Half-Life
Developer(s)	Valve Software
Publisher(s)	Sierra Studios (expired) Valve
Engine	GoldSrc
Release date(s)	November 20, 1998 (NA)
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	BBFC: 15 ELSPA: 15+ ESRB: M (Mature) OFLC: MA 15+ PEGI: 16+ (re-release) PEGI: 15+ (re-release) (FI)
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast (cancelled), Apple Macintosh (cancelled)
Media	CD, DVD or Steam download
Input	Keyboard, Joystick, Mouse

Half-Life is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game developed by Valve Software and published by Sierra Studios in 1998, based on a heavily-modified Quake game engine. It was first published for PCs running Microsoft Windows, and was later ported to Sony's PlayStation 2 and Sega's Dreamcast video game console, although it was never officially released in the latter's case. It is now published by Valve themselves via their Steam platform. Half-Life This is the cover art for a video game. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Valve Corporation is a Bellevue, Washington-based video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Sierra Entertainment was a computer game developer and publisher active from 1980 to 2004. ... Valve Corporation is a Bellevue, Washington-based video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... GoldSrc, or Goldsource, is the internal name Valve Software gave for released versions of the heavily modified Quake engine that powers their science-fiction first-person shooter Half-Life (1998). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... 1998 1998 in games 1997 in video gaming 1999 in video gaming Notable events of 1998 in computer and video games. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... Doom, one of the games that defined the first-person shooter genre. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... Online gaming redirects here. ... British Board of Film Classification logo The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is the organisation responsible for film classification and censorship within the United Kingdom. ... The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (or ELSPA) is an organisation set up in 1989 by British software publishers. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games and other entertainment software in the United States and Canada (officially adopted by individual provinces 2004-2005). ... The Office of Film and Literature Classification is a statutory classification body which provides day to day administrative support for the Classification Board which classified films, computer games and publications in Australia, and the Classification Review Board which reviews films, computer games and publications when a valid application has been... PEGIs logo Pan European Game Information, or more commonly PEGI, is a European system for rating the content of computer and video games, and other entertainment software. ... Motto: none Anthem: Maamme (Finnish) / VÃ¥rt land (Swedish) (Our Land in English) Capital Helsinki Largest city Helsinki Official language(s) Finnish, Swedish Government Parliamentary democracy2  - President Tarja Halonen  - Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen Independence From Bolshevist Russia   - Declared December 6, 1917   - Recognised January 3, 1918  Accession to EU January 1... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ... The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural, and Katana during development) is Segas last video game console and the successor to the companys Sega Saturn. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh, or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... The Compact Disc logo was inspired by that of the previous Compact Cassette. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... Steam is a content delivery, digital rights management and multiplayer system developed by the Valve Corporation. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... Operating a mechanical mouse. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Doom, one of the games that defined the first-person shooter genre. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... Valve Corporation is a Bellevue, Washington-based video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998. ... Sierra Entertainment was a computer game developer and publisher active from 1980 to 2004. ... 1998 1998 in games 1997 in video gaming 1999 in video gaming Notable events of 1998 in computer and video games. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... One of the first PCs from IBM - the IBM PC model 5150. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ... The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural, and Katana during development) is Segas last video game console and the successor to the companys Sega Saturn. ... A video game console is a dedicated electronic machine designed to play video games. ... Steam is a content delivery, digital rights management and multiplayer system developed by the Valve Corporation. ...

Half-Life, often shortened to HL, has been heralded by computer game critics for its gripping and atmospheric presentation of the plotline, and one which would influence the development of other first-person shooters in the years to come. It was among the first first-person shooters to feature a story that was told entirely in-game and in real time, without the use of cutscenes. Half-Life is also known for its (at the time) sophisticated enemy AI. Its own success continued for years with expansions such as Half-Life: Opposing Force (OP4) and Half-Life: Blue Shift (BS), mods such as Counter-Strike (CS), Team Fortress Classic (TFC), Deathmatch Classic (DMC), Ricochet and Day of Defeat (DoD), and its sequel Half-Life 2 (HL2). Half-Life won over 50 "Game of the Year" awards from numerous publications and was named "Best PC Game Ever" by PC Gamer in its November 1999, October 2001, and April 2005 issues.^[1]. It is one of the best selling PC first-person shooter to date^{[citation needed]}, and is widely considered to be one of the best PC games ever^{[citation needed]}. Real time, in media production circles, is a term used to describe a motion picture / television / radio program wherein the events depicted take place entirely within the span of time that lasts from the beginning of the story to the end. ... A cut scene or cutscene (sometimes also referred to as a cinematic) is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no control. ... Opposing Force is the critically acclaimed first expansion pack for the popular first-person shooter Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released by Valve Software on October 31, 1999. ... Half-Life: Blue Shift is the second expansion pack for the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released on June 12, 2001. ... 2004 Banshee car modification for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - replacement of original Banshee by Suction Testicle Man Mod or modification is a term generally applied to computer games, especially first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. ... Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Team Fortress Classics logo. ... Deathmatch Classic or DMC is a multiplayer mod of the popular first-person shooter, Half-Life. ... Ricochet is a multiplayer mod of the popular first-person shooter, Half-Life. ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a popular team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game that immerses players into a 3D simulated virtual reality of the European Theatre of World War II. The games graphics and sounds have been influenced by the movie Saving Private Ryan... Half-Life 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game and the sequel to Half-Life, developed by Valve Corporation. ... Game of the Year is a distinction awarded by various magazines and websites to a deserving PC or console game. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... PC Gamer US April 2005 cover PC Gamer is a computer games magazine founded in 1993. ... This is a list of video games that have sold over one million copies. ... Doom, one of the games that defined the first-person shooter genre. ...

Overall, the Half-Life franchise, including Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, has seen over 15 million sales^[2] Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a popular team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game that immerses players into a 3D simulated virtual reality of the European Theatre of World War II. The games graphics and sounds have been influenced by the movie Saving Private Ryan...

