Reviews - radutanasie

The Infected is a surprisingly ambitious mod that aims to capture the atmosphere of Opposing Force, but with a more survival oriented twist. And it does a fantastic job at that. Resources are few and far between, with the player being encouraged to outrun enemies and make each bullet count. There are dozens of foreboding moments, as well as interesting ideas, but ultimately the entire experience begins to gradually crumble under the weight of its own ambition. The overall design of the levels feels very maze-like, often being unclear where you are supposed to go and with little explanation to what you are doing. Another downside to this is an inconsistency with highlighting to the player what he can interact with and then keeping up with that visual language. As for the combat, that also leaves very little to be desired, with some encounters feeling very cheesy or simply unimaginative. But for those that want to be engrossed in the atmosphere of a more horror oriented Black Mesa, I would definitely recommend this mod.

I downloaded the mod on the first day it was released. Having tracked it for a few years, I was thrilled to finally play it.

The intro was pretty suffocating and unnerving, which made me question the overall experience, but after that brief moment, it began to build some suspense and create a dark atmosphere through it's lack of enemies or any type of characters. That state lasted long enough to get the player used to the environment and prepare him for the first enemy encounter. That is one thing I did not like and I believe it could have been done better.

Another aspect I didn't enjoy is the overall level design. The world is built chaotically and is often unclear where to head. I understand you want to put emphasis on exploration, but when the player loses direction it's bad. Using the light a lot more often to guide him through the level would have been an excellent choice.

Thirdly, the hand animation when opening the doors. That must have been the most annoying thing aside the poor ambient sounds and some pitch black areas.

Overall, the mod wasn't that bad, but wasn't very good either. There are a lot of areas that can be improved upon, the story especially. However, one thing you managed to get right is the enemies, which are downright scary.

I rated the mod a 7 because I think it has a lot of potential.