Instead of looking at Half Life as a game newly created, I am adding this comment as a look back at Half Life and what it means (to myself mostly) today.
By today's standards, Half Life is a game that is embedded in the minds of twenty year old's and is reminiscent of the time spent playing as a teen. The low definition graphics of the original made appreciation of the maps less favourable, and the sometimes predictable range of game play meant that you didn't have to panic that the monster was gonna pop up elsewhere. However, for a large majority of people it represents the very beginning of the fate of Gorden Freeman. With Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 episode 1, a new breed of gamer enveloped the half life world, but for the first players of Half Life, the temptation to revisit Black Mesa is all too great. Perhaps this is because of its easy access through Steam or its graphics reinvention using the HL2 engine, but for me its the nostalgia surrounding it.
Only in Half Life can you feel appreciation that it was the first game of its time to use full area maps rather than flat overlays that surrounded the character. Only in Half Life can you wonder what was around the corner where the map dropped away. Only in Half Life can you imagine how large the Black Mesa complex is. In the case of the latter two, the additional Half Life games Opposing Force and Blue Shift only fuelled the desire to see more of Black Mesa and the events that unfolded from the Resonance Cascade. This desire to see more of Black Mesa, to a lot of fans, sparked further mods to be created, each with their own dynamic story overlay from the original three Half Life games (I recommend the mod Azure Sheep for this).
So what is the future for Half Life? Unlike many old games, it will not be swept under the carpet, not with so many fans holding it so close to their hearts. The upgrade through the HL2 engine was just the start, like HL2Ep1 commentaries on the games creation, storyline, graphics and ideas will be released at some point in the future. Meanwhile Half Life gamers can enjoy Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, and all new upcoming releases (the next being HL2Ep2 coming Sept 2007!)
By today's standards, Half Life is a game that is embedded in the minds of twenty year old's and is reminiscent of the time spent playing as a teen. The low definition graphics of the original made appreciation of the maps less favourable, and the sometimes predictable range of game play meant that you didn't have to panic that the monster was gonna pop up elsewhere. However, for a large majority of people it represents the very beginning of the fate of Gorden Freeman. With Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 episode 1, a new breed of gamer enveloped the half life world, but for the first players of Half Life, the temptation to revisit Black Mesa is all too great. Perhaps this is because of its easy access through Steam or its graphics reinvention using the HL2 engine, but for me its the nostalgia surrounding it.
Only in Half Life can you feel appreciation that it was the first game of its time to use full area maps rather than flat overlays that surrounded the character. Only in Half Life can you wonder what was around the corner where the map dropped away. Only in Half Life can you imagine how large the Black Mesa complex is. In the case of the latter two, the additional Half Life games Opposing Force and Blue Shift only fuelled the desire to see more of Black Mesa and the events that unfolded from the Resonance Cascade. This desire to see more of Black Mesa, to a lot of fans, sparked further mods to be created, each with their own dynamic story overlay from the original three Half Life games (I recommend the mod Azure Sheep for this).
So what is the future for Half Life? Unlike many old games, it will not be swept under the carpet, not with so many fans holding it so close to their hearts. The upgrade through the HL2 engine was just the start, like HL2Ep1 commentaries on the games creation, storyline, graphics and ideas will be released at some point in the future. Meanwhile Half Life gamers can enjoy Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, and all new upcoming releases (the next being HL2Ep2 coming Sept 2007!)