Single player

The game is set in a remote area of New Mexico at the Black Mesa Research Facility, a fictional complex that bears many similarities to both the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Area 51 during December of 200X (according to calenders in game and the Playstation 2 version's manual). The game's protagonist is the theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman, a survivor of an experiment that goes horribly awry when an unexpected resonance cascade (an apparently completely fictitious occurrence; see also 1, 2) rips dimensional seams that devastate the facility. Aliens from another world - known as Xen - subsequently enter the facility through these dimensional seams. Official language(s) None Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq. ... The Black Mesa Research Facility is a fictional complex located in the desert of New Mexico, United States, and is the setting for most of the events of the computer game Half-Life and its expansions. ... Los Alamos National Laboratory, aerial view from 1995. ... Satellite view of Area 51 from 1968. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ... Theoretical physics employs mathematical models and abstractions, as opposed to experimental processes, in an attempt to understand Nature. ... Half-Life 2 concept art of Gordon Freeman holding his signature weapon, the crowbar, and wearing the H.E.V. suit. ... Interference of two circular waves - Wavelength (decreasing bottom to top) and Wave centers distance (increasing to the right). ... In nuclear engineering, an assembly is prompt critical if for each nuclear fission event, one or more of the immediate or prompt neutrons released causes an additional fission event. ... 2-dimensional renderings (ie. ... The existence of extraterrestrial life remains hypothetical though human beings continue to search Extraterrestrial life is life that may exist and originate outside the planet Earth. ... Islands in Xen A larger island Colourful manta creatures glide gracefully through the skies of Xen Tree-like organisms can be found throughout Xen Xen is the origin of the alien species that appear in the science fiction video game Half-Life (Valve Software, 1998); the expansion packs Half-Life...

As Freeman tries to make his way out of the ruined facility to find help for the injured, he soon discovers he is caught between two sides: the hostile aliens, and the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit, a military force dispatched to cover up the incident — including eliminating Freeman and the rest of the scientists. Throughout the game, a mysterious figure known as (but not actually referred to in-game as) the G-Man regularly appears, apparently monitoring Freeman's progress. Ultimately, Freeman uses the co-operation of surviving scientists and security officers to work his way to the mysterious "Lambda Complex" of Black Mesa, where a team of survivors teleport him to the alien world Xen, where he must kill the Nihilanth, the creature keeping Xen's side of the dimensional rift open. A fire team of four Hazardous Environment Combat Unit troops in Half-Life (non-High Definition Pack models). ... Left: The G-Man, as he appears in Right: His appearance in The G-Man, voiced by Michael Shapiro, is a recurring character in the Half-Life series of first-person shooter computer games. ... The Nihilanth The Nihilanth is the final boss character and the primary antagonist in the computer game Half-Life. ...

The game's plot was originally inspired by the computer games Doom and Quake, both produced by id Software, Stephen King's short story/novella The Mist, and an episode of The Outer Limits called "The Borderland." It was later developed by Valve's in-house writer and author, Marc Laidlaw, who wrote the books Dad's Nuke and The 37th Mandala. However, the more influential aspect of the single player mode is not the plot itself, but rather how it is presented to the player. This article is about computer and video games. ... Doom (or DOOM)[1] is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is among the landmark titles in the first-person shooter genre. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... id Software (IPA: /ɪd sɔft. ... For other people named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... A novella is a short novel; a narrative work of prose fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. ... The Mist is a science fiction/horror novella by the American author Stephen King. ... The Outer Limits is a television series from the United States. ... The Borderland is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. ... Marc Laidlaw (born 1960, name sometimes spelled Mark) is an American writer of science fiction and horror and also a computer game designer with Valve Software. ... Dads Nuke is a science fiction dark comedy novel written by Marc Laidlaw. ... The 37th Mandala is a horror novel written by Marc Laidlaw and published in 1996. ...

The game tells the story by flowing into scripted sequences that are integrated as part of the game rather than as cut scene intermissions. These sequences range from the introduction of major plot points such as the resonance cascade to bringing the player into a particularly difficult part of a level. Two of the intended results of this style of presentation were to increase immersion and to maintain a contiguous narrative that keeps the player's interest. In video games, a scripted sequence is a predefined sequence of actions that often occurs when the player has triggered it to start in game. ... A cut scene or cutscene (sometimes also referred to as a cinematic) is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no control. ...

Valve implemented other factors to heighten the feeling of immersion, including that the player never sees or hears their own character, who remains a 'silent protagonist' in the plot, and that the player rarely loses the ability to control Gordon, even during monologues. The scripted sequences help flow by keeping the player in the game, whereas cutscenes in other contemporary games had often been a diversion from previous segments of their gameplay. The levels for HL were also divided into small sections to minimize long interruptions from loading. A silent protagonist is a central character who does not verbally interact with other characters within a storys narrative. ... In computer and video games, a level (sometimes called a stage, course, episode, round, world, map, wave, board, phase, or landscape) is a separate area in a games virtual world, in modern games typically representing a specific location such as a building or a city. ...

Chapters

In this scene, the player must bypass a dam and reservoir guarded by an Apache helicopter, a group of soldiers, and an Ichthyosaur. This shot shows the original MP5 sub-machine gun, rather than the High Definition Pack's M4 Carbine/M203 replacement.

The same level as the image above, but shown with the High Definition Pack's M4 Carbine/M203.

The game storyline is divided into "chapters": Half Life (ingame) This work is copyrighted. ... Half Life (ingame) This work is copyrighted. ... An Ichthyosaur from Half-Life 2, as seen in Garrys Mod. ... The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in the 1960s. ... The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. ... M203 generally refers to the United States Army designation for a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher that attaches to the M16 assault rifle or the M4 Carbine. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 128 KB)To go with Image:Halflife ingame. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 128 KB)To go with Image:Halflife ingame. ...

