This game requires patience, quick wits, quick fingers, and good problem solving skills. So do games like Mortal Pongbat. What makes Half-Life exceptional is the senses-shattering realism which laces the entire in-game environment. The textures are realistic, the colours appropriate, the sounds rich and flawlessly integrated for stereo separation (as in a monster on your left will always be heard from your left speaker), the level of interaction possible with the environment and the human characters is above and beyond what one might expect (FYI: punch the red button under the security guard's desk to set off an alarm and make everyone mad!), and the monsters are just as scary, slimy, and vicious as they come, and backed by a good AI to boot. The level design is incredible, with a perfect balance of problem solving and creature-killing, and the environment and enemies never seem repetitive, so you always have a sense of progress and a need to trudge on in the hopes that your goal might be just around the bend. All this makes this came perhaps the most addictive and awe-inspiring game of all time. And if you pass it and get bored, try the new alternate-take-on-the-same-story game, Opposing Force. And then if you get bored, join the even MORE addictive world of Half-Life online gaming (Team Fortress Classic or Counterstrike)!
