Half-Life

 PC
User Score
9.1

Universal acclaim- based on 5680 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,113 out of 5680
  2. Mixed: 349 out of 5680
  3. Negative: 218 out of 5680
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  1. DemonicAngel
    Feb 9, 2004
    7
    Just for the fact that it showed the FPS genre was capable of much more than Quake and the like were able to deliver, I award Half-Life a 7. Now let's get down to business. The game is unfortunately very uneven, and whilst the first half is excellent, I soon found myself losing interest around the middle section of the game. The pacing really starts to suffer around this point,with Just for the fact that it showed the FPS genre was capable of much more than Quake and the like were able to deliver, I award Half-Life a 7. Now let's get down to business. The game is unfortunately very uneven, and whilst the first half is excellent, I soon found myself losing interest around the middle section of the game. The pacing really starts to suffer around this point,with too many sections where it's very unclear what you're supposed to be doing. The story, for a game that recieved so much praise for its "deep" storyline, is not developed nearly enough - we're left with just "experiment goes wrong, aliens appear, government soldiers arrive to cover it up, and you have to do something about it all", and that's more or less it. Now System Shock 2, that was a game with a fully-developed backstory that you could really sink your teeth into. With Half-Life, the story was mostly irrelevant and in itself provided little incentive to continue. In addition, the final couple of stages are nothing less than ridiculous. So overall, a game that heralded a (brief) new era for the FPS genre, but didn't quite live up to its own hype. … Expand
  2. TimB.
    May 23, 2006
    7
    fun game. some spots are confusing to get around. wish that shooting the guns would be more realistic.
  3. JordanP.
    Aug 29, 2004
    7
    Let me take you back to 1998. A heated battle between the two big FPS's namely Unreal and Quake II. Now, they were good for their time, but the AI was poor and both had next to no story and little interaction with the enviroment the player was placed in. Then comes Half-Life, and it features good AI and a storyline, plus interaction. With it's features many overlooked the fact Let me take you back to 1998. A heated battle between the two big FPS's namely Unreal and Quake II. Now, they were good for their time, but the AI was poor and both had next to no story and little interaction with the enviroment the player was placed in. Then comes Half-Life, and it features good AI and a storyline, plus interaction. With it's features many overlooked the fact that all were under-developed and the game was repetitive. My point is, it's only amazing due to the timing of it's release. A good game, just overated.… Expand
  4. EddieD
    Sep 13, 2009
    7
    In it's day, this was one of the premier FPS available. Nothing else came close to the storyline and the gameplay. In the intervening years the game has become somewhat long in the tooth. Going back and playing it today I realized just how far game technology has come. I never knew just how difficult to control this game was! With modern hardware and good quality controls, this game In it's day, this was one of the premier FPS available. Nothing else came close to the storyline and the gameplay. In the intervening years the game has become somewhat long in the tooth. Going back and playing it today I realized just how far game technology has come. I never knew just how difficult to control this game was! With modern hardware and good quality controls, this game really shows its age. But comparing it with modern games isn't completely fair. If you played Doom, Quake, or other FPS in the 90's, you know how far ahead this game was. And, in a way, it still is. Just don't expect 21st century realism from a 20th century game.… Expand
  5. Moses89
    Nov 11, 2011
    7
    I never thought it was the game changer everyone else did but it was a good game. However most of the mods that came out of it were amazing. So for that I give it a 7 otherwise I would give it a 5.
  6. GhettoGarden1
    Feb 3, 2011
    7
    Ok, so, everyone, i understand all of your reasons for disliking this game. First of all, buttons. I agree, this game gets rather boring fast because of the extremely large use of buttons. But all games have their ups and downs. And graphics, its very aged. If you dont like aged graphics, wait for black mesa source to come out. Next, Vehicles, I find these very very very annoyingOk, so, everyone, i understand all of your reasons for disliking this game. First of all, buttons. I agree, this game gets rather boring fast because of the extremely large use of buttons. But all games have their ups and downs. And graphics, its very aged. If you dont like aged graphics, wait for black mesa source to come out. Next, Vehicles, I find these very very very annoying too, and i am a huge fan of half life. I prefer the later games, and the only thing that prevents me from rating this a 5 or less is the enemy variety, the final boss, and the beautiful graphics for its time.… Expand
  7. KulakxRatings
    Nov 26, 2010
    7
    I thought that his game was a realy great game, it has a much better experience than the 2nd one, not that half life2 was bad, but this game had a pretty fun element, and a good story. A fun fps. It is definatley a classic and will not be forgotten.
  8. sampearl
    Jul 27, 2011
    7
    It's just OK. I found myself lost in a huge maze without ever knowing what is going on or what to do. Killing things didn't really feel satisfying and monsters came without variety. But the weapons did! I think half life 2 is a lot similar, but half life 2 just worked, I think it was just much more enjoyable.
  9. BasilZero
    Oct 4, 2014
    7
    Game: Half-Life
    Genre: FPS/Horror
    Developer: Valve System: Steam (PC) Total Score: 77/100 Value Score: 7.7/10 • Story: 7/10 • Characters: 7/10 • GamePlay: 10/10 • Graphics: 8/10 • Sound: 8/10 • Music: 7/10 • Length: 7/10 • Replay Value: 6/10 • Player Value: 7/10 Pros +Great environment design and theme +Great Variety of weapons and the mechanics are nicely done    Game: Half-Life
    Genre: FPS/Horror
    Developer: Valve
    System: Steam (PC)
    Total Score: 77/100
    Value Score: 7.7/10