• Black Mesa Inbound — Gordon starts his day riding a tram into the Black Mesa Facility to begin work. On his way he witnesses many interesting things, such as a military helicopter preparing to leave and a strange man in a blue suit watching him from another tram.
• Anomalous Materials — Gordon is running late for an important experiment. After donning his HEV suit (HEV Mark IV), he proceeds to the test chamber to assist with the experiment (Sample GG-3883), but something goes terribly wrong.
• Unforeseen Consequences — Disaster strikes: a resonance cascade has been triggered, causing massive structural damage to Black Mesa. Worse yet, hostile aliens begin teleporting in across the facility, attacking the confused and terrified staff, who are left to fend for themselves.
• Office Complex — Gordon works his way to the surface through an office facility filled with panicked scientists and trigger-happy security guards. He finds out that a military force is en route, and hopes to get help from the soldiers.
• "We've Got Hostiles!" — The marines of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit take control of Black Mesa and begin a cleanup operation, killing aliens and all facility personnel. Gordon learns that the surviving members of Lambda Team will be in the Lambda Complex at the other end of the facility and they may be able to close the dimensional rift; Gordon begins the journey across Black Mesa to reach them.
• Blast Pit — His normal route blocked, Gordon finds himself deep underground in a rocket testing area inhabited by three tentacles. After sneaking around the tentacles' lair and fuelling the engine, he fires the rocket, killing the tentacles, and is able to follow the tunnel it leaves behind.
• Power Up — Gordon arrives at the terminus of a deactivated underground rail system and is forced to fight off hostile marines and a Gargantua. He restores power and begins a journey deep underground.
• On a Rail — A guard informs Gordon that a communications satellite needs to be launched to allow the scientists at the Lambda Complex to seal the dimensional breach. Gordon fights his way through the rail system, finding entrenched marines lying in wait for him, and launches the satellite's rocket.
• Apprehension — Working his way through old, abandoned underground areas, Gordon runs into a team of mysterious assassins and is captured by the marines, who dump him in a garbage compactor (faint Star Wars overtones).
• Residue Processing — Gordon escapes from the compactor and carefully moves through "residue processing," an old and sparsely populated industrial area of the complex filled with hazardous materials and automated materials processing equipment.
• Questionable Ethics — With the help of hiding scientists, Gordon makes his way through a deserted laboratory complex where experiments were performed on Xen creatures, clearly indicating that human scientists had been visiting Xen prior to the resonance cascade. He eventually makes it outside and continues his journey to the Lambda Complex.
• Surface Tension — The surface is swarming with aliens and marines, who have brought in vast amounts of military hardware to try and even the odds against the Xen forces. Gordon destroys several tanks and aircraft while making his way across the bombed-out remains of the Cold War-era buildings on the surface and even navigating a sheer cliffside. Escaping a Gargantua in a parking garage, Gordon tricks the military into bombing a sealed entrance into the fortified Lambda Complex. Surface Tension is one of the longest and most elaborate chapters in the game. This level also features a large building through which Freeman must carefully navigate; trip-mines lie in clusters littering the floors. One false step on Gordon's part can mean detonation of the building and instant death.
• Forget About Freeman! — The marines begin to evacuate Black Mesa and airstrikes begin. Gordon navigates underground water channels and fights against squads of hardened alien grunts on the way to Lambda Core.
• Lambda Core — Finally arriving in the Lambda Core, Gorden sees that the place is swarming with aliens. He brings the nuclear reactor online and discovers the secret teleportation labs which have allowed expeditions to travel to the alien borderworld of Xen. The handful of surviving personnel inform him that an immensely powerful being in that borderworld is keeping the portal between the worlds open, and that he must kill it to prevent the Xen aliens from taking over completely. They activate the teleporter and Gordon is relocated to Xen. This is the last level to feature the Black-Ops assassins.
• Xen — On the strange borderworld, Gordon encounters many of the aliens that had been brought into Black Mesa, as well as the remains of HEV-wearing researchers that came before him. He activates an alien teleporter and is whisked away.
• Gonarch's Lair — Gordon faces a powerful spider-like creature which continually gives birth to headcrabs. After killing it, he finds a portal and enters it.
• Interloper — Gordon arrives at what seems to be an alien factory and discovers that it is a genetic flesh factory (much like the factory of id Software's Quake II level Processing Plant), manufacturing an army of engineered soldiers (presumably for the invasion of Earth). In addition, the Vortigaunts working there do not attempt to harm him (unless coerced by the Alien Controllers), which suggests that they are forced to fight by rulers of Xen. After making his way through, he finds yet another portal and enters it.
• Nihilanth — In a vast cave, Gordon finally confronts the powerful and mysterious being that is holding the portal open: the Nihilanth. Gordon destroys the being's shield and so then is able to destroy its vulnerable brain.
• Endgame — Gordon, having just obliterated the Nihilanth, is once again met by the mysterious G-Man who shows him what he has accomplished (pacifying Xen for an invasion by the HECU, which even G-Man calls "a nasty piece of work") and offers him an ultimatum: either work for his "employers" or be faced with an impossible battle unarmed against hundreds of Xen creatures.

Half-Life 2 concept art of Gordon Freeman holding his signature weapon, the crowbar, and wearing the H.E.V. suit. ... A fire team of four Hazardous Environment Combat Unit troops in Half-Life (non-High Definition Pack models). ... A tentacle in Xen, its natural habitat Tentacles (sometimes referred to as Giant Tentacles) are fictional creatures from the computer game Half-Life. ... A Gargantua, as seen in Half-Life. ... The cover of the 2004 DVD widescreen release of the modified original Star Wars Trilogy. ... The Gonarch up close Gonarch is a fictional creature in the 1998 first-person shooter computer game Half-Life. ... Quake II, released on December 6, 1997, is a first person shooter game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision. ... A group of vortigaunts in Half-Life. ... The Nihilanth The Nihilanth is the final boss character and the primary antagonist in the computer game Half-Life. ... Left: The G-Man, as he appears in Right: His appearance in The G-Man, voiced by Michael Shapiro, is a recurring character in the Half-Life series of first-person shooter computer games. ... A fire team of four Hazardous Environment Combat Unit troops in Half-Life (non-High Definition Pack models). ...

Weapons

There are 14 weapons available to players in both single player and multiplayer games of Half-Life. Half-Life: Opposing Force added several more weapons. Many reviews of Half-Life mentioned the impressive functionality and "usefulness" of all the weapons designed. Each weapon's damage profile is distinct, none feeling superfluous or excessively powerful; each has a specific advantage in the appropriate situation. The weapons in HL (without expansions) are: Opposing Force is the critically acclaimed first expansion pack for the popular first-person shooter Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released by Valve Software on October 31, 1999. ...

