Half-Life: Opposing Force Review by: Uzar - 7/10
Half-Life 1/2: Call of Not A Generic FPSHalf-Life Opposing Force is an expansion pack to the original Half-Life that is now sold as it's own game. Opposing Force is a side story to the original Half-Life. Only this time you're in the boots of one of the Marines this time around. Although if it makes you feel any better, you never knew about the whole killing everyone part thanks to your helicopter crashing.
Opposing Force is a weird mixture of old mechanics and weapons, along with totally new ones. But in this colliding series of old and new ideas, the fun of the original is thankfully not lost at all! In fact, I almost like this more than the original Half-Life. But enough about my general view on this game. Let's actually review it!
Graphics: 7/10
The graphics were better in their time. These haven't aged particularly well. But what's stranger is that all the old Half-Life models are slightly improved. They don't look quite as bad as the original Half-Life, but they are still pretty bad. While all the new models stick out from the rest because they are more well done than the original's are. The new characters, enemies, and weapons all stick out pretty clearly. Especially one security guard who looks vaguely like Paul Blart...
The new graphics aren't bad. It is just kind of clear that this game was made later than the base game was. All the characters look slightly better than before, like I said before. But it still hasn't aged too gracefully either.
There are new textures and backgrounds as well. These are...Actually pretty good. They fit in just fine with the older textures. They are obvious that they are new, but they don't stick out in the way new models do. These look very much like they could have been in the original game. There isn't quite as obvious of a quality gap as with characters. But shifting quality aside, the graphics all seem to mesh together brilliantly.
Sound: 7/10
The sounds are pretty good as well. The voices, for one, aren't quite as grainy as the original's was. They all sound more refined, and recorded with a better microphone. :P The new characters and their voices are slightly better sounding than the original characters voices are. But there are a lot of improvements all around, believe me.
There are new sound effects this time around too (surprise surprise...). These are as good as a sound effect could be. They sound just as good as the old, and aren't bad in terms of recording or anything like that either. The sound of electricity hitting your foes is strangely satisfying...
Addictiveness: 8/10
This game is pretty addictive! It's easy to get sucked into the game. This element from the first game carries over perfectly. It is crazy addictive! Whether you're doing a self-imposed challenge, or just playing through normally. You'll have an intense itch to come back to it. You may want a little bit of a break once finishing it all the way though. But this is one of the few games I've never had a problem with replaying after any amount of time. :P
Overall this game is addicting both for first time players, and people who have played through it all before.
Depth: 5/10
This game, like Half-Life, isn't really deep. But it also had some weird trade-offs in terms of depth. First of all, the game is only half, maybe two-thirds as long as Half-Life. But it has twice as many enemies, along with more weapons than the original has.
There are slightly more secret/hidden areas than the original game as well. But usually they are empty, or have just one health pack or a little bit of ammo for one gun. It really isn't worth the trouble of getting to these areas unless you were really desperate for either. But the chances of that happening are pretty slim.
Story: 5/10
The story is mediocre. It's more of an excuse plot to have the craziness in the campaign make sense really. :P Although this story specifically makes some of the powers that be look...incompetent. The existence of the Black Ops here, along with their actions in the story make the entire armed forces' actions in Black Mesa look poorly planned and directed by a loon. Just...trust me on this. If you thought the sheer amount of marines in Half-Life was excessive, you only know the half of it. :P
The other species of aliens is hardly ever explained in any degree either. And it doesn't really click into the main story very well. It's hard to believe that as Gordan Freeman, you just barely avoid an entirely different species of aliens from a different dimension also traveling to earth, and you basically leave each area just as they enter. :P
Half Life's story is rather weak, but it also works in it's own weird little way. There aren't any long cutscenes or anything. You are, more or less, in control of your character the whole time. You only know what they know. It's really easy to become immersed in the game. Opposing Force But as for a straight up story...It doesn't work. As an experience it works much better.
Difficulty: 6/10
This game can be difficult in both good, and bad ways. The enemies are actually a bit smart. They run for cover, watch out for each other when in groups, and some weapons they use can take a lot out of you if you're not careful. It keeps you on your toes, as well as keeping that squishy ball of noodles in your head working as you're playing. It is progressively difficult, as any good game is, but there are a few instances where things get intense out of nowhere. So you always should stay alert when you play.
This game can also be difficult due to bad AI. There are two or three instances where I needed to reload old saves because I couldn't get a character I needed to escort through a door. For some reason, when characters follow you, they just refuse to go through doors. When this happens you need to reload an older save, and play the game over from wherever the last save point was. It's inconvenient, but at least it is something that can be fixed.
The controls are pretty simple. It uses the typical WASD movement set most PC gamers are acquainted with. But everything controls-wise can be changed to however you'd like. But the controls actually work. This game was made in an age where good working controls were a general rule of thumb. :P
Overall this game is one of the better FPS games I've gone through. It's not the longest, but it's certainly a fun ride through the game. I don't know if I'd recommend paying full price for just this single game. Although if you were a bigger half-life fan that may be a bit more justifiable.
The game controls and plays pretty smoothly, although the AI can be a bit of a burden at times.
All the new elements added to this game look, feel, and play amazingly. The only problem is that they aren't well written into the actual story. And while gameplay should be honored over story; you really shouldn't put the story on the back-burner and almost entirely skip over it.
Overall: 7/10
Graphics
7 Sound
7 Addictive
8 Depth
5 Story
5 Difficulty
6
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