Half-Life: Blue Shift

The Good
If you are a true Half-Life (HL) fan like me, you should have remembered seeing all those security guards around the Black Mesa Research Facility, and using them to gain entry into many restricted areas. You might have also remembered that at the very start of the original game, you saw a security guard on a platform while Freeman was riding the tram to work. His name is Barney Calhoun, and it is he who you play in HL's second add-on. You board the tram a few minutes before Freeman and make your way to the platform, and as soon as another security guard lets you in, all hell breaks loose.

Everything looks spectacular as it did in the last game, with breathtaking indoor and outdoor scenes. It is nice to see a food court and arcade, although you are unable to get to it unless you use the “noclip” cheat. I also enjoyed looking at the labs and offices. The graphics can be compared to the original, with gadgets on the walls while you are exploring office complexes and science labs. Blue Shift (BS) comes with a “High Definition Pack” which will change the way the NPCs look like. Now every security guard in the game will look handsome, rather than looking pale and sickly. The HD Pack can also be applied to the original game, as well as Opposing Force (OF), its other expansion pack.

BS is still infested with the same aliens that I loved in the original, including the Houndeyes. I still like the way that they send out shock-waves, and the sounds they make when they are about to do that. I also like the Vortigaunts and their dying sounds. If you have forgotten, the Houndeyes and Vortigaunts and all of the other aliens you encounter come from a planet known as Xen, which is the planet that you will teleport to at some point in the game. Although BS uses the same soundtrack as OF, I never got tired of listen to it. It adds to the game's atmosphere.

I like the way that you don't need to install HL first. This is the first expansion pack from Sierra, and possibly other game companies, that doesn't require the original game to function. You will save a fair amount of disk space by doing this.

The puzzles can be challenging. If you don't look hard enough, you won't be able to solve them at all. I remember being stuck about the fourth mission, and during this mission, you have to free a scientist who is trapped in a train's cargo. It took me about a day to figure out how to free him.

The Bad
BS looks to be missing some features that were present in the original plus OF. First, Calhoun has a limited arsenal than Freeman. Although you are transported to Xen at some stage of the game and see alien grunts and others using their own weapons, you won't have the opportunity to use them yourself.

I always thought that BS has no hazard course like the other two games did, but it turns out that I was wrong when I played BS a second time. The hazard course in Blue Shift doesn't introduce you to new skills, with the exception of controlling the rail-car at the end. Unfortunately, riding a rail-car just isn't something you do in the actual game.

The game is far too short. Although the original has 11 or so missions, this one has about eight. There are no new enemies or bosses, and it is so short that you would probably complete the game in a day.

And what happened to G-Man, that mysterious dude that graced the other two games, as well as much of the Half-Life 2 era? He is only seen at the beginning, and not throughout the game and in the end. It makes me think that his tram crashed shortly after you saw him.

The Bottom Line
In BS, you have the opportunity of playing as one of the security guards, who goes to work one day the same way that Freeman does. The aim of this game is to get through the different chapters, shooting aliens, and solving tricky puzzles that get you from Point A to Point B. The weapons are the same as Freeman's standard arsenal, although it would have been nice if Calhoun also had access to the weapons that most aliens use on Xen.

The game comes with a HD pack, which not only upgrades the graphics to make everyone look more manly than they looked like without it, but makes the weapons look impressive as well. As I mentioned earlier, BS does not require the original game to run, as it already includes the engine. This would save up lots of disk space by not having two HL games installed at the same time.

BS is a good game, the last of the old HL era. It is a shame that this was rushed. The game is rather short, and consists of about six missions. Calhoun's arsenal is limited compared to both Freeman's and Shephard's. There is no new music in the game; the soundtrack is the same as that of OF, and the G-Man is sadly missed.

I enjoyed the first two HL games. Both of these games allowed you to teleport to Xen, which has breathtaking environments, but only the original game has you defeating a huge baby, which I found funny. I think that the first game is no match for OF as that game offers so much more. I got to experiment with advanced military weapons, chose which scientists and security guards live or die, swing across platforms using pods attached to the walls, and defeat an enormous monster at the end of the game. Being a HL addict that I am, I would play BS just for nostalgia's sake. I have the original versions on CD, but these won't run on my current system without any problems. Thank god for Steam.

