by Vivendi Universal
for Windows 2000

Half-Life is still considered the finest single-player 3-D shooter ever made, and with good reason. No other game has combined nail-biting tension, truly alien aliens, and devious artificial intelligence in as complete a package as Valve's masterpiece. Sierra has kept Half-Life on countless hard drives by publishing the excellent multiplayer Counter-Strike modification, but Half-Life was originally all about the single-player game--the sci-fi action story of research assistant Gordon Freeman.

The first Half-Life expansion pack, Opposing Force, concentrated on the military Special Ops side of the same story, and featured Colonel Adrian Shepherd. The new Half-Life: Blue Shift episode highlights security guard Barney Calhoun's adventure during Black Mesa's extradimensional catastrophe. Like Adrian, Barney encounters much the same creatures as his predecessor, but in different situations and locales than you've seen before, some located as far away from Black Mesa as you can get.

Unlike Opposing Force, Blue Shift doesn't feature any new weapons or monsters; oddly, it doesn't even feature the new creatures introduced in Opposing Force. With Blue Shift, you get Barney's adventures, a new high-definition graphics pack that dramatically improves the look of the weapons and characters in all Half-Life games, and the entire Opposing Force expansion pack (there's also a rebate for those who already own Opposing Force). It's obviously geared toward fans that bought the Counter-Strike online package and want to see why the single-player Half-Life is hailed as the best action game ever.

Even though the technology is fundamentally three years old, Blue Shift proves the Half-Life series is still about tension, story, horrible monsters (both human and alien), and fantastic combat in a sci-fi setting. Want more Half-Life?Get Blue Shift.

--Bob Andrews Pros: A new Half-Life episode starring Barney! Also comes with the complete Opposing Force expansion The high-definition weapons and creature graphics look great High-definition pack improves the look of all Half-Life episodes Cons: The graphics engine is three years old, and level geometry does not compare to modern games The new episode is awfully short In Half-Life: Blue Shift, players are challenged to take on the role of the Black Mesa security guard and explore restricted areas of the mysterious government facility. As security in this top-secret government facility, you must scramble to keep the scientists and yourself alive, as you extinguish the many hostiles attempting to take you out.

Half-Life: Blue Shift features Half-Life weapons and characters with new high-definition content. In 32-person multiplayer mode, you can battle opponents from around the world in Capture the Flag and other Half-Life online games. Learn more about the incidents at Black Mesa, and explore new areas of this mysterious government facility.

The package includes: the Half-Life HD Pack, which automatically upgrades the weapons and characters of all the games in the Half-Life saga with new high-definition content; and Half-Life: Opposing Force (in North America), the award-winning action thriller that places you in the boots of a military specialist assigned to eliminate Gordon Freeman.

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