Reviews - yeoldeladstephen

Easily slides into the ranks of my favorite HL1 mods. The most frequent success for me is the atmosphere, quality mapping and design with attention to detail is propelled by appropriate texture work for surfaces and changes in lighting colors and styles which make different areas feel distinct. The above and beyond touch is the music, pushes the atmosphere from merely interesting mapping to something I was feeling. That was extremely important in my experience, made me feel that I was playing something really original but seated within the tone of Half-Life.

I was impressed by the subtle changes in lighting color, from slightly green or yellow to mild blues or patches of red, the different areas of the facility remain distinct from one another and gave even small sections a variety in their texture.

New enemies are good, I like the zombie variants. Adds more texture to basic zombie and headcrab encounters which is a very nice touch in a HL mod.

The plot is solid, has nice spread out beats, is fairly simple to follow. Does exactly what it needs to. Not sure what the final scene is implying has happened, but that is alright.

I liked the lack of shared ammo pools, kept certain weapons relevant past when I would have given them up if they shared. Fan of the weapon sounds and feel quite nicely crafted. The weapons have a balance to them that I found pleasant to use. (burst fire alt on the pistol is a real all star decision, stayed a baller weapon for quite a long time because of it)

Played on Hard, was nicely difficult but the assassins were absolutely crushing.

There is an untextured side of the box in one map, looks to be xen4a8, near the healing pool inside the ring structure at the scientist camp after getting the key-card. Looks down into the sky-box and is easy to find.

I think the suit beeps when your clip is low? Took a long time to figure out what the beep might be.

Easily recommended, introduces some new things which are an enhancement to the half-life experience. Brings some fresh moments that feel new and unique while fitting fluidly within the tone, texture, and presentation that I love about Half-Life. Will be looking forward to experiencing whatever the author decides to do next.

A wonderful experience, this game is exceedingly rich with ideas and content. I appreciated the style and found the mapping to be engaging which is extremely impressive across the wide variety and sheer number of maps in this mod.

Some of the more realistic elements like real posters and visual elements and models at higher resolutions or with fine detailing can be in conflict with the significantly more prevalent stylized elements.

I am bothered that the game does not autosave upon entering a map at the beginning of a mission. This seems like an essential place to save, but if you forget, you could end up back to the ending portion of a previous mission when you were just 20 min into a new one. Feels like a major misstep to me as a player who did this multiple times because when I'm feeling the vibes, I will probably forget to save. Here I might lose half an hour.

Pacing wise this is too long for me, this mod is positively massive and it took me quite a long time to get through it. This problem isn't a huge deal though, having too much of a good thing doesn't make me unhappy in the slightest. Simply feels stretched when the game contains lengthy base missions, certain missions that seem double or triple the standard ones, and bonus extra stages that are absolutely enormous (looking at you chapter 2 especially, that was fun but holy crap its like an entire extra plot).

There seems to be discourse about censorship around this game. I'd say the thing does its due diligence to history without including unnecessary horrors which even as is find themselves partly at odds with the silly and bombastic tone. Didn't play the prior version and I don't plan to. I don't really care that much. Once again, the mod is massive and getting through it is quite the undertaking.

One of my favorites to come from Wolfenstien, the game is a pleasure.

High quality mapping makes this an immediate recommendation from me. Sticks to traditional Half-Life game-play and does so with finesse.

Playing on 'hard' provided a finely balanced challenge that rewarded hunting for secrets and being thoughtful with my ammo. Not very often I find a mod which is challenging enough to be exciting without leaving me feeling frustrated with larger scale combat encounters.

I think this comes down most to the way these maps cater to the enemies placed in them. Always cover nearby to evade a Vortigaunt beam, space to dodge a Headcrab or zombie, and a sufficient weapon supply to quickly subdue military opponents. Mapping around the enemies path-finding ability, movement, and attacks makes fighting these classic enemies dynamic and exciting again.

Maps are nicely detailed, feeling full and textured. Good use is made of repeating assets, the environments don't descend into repetition even with their recurring features. Certain locker doors opened in the wrong direction, not a big deal and entirely fixable.

Excellent use of lighting. Appreciate that a lot, adds depth to the atmosphere. Lots of varied colors and patterns with their placements. The design aesthetic of Black Mesa in this mod feels inspired in large part by Kubrick's 2001 and the Alien franchise, both things I like a lot and bring a sleek but ominous atmosphere to the facility.

Objectives are fairly clear and the path forward was never frustrating to find. Small text blurbs give occasional direction. Brief but effective. Subtract from the atmosphere somewhat but are for the most part quite unobtrusive, so I think they do more good than harm for the project. Mapping layout and visual indicators do the bulk of the work.

On 'hard' the crowbar, pistol, shotgun, grenades, and MP5 all got ample time to shine. Each one was a workhorse unto itself. I wish the 357 got the same love. I was quite looking forward to combating the military with it, however there are only 2 small arenas after its introduction. For how significantly the other guns shined in game-play it was unfortunate not to have opportunity to similarly utilize one of my favorite weapons.

