How Half-Life Broke First-Person Gaming Shooters Forever

Going Beyond The Base Game

Such a ground-breaking game was certainly ripe for further development. Gearbox Software was drafted in to develop two expansion packs from 1999 to 2000. Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift told two differing experiences of the Black Mesa incident.

The first involved US marine Adrian Shepherd and the second pressed security guard Barney Calhoun into full-on combat. Opposing Force was met with a great critical response, Blue Shift less so, but the way in which Valve was open to another developer highlighted their focus to game development.

Half-Life continued to make an impression with a port to the PlayStation 2 alongside the cooperative mode Half-Life: Decay. One port that didn't turn out so well was Half-Life: Source; intended as a conversion to Valve's source engine to tide players over before the sequel, it instead stood out for all the wrong reasons. Glitches and technical problems plagued the title when the new engine was plugged in, causing many to stick with the original version

Many years later, Crowbar Collective's full HD remake entitled Black Mesa is the most complete and fully-realised package in the game's history, a passionate fan project that successfully updates the classic title for the modern day. It comes highly recommended for fans and newcomers alike. The fact that a HD remake was put together entirely by fans with full endorsement from Valve speaks volumes of its lasting power.