo now. •A•

[@sparda11]

It’s amazing that still for both Half Life games there are still hundreds of people playing them everyday on the steam charts when some multiplayer games can’t even achieve that.

[@dunka12]

I always follow your reviews, and you became my go to channel about nostalgic FPS. Great Job. You are clear and to the point. If i could make a small suggestion, please increase the narration volume, or decrease the in-game recording when you edit it. I always had this issue with the videos. In order to hear your voice, i scare all my neighbors with explosions and gunfire at the worst hours of the night :)))

[@Gggmanlives]

Fair enough point.

[@SoIoCreep]

The good old days of 800x600 on a giant CRT. I spent too many years with half-life mods.

[@GiselleGauthier]

SoIoCreep Funny thing about that, they specifically gave the Marines white urban camouflage so they'd show up even on low resolution monitors and not be totally unfair. Cool consideration for the time.

[@dirtyunclehubert]

man. what a lucky coincidence having found your channel. so delightful how honest and straight you are with your verdicts and what made me sub is the fact you actually do THESE old timey classic games reviews. thank you, it's so good. is your channel name by the way derived from the g-man? fun fact: black mesa incident really happened. VALVE are the survivors trying to get their story out there.

[@Retro80sMan1]

Are you going to review onther valve games like portal or left4dead?

[@wakingfromslumber9555]

Unlike Gman , I really enjoyed the gunplay against the special forces , I recall battles with the SF were well paced and not so frequent (I still remember them all ) . Having them die in a few shots would have made the game way to easy and less tactical. I mean what would be the point of having the laser trip wire and those flesh eating bugs if all enemies could be killed in a few shots of your pistol or mp5 . Nah I disagree with Gman on this one , the game was well conceived

[@videoboyone]

Awesome review man, been waiting for this a lot.

[@soomiesoom]

On A Rail was the worst if you did with the tram, if you do it on foot, it's a meh.

[@TechnologicallyTechnical]

+Imants Sven It's so fun to speedrun though

[@YourCRTube]

Agreed. Made me stop playing for few months. I hated this part. I liked Xen though.

[@TechnologicallyTechnical]

Михаил Найденов Honestly, if you don't take the trams and just take a bunch of shortcuts, On A Rail becomes a piece of cake that you can finish in no time.

[@RomanImperialXII]

One of my favorite games of all time. Still I'm glad you didn't just made a "praise the crowbar lord" review like all the others. That "waste disposal" level was super annoying as is the hit-scan combat against the marines (which the fan remake Black Mesa made even worse!). One question though: Am I the only one who actually enjoys the crouch-jumping platforming in the HL series? For some reason I got really into it..

[@jackliu8991]

I love the long jumping section in Xen, so cool

[@lgjhmovies]

Jia Jun Liu i hate the xen sections :|

[@ShortVideosRUs]

Jia Jun Liu Xen would have been more enjoyable if the puzzles weren't so obtuse.

[@jackliu8991]

Indeed, I did got lost several times, and it's not enjoyable at all

[@1337snake888]

I liked the Xen platforming, but the platforming early in the game in Black Mesa was annoying.

[@talhakhanable]

bro keep up the good work.. need more !!! vids from u!!!!!!!

[@DimitriosChannel]

This game changed my life when I was a kid. The story, interactions and gameplay and graphics were amazing and it could run on a toaster without crashing. This game is addicting and I couldn't stop playing. Detail was amazing and loved the part when you are in the vents and the soldiers shoot through the vents. The game always made you wonder off and I would do random things like find flaws with the developers like walking up walls that have a sharp corner and end up viewing the whole game layout and actually getting stuck and seeing parts of the game that weren't meant to be.

[@RnW154]

Really enjoy these! I'm thinking a couple games that might be good to go through are evil islands: curse of the lost soul, and shadow watch

[@vernusred4757]

Rise and shine Half-Life/Portal fans and smell the masterpiece.

[@dhl5928]

i never played portal so?