    • Story: 7/10
    • Characters: 7/10
    • GamePlay: 10/10
    • Graphics: 8/10
    • Sound: 8/10
    • Music: 7/10
    • Length: 7/10
    • Replay Value: 6/10
    • Player Value: 7/10

    Pros
    +Great environment design and theme
    +Great Variety of weapons and the mechanics are nicely done
    +Well designed puzzles and scenarios
    +Console mode enabled lets you play the game differently than it should (i.e. NoClip, Godmode, etc)
    +Multiplayer allows you to do PvP type matches against other players
    +Choice of 3 different difficulties

    Cons
    -Sometimes certain NPCs that killed make it inaccessible to certain areas unless you use cheats
    -The game tends to be glitchy at times such as enemies going through walls, etc (very rare though)
    -This is the original - the source edition is considered to be the superior version due to some changes such as the engine, the sound effects, etc.    … Expand
  10. PodreySanchez
    Feb 29, 2012
    7
    This game is a OK game in my opinion and I see why people love it. I'm not doubting the quietly of the game because yes it is probably one of the PC. But I'm not really into the game, which has repetitive action sets.And a story i don't find interesting enough to carry on playing.
    But I love the character development such as G-Man and Alxy but the for the all the other character i don't    This game is a OK game in my opinion and I see why people love it. I'm not doubting the quietly of the game because yes it is probably one of the PC. But I'm not really into the game, which has repetitive action sets.And a story i don't find interesting enough to carry on playing.
    But I love the character development such as G-Man and Alxy but the for the all the other character i don't care for.
    But I love, and i mean love! The moded story's modes, such as Nightmare house 2. And the fantastic first person shooter war game Counter Strike. And the well respected Sandbox, Garry's Mod which is one of the most funniest game that i have ever played. Overshadowing Half-Life 2 its self. Which ruined my first play-through for me! Because I ask myself "why am I player this when I have Garry's Mods?"
    So Half-Life 2 is a great game because if there wasn't no Half-Life there would be no Garry's Mod Or Counter Strike. But having that I would rather player Gmod than Half-Life 2.    … Expand
  11. Speed4Runs
    Nov 24, 2012
    7
    Superb game: amazing story and longevity, it hardly ever makes you bored. If you do not like this game, you can't be a real gamer: these are the real games! Not the new ones that you complete in 45 minutes.
  12. WPCritic
    Jan 25, 2013
    7
    I actually had a lot of fun with this game. The weapons are fair and the ammo consumption is enough to deter you from using the heavy weapons on grunts.

    The only things keeping me from going higher than an 8 are the minor system discrepancies and the story. It was very confusing, but that's partially my fault for not wearing headphones. It's difficult to hear dialogue without headphones    I actually had a lot of fun with this game. The weapons are fair and the ammo consumption is enough to deter you from using the heavy weapons on grunts.