• Crowbar: A simple melee weapon that is iconic of Gordon Freeman and Half-Life.
• Pistol (GLOCK 17, Beretta 92F/FS pistol with the High Definition pack): The first and simplest ranged weapon. Has good accuracy and does more damage per shot than the MP5, but these advantages are offset by a low rate of fire that makes it more useful on weak targets, like headcrabs or laser trip mines. Unlike most other ranged weapons, this pistol is effective underwater. Primary fire is accurate with every shot; secondary fires the pistol quickly, but decreases accuracy. The rate of fire is then comparable with the MP5, but does slightly more damage per shot. Patient players will sometimes use the GLOCK 17 to pick off targets from a distance when sniper weapons are unavailable, as most enemies cannot attack over extreme ranges.
• .357 Magnum (Colt Python revolver): An extremely powerful and accurate gun. It has a long reload time and a 6-round cylinder. Good for dispatching enemies in one hit, especially from a distance. In multiplayer mode, secondary fire gives the player a zoomed view.
• Submachine gun / Assault rifle (High Definition Pack) (Heckler & Koch MP5N/M203 grenade launcher, Colt M4 Carbine/M203 grenade launcher with the High Definition pack): Excellent for close-range combat. Has a fast rate of fire that compensates for its poor damage and accuracy. Secondary fire launches an extremely powerful under-slung grenade that detonates on impact. It uses the same ammo pool as the pistol.
• Shotgun (Franchi SPAS-12): Does high damage at close range, but its broad fire cone makes it weak at a distance. It can be reloaded one shell at a time, but is slow to fully reload. Its secondary fire shoots two shells at once.
• Crossbow: A sniper weapon with high damage and accuracy, but with a slow rate of fire and reload time. Like the pistol, the crossbow works underwater. Secondary fire toggles its zoom mode. Multiplayer behavior is quite different: it fires explosive bolts, and when zoomed in is an instantaneous-fire sniper weapon.
• Hornet gun (alien weapon): Also known as the "Hivehand". The same weapon used by the Alien Grunts, this gun is a living creature which appears to be a larvae of some sort (Due to the fact that they sport no legs). After firing out the hornets, the creature turns erect & tense, after a short while though, it returns to its normal breathing state. When the larvae is not used, it appears to be sleeping. It hives, constantly replenishing "hornets" (sometimes known as "thornets") as a way to defend itself. Primary fire shoots up to 8 homing hornets that can hit unseen enemies around corners. Secondary fire launches straight-flying, non-homing hornets that move faster and have a higher rate of fire compared to the homing ones.
• Rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launcher (ATGM-4000 RPG Launcher): Does a large amount of explosive splash damage. Secondary fire toggles a laser designator that guides the RPG to its target. Can only hold one rocket at a time with 5 more in reserve.
• Quantum destabilizer (Gluon/Egon gun): This experimental weapon fires out a concentrated energy which disrupts its target's molecules. It is a extremely powerful gun which literally, because of how it kills, rips apart enemies of any type. It looks and operates similar to the proton pack used by the characters in the movie Ghostbusters. Because of its internal weapon name, weapon_egon, it is also known as the Egon gun; this is probably a reference to the Ghostbusters character Egon Spengler.
• Tau cannon/Gauss gun: Another experimental weapon that rapidly shoots beams of tau particles that reflect off walls if hit indirectly. Secondary fire allows the gun to charge up to shoot a more powerful beam that can penetrate thin walls and pushes the user in the opposite direction. The recoil is deliberately exaggerated in multiplayer so the player can "Gauss jump" very high and reach hidden areas or escape opponents. This feature is a deliberate nod to "rocketjumping" in Quake. If the gun is kept charged for too long (ca 10s), it overloads and discharges, damaging its wielder.
• Hand grenade: A frag grenade that explodes a few seconds after being thrown.
• Laser trip mine: A high-explosive Claymore mine-like device that can be attached to walls. It is set off either by damaging the mine or by "breaking" the laser "tripwire" emitting from it.
• Satchel charge: A high-explosive that can be thrown a short distance and detonated when the player presses fire. Secondary fire allows the player to place several satchels and detonate them simultaneously.
• Snarks (alien weapon): Aggressive and small alien creatures that quickly pursue their target, pestering and biting, until finally exploding after several seconds (or if shot). If they cannot locate a hostile target, they will turn on the player that set them loose. They can be used, for example, to draw enemies out from their cover.

