This article is part of our History of PC Gaming series. When released in , Half-Life was so ahead of its time that it actually rarely gets credit for all of the innovations it introduced to the shooter genre and gaming as a whole.
From grenade throwing to mods, Half-Life changed how you play video games in ways that you may not even realize. In terms of impact on PC gaming, Half-Life stands as one of the most important titles ever released. For years, you could argue that there was really only one Half-Life. Ad — content continues below. Titles like GoldenEye played with similar ideas, but there really is an internal logic to the location of nearly every gun and item in Half-Life that goes beyond whether a gun is floating magically or laying in wait.
Prior to Half-Life , the concept of health and armor in most first-person shooters and many other games for that matter was pretty simple. Health and recharge stations were also found in locations that generally made sense to the environment and narrative.
It also featured a toggleable flashlight, which was either the first appearance of that mechanic in an FPS or a very early example of it. You could argue that the relationship between Gordon and his suit would even lead to things like the rechargeable shield in Halo: Combat Evolved. Yet, the ways in which Half-Life changed the art of PvE first-person combat can best be summarized by what happens when someone in the game throws a grenade.
Half-Life 2 might be one of the most important video games ever made. Its contributions to modding, game development, and fandom are too numerous to list. Highway The gravity gun! Episode 2 took the core gameplay and engine of Half-Life 2 and moved it to a bigger, more open world. You can easily spend many hours just exploring the areas you encounter on your journey to a human resistance base.
And while the dune buggy in Half-Life 2 was annoying, the new muscle car in Episode 2 is a beast and a blast to drive. Episode 2 also ups the stakes narratively and includes new enemies to fight, like the scary and deadly Hunter. More frustrating is the actual ending, which is a big cliffhanger. We were supposed to get an Episode 3. Just spitballing here. For the 20th time. The Bests. By Zack Zwiezen. List slides. Half-Life 2: Survivor - June Half-Life 2: Deathmatch - November Image: Valve.
Half-Life: Decay - November Half-Life 2: Lost Coast - October It brought back similar mechanics, but with a plot that made Gordon an unwilling pawn manipulated by an otherworldly force.
Can you name even one thing? I thought not. And after that, linear first-person shooters virtually deconstructed themselves out of existence. Half-Life is a wonderful game about a silent man on a narrow path with a deadly arsenal. But you can only tell so many stories that way. Series fans have awaited a rebirth of the Half-Life series, which ended on an unbearable cliffhanger in Half-Life 2: Episode 2.
But the mythical Half-Life 3 is almost certainly dead, and long-departed series writer Marc Laidlaw has posted its plot online. Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.
By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Its effect on the way games tell stories transcends genres. Which is surprising given how few other s shooters even had stories. John Carmack of id famously said stories are as irrelevant to games as they are to porn, which explains Quake.
When Half-Life proved even a game about shooting zombies could be improved with a memorable story, it made the point for everyone.
And it did it without cutscenes or a single paragraph of text. Mainly, it did it through Black Mesa. In horror timing is crucial.
0コメント