    The only things keeping me from going higher than an 8 are the minor system discrepancies and the story. It was very confusing, but that's partially my fault for not wearing headphones. It's difficult to hear dialogue without headphones and lack of a captioning system makes it impossible to know what's going on if you're not wearing headphones.
    The saving system is also hard to work with. There was no autosave feature, so I had to force myself to save every 5 minutes or so.
    The last thing (I think this is really important) is the developer console. If you're familiar with the Source engine and the half life commands like I am, then it's just a few keystrokes to give you mac ammo/armor/health. With no achievements to deter the usage of "sv_cheats 1", this option is very appealing for those having trouble in the game.

    Overall, I thought this game was great. I've replayed it about 5 times for a total of 6 playthroughs just because I like some of the combat in it. I would suggest buying this game at full price if you want it because it is worth full price.    … Expand
  13. DeusXCom
    Aug 5, 2014
    7
    After 16 years, until this day, I still don't remember what was all that hype about and the funny thing is that the same hype train continued with Half-Life 2. Don't get me wrong, both games are a good solid FPS games, I liked them and enjoyed both, but they never took my breath away, they just never got me or gave me something to value them so highly, I never understood their massiveAfter 16 years, until this day, I still don't remember what was all that hype about and the funny thing is that the same hype train continued with Half-Life 2. Don't get me wrong, both games are a good solid FPS games, I liked them and enjoyed both, but they never took my breath away, they just never got me or gave me something to value them so highly, I never understood their massive appeal and I feel there are much much better titles in this category out there. Maybe I'm just immune to that supposed positive Valve vibe everyone else seems to get, I never even liked Steam, so it's pretty possible. 7/10… Expand
  14. JustSomeGamer
    Jun 16, 2016
    7
    This was an amazing game............almost two decades ago. Don't expect so much from this game, as it can't really be compared to modern games. It's was revolutionary a long time ago and it set the standard for the fps games for a long time, but in this day and age it is nothing more than a decent game that didn't age very well.....
  15. REEDDLES
    Jul 19, 2019
    7
    Main evaluation criteria:
    -Story: 7
    -Atmosphere: 6 -Characters: 6 -Graphics and design: 8 -Gameplay: 8 -Sound and Music: 7 -Bugs: 9 -Interface: 9 -Completeness of the world: 7 -Balance (Multiplayer): 8 - Donates influence on the game (Pay to win): 10 Аdditional evaluation criteria (Do not really affect the assessment): -Freedom of choice: 0 -Coop in Story mode: 0 (only with    Main evaluation criteria:
    -Story: 7
    -Atmosphere: 6
    -Characters: 6
    -Graphics and design: 8
    -Gameplay: 8
    -Sound and Music: 7
    -Bugs: 9
    -Interface: 9
    -Completeness of the world: 7
    -Balance (Multiplayer): 8
    - Donates influence on the game (Pay to win): 10

    Аdditional evaluation criteria (Do not really affect the assessment):
    -Freedom of choice: 0
    -Coop in Story mode: 0 (only with mod)
    -Multiplayer: 8
    -Mods and the ability to change the game: 7

    Scores from 1 to 10, the higher the better    … Expand
  16. lidwang
    Jan 11, 2022
    7
    I understand the influence on the fps genre this game had, and I had a lot fun with it, but I was still a bit underwhelmed. Some part felt like they overstate their welcome in termos of lenght, specially the bzarre plataforming parts that feel out of place. It's still a techinchally impressing game and the shoting itself was preety satisfying tho, so I don't regret playing it.
  17. PnuTTT
    Jul 2, 2020
    7
    The game is fun but it gets a bit repetitive also the story is kinda bad, not horrible but not amazing.
  18. DefaltWorld
    Jun 19, 2020
    7
    Demasiadas buenas mecanicas y graficos para su tiempo lo malo es la censura que hay en la nueva version, quitando efectos que incluia el original y algunos bugs visuales que no existian en la original
  19. BaileyJ
    Nov 15, 2020
    7
    Despite this game finally showing its age, it still is and always will be one of the best most influential, innovative FPS games of all time.

    Unfortunately, playing it today it's a real sludge to get through. With enemy AI being dumb, bugs showing up every now and then, and level design being really outdated and boring. But aside from that, I believe this is a game everyone should play.    Despite this game finally showing its age, it still is and always will be one of the best most influential, innovative FPS games of all time.