Additionally, the long jump module can increase the horizontal distance and speed of jumps. This increased mobility can be used to dodge attacks quickly and jump from one platform to another. The long jump is done by moving forward, crouching, then jumping. A crowbar A crowbar, also called a pry bar, is a tool consisting of a metal bar with one curved end and flattened points, often with a small fissure on the curved end for removing nails. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... The GLOCK 17 was the first pistol designed and manufactured by the Austrian company GLOCK. It is a locked breech, short recoil 9 mm Luger semi-automatic pistol with a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds of ammunition. ... The Beretta 92SB-F (later renamed Beretta 92F), Beretta 92FS, Beretta 92G, and Beretta 92FS Inox are a series of semi-automatic, locked-breech delayed recoil operated, double/single action pistols, chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge, designed and manufactured by Beretta. ... The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in the 1960s. ... Left: A headcrab from Half-Life. ... The GLOCK 17 was the first pistol designed and manufactured by the Austrian company GLOCK. It is a locked breech, short recoil 9 mm Luger semi-automatic pistol with a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds of ammunition. ... The . ... Colt Python with 6 inch barrel and Royal Blue finish The Colt Python is a . ... The Colt Single Action Army, one of the most popular revolvers of all time A revolver is a multishot firearm, usually a handgun, in which the rounds are held in a revolving cylinder that rotates to fire them through a single barrel. ... An MP5A4 (fixed stock and 3-round burst trigger group A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the ammunition of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... The AK-47 is one of the most produced assault rifles The assault rifle is a term describing a type of automatic rifle generally defined as a selective fire rifle or carbine, chambering intermediate-powered ammunition. ... The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in the 1960s. ... M203 generally refers to the United States Army designation for a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher that attaches to the M16 assault rifle or the M4 Carbine. ... Colts Manufacturing Company (CMC) is a United States firearms manufacturer founded in 1847. ... The M4 Carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 made by ArmaLite. ... M203 generally refers to the United States Army designation for a single shot 40 mm grenade launcher that attaches to the M16 assault rifle or the M4 Carbine. ... A pump-action and two semi-automatic action shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons. ... The SPAS-12 is a dual-mode 12 gauge combat shotgun manufactured by Italian firearm company Franchi S.p. ... A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that fires arrow-like projectiles. ... An RPG or a rocket-propelled grenade is a hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon capable of firing an unguided rocket containing an explosive warhead. ... Although only the blue player in the centre takes a direct hit, everyone within the circle takes damage. ... The Proton Pack is a fictional piece of nuclear accelerative machinery created by the Ghostbusters and serves as their primary tool in the 1984 film of the same name for the purpose of busting ghosts. ... For other uses, see Ghostbusters (disambiguation). ... A coilgun (also known as Gauss gun, Gauss cannon or Gauss rifle) is a type of cannon that uses a series of electromagnets to accelerate a magnetic shell to very high velocities. ... The tau lepton (often called the tau or occasionally the tauon) is a negatively charged elementary particle with a lifetime of 3×10−13 seconds and a high mass of 1777 MeV (compared to 939 MeV for protons and 0. ... In an FPS game, rocketjumping is the technique of pointing a rocket launcher or other similar explosive weapon at the ground then firing and jumping at the same time. ... Zombies attacking the player. ... A WWII-era MkIIA1 pineapple fragmentation hand grenade A hand grenade is a small hand-held bomb designed to be thrown by hand. ... A WWII-era MkIIA1 pineapple fragmentation hand grenade A hand grenade is a small hand-held bomb designed to be thrown by hand. ... Parts of the M18A1 Claymore The M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine is a weapon often used by many countries around the world, named after the large Scottish sword, by the inventor, Norman A. MacLeod. ... Tripwire is a company based in Portland, Oregon which produces change auditing software. ... A satchel charge is a powerful, man-portable explosive device used by infantry and airborne troops. ... A Snark being held. ...

Development

Half-Life was the first product for Kirkland, Washington-based developer Valve Software, which was founded in 1996 by former Microsoft employees Mike Harrington and Gabe Newell. They settled on a concept for a scary 3D action game and licensed the Quake engine from id Software. (Valve eventually modified the engine a great deal, notably adding skeletal animation and Direct3D support; a developer later stated that seventy percent of the engine code was rewritten.) The company had a difficult time finding a publisher at first, many believing their project 'too ambitious' for a studio headed by newcomers to the video game industry. Sierra On-Line had been very interested in making a 3D action game, especially one based on the Quake engine, and so signed them for a one-game deal. Nickname: The Little City That Could Location Location of Kirkland within King County, Washington, and King County within Washington. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq. ... Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is an international computer technology corporation with 2005 global annual sales of US$42. ... Mike Harrington was the co-founder and programmer of the computer game development company, Valve Software. ... Gabe Newell (born November 3, 1962) is the co-founder and managing director of the computer game development company, Valve Software. ... Action games could be considered the video game equivalent of action movies. ... The Quake engine is the game engine that was written to power 1996s Quake, written by id Software. ... id Software (IPA: /ɪd sÉ”ft. ... A technique in computer animation, particularly the animation of vertebrates, where a character is represented in two parts: a surface representation used to draw the character (called the skin) and a hierarchical set of bones used for animation only (called the skeleton). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable video games ever created. ... Sierra Entertainment was a computer game developer and publisher. ...

The original code name for Half-Life was Quiver, after the Arrowhead military base from Stephen King's novella The Mist, which served as early inspiration for the game. Gabe Newell explained in an interview that the name Half-Life was chosen because it was evocative of the theme, not clichéd, and had a corresponding visual symbol: the Greek letter λ (lower-case lambda), which represents the decay constant in the half-life equation. For other people named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Lambda (upper case Λ, lower case λ) is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. ... Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ...

The first public appearances of Half-Life came in early 1997; it was a hit at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that year, where they primarily demonstrated the animation system and game AI. Valve hired science fiction author Marc Laidlaw in August 1997 to work on the game's characters and level design. Half-Life was originally planned to be shipped in late 1997, to compete with Quake II, but was postponed when Valve decided the game needed significant revision. E³ logo Presented by the Entertainment Software Association, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known and composed as E3 (besides the organiser’s usage of E³, the superscript version is rarely used), is the worlds largest annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. ... Game AI refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters (NPCs). ... Marc Laidlaw (born 1960, name sometimes spelled Mark) is an American writer of science fiction and horror and also a computer game designer with Valve Software. ... Level design or game mapping is the creation of levels—locales, stages, or missions—for a video game (such as a console game or computer game). ... Quake II, released on December 6, 1997, is a first person shooter game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision. ...

In a 2003 Making Of... feature in Edge, Newell discusses the team's early difficulties with level design. In desperation, a single level was assembled including every weapon, enemy, scripted event and level design quirk that the designers had come up with so far. This single level inspired the studio to press on with the game. As a result, the studio completely reworked the game's AI and levels in the year leading up to its release. At E3 1998 it was given Game Critics Awards for being the "Best PC Game" and "Best Action Game" at the expo. The release date was delayed several times in 1998 before the game was finally released in November of that year. Edge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. ... The Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³ have been held annually at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E³) since 1998. ...

Ports

Half-Life was ported to the PlayStation 2 by Gearbox Software and released in 2001. This version of the game had a significant overhaul in terms of both character models, weapons, and more advanced and extended levels^{[citation needed]} and general map geometry. Also added in was a head-to-head play and a co-op expansion called Half-Life: Decay that allowed players to play as the two female scientists Dr. Cross and Dr. Green at Black Mesa. In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ... Gearbox Software is a video game developer founded in January 1999. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Half-Life: Decay is an addon for the PlayStation 2 version of the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software. ...