The Good
Half-Life: Blue Shift presents one with the opportunity to fill the shoes of Calhoun, a security officer in the Black Mesa complex. Yes, you get to play one of those guys in blue who you run into so often in Half-Life.

Well, the first great thing about this game is: It's Half-Life. A lot of what was present in the original game is, naturally, present here. That includes the pulse-pounding combat, the well-crafted environments, visceral weapons, and the fantastic use of event scripting, sound effects, and music to bring extra intensity to the game.

The next high-point is that the venerable Half-Life engine sees an upgrade in graphics here. Not that I would have complained if it hadn't, but it's definitely nice. The new graphic upgrade can be applied to the original game and Opposing Force as well.

Then, it also includes the Half-Life: Opposing Force expansion as well. Op-For is a much larger expansion, putting you into the shoes of Corporal Shepherd of the US Marines whom you run up against in the original game. The expansion is incredible, but that's for another review.

All in all, it's a good value if you don't have Op-For already and even if you do, it will give you that one more taste of Black Mesa that Half-Life fans such as myself so crave.

The Bad
It's short. Really, really short. For a Half-Life veteran, it's like a Snickers break rather than a full meal. But hey, if that's the main problem, I don't mind so much.

The Bottom Line
More Half-Life is good for just about any FPS player. Great action, great environment, great presentation, and a great game :-)

The Good
In 1998, a new game who would leave its print on the FPS world is released. It lets control a scientist, Gordon Freeman, in a devastated research center, just after an experiment which turned to be a disaster, allowing an alien race, coming from a world called Xen, to invade the Earth... well, the Black Mesa Center, given the fact that Half-Life 2, released later, told basically the player that the invasion was much extended than believed.

In 1999, an add-on is released, allowing you to play through the eyes of Gordon's human enemy, a Marine whose name is Adrian Shepard. Sent to kill our favorite scientist, his plane crashed. He was trapped in Black Mesa by a certain G-Man (who were watching in the same time Gordon) and had to struggle in order to stay alive.

In 2001 is the making of Barney Calhoun. Barney was the nickname for all the guards in Half-Life. Blue Shift makes Barney an unique human being, one of Gordon's friends, trapped in a lift when the disaster striked Black Mesa. Him too had to struggle for his life but like Gordon (only hope to stop the invaders) and Adrian (only hope to stop... well another alien race), Barney is the only for some scientists for freeing them and making an old machine work. The reason? It was the same given to Gordon: the fact that they were wearing protection. Well, Barney hadn't the famous HEV but still, when surrounded by scientists in white coat, when you have a sort of armor, you have no choice but to go to dangerous locations. If you know what happened in Half-Life 2, you already know that Barney is a leader figure for the Resistance...

Blue Shift is probably the weakest link in the Black Mesa Era. But will I find positive points? Yes.

Storyline, despite being classic, is, in HL universe, important. You're playing a security guard, making it the third point of view of the Black Mesa Incident. And with a new storyline comes new locations, even if some are familiar. Barney is just your average guard but he will become the most resourceful and strongest of his colleagues.

Gameplay hadn't change and I don't complain about that: it's Half-Life, I mean, you have to climb ladders, find a way to kill enemies when your weapons aren't sufficient, you have to be careful when nearing toxic areas and when you're jumping on Xen...

With an established universe like Half-Life, Blue Shift couldn't forget to make some references to the two previous games: you see Gordon in his tramway when you're trying to enter to your department for work (a scene present in the original Half-Life) or just before he's entering in it. You're seeing him in the Sector C, walking to his destiny, you're seeing the famous crystal that will triggered the portals being carried to its final destination and last but not least, the professor you're rescuing is thinking that Gordon will not solve things, that it's a foolish idea to believe in him. Oh, have I mentioned that the last you'll be seeing Gordon is when he's captured by the Marines? Next time, it would be years later, in City 17 train station. Well, Blue Shift is taking place at the same time of the first part of Gordon's story, so, it's normal to have a lot of references to Half-Life. For Opposing Force, the only mention of Adrian Shepard is made by a Marine when throwing Otis, the fat guard, in a pit you're climbing.

Graphics are still the same if you don't install the High Definition Pack. If you do so, the HDP is making the characters less angular, your environment is less sterile and a new skin is given to your weapons. Anyway, Blue Shift's graphics are good if you're not allergic to "old" engines.

