Half Life is 10

Mr E

Hard to believe it came out 10 years ago today.

In many ways, I think I enjoyed HL1 more than HL2. It was just such a fresh experience at the time, and I was hooked on it until I finished it. Apart from the last level or two, it was a fantastic game.

Happy Birthday Half Life....

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2008/11/19/half-life-turns-ten-today/

tman

For he's a jolly good shooter...

This is going to sound a bit cheesy, but it totally changed what I expected from an FPS, think I'll give it a long overdue replay soon:)

TerrorFirmer

Ah, memories of playing it at a friends on a 300mhz Celeron and 4mb SiS graphics - for some reason never played it on my own machine of the day which was far better!

Still a great game. Sound Effects and general atmosphere are brilliant - some of the mods, like Day of Defeat, are better then both some of the current releases and also their Source remakes. Shooters typically age terribly but Half life is still very engaging and playable - one of the few games I've owned and kept throughout the years.

Soby

:eek: 10 years..god time flies..Ye i think its due a replay

quarryman

That last level though. Way to ruin it...

DarkJager

quarryman wrote: »

That last level though. Way to ruin it...

noclip

Azza

Yes the game deserves its fair dues.

Will consider a replay of it soon myself.

Mr. Presentable

Oh I feel so old now

Zillah

quarryman wrote: »

That last level though. Way to ruin it...

I hear this is very common. I disagree, I think it was a perfect ending to it.

Pugsley

Jebus, that was yonks ago, may give it another blast if I can find time.

Retr0gamer

God I feel so old now. Still remember when it was released and the PC Gamer review of it. I remember it was released to very little fanfare but some reason I somehow new it was going to be special. It just looked so imaginative compared to the shooters that were being hyped at the time like Unreal and Prey. I was absolutely blown away by the game. With all the rubbish fantasy and space marine games out Half Lifes setting is still original and has yet to be copied.

DirkVoodoo

Was just gonna post an "I feel so old". I remember reading a preview of this and not being that impressed (being new to PC gaming I did not understand all the technical jargon). Then my friend, known on boards as TheCzar, gave me his PCFormat demo cd with "Half Life: Uplink" on it and I was blown away. So much interaction, so much atmosphere, and look at those special forces chaps cut down the door! Far removed from previous FPS which taped a flimsy backstory written on a postage stamp onto the usual corridor scramble in the search for door levers and keys.

I think I played this on my gateway P5 120MHz, 16MB RAM and a 2.0GB HDD.

Still the single best FPS experience by far, it really was groundbreaking when you see that nearly every FPS since has stuck to the rules these guys wrote.

Happy Birthday!

kaimera

thanks for the memories Gordon

Happy birthday! Roll on HL3

L31mr0d

now if only Black Mesa would get out the door, I'd be able to replay through this game in the excellent source engine. I'd say it'll be another decade before we see that mod though

rainbow kirby

Jesus christ, that makes me feel old. :eek:

Think I may have to play through it over Christmas though in honour of the anniversary

Creamy Goodness

, i feel old now.

it's amazing how 10 years pass so quickly when you play a great game constantly.

Voodu Child

Its $0.98 on Steam right now. Ends Friday Nov 21

Kiith

Half Life was probably the single greatest game to ever come out on the pc. For its time, it was head and shoulders (with additional head crab) over its competition. So many briliant moment to be had, with some excellent AI to contend with. Anyone who has never played it should be ashamed of themselves.

So happy birthday Half Life. Its hard to believe you've grown up so fast.

witnessmenow

Retr0gamer wrote: »

God I feel so old now. Still remember when it was released and the PC Gamer review of it. I remember it was released to very little fanfare but some reason I somehow new it was going to be special. It just looked so imaginative compared to the shooters that were being hyped at the time like Unreal and Prey. I was absolutely blown away by the game. With all the rubbish fantasy and space marine games out Half Lifes setting is still original and has yet to be copied.

Im almost positive that prey would have been released around the same time as HL2 rather than the original Half life.

EDIT: July 2006 and according to its wiki

Bubs101

Great game but the worst final boss I have ever played. Ruined the game somewhat for me

tman

witnessmenow wrote: »

Im almost positive that prey would have been released around the same time as HL2 rather than the original Half life.

EDIT: July 2006 and according to its wiki

Guess he meant Sin... Even Retro makes mistakes sometimes:p

Is anybody else celebrating by getting drunk and playing Left 4 Dead???
I am!

TerrorFirmer

tman wrote: »

Guess he meant Sin... Even Retro makes mistakes sometimes:p

Is anybody else celebrating by getting drunk and playing Left 4 Dead???
I am!

Prey was originally meant to come out years ago - as in the best part of a decade ago - but was scrapped. That's what he meant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prey_(video_game)#False_starts

Captain Chaos

I remember first playing the Uplink demo and then saving up to buy the first Half Life Generations pack that had HL1, OF addon, Team Fortress and Counter Strike later that month.

Playing it on my first PC which was a GateWay P3 500mhz, 64mb RAM, ATi Rage 128 8mb graphics card and 6.4gb hard drive. I never got to experience the multiplayer:(.

Not sure if its true but I remember seeing an interview with Gabe and he said that the AI could not move and shoot at the same time but it turned out so well no-one noticed.

Retr0gamer

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Prey was originally meant to come out years ago - as in the best part of a decade ago - but was scrapped. That's what he meant.

Yep thank god someone else knows their videogame history unlike you whippersnappers. It was the biggest piece of vapourware ever until it did get released and the baton was passed to duke nukem forever.

Actually sin was released about a week before half life 1. I loved it and thought it was revolutionary but then half life came along and I totally forgot about it.

We still play this in multiplayer, it's an absolute blast on crossfire and bootcamp.

I would be playing left 4 dead but had to watch a disgraceful football match

Sarky

Has it really been a decade since Dr. Freeman crowbarred his way to fame? It seemss as if he only jusst arrived.

My first memory of Half Life is the game randomly going mute after loading a new section because of my sound card drivers. But damn was it ever fun!

<salutes>

witnessmenow

Lol your answer was even on the page I linked to

In 1995-98 I wasn't aware PCs could play games, so its a bit before my time alright

ProjectColossus

I remember vividly going to buy this with my cofirmation money just after it came out. What an amazing game.

Also, shame on people not knowing about Prey's legendary 11 year (1995-2008) development

Spunge

Just bought it there for 95cent. Lost my cd copy a few years ago and never bought it again. Sweet deal, may play some mods now.

Ross_Mahon

I remember i was 10 years old, sitting in my cousins and playing a game i didn't know what it was? Shooting security guards and scientists...

A few years later i bought the pack with half life and all the expansions, was mad into it! While half way through one of the expansions, i went on holidays to spain, And i was in an internet Cafe playing against Spanish on lan! Was brilliant.

Frisbee

I remember playing this as a ten year old. Was so excited till a few levels in when I started to sh*t myself every time I had to round a corner or something jumped out at me...

Fantastic Game though, one of my all time favourites

Stephen

Those barnicle thingies used give me the creeps :pac:

half life and the whole ecosystem of mods and sequels it spawned.