Research and Development
Half-Life 2 set the bar for physics based puzzles and few have come close to taking the crown, until now that is. Research and Development is all about unarmed violent mayhem with all combat and puzzles being solved using the environment, your trusty zero-point energy field manipulator and a little bit of common sense, the fantastic use of props and the havok system lead to some very interesting sequences that very few mods of the genre seem to include. Gravity is indeed a very powerful tool and RnD makes great use of it with weight, motion and buoyancy being at the core of most solutions for the problems at hand, with a few interesting extras thrown in for good measure.
It turns out that your standard first person problem solving really does go out the window in this mod, anyone who is familiar with the Half-Life type puzzles would know of the old electrified cable on a puddle of water or using empty barrels under metal platforms to make them float will have quite a shock stepping into RnD. One part that had myself stumped for a few minutes had one of the most obvious answers. When faced with a padlocked door within vanilla HL2 the player will naturally shoot the padlock, it's always the first thing that will come to mind but RnD does not have any weapons to speak of so what would you do exactly? Pick up a gas tank and swing it at the padlock! Such a logical solution to such a simple puzzle was quite a different thought process for me and it only got better from that point onwards.
I'm not the type of person who enjoys sitting down and spending time for what is simply a Half-Life 2 map pack, most will need more than just a few kill rooms to tickle my fancy, but RnD does a fantastic job of putting the focus off combat and taking what Half-Life 2 promised from the beginning and delivering just that. Research and Development is definitely worthy of any Half-Life fans itching to get a bit more action, just without the crowbar.
Type: Single Player
Run Time: 2 Hours
File Size: 54.57 MB
Difficulty: Medium
By the looks of that picture, I think building a car using the Gravity Gun will be a pain in the ***.
It wasn't at all. Great mod. Lots of fun!
this is totally off topic but, i used to use the name bobthegreat for online games :P
'Bout time there was and article on this awesomeness
I unnoficially stopped playing before this so-called car. You have peaked my interest enough to make me continue, you sadist.
u should make this multiplayer and put a game mode where u build ur vehicle and have races or deathmatches and stuff
I enjoyed this. Wish he was making more!
Definately going to try this out. A very creative and positive use of the HL2 stock engine without just creating new maps and throwing tons of enemies into it.
Should of tried it out when it was released!
Matt_b is a truly talented mapper and designer. This is a great mod.
awesome mod played it loved it :)
It was a Great mod.
Nice write-up and a cool mod to kick-start the feature with. R&D is a joy to play, it's one mod that you'll come back to just because of the memorable moments and humor.
One of the best mods, ever.
This was such a great mod. I thought the mod was going to be awful. Turned out, way better to me then most of the other hyped mods recently. A must try~!
this mod was full of epic win.
tho, there are some parts which made me want to tear the hair out of my head.
That is solid proof what a genius matt_b is.
Loved this mod have played I think 3 times through now :D
There were a few puzzles that were REALLY painful, but otherwise I really enjoyed it.
It's a nice mod, enjoy !
i rly liked the A-team pictures in that room^^
This mod was awesome when I played it, and I totally recommend it to everyone! You will not be disappointed!
~Vis From The 1187 Team~
great game, funny puzzles. just played it through with a friend of mine.
the room with the rays and beams is best.
Haha looks a hella lot of fun tbh
******' episode 2
the very best sample of diversity and how using your head a little more can lead to something extravagent.
I fully recommend this to anyone wanting to spend their next few hours of mod playing time with this, it has seriously been the best mod in a very long time.
I really want more. I can't get enough of this.
Great article. I love this mod, I enjoyed it so much.
i've played a lotta singleplayer mods but this is the best one ever. it's so puzzling at points PLEASE make a sequel or something i love this mod!!
Wait, so does this use CONTENT from Episode 2, or just the engine?
MOTY
can you make Research and Development 2 =)