Prequel for Half-Life Mod allows to look and take part at the events before Half-Life. You assume the role of Dr. Gordon Freeman. You will meet Kleiner, Vance, Barney, Rosenberg and other characters.
This mod always gave me a warm feeling. Playing the new version felt just as special and cozy, and going through these small vignettes makes HL1's beginning so much more bittersweet.
The only thing I could nitpick is some VAs not resembling the originals, but everything is recorded in good quality and subtitled.
Played on version 1.3 released 17.08.2022.
I must say I didn't see much of a difference compared to the 2009 release. I suspect that some architecture was enhanced and few additional voice scenes added.
In my humble opinion not much has changed since the original release except that now we get proper English voice actors doing the Job compared to formerly Russian voice actors that recorded the lines in a very broken English all together.
But what is this mod all about anyway?
Half-Life Induction is a very well made fan tale that portrays how Gordon Freeman got first employed to the Black Mesa Research Facility prior to that very fateful day which led to the Resonance Cascade.
We get to meet Barney Calhoun and Eli Vance for the first time and learn more about Doctor Kleiner who sponsored our very entry as Freshmen of the MIT to become an employee of Black Mesa. He was his Professor at MIT. (Canon)
One would assume that a purely pre casecade scenario playing at Black Mesa might be boring. But in fact it's actually quite entertaining.
We get to witness the life decisions of one of the Black Mesa Employees as well as unlocking several new achievements which weren't present in the 2009 release.
All in all while very short (about 30 to 60 minutes) I did enjoy Half-Life Induction v1.3 quite a lot. If you do like lore Strong Half-Life mods being true to the official lore of the Half-Life1 timeline make sure to give Half-Life Induction a go. I did unlock 8 out of 10 possible achievements in this current release.
Everything worked as intended. The Architecture and mapping were fine. Since there was no combat I'm skipping the balancing Category. It's a purely Story intended mod. Similar to the very prominent Half-Life: Black Mesa - Hazard Course mod.
Go and give it a try people. It's a lovely made mod but purely a fan fiction with some elements thrown in that are actually canon. Don't take it to seriously but don't dismiss it either.
I enjoyed it and if you too enjoy peace for a while instead of pure combat in Black Mesa then this is the perfect mod for you.
This mod is like a nice break for a coffee cup, give it a try.
Cool. A few bugs but so far, awesome mod. Russians are cool!
This mod is really good. From the beginning I loved it. The construction of the maps are really well done, we really feel that we are in black mesa. I also liked some cameo that I'll let you discover, and I was really happy about that x).
The only thing I think to review is the dubbing of some characters, but otherwise the rest is great.
Cool mod, love the areas of Black Mesa we are shown. The subtitles are sometimes wonky, but they convey what is happening well.
It's a mod that takes place BEFORE the BM incident. There's no enemies, no battles, no dangers, it's a PEACEFUL mod and it's unique because of this.
Half-Life: Induction is the mod I have been wanting to find and play for years. This mod is a short but incredibly well made mod that tells the story of Gordon Freeman before the Black Mesa Incident. It may not have any action, but that is expected since it is before the B.M.I. The mapping and story is very well done. The English subtitles are a bit off sometimes, but it doesn't really get in the way of the storytelling much. I have to say that this is one of my new favorite mods I have played for Half-Life, and it should be yours too. So, if you want a mod to play that takes place before the Black Mesa Incident and want a bit more story about Half-Life, you should definitely pick this mod up.
Disappointment with Half-Life 3 led many mod developers to create their own interpretations of the sequel to the famous FPS saga. That's why is so rare and original to find a prequel to the first title. However, what Half-Life: Induction delivers is lackluster in practically every aspect, especially in terms of game length and bland gameplay.
Modelling is almost the only aspect of worth in Induction. The characters of Half-Life are reskinned and fit the lab-like ambience of the mod. However, while the textures and mapping are faithful to the classic style of Black Mesa, they are not outstanding in any way. The lack of music also contributes to failure in setting an engaging ambience: why not even original Half-Life music isn't present is something I cannot fathom.
The story is supposedly the strongest point of Induction, but it turns out it is not. Key characters from Half-Life 2 are presented in a rather mundane routine, which is a nice nod to the saga, but the narrative they are involved in goes nowhere. It's just a slice of life that's so boring it makes us question why we would be interested in Gordon Freeman's story at all. I got to praise the Easter egg achievement system though. As for the dialogue, it is a big drawback to juggle between Russian dialogues, which are unfitting and horribly acted, and the original English dialogues of NPCs. This has improved tremendously though with the release of Induction 1.3, featuring cleaner subtitles and decent English voice acting that somewhat merges with the original Half-Life 2 characters.
After some ups and downs, gameplay is definitely the worst offender. Every variation of Half-Life should always be conceived as an action mod, not a walking simulator. Period. The base game doesn't even have graphics to make it visually appealing. Additionally, the mod is extremely short and the puzzles are few and far in between, most of them extremely easy, although there are notable "final status" endings if you screw up the expected pace.
Got some time to kill and you are bored of the umpteenth variation of Half-Life's prequel/sequel? Try it at your own risk. If not, don't even look back.
russian langauge or not this mod is a good backstory