[@0xVENx0]

@@dhl5928 so play it

[@dhl5928]

@@0xVENx0 nah i dont like puzzle games

[@0xVENx0]

@@dhl5928 then dont

[@Sgt.SharkShock]

@@dhl5928 half-life is a puzzle game too kinda

[@syntheticpulse5857]

One thing I miss and still enjoy about games from the 90s is the difficultly. There was NO hand holding, so when you solved a section it was very satisfying.

[@Megaspartan23]

Have you ever tried Half Life Decay? It's a 2 player co-op game that was originally released on the PS2 version of Half Life. It's now released as a mod on the PC. You will need a second player, since there's no single-player only mode.

[@victormituri]

otakuman23 Decay is shit tbh

[@peppermillers8361]

Decay is alright.

[@thattypicalslimy8548]

you earned a subscribe

[@Gggmanlives]

Thanks!

[@TacoWrath95]

Great review, man. You should do a review on the Black Mesa remake too! :P

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I'm glad to see a review that can acknowledge this game's flaws. I played through HL1 quite a few times back in the day and felt that, while it was a decent FPS that broke new ground, it was also nowhere near as perfect as so many publications claimed. Several factors took me out of the immersion, which are nitpicky I admit, but they left a negative impression on me. The first was the Quake engine's terrible physics, in a game that relies heavily on said physics. Case in point, when you're on a railcar moving forward and you jump, the engine does not add velocities and you fall onto the electrified tracks. The second was the nausea-cam effect that could occur due to Gordon's rapid jerky movements, similar to the motion sickness caused by the Descent games. Third, it broke my suspension of disbelief that Gordon Freeman, a nerdy scientist with no real combat experience, could fight like a super soldier with incredible strength and pinpoint accuracy. I would have preferred some kind of stat progression system, so that he starts out vulnerable and inept but then becomes better over the course. Fourth was how generic the other people in the game were; I would have liked to see at least one marine question his orders, and one other scientist who had the wherewithal to fight back like you did. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing HL1. It was one of those games I beat 10+ times and had a lot of fun with. I just thought it was strange that they would make oversights like this in an otherwise heavily polished work.

[@Profilejc98]

I agree. On the note of the marines, I remember hearing one conversation between two marines where one is questioning the mission, saying that he 'didn't sign up to kill civies'. Saying that, it didn't stop him from lobbing a grenade at me as I rounded the corner lmao

[@half-lifescientist1991]

+Gggmanlives I have a question about the Goldsrc version of Half-Life. It seems there's always two thick bars on the side of the screen, and when I go into option, video and click "Widescreen" it cuts off the bottom and top portion of the FOV. I've tried running it in 'Software' mode, but everything's more pixelated and although it's widescreen and doesn't cut off the bottom, it stretches it to make it wider, so it gives off this weird effect when I look around and stuff. In case you're wondering, I bought it off of Steam.

[@ell6122]

You sir are a very big inspiration to me. Heck without you I probably wouldn't have started a youtube account. And as my channel may be small at the moment, I will try to improve it. Thanks for inspiring me

[@leonus3416]

If Gordon Freeman is a theoretical physicist, why is he running experiments? Also, why does a hazard suit have an ammunition counter? Best reviews on the web! -- subscribed --

[@jonaswolthaus1901]

I just started playing it (a friend recommended it to me) and I really love it! I'm really not into shooters, but I like this one especially because it's more of a combination of puzzle, platformer and shooter (I know what you said about platformers and shooters in the same sentence, but I kind of like it). I'm already looking forward to having to buy the second one!

[@HerculeDevantrien]

Thanks for this review! As a newcomer to 90's FPS, I just completed the game: I thought it was overall really enjoyable, the storytelling and atmosphere are great and I love the way the game takes the classic FPS trope of the facility invaded by creatures and turns it into an immersive and well told story. But many of the fighting sequences really got under my skin, and, while the shooting feels quite realistic, it's far to be as fun as what I got with other shooters of the same period.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Have you tried Black Mesa Source? Also, Half-Life was the game that made me fall in love with the games. Just that atmosphere!

