Half-Life: Opposing Force

PC Game: Half-Life Opposing Force.

Genre: Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter.

Developer: Gearbox Software.

Publisher: Sierra Studios.

Release Date: 31.10.99.

Engine: GoldSrc (modified Quake engine).

Protagonist: Corporal Adrian Shephard.

Settings: Black Mesa Research Facility, New Mexico, USA; Xen.

The action of Opposing Force, the third installment of what appears to be the greatest PC game series ever, interweaves with the events of Half-Life, so that the player catches a glimpse of Gordon Freeman, the player character from the original game, sees an officer making a pivotal radio broadcast that Freeman overhears in the first game, and visits some recognizable locations.

In the original Half-Life, a "resonance cascade" opens a dimensional rift, which cause Xen aliens to teleport into the Black Mesa Research Facility. The surviving scientists and security guards at the facility struggle to escape. Responding swiftly, the United States military initiates a massive "clean-up" operation to eradicate the alien presence at Black Mesa as well as "silence" any witnesses. As the game begins, Shephard is part of this operation. After his transport aircraft is shot down and he is cut off from the rest of his unit, the clean-up mission is abandoned and Shephard joins forces with the scattered survivors seeking escape.

Being an expansion pack, Opposing Force added many new aspects and capabilities to Half-Life's gameplay. It is notable for the introduction of squad-based support. Whereas the player in the original had to rely on composite models of a security guard, the player in Opposing Force can rely on other soldiers of different classes, including the regular support soldier, a heavy machine-gunner, an engineer, and a medic. Each class possesses unique abilities, such as the engineer being able to cut through certain doors and the medic being able to heal teammates. The AI was improved to allow better coordination of offensive actions during combat.

Opposing Force also included several new weapons. A weapon based on the barnacle creatures acts as a grappling hook. Other organic weapons such as the Spore Launcher and Shock Roach are based on the newly-introduced Race X aliens. In the single-player campaign, some of these weapons replaced their old Half-Life counterparts (Desert Eagle - Colt Python, M40A1 - Crossbow, Pipe wrench/Combat knife - Crowbar). However, in the multiplayer game the player can carry both the new Opposing Force weapons and their Half-Life variants at the same time.

Additionally, a new class of security guards was added. Like Barney in the original game, Otis, also named after a character in The Andy Griffith Show, served a similar role. Having the appearance of an overweight and balding guard, Otis can follow the player and provide support during combat. However, Otis is armed with a Desert Eagle, making him much deadlier in firefights than Barney, who is armed with the weaker Glock 17.

The Opposing Force soundtrack is credited to Chris Jensen and contains 19 .mp3 tracks.

My rates (compared to 1999’s level, of course):

Gameplay: 9.5/10 (a slight minus for linear straightforwardness).

Graphics: 9.5/10.

Sound: 10/10.

Score (OST): 7/10.

Story: 8/10.

Controls & Interface: 9.5/10.

Multiplayer: 9/10.

OVERALL: 9.5/10.

If you like this game I also recommend: Half-Life, Half-Life Uplink, Half-Life Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Lost Coast, Half-Life 2 Episode One, Half-Life 2 Episode Two, Portal, Half-Life 2 Episode Three, F.E.A.R., F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, Far Cry, Doom 3, Quake 2, SiN, SiN Episodes, Aliens vs Predator, Aliens vs Predator 2.