I think the weapons selected to put in this project are a solid lineup. They fit the mapping well and each feels important and exciting to receive. I like the design choice.

If you're looking for a tough but reasonably tempered combat challenge with meticulously crafted atmosphere and pacing, this project played on 'hard' is a great pick. Takes the solid design elements and atmosphere of Half-Life, chooses to present them in a refined and remixed package with its own thoughtful sense of style. Not revolutionary in any particular dimension, but chooses what it wants to do and does it well. I think that has paid off big time.

Not merely one of my favorite mods, but one of my favorite gaming experiences.

Absolutely nails the parts of gaming which really tickle my fancy.

Atmosphere, gameplay design, spectacle, and story all working together.

Chapter one is a wonderfully atmospheric journey through the post-apocalypse; featuring fun enemy designs, engaging level design, and satisfying weapons just to start. I loved exploring the environments from barren wastelands to the cramped corridors of the municipal Atlanta underground. Music really contributed to the atmosphere with classic synths paired against darker tones in tense moments and creepy exploration sections but featuring some growling guitar for the apocalyptic action set-pieces. I had a blast with Chapter 1 and Dead Man Walking.

Chapter 2 though. I was stunned.

I got the feeling this was created not merely by folk who like shooters, fallout, mad max and the like, but folk who deeply care about games as a medium.

The way the design elements of chapter 2 have evolved from chapter 1 displayed a remarkable level of thought and effort. Evolving the map design to fit the player's role of scavenger through Metroid type exploration is not just a fun gameplay choice, it is an evolution conceptually of the ideas set out in chapter one. The dialogue trees, setting, characters, and premise all settle more deeply into the gameplay. More sense of exploration, more player interaction.

The themes and atmosphere are deeply linked to the player's actions at every turn, I find that to be the most exhilarating part of video games.

I was utterly engrossed.

The identity of chapter 1 was not lost though, open hubs are balanced with some more linear segments which provide a sense of pace to the experience. I find in an open world I eventually start to scour and stop feeling like I am progressing; each segment here, however, includes enough depth to provide satisfying exploration without becoming lost within itself and losing the feeling of moving adventure chapter 1 did so well. Gaming always seems to clamor for 'more' and 'more' where as this mod showcases, a more modest but intentional depth in areas the player will deeply engage with gets the most bang for your buck.

I can see how some of the dev folks got a little burnt out on the project by the end. Afterglow is MASSIVE. Glad to see they are working on other things in the meantime, I would hate for something so wonderful and seemingly filled with life and love to become a self-defeating burden.

Weapon arsenal? Fully upgraded, flawless. No weapon is redundant, I love to see it.

Playing this was like watching "Escape From New York" again for the first time. What a feeling.

// SPOILER SEGMENT //

Delving into spoilers so I can talk some more specific feedback on game elements.

-City Levels were my favorite part, the dense exploration and varied environments catered to the scavenger aspect in a way I quite enjoyed.

-Ammo Consistency, hard problem to deal with but whenever I was facing off against gangs my pockets were bulging with ammo. Happened at those times specifically. I liked the scarcity of ammo I felt most of the time, but those gang encounters had lasting ammo effects.

-Missable switches, there were a couple of times when I became lost as to where I should go because I missed seeing a switch. The level design makes this an issue, when I frequently am required to backtrack in order to find an opening, I stop looking for switches early and instead assume a door I have already passed is now open. This can lead to a lot of mashing use at every door I find and circling back and forward trying to find a door when I should be looking for a switch.
--Happened in the Atlanta Parking Garage near the locked gang truck in a little bit of water. Near to the Mall, Laser Tag, and Art Gallery.
--Happened at Site Sigma after the Mutants come out of the elevators, I was convinced I had to use the elevator buttons which use a texture I have previously interacted with, or had to backtrack.
--Neither of these switches are visible when standing next to the doors they open (or standing next to any closed door the player might try), neither are given a lighting element to draw attention to them, both are somewhat dimly lit and easy to miss.

-Prosperity Hub, less detailed than Atlanta. I felt unrewarded for exploring it, everything is cordoned off often into separate little map spaces. Prosperity itself has little to explore as well, felt like mostly dead ends geographically. Had some story elements I liked a lot, but the exploration that was so strong through Atlanta and the Bloodsport chapter (so awesome) seemed to drop off fairly suddenly in the more blocky and open environment.

-Prosperity Missing Scavs, I didn't even realize I picked up the harmonica. Wish that storyline had a little more full bodied experience/conclusion. Found out I had solved it by accident while trying to get dialogue info from the shopkeep.

Extremely unique mapping, has atmosphere and detail that impressed me quite a bit.

Well balanced, but wish I could see what I was doing sometimes. I understand that the map is something of a puzzle box, but would be nice to have a little more in the way of pointers.

Same with my review of MINERVA, the text is somewhat hard to read while playing and I think that I missed some things. Written nicely though so at least its something I want to read.

Not too long but a nugget of great quality. I recommend very much.

Some excellent mapping in this mod, but not quite my speed. Parts of this mod are some of the best hl maps I have seen. A few parts make me want to tear my hair out.