[@shillionaire]

Nice review. I really enjoy gaming history. Bought this series during the Steam Summer Sale.

[@AB-xd8hm]

Should've added "and the two exp packs" in the title. There are people out there who love the adventures of Adrian Sheppard and Barney Calhoun even more than Gordon's and might skip the video thinking it's not about the expansion packs. Otherwise, pretty comprehensive review. Not much to add, but I'll try. :) The only thing that HL really needed and for some reason never delivered on are the subtitles. The audio is often so clogged with sounds and background noises that you can't hear what the NPCs are saying almost half of the time. On the other hand, the short but very sweet and memorable techo soundtrack was used phenomenally. After 20 hours of dread, gunfire and total lack of music, credits start and a cool techo theme starts playing as if the developers were saying "you kicked ass, now let's party". :)

[@TheUnstableNutcase]

How come my HL1 and HL:OF has the blue shift models? Instead of an MP5 there's an M4 etc. How do I make it so that it has the other models?

[@mazombieme4045]

TheUnstableNutcase go to video settings and disable hd models

[@KopfTrommel]

Thank you for creating this review. I'm glad this wasn't the average garbage that gives Half life to much credit. It's was (the review) perfect in my opinion.

[@KopfTrommel]

TheRustiestPunk well played mister Freeman... Morgan Freeman...

[@LudeUwe]

great reviews ...keep it going ;)

[@AlexeiVoronin]

About Blue Shift - you can actually skip upgrading the in-game models. This is what I do - the original models may be low-res, but that's the way I like them :)

[@Fogolol]

i fondly remember like 4 years ago discovering this game as it came with cs 1.6 on the library computers. We used to play the game by turns and sometimes quirky challenges like one person controlling the movement while the other shoots

[@markotaylor9894]

cs 1.6 came with half-life, not the other way around hehe

[@CentsTwo]

Your reviewing is great unlike people who are roughly of the same generation as you who just praise old games you actually point out relevant flaws and see how the game holds up over time. I for one never truly got into Half Life shooting is unsatisfying guns just seem flat, but the pacing is good and I guess it was really innovative for the time, but its just b=plain now and been done better. Also yeah platforming and fps is no match. Deus Ex is the only old game I think holds up well.

[@CentsTwo]

oops bad typo there

[@aaadj2744]

Huh ?! Half Life is the best

[@jumpscare993]

+Gggmanlives I love your videos, but i really liked the Xen levels and hated the rail level(s). Keep making vids!

[@Cephalopod51]

I may be one of the very few who loves the platforming parts I even love the Xen section, because of the atmosphere and design. It may be because I had to learn how to master the duck-jump and long-jump combinations over and over again in the Hazard Course in the days of my youth, but it was worth it for me. It's merely an athletic extension of Quake's jumping. As for the human enemies: they're much easier to avoid than the human enemies in No One Lives Forever, who are better able to lock down on you from very far distances than the Grunts. And last of all, I approve of the choice of tracks you used in the video, Ggmanlives.

[@Admiralex91]

Love your review style.

[@Phantron]

I hope you will make reviews of Black Mesa and Borderlands 1+2.

[@PokemonHaloFan]

Great review. Still have some friends I need to...coerce into playing Half Life.

[@yosiyaneva9221]

hmmm i have a problem when i click on the shortcut to start the game it just stays like that. as if i didn't click it

[@prulcan]

is it even possible to run on win10? i got problems big time. i couldn´t delete game because file was open. but are not. when started to main menu was ok but when you try to play everything was gone you can hear it in the background and that´s it. is not possible to even start the game. i really need win7 computer.i have original games as a half life generation eith oposing force and counter strike. and sorry for bad english

[@Wahaller]

I can run the entire Half-Life franchise on my Windows 10 PC just fine. Try to reinstall the game, some files can be corrupted or missing after modification and it's important to check.

