Combine Destiny review

[page=Opposing Combine]

If you like your gameplay simple and straightforward and can tolerate the many design issues, there's nothing to stop you enjoying every minute of Combine Destiny. Otherwise, only play if you've some freetime to kill.

Go team Combine.

Half-Life: Opposing Force was an awesome game. Infact it'd probably be fair to say that had IT been the original Half-Life, the future and subsequent acclaim of the franchise would be no different. What made the game really exciting though was the fact that you got the play 'the bad guy'. Playing the same game from another perspective not only adds and interesting dynamic to the story, but also deepens the general universe that its a part of. The team behind Combine Destiny intend to put this very same principle into effect for their mod, which while not playing directly parralell to the Half-Life 2 story, promises to add more depth to the Combine. Does it succeed? Well...

From the moment the mod started I was hit with a sense of ambivolance. While the introductary scene was promising, it also felt rushed, and ultimately not fulfilling it's potential. This principle basically transpires throughout the rest of the mod, which while at times shows promise and the potential for some interesting gameplay, genreally falls short and becomes little more than a shooting gallery.

You start the game as an unidentified Combine Troop with two other team members, but surprisingly little if any background as to what's actually going on. The whole narrative aspect of the game is revelead to you via text messages that appear on screen explaining what you need to do and why. You're basically instructed to enter a seemingly desolate facility in search of other combine troops, but only a few seconds into the game and you're already under attack by a group of zombies... which you subsequently kill. You then move on unattacked for a little while, the odd normal-zombie making for adequate target practice, before once again having to shoot something else. This is the basic format for the whole mod, and while there is the odd section that provides a little more interest (I especially liked fighting against the Rebels, your allies in Half-Life 2) the mod generally likes to stick to the same gameplay principles we're used to seeing in games such as Duke Nukem 3D.

This might look cool...if there weren't two other guys lying the exact same way nearby...

On the whole though this is not really a problem. I don't mind what a game does just as long as it does it well, but what I found unacceptable by any teams standards is the amount of ammo you recieve. Health and Charger kits are spread out reasonably sparse throughout the mod, but not to the extent that it damages the gameplay. Strangely enough I always managed to find a health or recharger right when I needed one. Unfortunately the same can't be said for ammunition. In a sense this is also to the mods benefit, as you'll find yourself desperately trying to conserve ammo and make sure every shot counts. But since many sections of the mod consist of numerous enemies being thrown at you, the only neccassary option is to just shoot like hell, which is not easy if you've only got a few bullets left. But by playing through carefully enough and using lesser weapons on weaker enemies, this should not be too much of a problem.

[page=When good ideas become lackluster]

Died taking a nap?

One thing I would've greatly liked to see elaborated on is the team work with other Combine soldiers. At points throughout the story you join forces with other troops who fight beside you, but for the most part they're about as much use as chocolate fire guard. They basically follow you and shoot anything attacks... well sometimes, more often than not I resorted to shooting their faces just so they'd get out of the way and allow me to continue.

But for all it's generic aspects and straight-forward direction, the mod is by no means unplayable. If you like your games simple and straight forward you'll no doubt enjoy Combine Destiny, and there are plenty of levels to keep you occupied.

As mentioned with the gameplay, the mod likes to fool you into expecting something interesting to come, only to laugh in your face when it reveals quite the opposite. This is more so the case with the design than any other aspect of the mod. In general the design serves its purpose perfectly well, but you can't help but feel that it could have been so much more if just a little extra attention to detail had been paid. I for one would much prefer to play a short, but detailed and immersive game (ie: The Lost Coast) than something that's long but ultimately void of atmospheric content (ie: this).

The actual theme, style and general presentation of the levels fit the style perfectly, and works well within the Half-Life 2 Universe. Nothing feels particularly out of place, and the levels (both in terms of story development and atmosphere) link together well. But again, there's nothing in it's favour that could warrant it being considered anything greater than average. The ideas are good and the potential is there, it's just quite simpley not being fulfilled.

My favorite scene in the game: The three minute long black "knock out" period.

One aspect that really annoys me though and is unacceptable in any mod, regardless of the teams experience, is where poor design has a detrimental effect on the actual gameplay. One section in particular sees you in a sewer swarming with headcrabs. The music sets the scene, you've just picked up a nice stock of ammo and are ready to go, but thanks to the architecture you're movement is greatly restricted. No matter how hard you jump around you'll just keep bouncing on the waters edge, while headcrab after headcrab come flying at you. Chaos Theory quickly takes place, as you're firing in every direction, desperately trying to escape the 2 feet of water you're in while being bitten to hell by monsters. You could chill out and try to take your time, but theres only so relaxed you can be when you're health is fast reaching the dreaded Zero mark.

Thankfully areas that it becomes this much of a problem are few and far between, but they feel worse for the very fact that you know with a little more care, they could've actually been pinnacle moments in the games design.

Another slightly annoying aspect is how unclear much of the design can be in terms of what you're supposed to be doing. Buttons that you need to press don't always clearly stand out against the rest of the environment, and some of the doors quite simpley aren't recognisable as doors until you walk into them. All in all while MOST of the design doesn't harm the gameplay, it never provides you with an experience anything more than average. While much of this can probably be put down to the size of the team and their experience, it would've been a wise move on their part to prioritise making the mod immersive, atmospheric and fun, as opposed to drawn out and overly simple.

[page=Destined for more.]

The right stuff?

Graphically, as far as I can tell, there's nothing in the mod that isn't available in Half-Life 2. There didnt seem to be any particular effects or textures (certainely not models) that I didn't recognise, and while it can be argued this has been done to keep the overall atmosphere in continuity with the actual Half-Life 2 game, far more could've been done to make the graphics effective... again.

At no point do you feel like you're walking through a digital world entirely seperate to your own. Instead, it feels more like you're walking through a few shoeboxes, painted to look like an entirely seperate world. If theres one thing graphics should be used for, its enhancing the illusion that the player is in a living breathing world. While as with all the other elements Combine Destiny's generally serve their purpose, they do little if anything else to really make the experience immersive and unique.

While the sound is pretty bog standard, the music is probably the one aspect of this mod that really adds to the atmosphere. It's not used nearly enough, but the odd instance where the teams music kicks in really helps to set the mood for the given situation.

The vast majority of the mod features utter silence, so these cases are even more welcome. Given the pretty average nature of the mods other aspects, it makes these instances even more effective.

It's a bug hunt, man!

It's clear from playing Combine Destiny that experience, knowledge of the tools at their disposal and the size of the team is having a detrimental effect on what are otherwise really good ideas, that could potentially make a really interesting story. If is the team are unable to make a long mod that is of high quality from start to finish, I'd greatly reccomend they shorten it's length, and spend the dev time ironing out all the bugs, and adding the detail and enhancments the mod clearly needs.

As a mod in it's own right, there's no reason not to download this and atleast give it a go. There's plenty to shoot at, and to be honest with the all ammo cheat activated you might even have alot more fun. It's also a decent length, and the few instances where the team has tried to add something a little more interesting to the game are defiantely pay off. But if the team still wants people to take them seriously when mods such as Black Mesa: Source, They Hunger: Lost Souls and Nightfall have been released, they need to concentrate their efforts alot more to produce something that actually meets its potential. I sincerely hope they do this with the recently announced Combine Destiny 2, as it's clear that the potential is most certainley there.

Overview :

Gameplay : 3/5
Design : 3/5
Graphics : 3/5
Sound : 4/5

Overall : 13/20 = 65%