Sweet Half-Life is a single-player mod for Half-Life. It includes 3 new weapons and 5 new enemies. weapons: Minigun: Mowing down an area has NEVER been easier with this bad-ass! Be careful, as it shares ammo with the M16. M16: One of the mod's main attractions, the M16 is the coolest weapon. 50 round clip, MP5 grenades and a short reload sequence. Plasma gun: 60 round clip, 240 ammo carried, and the R-A-C-E's standard issue. Secondary fire uses a BIG shot of 10 rounds. Short reload sequence. Enemies: Minigun grunt: Was "Dumped" from the final game, but it's YOUR chance to see him NOW! Armed with a minigun at all times and its speed make it a weak class selection. R-A-C-E: Standard aliens, always with a plasma gun. there are only 9 seen in-game if you choose Route A (twist the valve), but a LOT more if you choose route B. Probe: Think they will take a picture of you? They will zap you instead. Will detonate when killed. Probe boss: This is a quite hard boss. Only...
The story is a bit more in depth then half-life, but while the gameplay can consistently be engaging I felt that the level design was uninspiring to say the least, eventhough I thought the beginning looked good because it had a sort of classic vibe to be transporting the crystal on a rail as well as to see the grunts acting friendly before they get their orders.
But the length is good, longer then I expected and it has a new weapon which is "sweet" (Pun intended :D). It has scripted sequence which really add to the mods freshness and some voice acting (though the scripted sequences can break the game if you make some mistakes so make sure to keep a save or 2 handy).
My smaller nitpick is the last part of the mod.
The part on the alien spaceship is laughable, to have those aliens we imagined in the 60's horror films... I never expected that from half-life and just like I wouldn't imagine it in Deus Ex. The spaceship has the worst level design I've ever seen.
Though it does give us 2 new alien weapons.
The end boss was way to tough but I did enjoy it for the challenge.
The ending left me sort of.. a wtf moment.
Though there is a alternate ending.
Somehow, this mod just doesn't click with me. I simply can't get a feel for it. Also, as a bit of constructive criticism, I think the voice acting needs work; It's recorded on a pretty static-y microphone and it also lacks actual enthusiasm (I guess?) for lack of a better word.
Sweet Half-Life (SHL) can be considered a classic by some people. It offers the feeling of the base game but is enhanced with more fast-paced gameplay, new weapons, new enemies and new friends. It takes some unexpected twists and makes several references to science fiction movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey (some humorous) and displays anime drawings in various parts (it can be said this is the signature of the developer). However, while it renovates the HL experience, it is hindered by unintuitive puzzles, compatibility issues, and relatively short time sink.
While the ambience mostly resembles HL, it is designed mainly with smaller areas and some anime textures (not many, in my opinion). There are some interesting rare models like the scientists in HEV suits and the Kingpin, but there are others that are weird: the stereotypical grey aliens, iconic in this mod. Nevertheless, the transitions between scenarios are fluid, even for the Xen part, with larger areas and contrasting ambiences. The use of original soundtrack is on point where it's used, and the custom music included adds a light comedic touch that I don't consider very intrusive (except for the path to the second ending, which is unfitting and can get annoying after a while).
The story is difficult to follow compared to other mods. It lacks narrative because it's mostly guided by scripted scenes. However, the majority lead to very enjoyable action scenarios, fittingly coupled with the soundtrack. For me, it felt forced to name the protagonist Gordon, since while it tried to make the original dialogues (and some custom, dully voice acted) not feel unfitting, I think it failed to achieve this. In general terms, I didn't understand the plot nor did I care about it, thus this is the weakest aspect of the mod.
The gameplay is very similar to HL, but it goes for shorter, more intense maps instead of the wider, entangled and action-rationed maps from the original game. The lack of backtracking and the availability of several ammo and weapons (two of them custom-made, done not bad at all) is the aspect I highlight the most. The enemy AI is generally well-scripted and the addition of new useful allies like the armed scientists is good, though they didn't wander very far from their spawn. There are also 2 paths to the endings that are very different and change the walkthrough quite a lot: one more action-packed and very fun, and the other combines action with weirdness. However, both endings felt very blunt for the tension they were building, so it gives the impression the game is short (and it is, sort of).