[@user-yh6ve2zl3x]

Remember playing this game when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Took me literally months to finish this game due to my lack of common sense on finishing some puzzles, plus, killing those pesky hostile AI.

[@inzimusdotozulen9159]

"looks a lot like a modified Quake 2 engine" is the only thing I take issue to with this review; it's a modified Quake 1 engine; and if you ask me it looks a lot more like that, rather than a modified Quake 2 engine... the Quake 2 engine has a completely different look/feel to it. apart from that though; the best review I've seen of HL in years.

[@FoxUnitNell]

I heard a lot of developers - other than valve - were switching over to the quake 2 engine from the quake 1 engine with which they had started, and the games were very buggy and looked bad. Diekatana comes to mind as it was using the quake 1 engine, but wanted to look better so it switched. Half Life is just dedication to the initial plan and the confidence of gameplay mechanics which may break in another engine - the dev team of half life knew what makes a classic game: unique gameplay, industry leading AI, and design; all of which could be ruined with going with a newer engine.

[@AndyAKratz]

I have been known to return to Half-Life and play it. I have played through Blue Shift a couple times and only through Opposing Force once, but I have played through Half-Life more times than I can count. It was just that good (to me at least)! I still play an offline copy only occasionally using the non-steam version 1.1.0.9 that supports MP3 playback for the audio tracks and before the glitch was introduced which caused you to get stuck in elevators and lifts.

[@Draggobuttboi]

I have a weird request, would it be possible for you to review half life deathmatch: source? there's something i find really charming about the more modern rendering and physics technolagy being applied to the 1998 models and textures

[@gast128]

HL1 is an all time classic. If you play HL1 for the first time you are eager to get to the mysterious lambda complex which takes a lot of effort. The Xen levels are more difficult since by now you are pretty much out of ammo. Luckily you can use the monster claw with endless ammo and there are also healing wells. HL1 has however bad sections (e.g. the tunnels with the locomotive) especially on replay. Opposing forces and Blue Shift are good additions to the franchise.

[@pistrix3]

Greatest solo fps ever.

[@ytanonymity3585]

Pistrix3 A multiplayer are insane too.

[@randomdude5993]

Surely the most overrated fps ever Levels are boring compared to doom or halo Gameplay is really generic Enemies are nothing special Maybe it is just nostalgia?

[@dauchande]

Technically, I'd give the nod to HL2

[@yamellbianchi]

Can somebody friend me on steam so somebody could help me finish it?

[@yamellbianchi]

Also bhopping is the BEST in hl 1

[@presidentforlife1732]

the gameplay isn't that revolutionary anymore. but the way the story is told is still revolutionary.

[@Gggmanlives]

Agreed.

[@aaadj2744]

Half Life change everything in FPS game in 90s in term of storytelling, complexity, mechanic, AI and graphically. That's why this game is way ahead of its time. Beside, the multiplayer mode in Half Life were the best ever created in 90s

[@SvenS2]

Hey man, could you please review: "Quake 3: Team Arena" and this obscure priceless gem from the 90s: "Chasm: The Rift" Very few people seem to know about the Q3 expansion and Chasm which is a shame.

[@dunka12]

I was thinking about what you said about the story "never being groundbreaking", so i started digging after my old PC Gamer/Game Over/Level magazines, and as i thought and remembered, the game was surprisingly overly marketed and promoted. The oldest screenshots i found were boasting the Voodoo 3DfX, and nVidia D3D support, the GUI was totally different from the final one. So even if Valve wasn't a giant yet, i'm sure the partnership between Sierra and Voodoo+nVidia was the driving force behind it. The conclusion is that HL was a huge thing way before anyone played it, and as long as it didn't suck, it would have been huge. I think that alone did more about the legend surrounding this game, than any story, gamedesign or graphics ever did. This was finally cemented by the release of the source engine and HL2, which was again based on tones of engine demos, and materials previous to the release. Their implementation of HDRi lighting was unprecedented in quality at that moment, and i bet those will be the first signs of HL3. They promoted the tech one or two years ahead every time, so it's natural that if they wanna follow the same pattern and way of promoting their game, it should start with a source demo.

