Half Life: Opposing Force

It is impossible to be a gamer and do not know anything about Half-Life. They are some of the most popular game series out there. This time we're talking about Half-Life Opposing Force, an expansion to the original first title.

Even though Valve is the developer of the game, this expansion was a collaboration between Gearbox and Valve. Yes, the same Gearbox that developed the Borderlands games and many more. Released in 1999, this first expansion of the game was a pretty interesting take on the series, but why?

About this game

Half-Life: Opposing Force is a parallel story, sort of a spin-off. This time we're not looking at the world through the eyes of Gordon Freeman, but rather a marine called Adrian Shepard. Playing the role of Shepard we are tasked with a mission to silence the scientists about the incident that took place in the Black Mesa Laboratories in New Mexico.

Yes, that's right, now we play as one of the soldiers sent to eliminate Freeman. Reaching the Black Mesa facility, Shepard's unit is attacked by flying alien creatures, causing their vehicle to crash. Now Shepard must fight the evil alien forces, only to discover that he's also being watched by the enigmatic G-Man.

As the story progresses, the government has to use a different contingency plan, and since the marines failed at the Black Mesa facilities, they send out the Black Ops. Now, just as Freeman, Shepard must also face them to survive. The two alien races, the mysterious G-Man and the Black Ops, all of them fighting at once in this spectacular game.

Similar to the original content

Yes, it is in fact pretty similar to the original Half-Life. it is just an expansion after all, but it helps in building the world bigger and more alive. This time we get to see and play the experience of being on the other side. We are just one of the soldiers sent to kill Freeman, and that change of perspective is something unique.

It is also interesting to see how the stories cross each other from time to time, we even find Freeman a few times throughout the game. After all, they are both escaping the same mess.

It also puts things into perspective for the Half-Life world. If you think about it, both Portal games take place in the same world as Half-Life. So maybe if someday they release Half-Life 3 we'll get to see which role is Aperture Science having in all this.

Review

This expansion is a cool and interesting take on the story of the first Half-Life title. It helps in giving depth to the world and lore. It delivers in everything it attempts. Overall it is an excellent expansion, the new content is great and there the original story is nicely written. It's good to see two amazing developers making a collaboration to deliver such a great experience.

• Graphics and Visuals: The visuals of Half-Life, while outdated, are pretty unique and characteristic. The art and design are incredible and it's playable even today. Nothing out of this world now but it's definitely not an eyesore

• Gameplay: Half-Life presents an excellent gaming experience, simple and very polished. The controls are easy and comfortable. The storyline of this expansion is a great addition to the original game. Even though it may not be a huge expansion, it feels natural.

• Sound: The sound design is pretty good, and the soundtrack is, well, Half Life's soundtrack. It's obviously great.

What we thought

"The game is basically HaH-Life all over again. Tense, nerve-wracking stuff."

What you think