Half Life: Opposing Force Developer: Gearbox Software, Valve Software Publisher: Sierra Category: : 3D FPS System Req: P133, 24Mb Ram, 200Mb HD, D3D/OpenGL/3dfx card, Win95/98, Half-Life must also be installed Might look like: Half Life Date posted: 11 April 2000 Written By: Aristos aka Tycho - This game was reviewed on P3 700 MHz, 256 MB Ram, GeForce Graphics, and Win98 - A little Introduction Well, they went and did it again. They came out with a sequel to the most highly praised game of 1999, Half-Life. Half-Life: Opposing Force is out and brings back what everyone loved in the first, and then some. The original Half-Life story line (in case you live in a void, and don't know.) goes a little like this. A man named Gordon Freeman was hired to work at a top-secret government facility, kind of like the Area 51 you're not supposed to know about… Anyway, when he arrives for his first day of work an experiment he is involved in goes terribly wrong, and opens a gateway into another world. This other world is inhabited by a hostile race of aliens. Against insane odds, Gordon kills an invading alien army, avoids spec ops troops that have orders to silence everything at Black Mesa, and pays a visit to the alien home world and stops their travel plans to our planet. The game was a massive hit. It's engine employed new stuff that had been seen almost nowhere else. Fluid character movement, extreme environment interaction, advanced AI and a story line that kicked alien rear. Now, Black Mesa is back and so are you, except that you have been, um, reborn. This time you are Adrian Shephard, a spec ops soldier, like the ones sent to Black Mesa to repair the situation. The change in perspective is refreshing. The Manual The manual was excellently done. It included the basics of the game, like the controls, tools and personnel. It also included some other sections on basic military protocol, like Murphy's Combat Laws, and personal notes written in by Shepherd. It also includes a foreword on the Armed Forces of the United States, Getting Started, a page about Sanitation, how to use your surroundings, HUD info, and some of the basic military weapons you come upon in the game. Another important section is Knowing and Commanding your Squad. The three types of soldiers are the grunts, your basic everyday, all-purpose soldier, the medic who can heal you and your men, and the engineer, who can bring doors down to allow access to locked off areas. Holly Cow man! The sequel, if not add-on to the most highly acclaimed game of 1998 is here, locked, cocked, and ready to rock! The game's story is a parallel to the original's story, taking up slightly after the incident in the original, occasionally crossing into the original's story. Both games took up about 1GB in total on my hard drive. Although it may seem like a lot, it's worth it for the game.    Back to Black Black Mesa that is. Although there is a training mission that you can try, which explains part of the story and give a rundown on all old and new commands and options, you might just skip it in anticipation. The game starts out in a helicopter, you know, the ones from the original that soldiers kept coming out of when you were outside.. Well, some of the soldiers make cracks to pass the time, but you can just look out the open door. You'll notice every now and then something flies by outside, at first an F-16, later a helicopter that get destroyed by an alien craft, right before your copter gets taken out of the sky. You blank out for a while, wake up to find your fellow troops in a melee against unknown foes, and losing at it. Finally, you come to in an underground facility, with a couple of scientists around, taking care of your fellow troops. You find your HEV (hazardous environment vest) and a monkey wrench, and start your voyage to find out what is going on and your original objective, take out Gordon Freeman. Training Mission As I mentioned before, there is a training mission. It was well designed, and is even comical. It introduces the HEV and gets you started with a few military weapons. It also introduces the new rope feature to the gamer. Although the rope's physics are off, Gearbox did a nice job with the available engine. Every now and then, you see the Government man in the suit around the base. This only adds to the intrigue. Next Page Up Previous Page If you want to review your favorite game, or if you work with a computer game company and want your products reviewing, mail info@playdevil.com. All contributions are welcome. Any problems and/or suggestions are always appreciated on webmaster@playdevil.com Nothing of this entire Site, animation & logo's included, may be reproduced, stored, saved, transmitted, in any form or means, electronic, written or otherwise without the prior permission of PlayDevil. Other Logos & Names are Copyrighted Material of its respectful owners. All Rights Reserved. PlayDevil Productions © 199/8-199/9-200/0 "rip your own stuff"