[@mattallred]

I've played the game multiple times and just noticed the sign at 1:40 which says "Dr. Newell scheduled Chaos Theory R&D" that's a nice little easter egg for gaben

[@dragdragon23]

when i first got my hands on this game, it was at a flea market three years ago. The game was off the store shelves when i got into gaming and barley got to thief1 and 2 before they started to disappear. Lucky that my windows 98 computer is still working even to this day. I really enjoy the game, the story, the graphics, the action.

[@asumjessen2013]

every time i encounter the lightning aliens, my laptop has a 3 second delay lag. anyone know how to fix this?

[@thatguywithoutahead]

Good review but "minerva's den" for Bioshock 2 is the best DLC for a FPS ever ;D

[@civilwarfare101]

Best review of the game. You described what was great and what the game did wrong really well. The game world and pacing is very well done like how you said in the review. I finally found a review that said that fighting the human enemies were an annoyance. The last level was also pretty terrible. Some parts of the game were weak but that's a few. Great review. Can't wait for HL2.

[@jackliu8991]

I love the weapons and the alien enemies in this game , they are really cool , like the gluon gun are the coolest weapon ever. I play this game simply because it have the highest score on metacritic , overall the amazing , but like you said , the pacing of some levels are not so great. and the human grunt...... oh, and I like how you point out the flaw of this game instead just ignore them like most of other reviews out there we're expecting hl2 review right?

[@denefbla]

+gggmanlives you say platforming and first person should never be mixed, how do you feel about mirrors edge? i know you hated dying light but, what about a game thats exclusively about platforming

[@michaelmartin9022]

There was also a playable demo called Uplink, which still starred Gordon Freeman, but had a series of totally different levels, like an "episode" to itself. Oddly, it ended at the beginning of the final boss, you never got a chance to fight it!

[@peppermillers8361]

+Michael Martin the Garga-something is not the final boss.

[@michaelmartin9022]

The boss of the demo, I mean. You'd expect it to end after you killed the monster, but instead it ends when you meet it.

[@xMobilemux]

I ended up missing Half Life back in the 90s cause I was a Duke Nukem 3D nutcase and I played Duke3D non stop back then and ended up playing other games afterward. But I played Half Life for the first time last year and loved every moment of it, but for some reason I just can not find entertainment out of Half Life 2, I had to force myself to keep playing for 2-3 hours of HL2 before I just got bored and stopped playing, I haven't played it since. What exactly does Half Life 2 do so much that gives it the acclaim and improvement over the original cause I just can't see it?

[@Gggmanlives]

The physics engine was groundbreaking, and Source engine was pretty good looking at the time. It was just bigger and better overall.

[@Cephalopod51]

INFILTR8US And you still can't get over your tears? Which parts disappointed you?

[@halfhalo33]

INFILTR8US Lol, more idiots thinking overrated=bad. Overrated=/=bad. Also how is HL Overrated? Its not as popular as it used to be.

[@Cephalopod51]

INFILTR8US I do admit, certain characters are not too bright, and some dialogue is annoying. When Dr. Breen said "Look what you're throwing away? Is it worth it?" I'm going, "What are you talking about, you pretentious dweeb? Your future society sucks!" It's almost as if D. Breen was Wheatley incarnate (not to mention Dr. Mossman). Still, I think Half-Life 2 handles its material better than Blood 2 The Chosen, which I do think is the inspiration of Half-Life 2. The think of the sequel and all of its gameplay as a combined tribute to Blood 2 (the future gone to hell setting, with the hero getting new allies), Redneck Rampage Rides Again (for the swamp buggy and road vehicle sections), Deus Ex (for realistic locations and object interaction), Jedi Knight (for certain level design choices, and the overall cinematic feel), and Half-Life itself (for the little similarities you can see). There are parts which I would have wanted to be written or designed differently, but it manages to to realize many things which much of us gamers only dreamed about then. Could it be better? Yes. But that's what fan fiction and modifications are for.