New enemies I don't like very much, more deadly but not more fun even if I like the models a lot.

Story? No idea, I was confused. I understand the gist somewhat but the G-Man components have me baffled.

Training opens the demo version before this more complete mod came to be. This is not something the player can know so I see many people confused about it. I was also confused, I know it from meta-textual resources. (main article on this moddb page)

I would call my biggest issue with the mapping "Enemy Spam" more =/= better in this case, should you ask me. If grunts in number are no trouble to you, you'll love this mod.

The highs are very high, and there is a lot of content. Sometimes frustrating but overall I think a good mod for a certain crowd.

I adore the mod, one of my favorite half-life experiences.

The adjustments to weapons I liked a lot, made them feel new and dynamic. I was excited to use them and loved just about every minute of it. I really can't say enough good things because I think this one is a must for anyone looking to refresh their half-life experience.

The gameplay is satisfying in a way that just tickled my funny bone, the sound especially alongside the explosive effects and bullet lighting. Those enhancements alone are a game changer. (eh, hard to say if that even counts as a pun)

My few gripes:
-Felt like hard difficulty was made a fair bit easier with new weapons. This may not be exactly true but I felt like it was the case.
-Mapping issues, multiple points during maps when brushes are clipped into each other causing the textures to overlap and flicker. Issues do not inhibit gameplay but occur in some fairly prominent areas, not just difficult to notice areas.
-Alternate weapon modes. Text onscreen proudly declares "silenced mode available" but gives no prompt as to how such a mode should be enabled. Took me a bit to figure out.
-In the same vein, the regular vs sniper mode for the Python I could not initially differentiate and one mode has what I personally feel is a great deal of spread in the firing range of its bullets as opposed to vanilla. This is not significantly indicated to the player and had me confused about how I was missing for a while.

On the whole, a very highly recommended experience. I had an absolute blast with it, a lot to love methinks.

-Hyped to play dark star with it but I need to play the original version first.

I like this a lot as a continuation of Poke646. Really fun to see all the custom graphics packed into this mod. The original work makes the environments feel fresh which is wonderful, I like all the technical updates in this version of Poke.

Fairly short, I do wish it were longer because I really enjoyed what there was to play. Not a big gripe though because it is a project of passion, and one you don't need to pay a dime for.

If you played the first, this is a no-brainer. Go for it.

Quality mod, has a unique new story and piles on a new setting that half-life doesn't spring for. A lot of fun to journey through the ruined city. Decent length as well, there's quite a bit of content here.

Mapping I think was fairly good, sometimes slightly awkward but I never was entirely lost. I like the look, variety, and tone of these maps.

If you're looking for a solid bit of half-life gameplay with a new story and some new mechanics, giving this mod a go won't lead you astray.

Ah, good mod, good mod. I like it.

I don't have quite as much love for Opposing Force as some folks do, but I like it well enough and this mod capitalizes well on some of the things I did like quite a bit about Opposing Force.

Favorite things from the mod:
-Secret nooks
---I liked how there were lots of items hidden in out of the way corners especially related to use of the OP4 traversal weapon I felt was underutilized in the source material. Shines well here which I liked quite a lot. Unfortunately this sometimes obscured the main thread as some of the trickier required platforming feels more hidden than whatever offshoot secret area might also be leading towards progress.
-Squad system
---Can't say I think half life in any of its forms benefits from a squad system but that is personal preference (too many people in too little space). I was impressed that this one functions at a reasonable level. Pretty cool feat in my opinion. Was at least nice not to be alone so much all the time. A favorite in recognition of the technical work involved. Seemed some battles designed to wipe out my squad failed to do so and others that were just the first wave obliterated everyone. Performed well against black ops and died very quickly to any alien threat as far as I could tell.
-"I'm beginning to worry, mostly about myself."
---I chuckled, no further notes there.
-MAPS
---Alright, with the rest out of the way I can just say I thought the maps were great. Right amount of backtracking, easter eggs where you realize the areas are all connected, BM facility staff tricks. I liked the variety and felt like the areas were nicely paced. The way maps feel and play is pretty make or break in my head and these ones make. A few times I was at a loss as to where to go or what to do. Seemed like I needed an environmental solution when other means were required. (ending, tram station access card where player crosses the gap and then back, to name the ones off the top of my head.)

Cons: (at least the couple I have not mentioned already)
-Voice Acting
---I actually like the home grown quality of mod voice acting, I find it charming and it reminds me of the real people who put work into this stuff. I will however, say that the custom VA in this mod seems to be done mostly by one person. I would have liked a little variety, even if it was not skilled voice talent. I would have appreciated the texture difference of hearing a couple different voices across Black Mesa.
-Ambient Noise
---Too much ambient noise in some parts. I appreciate the effort but the shipping containers kept making the same two metal squeaking noises repeatedly, almost constantly near the end. Ended up fairly distracted by it even when I was enjoying the layered map platforming in the crane yard. Clever part I thought.

I like many things in this mod, so many things that I would say the mod on the whole is in fact extremely good. Always glad to see some love poured into this stuff folks make. Makes life more worth living I think.