Versions for the Sega Dreamcast and Apple Macintosh [1] [2] were essentially completed, but never commercially released. The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural, and Katana during development) is Segas last video game console and the successor to the companys Sega Saturn. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh, or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ...

Dreamcast version

Gearbox Software was slated to release a port to the Sega Dreamcast under contract by Valve and their then publisher Sierra On-Line near the end of 2000. At the ECTS 2000, a build of the game was playable on the publisher's stand, and developers Randy Pitchford and Brian Martel were in attendance to show it off and give interviews to the press. However, it was never commercially released. The following year Sierra On-Line showed a PlayStation 2 port at E3 2001. This version was released in North America in late October of the same year, followed by a European release just a month later. Gearbox Software is a video game developer founded in January 1999. ... The Sega Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト; code-named Blackbelt, Dural, and Katana during development) is Segas last video game console and the successor to the companys Sega Saturn. ... Valve Corporation is a Bellevue, Washington-based video game developer made famous by its first product, Half-Life, which was released in November 1998. ... Sierra Entertainment was a computer game developer and publisher. ... The European Computer Trade Show, commonly known as ECTS, was an annual trade show for the European computer and video game industry, which first ran in 1988, with the last event occurring in 2004. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ... E³ logo Presented by the Entertainment Software Association, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known and composed as E3 (besides the organiser’s usage of E³, the superscript version is rarely used), is the worlds largest annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. ...

Despite never officially being released, the Dreamcast version was leaked onto the Internet, fully-playable; it contains the full versions of Half-Life and Blue Shift, both with an early version of the High Definition Pack (it was from this port that the pack was spawned), but has a somewhat inconsistent framerate (though never to the point of unplayability) and lengthier load times when the player moves from area to area (around ten seconds, while today's average PC can load an area in around one and a half). Also, there are some saving problems; the number of blocks on a VMU increases rapidly as the player reaches the end of a level. While the game allows you to remove files to increase space, sometimes it still isn't enough. The VMU (short for Visual Memory Unit, not Virtual Memory Unit) is the memory card for the Sega Dreamcast. ...

The console's mouse and keyboard peripherals are supported, if preferred to the standard controller. If the controller is used, the game adds an auto-aim feature, so that when an enemy nears the center of the player's vision, the aiming crosshair will shift over toward the enemy to make shooting them easier. The game's controls are customizable. The game has no multiplayer mode, and lacks the parental feature of the PC version (players cannot turn the gibs off). It does have an interesting password feature, however; with three dials, the user makes various phrases, such as "Otis Loves Dreamcast" (god mode), "Fear and Gravity" (jump to Xen in HL), or "Barney Goes To Work" (skip the intro in Blue Shift and jump right into the main game, pre-resonance cascade). Gibs in the wake of a redeemer explosion in Unreal Tournament For units of data measurement, see Gibibyte (GiB) or Gibibit (Gib). ...

Macintosh version

Though more or less complete and ready for mass production, the Macintosh port of Half-Life was scrapped because of incompatibility with the Windows PC version's multiplayer mode. The developers also stated that mods for PC Half-Life would not be compatible with the Mac port. Additionally, concerns over the task load associated with providing technical support on more than one end platform at once may have contributed to the demise of Half-Life for Macintosh. The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh, or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ...

Later developments

The sequel, Half-Life 2, was merely a rumor until it was finally revealed at E3 in May 2003, which ignited a firestorm of hype surrounding the game. The player again takes the role of Gordon Freeman, this time several years after the Black Mesa incident in the dystopic Eastern European "City 17" where he must fight as part of a rebellion against an alien regime. After a series of controversies and delays Half-Life 2 was released on November 16, 2004. Half-Life 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game and the sequel to Half-Life, developed by Valve Corporation. ... E³ logo Presented by the Entertainment Software Association, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known and composed as E3 (besides the organiser’s usage of E³, the superscript version is rarely used), is the worlds largest annual trade show for the computer and video games industry. ... A dystopia (alternatively, cacotopia[1], kakotopia or anti-utopia) is a fictional society that is the antithesis of utopia. ... Current division of Europe into five (or more) regions: one definition of Eastern Europe is marked in orange Eastern Europe is an eastern region of Europe variably defined. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Main article: Half-Life: Source

To experience first-hand the processes mod-makers would have to go through with the new engine, Valve ported Half-Life (dubbed Half-Life: Source) and Counter-Strike to their new Source engine. Half-Life: Source is a straight port, lacking any new content or the Blue Shift High Definition pack. However, it does take advantage of vertex and pixel shaders for more realistic water effects, as well as Half-Life 2's realistic physics engine. They also added several other features from Half-Life 2, including an improved dynamic lightmap, vertex map, and shadowmap system with cleaner, higher resolution and specular texture and normal maps, as well as utilization of the render-to-texture soft shadows found in Half-Life 2's Source engine, along with 3D skybox replacements in place of the old 16-bit color bitmap skies. Also redesigned was the crossbow that will pin its targets to a nearby wall (if they're close enough). The Source engine itself, however, is not entirely perfect. Certain control issues are generally regarded as being a problem, such as ladder bounce (where disconnecting from a ladder gives a sideways vector boost, which can be highly undesirable when trying to move near a ladder on a platform over a fall), fall push (where moving off of a platform into a fall gives a sideways vector boost), and jumping from platforms (where the graphics engine tends to lead the player to think a jump can be made later than it really can). Naturally, the Half-Life port possesses the Source engine's control weaknesses as well as its many graphical strengths. Half-Life: Source is available with special editions of Half-Life 2. Day of Defeat: Source was released on September 26, 2005. In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ... Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Sources physics are demonstrated in this screenshot from Half-Life 2, with the body of a Combine soldier and his rifle hurled into the air after a collision with a dune buggy. ... This article or section may be confusing for some readers, and should be edited to be clearer or more simplified. ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game. ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On June 10, 2005, Valve announced through their Steam update news service an upcoming port of Half-Life Deathmatch, the multiplayer portion of the original game, much in the same fashion as the earlier released Half-Life: Source. No exact release date was given, simply the words "In the coming weeks..." On May 2, 2006, it was released. June 10 is the 161st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (162nd in leap years), with 204 days remaining. ...

