Half-Life

Half-Life

November 19, 1998·Single player, Multiplayer
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Ratings

88
User Score
2,789 ratings
80
Critic Score
1 reviews
84
Total Score
2,790 combined

About

Dr. Gordon Freeman doesn't speak, but he's got a helluva story to tell. This first-person roller-coaster initiated a new era in the history of action games by combining engrossing gameplay, upgraded graphics, ingenious level design and a revolutionary story that may not be all that it seems, told not through cutscenes, but through the visual environment.

Storyline

Dr. Gordon Freeman arrives late for work at 8:47 am in the Black Mesa Research Facility, using the advanced Black Mesa tram system that leads through the facility. He arrives at the Anomalous Materials Lab, his work place, and he is informed by the security officer that the scientists have a special experiment today, so he goes to the locker room and puts on the hazard suit. He goes to the lab's lower levels, and arrives at the Anti-Mass Chamber, where he is instructed that the specimen to be used that day is the rarest and also the most unstable specimen. He is tasked with pushing the specimen into the scanning beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer for analysis. However as soon as he pushes it, it explodes, and creates a sudden catastrophe called a "resonance cascade", opening a portal between Earth and a dimension called Xen. Freeman is apparently teleported to an alien planet and catches glimpses of various alien lifeforms, including a circle of Vortigaunts, shortly before blacking out.

Release Dates

PlatformDate
PC (Microsoft Windows)Nov 19, 1998
PC (Microsoft Windows)Nov 27, 1998
PlayStation 2Nov 11, 2001
PlayStation 2Nov 30, 2001
LinuxFeb 14, 2013
MacFeb 14, 2013

Trailer

Screenshots

Half-Life screenshot 1Half-Life screenshot 2Half-Life screenshot 3Half-Life screenshot 4Half-Life screenshot 5Half-Life screenshot 6

Game Info

Developer
Valve
Publisher
Sierra Entertainment, Valve
Release Date
November 19, 1998
Porting
Gearbox Software
Franchise
Half-Life
Collection
Half-Life
Perspective
First person

Where to Buy

How Long to Beat

See estimated completion times on HowLongToBeat.

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Platforms

LinuxPC (Microsoft Windows)MacPlayStation 2

Genres

ShooterPuzzleAdventure

Themes

ActionScience fictionHorrorThrillerWarfare

Game Modes

Single playerMultiplayer

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