Soundtrack is good. Yes, I love HL's soundtrack. It's immersing you in the story.

You don't need HL to make it work. But a lot of gamers are tending to think of it as an add-on instead of a stand-alone and I can really understand why. Even me, I have the same opinion. You'll understand in the next part of the review.

The Bad
Blue Shift, despite enjoying it, has a lot of flaws.

First of all is the famous problem of the flashlight which wasn't working. It's was such a problem when you have to crawl in obscure areas with headcrabs trying to suck your brains out. Well, fortunately, a patch was released for this problem but this is not really funny to discover that you'll be probably lost because of that.

Second is the lack of novelties. Blue Shift isn't bringing something new besides the story. Barney only uses Half-Life's weapons (no Opposing Force did make it) and worst of it, he has less than Gordon. No more experimental weapon, no more crossbow. Then, the enemies are reduced to what Gordon encountered (less the giant boss like Gargantua), so, no Race X from Opposing Force. And last but not the least (for me), soundtrack is good but isn't renewed like in Opposing Force. No new tunes, no new sounds, well, it's kind of frustrating for me who loves soundtrack, particularly when a game set in an universe has a different music than the others.

One huge negative point is the fact that you can't use HEV device for increasing your protection... contrary to Adrian Shepard who can use them, despite not being a Black Mesa worker! It's kind of frustrating for a player not to be able to use something useful for the hero's life.

Well, another disappointment for some will be the absence (safe for the beginning) of G-Man. Well, no more sighting hunt, a trademark of the HL series was put on hold. Has it a particular meaning for the story?

And give me back the nice woman in the training! The guard that gives instructions is too... well, not as nice as her and not as funny as the sergeant in Opposing Force.

Finally, Blue Shift, for a stand-alone, is shorter than the add-on Opposing Force... who was shorter than Half-Life. Five hours of playing (and more if your flashing is buggy) isn't enough for Half-Life. Well, the episodic games set in HL2 universe are as short as Blue Shift but the content is more extended than Blue Shift's. Here, we're in 2001, players were waiting for HL2 and well, they're in the right to expect much more for HL. It was like the game was rushed for giving something to impatient fans.

The Bottom Line
Blue Shift is your average FPS, set in HL universe and showing what happened when you're trying to give something to impatient players waiting for the second part of the series. It could have been a reference but the lack of novelties, the flashlight bug, the lifetime and the useless HEV devices makes of it an average or mediocre game. Yes, I've enjoyed it. But if it wasn't for the story, reference and the intuitive gameplay, I would have thrown it accross my room by frustration. Some players have made their own mod (Azure Sheep), with a guard named Barney (but not Calhoun) and his fiancée Kate, also a guard, trying to survive in the Black Mesa devastated center. Note that Gordon and Adrian are also present in this game and that Azure Sheep is considered by their creators as what Blue Shift should have been.

I don't know if I must recommend the game or not. Being a HL fan, it would a pity to miss Barney's story. But for others, it would be more an average FPS you don't need in your collection. Do what you want and if you're playing it, try to enjoy it.

The Good
For those that aren't familiar with the 'prequels', Black Mesa is top secret government facility that consists of a bunch of well educated scientists and guards that put their life's safety at most minor priority. Now, you're playing one of those guards, Barney Calhoun. You arrive at your duty by an underground train (pretty much the same as the intro to the original "Half-Life"), put up your protecting suit and uniform, and try to find something to do while another boring day, that mostly consists of playing a puppet to those jerky scientists just because they have B.S. of something, will pass. But something has gone wrong in G section, and since the subway seems to be out of order, you'll have to crawl through some other way in. As we all know, Gordon Freeman and the other scientists had bad luck with some project, and now it's coming back on them. Bedazzled as you can be, you're trying to find the exit from a building hauling infestation of alien creatures.

By no means is this story any less quality than "Half-Life" or "Opposing Force". It's pretty much the same, and actually during the same time, only playing it with another person. Pretty neat thing to use in the further releases of a same game's sequels. This game may seem a bit short to some of you, but in fact it isn't, just because we're familiar with "Half-Life" and we know how to pass some things very quickly and are familiar with commands doesn't make the game shorter, only us faster. I don't find this game much shorter than "Half-Life", but maybe because it doesn't consist of too many places it may be considered as such.

