Half-Life: Blue Shift

Half-Life was brilliant. It revolutionized the first person shooter, provided hours of entertainment, introduced us to a world of weapons and bizarre creatures, and most importantly- it (unlike most video games) stayed with its plot throughout the game. Then Opposing Force came along- a mission pack that was a game in and of itself, the player now switching sides and playing through the Military- the enemy in the original Half-Life. Although less plot-driven than the original (its cheif weakness) it still managed to create a very good gaming atmosphere, even if it didn't quite match up with the first. Then Blue Shift came along. I (although a huge fan of the first two) was apprehensive; I felt Sierra was trying to capitalize upon the success of the first two and, running out of ideas, was stretching things thin by having the player play as a security guard...Barney Calhoun. I was mistaken- The game is faithful to the first (with none of the weapons from OP4, but most from the original) and adds in some new things....people, locations, plotlines. It was most enjoyable to navigate Barney Calhoun through the waterworks and train depots of the Black Mesa compound, and the ending was significantly different than that of the first two.......I was very impressed by its simplicity and practicality. Although rather short, with no new weapons or aliens, I highly recommend this Mission pack- do the Half-Life devotee or someone new to this family of games

PC Game: Half-Life Blue Shift.

Genre: Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter.

Developer: Gearbox Software.

Publisher: Sierra Studios.

Release Date: 12.06.01.

Engine: GoldSrc (modified Quake engine).

Protagonist: Security Guard Barney Calhoun.

Settings: Black Mesa Research Facility, New Mexico, USA; Xen.

Blue Shift, the third installment of what appears to be the greatest PC game series ever, starts with Barney Calhoun riding the tram from the surface into work at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Along the way many new details about Black Mesa are revealed; Calhoun passes a laundromat and several fast food outlets, suggesting that the facility is entirely self-sufficient and enclosed. He is also passed by Gordon Freeman riding in another tram in a parallel of the original game. Calhoun visits security headquarters, including a shooting range and a surveillance room where it is possible to see Gordon Freeman again. He is then sent to help some scientists with an elevator; along the way, he witnesses many incidents foreshadowing the resonance cascade, such as a scientist unable to access his files stored on the server and a pair of scientists trying in vain to repair a supercomputer. He also sees the G-Man passing by in a tram. Barney boards and repairs the elevator just before the resonance cascade occurs; the elevator cable snaps and sends Calhoun, and two scientists, plummeting down the shaft as chaos breaks out around them… Although fans of Half-Life were eager to play more of their beloved game, many complained that Blue Shift did not measure up to the high standards set by the Opposing Force expansion. The game offers some new levels and areas of Black Mesa previously unseen in a (relatively short) new campaign, but no new weapons or enemies, as Opposing Force offered. Aside from the High Definition pack, the only new content was a character named Dr. Rosenberg, a Black Mesa scientist who has his own unique character model and played a major role in the story, and alternate scientist and security guard models wearing civilian attire. Blue Shift reviews were poor in comparison to other games in the series.

The Half-Life Opposing Force soundtrack credited to Chris Jensen is reused for this game and contains 19 .mp3 tracks.

My rates (compared to 2001’s level, of course): Gameplay: 9.5/10.

Graphics: 10/10.

Sound: 10/10.

Score (OST): 7/10 (Opposing Force rate).

Story: 8.5/10.

Controls & Interface: 9.5/10.

Multiplayer: 8/10.

OVERALL: 9.5/10.

If you like this game I also recommend: Half-Life, Half-Life Uplink, Half-Life Opposing Force, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Lost Coast, Half-Life 2 Episode One, Half-Life 2 Episode Two, Portal, Half-Life 2 Episode Three, F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, Far Cry, Doom 3, Quake 2, SiN, SiN Episodes, Aliens vs Predator, Aliens vs Predator 2.

I think this is the worst Half-Life game in the series, but it doesn't mean it's bad: I like the helpful characters and the fact, that Barney Calhoun isn't the hero like Gordon Freeman and Adrian Shepard. There's no G-Man, but he doesn't have to appear at all, but there are crossovers with Gordon Freeman. So the characters are a bit better than in "Opposing Force" I think.

I'm quite disappointed with the level design: There are lots of long corridors with little variety in enemies and surroundings. There are less weapons and no new enemies. It's also a short game (maybe even shorter than "Episode One"?)

7/10

Blue Shift is an addon pack for the original Half Life where you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard, instead of Gordon freeman. There isn't much new content in here except a new gun which is actually less powerful than the one it replaces. Level Design is of the standard of the original levels but not in the league of opposing force levels. Blue Shift has also been made very difficult and is much more difficult to play than other Half Life levels. This is more to due gameplay imbalance rather than actual difficulty. This addon also includes a high resolution pack which increases the detail and polygon count on models in the Half Life game and that probably adds to its sale value.

In this game you play as Barney Calhoun as a security guard in the Black Mesa facility during the Black Mesa Incident. Remember your ride in the train in the first game? It turns out the character of Barney is the same guy who was hammering on a door on a platform in the tunnel. The hazard course is pretty much identical to the one in the first game. So i wont elaborate.

The actual game, gameplay and graphics is pretty much identical to the first Half-Life game and the other expansion pack Opposing Force. Which (of course) is a very good thing. The game ties up a few loose ends from the first game and it's quite clever how they both tie in to each other. On top of that this game features a few new monsters and a couple of new cool guns. As always in all the Half-Life games there are puzzles to solve here. Some of them are quite hard but that's what walkthroughs are for! So if you were in to Half-Life then get this game! And don't forget to pick up Opposing Force to!

7/10