Half Life Prison mod for Half-Life

My review is a tad too big for the review section, so I'll post it here. Spoilers ahead...

When I first saw this mod, I expected it to be nothing more than a dull, grey corridor shooting gallery, mostly because I played a lot of jail-break games and mods at that time. In fact, I wasn't even planning to play it myself, instead I just watched the walkthrough. But when I first saw I overwhelmed with how much of a true treasure this mod actually is, despite its generic name.
Firstly, even though the mod is dubbed Prison, very little of it takes place in an actual prison. Rather, most of it is situated in an enormous Xen colony that is located deep underground below the prison. Sure, you walk around the jailhouse of about 30 minutes, but then a guard tells you that Xenizens (I'll call them like that to avoid using the redundant "Xen alien" term) have attacked the jailhouse because it's located on their turf, and naturally it is Freeman's civic duty to go kick alien *** again.

The plot is as simplistic as a Half-Life mod gets, nor does it really need one anyways. The atmosphere, on the other hand, is nothing short of astounding. Prison's Xen is a LOT more alive than the original one. You can literally feel this "alien civilization" vibe when you explore the various caverns and buildings of the Colony and observe the little details that make Reactor's Xen feels so... live-like.

There are things like signs in alien language, peculiar inhuman technology like that explosive proton ball cannon at the arena or that space distorting machine in the maze, little details that hint at the domestic life and culture of Xenizens, such as cantina where alien grunts are having their daily lunch or vortigaunts shepherding Mr. Friendlies, or when they're seen studying human weapons and mechanisms. Last but not least, there's the gladiator arena. Before the iconic battle, you get to see it from the safe distance. There, you can see bullsquids slaughtering and eating each other while several dozens of vortigaunts cheer on in the background. I just LOVE that little touch. Not only does show the player that Xenizens are not all work and no play, but also it makes perfect sense for such a deeply imperialistic civilization to indulge in equally imperialistic entertainment. All these little details give them so much life and makes them more than just targets for Freeman's rampage.

I also love how Reactor emphasizes the Doom-esque aspects of Xen; grotesque fleshy-looking environments, strangely shaped interiors and slightly maze-like design of the levels. They even have their own Icon of Sin, the Portal Keeper that inhabits a large tub of acid in a very bizzare, seemingly-bottomless corridor in the middle of a large void.

Let's be honest: the fights are poorly balanced and very taxing. On one occasion, you have to turn off the gravity... by shooting moving and hard-to-break tiny triangles while enduring an onslaught by infinitely respawning vortigaunts (whose attacks are hit-scan, unless you're in cover) and houndeyes (whose attacks can penetrate through any cover and get stronger if the numbers are larger). Funny enough, I did not actually realize that vorts and hounds can work together in such a perfect tandem. Gonarchs and Gargs are fought on a much more regular basis, and although both of them have much lesser health than their boss battle counterparts, they can still dish out a lot of punishment.

The Arena Battle is tough as nails, but also breathtakingly thrilling too. The second you set foot on that place, the vortigaunts start screaming in pure rage, the bulletproof glass dome being the only thing that stops them from toasting you on spot. Then, the Portal Keeper himself, in a distorted, demonic voice, expresses his emotions of disgust and wrath, eager to see the loathsome invader spill his blood on the land of Xen, to see the predator turn into prey. This entire scene reeks of Xenizens' unadultered hatred for Freeman, and I always get goosebumps when I get to that scene. After you defeat several waves of Xenizens, you are confronted with the final challenge of the arena battle, the explosive proton cannon. That thing fires off bouncy explosive energy balls that hurt you badly when you touch them, and they're also fast as hell and they richochet of the glass dome and it turns into something of a bullet-hell thing.

Very good game

Streamed the mod:

This is one of those hidden gems in HL modding, highly recommend it!

Still one of the greatest mods for HL.