I don't think I need to mention this game has improved graphic, though I really couldn't notice that at first, maybe because I played "Half-Life" some time ago and I thought of its graphic as super-ultra-kewl also, I dunno. Still, when you approach to certain NPC, you can see the difference quite clearly. Not that it makes this game any better than "Half-Life" though, but fits today's standards little closer.

Also, it gives you opportunity to play it no matter weather you own original "Half-Life" or not. It's not as dependent as "Opposing Force" sequel-add-on, but rather standalone version. It also brings a few nice things along, such as HD (High Definition) pack that improves visuals of the original "Half-Life", and "Opposing Force" multiplayer patch.

No matter what you may think of the game as something done quickly to attract masses while the title's still hot, that's entirely wrong. Game may not now be original to certain point, but brings us very nice story and bunch of dialogues and live atmosphere, and what's even more appealing, we are invited back to Black Mesa facility to escape from it for the third time ;)

Now that we mastered jumping and such puzzles that are easy now, but were rather complicated before, we will see some very nice puzzles in the game which quite clearly pull this FPS away a bit making it adventure just as well. For instance, you need to drain toxic water away, and then go in the pool and push barrels that were previously floating so you will easily jump to another side once you refill the pool with lethal liquid once again. It really is a very nice game with a returning us to our past, though experienced players will finish it too quickly and either enjoy that short time they had, or say it's too short and spoil the experience. I say, go get it if you're keen on "Half-Life" titles and want more of the same that differs.

The Bad
Well, game as game alone doesn't have any backward points as I could see it, but it does come with some drawbacks that were expected to be sen in it. I know that "Half-Life" didn't come with some strong background music, but they had some at certain suspenseful points, just remember those chapter starters. But that's not such a bad thing, no music makes you be more aware of the surroundings and stereo sound works quite nicely so you'll know where's the direction of your threat. What's very hard to believe is that there was no single new weapon in this game. Sure, as a commando in "Opposing Force" you had more new weapons than you wanted, but these here are just the same as in original "Half-Life" with exception that even those are not all, the game lacks some very nice weapons even from the original, like that alien-cockroach-bomb, or alien launchers. But guess Barney just didn't get to see all that in his adventure, even though he saw many other things Gordon and Freeman and Sheppard did not.

The Bottom Line
Three years have passed since the original "Half-Life", and yet this game still has the most interesting story as a first-person shooter (I don't compare it to "Deus Ex" or such games with a great stories). First time you were a scientist surprised by your own project gone wrong. Second time you were a sergeant, sent by the military government to make sure noone at Black Mesa survived. And this time you're one of the in-guards caught unready in a day's events. All they could do now is make another game and put you in a role of either those unknown assassins, or one of the aliens ;) It's more than just for a few hours of fun, it's a game to bring you back to known horrifying place and show you what yet you didn't see. This game comes with its own pluses and minuses, and spares you the battle with the final nemesis, but it's by no means less worthy than best add-on ever, "Opposing Force", or originator of the series, "Half-Life". If you're not planning on getting it, then you're probably by accident clicked on the wrong link and are now reading the wrong review.

The Good
Blue Shift places you in the shoes of Barney Calhoun, one of the many security guards you learned to either love or hate in Half-Life. After a great opening sequence (my favorite part of the game), Barney must find a way to escape the facility while killing as many critters as possible. The game plays much like Half-Life, in fact exactly like Half-Life. You'll find the same weapons and enemies so veterans of the original should be right at home. I found it cool to play someone other than Freeman for a change which is probably the games biggest attraction. And there is cool moment where Calhoun's and Freeman's stories overlap which are interesting to see.

The Bad
The games biggest downside is its length, but I don't want to dwell on that because its been said in every other review. Let's just say its short, within the 3-5 hour range, which in inexcusable even for an expansion pack. Blue Shift has a few other problems as well. It doesn't add any new weapons or enemies to the existing Half-Life world. Perhaps even worse it doesn't really add any new situations that the original didn't explore. You're fighting the same bad guys in the same way you did before. While that may not seem like such a bad thing since the original was so good, it seems like Valve just took the most monotonous parts of Half-Life and decided to throw them together. Opening sequence aside, Blue Shift doesn't really reproduce the "wow" moments that the original did. Also, Calhoun, as it turns out, had practically nothing to do with the Black Mesa incident. He doesn't play a major role in the story arc at all. It would have been a much better game if Calhoun's objective was to protect and save some of the research team(seeing how he is a SECURITY OFFICER!!), or protect some of the equipment, that would have made for a much better story.

