The classic shooter. Engrosing, fun, intellegent from the get go, and leaves you wanting more. A must for any gamer.
Half-life immidiatly starts with an interactive cut scene that throws you in the sub plot right away, through out the game you enjoy many more interactive cut scenes, triggered events and twists in the plot. It was closer to a movie quality story then I had ever experienced.
Graphically the game pushed the quake engine well beyond anything we had seen, the quality of everything from the animations, textures, lighting and all of it executed in seamless perfection made this game stand out. The different environments gave it a great level of veriety as well. I can not remember a level or area that did not feel authentic and exciting.
As in most games of this genre in the late 90's, the goal was to shoot your way through the story. This was the first time that a real story, advanced AI, puzzles, non stop action and a sense of purpose have been mashed together in such effortless perfection. A deep cast of characters help Gordon on his mission and the idea of always being watched by the "g man" gave the story a very progressive plot. The effects in the game and the intelligence of the ai was trully amazing, getting killed was almost as exciting as killing the enemy.
This game will and should be ranked in the top 10 best games of all time. It has since spawned a successfull sequal, and has evolved the genre well boyond the, run, jump, shoot days of the 90's. A must for everyones collection, and for the $10 is cost to download from Steam it will live on for ever.