Expansions

Two expansion packs by outside developer Gearbox Software have been released for the PC version: Half-Life: Opposing Force (1999) and Half-Life: Blue Shift (2001). The former, often shortened to OpFor or OP4, returns the player to Black Mesa during the events of Half-Life's storyline, but this time from the perspective of the U.S. Marines sent to cover up evidence of the incident. It introduced several new weapons (notably the M249 SAW LMG and a Barnacle grappling gun), new non-player characters, both friendly and hostile (Otis the security guard and the "Race X" aliens, respectively) and new, previously unseen areas of the facility. The expansion is shorter than Half-Life, having 11 chapters to the original's 17. An expansion pack is an addition to an existing game. ... Gearbox Software is a video game developer founded in January 1999. ... Opposing Force is the critically acclaimed first expansion pack for the popular first-person shooter Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released by Valve Software on October 31, 1999. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Half-Life: Blue Shift is the second expansion pack for the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released on June 12, 2001. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (M249 SAW) is the United States military designation for a sub-family of the Minimi squad automatic weapon, or Mini-mitrailleuse, for mini-machine gun. Both are 5. ... A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a role-playing game whose actions are determined by the gamemaster. ...

Blue Shift returns the player to HL's Black Mesa timeline once more, this time as one of the facility's security guards. (This expansion was originally developed as a bonus mission for the canceled Dreamcast version.) Blue Shift came with an optional High Definition Pack that could update the look of Half-Life, Opposing Force, and the new Blue Shift content. In particular, the models' polygon count and texture resolutions were increased, and some changes were made to the in-game sounds, most notably the shotgun. Blue Shift had relatively little new content compared to Opposing Force: aside from a few models (jacket-less scientists and security guards, Otis, and Dr. Rosenberg) all content was already present in the original Half-Life. Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. ... Spherical texture mapping Texture mapping is a method of adding realism to a computer-generated graphic. ... Image resolution describes the detail an image holds. ...

Half-Life: Decay was another expansion by Gearbox, released only as an extra with the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life. The add-on featured cooperative gameplay in which two players could solve puzzles or fight against the many foes in the Half-Life universe. Half-Life: Decay is an addon for the PlayStation 2 version of the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ...

The Half-Life Platinum Collection was released in 2000. The games included are:

• Half-Life
• Counter-Strike
• Team Fortress Classic
• Half-Life: Opposing Force

Later in 2002, the pack was rereleased with Half-Life: Blue Shift added. Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Team Fortress Classics logo. ... Opposing Force is the critically acclaimed first expansion pack for the popular first-person shooter Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released by Valve Software on October 31, 1999. ... Half-Life: Blue Shift is the second expansion pack for the first-person shooter computer game Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and released on June 12, 2001. ...

Mods

From its release in 1998, Half-Life saw fervent support from independent game developers, due in no small part to support and encouragement from Valve Software. Worldcraft, the level-design tool used during the game's development, was included with the game software. Printed materials accompanying the game indicated Worldcraft's eventual release as a retail product, but these plans never materialised. Valve also released a software development kit, enabling developers to modify the game and create mods. Both tools were significantly updated with the release of the version 1.1.0.0 patch. Many supporting tools (including texture editors, model editors, and rival level editors) were either created or updated to work with Half-Life. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... VHE is provided as part of the Source SDK. Valve Hammer Editor, formerly known as Worldcraft and now commonly called Hammer, is Valve Softwares map creation program for their first-person shooter computer game Half-Life and for all of its mods, sequels, and expansions. ... A software development kit (SDK) is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system or similar. ... 2004 Banshee car modification for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - replacement of original Banshee by Suction Testicle Man Mod or modification is a term generally applied to computer games, especially first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. ... A version is a state of an object or concept that varies from its previous state or condition. ... In computing, a patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program. ...

Half-Life's code has been released and is also being used as a base for many mods such as the immensely popular and free multiplayer mod, Counter-Strike. Other popular multiplayer mods include Team Fortress Classic (TFC), The Specialists, Day of Defeat, Deathmatch Classic (DMC), Action Half-Life, Firearms, and Natural Selection. TFC and DMC were developed in-house at Valve Software. Counter-Strike, The Specialists, Day of Defeat, and others that began life as the work of independent developers (self-termed "modders"), later on received aid from Valve. Numerous single player mods have also been created, some of them listed here in order of their creation date: USS Darkstar [3] (1999, a futuristic action-adventure onboard of a zoological research spaceship), Edge of Darkness [4] (2000, a great mod showing unused Half-Life models), Half-Life: Absolute Redemption (2000, which brings back Gordon Freeman for four additional episodes and another encounter with the G-Man), They Hunger (2000-2001, a survival horror total conversion trilogy involving zombies), Poke 646 [5] (2002, a follow-up to the original Half-Life story with improved graphics) and Xen-Warrior [6] (2002-2004, in which similar to Opposing Force and Blue Shift the Half-Life world is experienced from another point of view, in this case out of the eyes of an Alien SlaveVortigaunt). A multiplayer game is a video game in which multiple people can play the same game at the same time. ... Counter-Strike (CS) is a popular team-based mod of Valves first-person shooter (FPS) Half-Life. ... Team Fortress Classics logo. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a popular team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game that immerses players into a 3D simulated virtual reality of the European Theatre of World War II. The games graphics and sounds have been influenced by the movie Saving Private Ryan... Deathmatch Classic or DMC is a multiplayer mod of the popular first-person shooter, Half-Life. ... Action Half-Life is a mod for the award-winning first-person shooter computer game Half-Life. ... Firearms is a multiplayer mod of the popular first-person shooter (FPS) game Half-Life created by Valve Software. ... Natural Selection (NS, NaSe) is a modification for the computer game Half-Life. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... They Hunger is a single player horror based mod of Valves first-person shooter Half-Life. ... Survival horror is a prominent video game genre in which the player has to survive an onslaught of opponents, often undead or otherwise supernatural, typically in claustrophobic environments in a third-person perspective. ... In science, or more accurately in science fiction, the phrase total conversion refers to the idea of converting 100% of mass into energy. ... A group of vortigaunts in Half-Life. ...