The Bottom Line
I just played the game for the first time a week ago, and as I write this Half-Life 2 was released 2 weeks ago. So basically anyone who wants to play Blue Shift already has. That said, if you're thinking of picking it up before you play Half-Life 2 or if you're new to Half-Life altogether, I wouldn't recommend it. There is some fun to be had here, if you liked Half-Life, you won't HATE Blue Shift. But really, there's nothing new to do here. I wouldn't expect Valve to make to many allusions to Blue Shift in Half-Life 2 either since it is by far the weakest game in the Half-Life trilogy. So really, in less you're a hardcore Half-Life fan, you can probably sit out Blue Shift.

The Good
The second expansion for Half-Life was intended to be for the Dreamcast version, however when that was canned, PC owners got it with an added bonus the HD pack which upgrades the graphics significantly, it also includes Opposing Force.

In Half-Life: Blue Shift, you are Barney Calhoun, the security guard from Half-Life’s opening. He like Gordon is having a bad day. And it is about to get worse. Experience the Black Mesa incident from Calhoun’s perceptive. There are no dumb new monsters, there is not even a final boss. Blue Shift is a short romp through Black Mesa gunning your way out with the help of Dr. Rosenberg. Like Gordon you just have to survive. Blue Shift is better than Opposing Force in all the ways that count. It is more like the original game, it’s difficulty does not spike, and you still get to kill Marines.

With the HD pack which works with all versions of Half-Life, the graphics are awesome! The sub-machine gun is now a full sized M5. And all the weapons, aliens, and characters look better than ever. I would recommend picking this up just to install the HD pack.

The Sound and Music is mixed. The sound effects are still solid, but the music pales in comparison to that of the original. Furthermore this game has little music to begin with.

The Gameplay is a mix of action with moments of horror. Although Blue Shift is more action than horror, at least it does not abandon the horror like Opposing Force did. The game itself is quite short but that is not a bad thing in this case, as how long could it be before getting tedious?

The Bad
On the negative side, this game should have been on the Dreamcast not the Playstation 2. There could have been more music, and horror moments.

The Bottom Line
This unlike Opposing Force is actually worth playing. And you have to play these games with the HD pack.

The Good
-Excellent update towards the graphics area in Half Life, which has been lagging being in the recent years with the release of Quake 3, Unreal Tournament and Tribes 2.

-New Point of View in Half life which makes Half life, a trilogy now.

-Half Life inspired and original ideas for puzzles.

The Bad
-Little too short in my taste. The story could have been easily expanded. It took me not much more than 5 hours to finish the entire game.

-Overly expensive, considering it's a) has only new single player additions b) no multiplayer mode of its own and nothing really new except for the new MP5/M4 model and the new High Definition Graphics Pack.

The Bottom Line
Overall a decent game to buy. Won't bring like over 50 hours of gameplay (or something like that) like Half Life did but it will bring you something to bring you back to the days of fustrations on how to solve this @&*(# puzzle.

The Good
Blue Shift has more story then Half Life, describing and neatly ties up many of the loose pieces left by the original game.

The High Definition package is a welcome sight, updating most models and sounds for weapons and characters to become more detailed and realistic.

The level design is quite good as well.

The Bad
Too short. A normal gamer can complete it in no more then 4-6 hours.

The Bottom Line
Well....

My final judgment is that any Half Life fan which would like to know more about the background for Black Mesa, the alternate universe, and the (wormholes?) transporters, should get Blue Shift. Tough I advice playing the original Half Life first, to get the most out of it.

The Good
I liked this game because it answers some of the questions left by the previous two half-life's and generally ties up the loose ends. The new high definition is highly impressive with new weapons sounds and models and generally a better experience.

The Bad
Well almost every review on this game has picked this up it is very short (took me 3-4 hours max to complete).Also there are a few plot inconsistencies other than that this is pretty good.

The Bottom Line
Well if your looking for a totally new half-life experience then your probably best getting opposing force.However if your just want to visit the half-life universe again this is the game for you.