[@VinVonVoom]

@@Cephalopod51 I know this is a bit of a necro but Breen is easily the best character in Half-Life 2 for me. I much, much, much prefer Half-Life 1 but Breen is a welcome addition and feels like someone who'd exist in the Half-Life universe far more than any of the other new characters.

[@Iceferno]

I tried playing this. I found some of the later level design horrible. You'll find yourself looping areas if you don't know what to do.

[@thod8820]

I know this is a kinda dump complaint but I wished you had done something on Half-Life: Decay. I can link the unofficial Pc port I used if you (or anybody else) wants but it was a ton of fun even if it was a bit odd for a Half-Life game.

[@Marc_Araujo]

I'm currently replaying it now (the last time was probably 10 years ago) in widescreen and in 1440p with the HD models...the game still looks, sounds, and plays great!

[@pippo17173]

I still remember seeing a funny gmod video about this that got me in to the lore mostly.

[@carlwilspang1039]

AnimeWolfgamer me 2 not sure its the same video,but the one i was watching thought it was just made up,but later where i played it i was a little bit shocked xD

[@ZeroStriker426]

i miss that High-Definition mod that came with Blue Shift. the MP5 turned into an M16, and it sounded awesome. Because of the mod, it was the weapon that I used most of the time. Not the most powerful, I admit, but definitely one of the most awesome :D

[@Gophilio4567]

ZeroStriker426 If you have Half-Life on Steam, you can turn it on in the options.

[@kfizzledizzle8467]

ZeroStriker426 idont like hd. the m16 acts like a machine gun and not an assult rifle, the low power pistole looks like a barretta, and I just hate the sounds on the shotgun and submachine gun, and I hate the animations on the shotgun. that's just me.

[@Gophilio4567]

Kip Higginson The marine model is awesome though. Those scientist models, however...

[@JonLeeTHATSTHESTUFF]

+ZeroStriker426 To be honest, I liked the old machine gun better than the new one... I think it just sounded more satisfying to fire. It was quieter, the old one sounded like I was drilling into a box of symbols. I tend to play Half life without the HD pack enabled (I bought it on Steam, so I can choose) even though all of the other weapons (except the shotgun and pistol... what were they thinking?) and characters look a lot better with the HD on, simply because of the machine gun thing and it all kind of feels more authentic.

[@peppermillers8361]

+Jon Lee I liked the HD shotgun.

[@eyeonthewall8397]

Hey could you review the half life 2 mod black mesa? It uses the halflife 2 graphics and recreates the first game with the new engine

[@praiseit6848]

Half Life and Half Life blue shift + Opposing Force was the best thing i had, back then on my 80GB harddrive!!!

[@They_are_Arthur]

I never found Xen to be bad in my experience. To me, the intensity of dealing with this alien world made it feel very unrelenting which is what I think it was going for.

[@adrianhaugen8550]

What is the name of the track playd in the last section of the video?

[@Acantophis3rd]

Half Life got lots of great ideas, perfectly executed too. It never gets boring thanks to the various sceneries and pacing. But lets be honest here. Half Life is not System Shock 2. Yeah, you can say I am just biased but that's not true. The sound design is a let down. There is more echo and silence in there than music or ambient greatness of a SShock2, which makes the great level design boring and lifeless to a certain way. The NPCs Gordon meets are only pawns to help him progress. Neither him nor the NPCs have any character whatsoever. Half Life is not ahead of its time, it just takes a different approach of player interaction for story progression than Sshock2. The story is right out flat. What drives the player really onward is the wish to see what setpiece or arena for combat it presents to him next. And without Counterstrike, the game would've sold far less than it did. (yes, Counterstrike wasn't a standalone title at first!). Another factor for its success was its simplicity. Consumers wanted easier to get used to games and Half Life delivered. As with Doom, Half Life blocked by far more influential, critical successful and better games the way to bigger success. Anyway, Half Life is a good game everyone should've played at least once in his life. But people should not forget that there are other games from Half Life's time period that were equally good or better than it.