Some Half-Life modifications eventually landed on retail shelves. Counter-Strike was the most successful, unexpectedly becoming the biggest selling online game to date and having been released in five different editions: as a standalone product (2000), as part of the Platinum Collection (2000), as an Xbox version (2003) as the single player spin-off, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (2004), and the newest addition, Counter-Strike: Source, which runs on Half-Life 2's Source engine. Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat and Gunman Chronicles (2000, a futuristic Western movie-style total conversion with emphasis on its single player mode) were also released as stand-alone products. This article is about the year 2000. ... The Microsoft Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console first released on November 15, 2001 in North America, then released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, and on March 14, 2002 in Europe. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (abbreviated CS:CZ) is the single-player version of the multiplayer game, Counter-Strike. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ... Team Fortress Classics logo. ... Day of Defeat (DoD) is a popular team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter computer game that immerses players into a 3D simulated virtual reality of the European Theatre of World War II. The games graphics and sounds have been influenced by the movie Saving Private Ryan... Gunman Chronicles is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game using the Half-Life game engine. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In science, or more accurately in science fiction, the phrase total conversion refers to the idea of converting 100% of mass into energy. ...

Soundtrack

Half-Life's soundtrack was composed by Kelly Bailey.
(Note: Most of the tracks were retitled and carried over to the Half-Life 2 original soundtrack; the names in parentheses are the revised titles used in the Half-Life 2 OST. Tracks 2, 12 and 24 were remixed for the sequel.)

Trivia

• The PS2 version of Half-Life appears briefly on the popular drama TV series Lost in The Greater Good during a flashback experienced by Sayid Jarrah, one of the main characters. The sequence shows Sayid walking in on several people playing the game:

Yusef: "Damn it. I'm out of ammo!"

Hadded: "Use the crowbar."

Yusef: "That only works on the zombies. Not the big bugs."

• Director Quentin Tarantino (who is said to be a Half-Life fan) has reportedly considered the possibility of directing a movie adaptation. Valve has stated however that they have had no contact with Quentin Tarantino nor any of "his people." Valve went on to comment that, "We've had many conversations with folks in Hollywood, but have no commitments for an HL movie at this time." ^{[3] [4]}

• Both Half-Life and Half-Life 2 draw some inspiration from various adaptations of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds; the three-legged "Striders" that appear in Half-Life 2 are very similar in appearance to Wells's description of the "Martian war machines" in the book, and the Vortigaunts who appear throughout the series are almost identical to the Mor-Tax aliens from the War of the Worlds TV series.
• Half-Life, as well as its two expansion packs Opposing Force and Blue Shift, are all named after scientific terms. "Half-life" refers to radioactive decay, "opposing force" refers to Newton's third law, and "blue shift" refers to a shift in light's wavelength towards the blue end of the spectrum due to the Doppler effect.

PS2 can mean: PlayStation 2 (Sony PS2), sixth-generation video game console PS/2 (IBM Personal System/2 office PCs, or the interface standard for mice and keyboards that the PS/2 series set) Phantasy Star II, second in the Phantasy Star seiries of video games. ... Lost is an American drama television series that follows the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious tropical island. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Lost episodes. ... A flashback is a psychological phenomenon in which someone remembers a past experience. ... Sayid Jarrah Arabic: سعيد جراح is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Naveen Andrews. ... Left: A headcrab from Half-Life. ... Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Oscar-winning screenwriter. ... Half-Life 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game and the sequel to Half-Life, developed by Valve Corporation. ... H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Time Machine. ... A statue of a tripod inspired by the book, erected in Woking town centre. ... A group of vortigaunts in Half-Life. ... Mor-Tax is the name of the planet in which the aliens from the first season of War of the Worlds TV series originate. ... War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. ... Radioactive decay is the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles (radiation). ... Newtons First and Second laws, in Latin, from the original 1687 edition of the Principia Mathematica. ... Blue shift is the opposite of redshift, the latter being much more noted due to its importance to modern astronomy. ... A source of waves moving to the left. ...

See also

• Half-Life: Uplink - Half-Life demo with exclusive gaming content released in 1999.
• Metamod
• Gabe Newell
• Half-Life 2
• List of Half-Life mods
• Vortigaunt, a frequently encountered Xen species.
• Black Mesa (game mod) - A Total Conversion Mod Remake of the Original Half Life built from the ground up using the Source Engine

Demo disc released with a magazine. ... Metamod is a plugin/DLL manager that sits between the Half-Life Engine and an HL Game mod, allowing the dynamic loading/unloading of mod-like DLL plugins to add functionality to the HL server or game mod. ... Gabe Newell (born November 3, 1962) is the co-founder and managing director of the computer game development company, Valve Software. ... Half-Life 2 is a science fiction first-person shooter computer game and the sequel to Half-Life, developed by Valve Corporation. ... This is a list of mods for the first-person shooter Half-Life. ... A group of vortigaunts in Half-Life. ... An article in the magazine PC Gamer about Black Mesa. ...

References

June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, television stars, video games and production crew personnel. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Half-Life

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ...

Official

• Official Steam Web site (Valve)

Major fansites/communities

• Half-Life Gaming, a popular fansite of HL/HL2.
• Planet Half-Life, a popular fansite of HL- and Valve-related topics from GameSpy.
• Half-Life Fallout, another popular Half-Life fansite.
• Half-Life Clan Collision League, a European league.

To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Development communities

• Valve ERC Collective - features news, discussion, and help on editing and modding Half-Life.
• Valve Developer Community Wiki, a wiki for mod developers.
• Half-Life mods - the game's ModDB listing.

Related resources

• Half-Life entry at GameFAQs - has FAQs, walkthroughs, (single player) cheats, and discussion.
• Half-Life at MobyGames.
• PlanetPhillip - Half-Life Single Player Maps and Mods Commentary and Analysis of Sci-Fi Single Player First Person Shooters