Even with the inclusion of Opposing Force and revamped Graphics, Blue-Shift still comes out as a disappointing continuat
The thing that was most surprising is that it wasn't. Half-Life introduced an entirely unique and effective way of telling a comprehensive story from the point of view of a scientist turned hero. Traditional First-Person Shooters had the player heading for the one objective and simply navigating through maps upon maps to get there. This was not the case in Half-Life. From the start of the game, and mainly when the Incident starts, your main objective is clear: Get to the surface, call in the Military, and contain the situation. The story continued to change throughout the course of the game, however. From Chapter 5 it becomes clear that the Military has been sent into silence the Incident along with the personnel associated with the project. From then it becomes more of a matter of survival and containment than escape and rescue. Your main objective from Chapter 6 is to get to the Lambda Complex and close the dimensional rifts causing the invasion. This objective is further divided into sub-plots that include launching a Satellite Delivery Rocket to help create a Resonance Reversal, racing across a surface contaminated with Military Forces to finally going to the Alien's homeworld and destroying the source. The story just never did get old. Half-Life's gameplay was also very puzzle orientated, in which the player would have to solve a complicated physics puzzle that needed to be resolved so that he/she could progress further into the game.
Quite different to the average Shooter game at the time wasn't it.
In 1999, a year following Half-Life's release, Gearbox Software released the game's first ever expansion pack, Opposing Force. Unlike most expansion packs back then (which were developed for the sole prospect of simply adding new content such as weapons, enemies and a few new maps), Opposing Force did its best to take an entirely different approach to the way expansion packs were developed. Opposing Force took place in the same time-frame and setting as that of the original but in the eyes of the Opposing Force (as implied by the name)...a marine: Corporal Adrian Shepard. Unlike most expansion packs, Opposing Force never made it feel as if the game was the Original albeit with a different selection of weapons and a few different maps. Opposing Force took the story of Half-Life and twisted it around to fit their needs - only they never made it feel as if you were playing Half-Life again but at the same time they never made it feel as if it was a different universe. In short the best FPS had been backed up by one of the greatest expansion packs ever made. The Half-Life Legacy was certainly turning into something special.
In 2001, Gearbox Software managed to pull off another 2 new expansion packs, entitled Blue-Shift and Decay. Like Opposing Force, these expansion packs put the player back into the same time-frame and setting as that of the original albeit in a different perspective. Blue-Shift saw the player taking charge of Level 3 Security Guard, Barney Calhoun. Decay saw the player taking charge of research associates Gina Cross and Colette Green in a co-op type port for the PS2 console. Surprisingly though, with the success of Opposing Force, Gearbox somewhat failed at delivering a well-rounded set of expansion packs.
Before we get on with it, its may be worth noting that Blue-Shift was originally intended to be a supplement game for the Sega Dreamcast. Unfortunately the console was cancelled later that year. Thus, with the Sega's cancel, Blue-Shift was ported over to the PC. The Blue-Shift package was also bundled with Opposing Force at a surprisingly low cost. Also included with Blue-Shift was a High-Definition Package which, when installed with Blue-Shift, added higher res models to the game, updating the graphics somewhat to a more acceptable level for 2001.
Unfortunately, despite these inclusions, Blue-Shift itself doesn't quite add up to what you would expect from an expansion pack for the Game of the Year. Blue-Shift starts off with the same basic introduction as the original Half-Life: a rather lengthy tram ride that takes the player to the required destination. Despite the fact that the Transit System's PA system has changed somewhat, the tram-ride can feel too similar to the original Half-Life's introduction at some points.
Very soon into the game of course, a catastrophe takes place in which a Resonance Cascade is created in Sector C, tearing a dimensional rift between Earth and another dimension. Barney Calhoun survives the initial Cascade, and like Half-Life and Opposing Force finds himself in an epic battle for survival against not only an Alien race but also his own domestic Military.
Blue-Shift's story, compared to Half-Life and Opposing Force' stories is a little mediocre to say the least. Blue-Shift can generally take any experienced Shooter fan between 7 and 10 hours to finish - so its understandable to say its considerably shorter compared to the other previous games. Whilst the game certainly offers new content, much of the campaign is taken up by boring puzzle sequences and surprisingly similar fire-fights. Blue-Shift also seems a little more paced out than the previous titles, often creating a set of more complications to extend the story. In short, there are no new challenges, it's all over extremely quickly and there's very little replayability. One aspect that Gearbox have done well though, is including clever references to both Half-Life and Opposing Force. It's not hard to say that the game can get a little repetitive after a while.
In Half-Life, we had Gordon Freeman who wore an extremely high-tech Hazardous Environment Combat Suit and in Opposing Force we had experienced Marine, Adrian Shepard who wore an equally advanced PCV outfit. As you'd expect Barney probably wouldn't have the same academic and military background as Adrian and Gordon although this is hard to put into context at most times: Barney runs at fast speeds and has the same advanced HUD system as Gordon and Adrian. In fact the only time you feel as if you're a security guard is at the beginning of the game when you put on your Helmet and Vest and attend the firing range. Like Half-Life and Opposing Force' protagonists, Barney do not speak at all during the course of the game. This is a deliberate and clever attempt at immersing the player into the game at a greater degree.
The addition of the High-Definition Package, however, may motivate you enough to go through Blue-Shift (including Opposing Force) and revisit the famous time-frame in which Half-Life is set. The High-Definition Pack adds higher res textures to maps and 3d models including characters, props and weapons. You'll quickly notice quite a leap in terms of realism when it comes to these aspects. One of the most noticeable changes is probably the switch from the classic Sub-Machine Gun from the original Half-Life to an M16 Assault Rifle. Whilst the weapons certainly looks heftier, the changes are only skin deep. The weapon functions exactly the same as the Sub-Machine Gun and does little to add much to the gameplay aspect of it.
Unlike Opposing Force, Blue-Shift does not come with any added content whatsoever. You'll come across most of Half-Life's original enemies but never do you come across Race X or some of the more enjoyable features form Opposing Force. The absence of these things certainly reduces the amount of replayability Blue-Shift has to offer.
Opposing Force and Counter-Strike come bundled with Blue-Shift's package. Opposing Force is also able to be upgraded with the High Definition Pack. Finally it may be worth noting that Blue-Shift is probably meant for those who played and enjoyed the original Half-Life most of all. Blue-Shift simply adds upon the Half-Life story from a different perspective but doesn't deliver anything groundbreaking or revolutionary: it's the original Half-Life with upgraded graphics and different maps. It may also be worth noting that Blue-Shift does not require the original Half-Life to play it.
If you've played Half-Life and Opposing Force, you'll quickly notice that Blue-Shift doesn't have a lot to offer. The absence of any new content, a multiplayer component and the fact the game is considerably short leaves a lot to be asked for. Half-Life fans are sure to enjoy Blue-Shift at the very least, though even with the inclusion of Opposing Force and revamped Graphics, Blue-Shift still comes out as a disappointing continuation to the Half-Life Legacy.