As for the negative aspects of gameplay, there are two, and they are quite troublesome. The game has bugs when played in a version newer than WON or that uses the HD repack, so it is annoyance to find and download a working HL base game just to play this mod. On the other hand, there are several parts where puzzles are very unintuitive. Whether it is a non-apparent button, a hidden passage reachable through jump+crouch, or a scripted part that requires quick reactions to avoid instant death, it is not always clear, so it isn't rare to spend a lot of time retracing your steps, loading and saving the game frequently, or just watching a guide to get unstuck, hindering much of the fun the mod has to offer.
Sweet Half-Life is a mod with a lot of good things, plus an action and comedy touch that feels like experiencing Half-Life again from a fresh perspective. However, it requires quite some patience to deal with the compatibility issues and the puzzles that get you stuck more often than not.
It's nice, and has a lot of cool stuff like new weapons and new enemies and some crazy ideas (the train sequence!).
The only things I could complain about is that it has some moments where I got stuck for some time, and the ending appeared almost without a warning, making the whole mod feel really short compared to other big Half-Life mods.
But overall, I had a lot of fun playing it.
Sweet Half-Life is a classic Half-Life mod, bringing a bit of comedy elements to the franchice. You play as Black Mesa Research Facility's Warehouse Manager McGinley. This is your special day, as you're the one to bring the Xen crystal for preparation before the test. Not long after the incident happens and you're on your own, trying to escape the Black Mesa Research Facility, but neither Xen creatures nor the H.E.C.U. soldiers are your main problem, there's something else...
The level design is quite simple, yet nothing too bad and it also gives you the classic Half-Life feeling. The lenght is also good, you can get around 3 hours of gameplay. Not only that, but you also have two different pathes and two different ending, which is a nice touch. Custom weapons and enemies are a nice touch as well. Sadly, the voice acting is quite lacking, you only get to hear is maybe two or three times in the game, and even then it's not the top quality. All in all, the game should be worth your time and, while it may be non-canon, it's still a sweet way to experience something new and alternative.
Amazing and original. One of my old favorites back in 2008.
An uneven mod, difficult one to rate. On one hand, it got lots of very cool, funny, creative scenes, new npcs, new weapons, with something always happening around you.
On the other hand, mod expects you to play through these sequences with absolute precision, while also leaving you to guess what the hell you're supposed to do, and if author logic doesn't click with you, you'll be in trouble.
One particular example is a scene where you're supposed to shoot at some explosives - you're presented with two exploding barrels and one explosive crate. Try shooting barrels, waste ammo, go wander around scratching your head, until you discover that only one the explosive crate can be blown up.
For me, these things didn't affect overall experience too much, but anyone else should think twice if it's their thing.
Story is silly, but kinda charming - ever since HL2 released, we can't have "Gman employers are tiny grey aliens in flying saucers!" again, really.
Very much a classic 00s mod, and one of better ones, but not particularly player-friendly and intuitive.
"Bitter" Half-Life!
It wasn't a pleasant experience playing this mod.
Uneven difficulty throughout.
Some design choices are bad. Like
-Spamming the screen with words during end-boss battle, the section that is ridiculously difficult from the beginning.
-Three-Garg section
and a few more...
Just played through the first normal ending.
This mod didn't encourage me to play it again for the 2nd ending(Alien one).
Appreciate the work of the developers.
But, this is not for me.
I can't believe I didn't play this mod before. I stumbled upon the name of it while browsing random sites. This is so great. incredible. What I would expect from a great half life mod. it has new and great ideas, awesome plot cross segments with original game, unique map designs that doesn't wander off of vanilla ones. smart puzzles. some new weapons. a new alien race. useful npcs, love, drama, comedy, sci fi! :) don't miss this one. this mod satisfied all of my expectations and then some.
The first Half-Life mod I've ever played, It still never gets old because it brings some unique new events to Half-Life.
The big changes are that you have Scientists as Allies who can shoot enemies with all kinds of weapons, The three new weapons:The Minigun, Assault SMG, and Plasma cannon feel like genuine Half-Life Weapons.
In addition to the normal half-life enemies comes the scrapped Heavy Weapon Grunt and Grey Alien Grunt, These enemies, plus an incredible story gives Sweet Half-Life a fresh look at this classic game.