[@ytanonymity3585]

A3D's Lets Plays This is game is definitely incredible especially when it come to multiplayer lol

[@SoulReaver107]

That MediEvil intro...oh sonny jim im getting the bone

[@tammikasvain4982]

Could you do a video about Black Mesa? My experience with Half-Life 1 was that i played it for the sake of loving the sequels, and i personaly enjoyed Black mesa a little more because it felt more like 2 xP

[@Gggmanlives]

Yeah I will probably do a Mod Corner video on it.

[@tammikasvain4982]

Gggmanlives Thanks

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

Gggmanlives My advice: I wouldn't review it until they add Xen, because it would be an unfair complaint for most reivewers. However if you are someone who thinks the Xen levels are garbage, then yeah, I could see that not having Xen in the mod as a bonus.

[@kittyluvr]

Black Mesa is Half life 1+2

[@j.yossarian6852]

I assume that a HL2 review is coming, but what about Black Mesa?

[@MaxOrange]

Great review, but in my opinion the soldiers are the most enjoyable enemy to fight. Their AI is pretty great and fighting them reminds me a lot of the replica soldiers from F.E.A.R.

[@jetranger131]

On the hardest difficulty the Marines are tough to defeat, but that's what offers a special challenge and even makes you use your brain when dealing with those (that is also why the human enemies are my favorite ones in Half-Life). Really, this game is a masterpiece once you've learned most of its tricks and nuances.

[@Aeonized]

The HL/Goldsrc engine was based on the Quake engine, I assume the Id tech 2 engine. John D Carmack even bashed Valve for leaving old quake code in the Source engine.

[@Jew-Gi-Oh_419]

When are you reviewing Sven Coop?

[@TheLoboFairchild]

I think I'll be going back and playing this, I have all of the expansions for it too.

[@rufski5108]

The Soldiers were way to bullet spongey in Black Mesa.

[@scaryshit24]

Trixmay 988 Normal difficulty.

[@presidentforlife1732]

the xen levels were my favorites

[@presidentforlife1732]

My god, what the fuck was i thinking. Also, i tried that section (I had to try it multiple times because i had like 14 hp) where the pipe breaks and you fall through it on the table many many many times, since the last save i had was too far back

[@YagizBagdatli]

@@presidentforlife1732 lol same happened to me too, you gotta land on the big crate in the right

[@hmm8445]

That one guys who called in sick during the black Mesa bombing must feel really lucky

[@jethrogiak3292]

The combine on their way to ruin said "really lucky" sick guys lives and the rest of humanity as well

[@Vollification]

I remember seeing the screenshots in PC gaming magazines. This wasn't a game, this was history in the making and everyone knew it.

[@aGrafimir]

6:22 But they worked really well here. Sure, that section you pointed out is kinda boring but there are plenty of sections elsewhere showing that platforming CAN work in FPS when done correctly.

[@sagesmith1076]

What about decay that came with the ps2 version and was later put on steam

[@TechRatReviews]

Great review man!

[@AnticitizenOne93]

Thanks for review! :)

[@zesty2023]

Hey man, now that you're reviewing mods, think you'll take a crack at reviewing the bigass Half-life remake Black-Mesa?

[@FfancyCcrash]

I remember when I first tried Half Life, nos so long ago. It's true, for the first 10 minutes or so I had that feeling of "Oh man, this is so old and outdated, why did I put money on it?" 20 minutes into the game, it was already amongst my top 3 favorite games of all time.

[@ThePerfectTrip]

Hey Gggmanlives, try putting default_fov 106.270273206 in your autoexec.cfg for proper widescreen ;)