    Unfortunately, playing it today it's a real sludge to get through. With enemy AI being dumb, bugs showing up every now and then, and level design being really outdated and boring. But aside from that, I believe this is a game everyone should play. It's a landmark in video game history and really shows how much influence this game has had on all video games.    … Expand
  20. TEG_17
    May 6, 2022
    7
    Ну что сказать, это классика, даже на теперешнее время играется бодренько, но конечно не ровня современным шутерам. Единственное что не понравилось, плохая реализация уровней сложности и баги с застреванием в текстурах.Ну что сказать, это классика, даже на теперешнее время играется бодренько, но конечно не ровня современным шутерам. Единственное что не понравилось, плохая реализация уровней сложности и баги с застреванием в текстурах.
  21. Skysea28957
    Dec 31, 2020
    7
    Very good game-in scenes very good sounds and not bad graphic but one enemie is very bad can’t aim to headcrabs and they take so much health and this
  22. Richard_dias
    Aug 14, 2023
    7
    Yeah, I like it but not that much. Really think HL2 did it better and after beating the OG two or three times I don't really see myself playing it again. It is a important piece of history though, and most people should do themself a favor by giving it a fair chance. You most likely will find it better than I did!
  23. MrIslamic
    Jan 28, 2021
    7
    I like this game but there are so many things that just bring down the experience (especially the last couple of chapters) Definitely worth playing especially with how cheap it can be on steam.
  24. nazarkin123
    Mar 10, 2021
    7
    Legendary game. I still remember some moments after years. It is a great beginning.
  25. ADITYA0526
    Apr 27, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. TTHIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS... you're someone into PC gaming in the 90's and i think you would agree that there were two largely defining moments for shooting games that decade.
    this is one of the most influential and groundbreaking FPS games.in this game you take a role of gordon freeman, the typical the oritical physicist working in the fictional black mesa re-scarch facility.
    here the character begins a long journey fighting all manner of aliens and hostile soldiers along the way gordon can also be added by members of the science and security team.
    the most essential feature is of unlocking security doors. its reliability is good due to its amazing 1080p resolution graphics, which has practically zero compatibility problems ,which makes a lot easy to get into and up and running.
    everything they put in this game world was put in a way that felt a lot more realistic ,guns were kept in storage rooms for instance and health or battery packs found in crates or on shelves.
    playing this game for hours doesn't disappoint you at all.
    valve software did a pretty good job as per my view.    … Expand
  26. Tosaver0324
    Aug 17, 2021
    7
    The game has 2 pluses for me, its gameplay and multiplayer. Half life's story is very simple. There is a man, as a result of a wrong experiment, aliens invade the world. The story is just that. I was able to finish the last 2 hours of the game just by cheating. I felt like throwing up every time I played it. Sooooo boring.
  27. Nick7000
    May 1, 2023
    7
    Заценил только сейчас. Наверное, для свое времени это было нечто, сейчас, безусловно скучновато.
  28. Rocket04
    Nov 19, 2022
    7
    It's a very good Horror FPS. The combat is great though the AI is a little clunky. It's graphics have aged, but i don't think that takes away anything in terms of enjoyment. The Scientists and Guards really make Black Mesa Feel like it's been lived in, though the scientists can be ironically funny.
  29. SprityXD
    Mar 27, 2023
    7
    Half-life is undoubtedly one of the best shooters in history, but there are multiple problems with the game.
  30. Magical_Viktor
    Apr 30, 2023
    7
    Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»Существуют просто Зло и Большое Зло, а за ними обоими в тени прячется Очень Большое Зло. Очень Большое Зло, Геральт, это такое, которого ты и представить себе не можешь, даже если думаешь, будто уже ничто не в состоянии тебя удивить. И знаешь, Геральт, порой бывает так, что Очень Большое Зло схватит тебя за горло и скажет: «Выбирай, братец, либо я, либо то, которое чуточку поменьше»
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 1998
1
#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 1998
1
#1 Most Shared PC Game of 1998

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. All Game Guide
    100
    It isn't everyday that you come across a game that totally revolutionizes an entire genre, but Half-Life has done just that.
    Read full review
  2. My Gamer
    94
    The storyline runs in perfect harmony with the action and acts as a conduit not a stopgap, or a padding device. Each gaming element compliments the next and the entire presentation is nothing short of, well…dare we say it…revolutionary.
    Read full review
  3. PC Gamer
    97
    This is The Big One, and it's even better than we could've hoped. [Jan 1999, p.166]
See all critic reviews »