Very few games are as perfect as Half-Life. Considering the substantial success that Valve relishes in today, it's not surprising that their first effort to enter the gaming market was an instant hit. Heavily inspired by id Software's Doom and Quake games, Half-Life is a perfect blend of 90s and modern first-person-shooter. Anyone who proudly calls themselves a gamer MUST have played this game at least once - especially considering that it's an easily affordable product on Steam that is still updated by Valve even twenty years later.
This is often cited as one of the earliest F.P.S games (back then they were called "Doom clones") that had actual plot, complete with characters, dialogue and setting. As old as it is, the story is very well-detailed and sets off a chain of events that only escalates further down the line.
Even with the dated graphics, the game still looks brilliant today and can run at 60fps, with loading screens that always last no more than a single second. Valve games seem to maintain a pattern of focussing more on gameplay rather than on cutscenes, and it's no surprise that Half-Life did so well at telling a story without ever taking the player out of the immersion of the infamous silent protagonist: Gordon Freeman.
As for those of you who prefer multiplayer action over single player, Half-Life also offers a deathmatch mode which, incredibly, still has players clogging the lobbies even today. There is no ranking system, and despite its rather bland design, it's an appreciated addition to a game that didn't even need it.
I am not exaggerating when I say that this game is pretty much the sole reason for Steam's very existence. Without it, Valve would never have gotten off the ground and we would live in a world absent of Portal, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike, and so on.
So, do not be intimidated by the fact that this game is from 1998. You'll be surprised at how well it holds up and how tight the controls are. If you want to explore Valve's roots that made them the game-changers that they are (or rather, were) today, then download Half-Life, pick up that crowbar and start whacking the hell out of everything. You won't be disappointed.
Time to choooose.

Very few games are as perfect as Half-Life. Considering the substantial success that Valve relishes in today, it's not surprising that their first effort to enter the gaming market was an instant hit. Heavily inspired by id Software's Doom and Quake games, Half-Life is a perfect blend of 90s and modern first-person-shooter. Anyone who proudly calls themselves a gamer MUST have played this game at least once - especially considering that it's an easily affordable product on Steam that is still updated by Valve even twenty years later. This is often cited as one of the earliest F.P.S games (back then they were called "Doom clones") that had actual plot, complete with characters, dialogue and setting. As old as it is, the story is very well-detailed and sets off a chain of events that only escalates further down the line. Even with the dated graphics, the game still looks brilliant today and can run at 60fps, with loading screens that always last no more than a single second. Valve games seem to maintain a pattern of focussing more on gameplay rather than on cutscenes, and it's no surprise that Half-Life did so well at telling a story without ever taking the player out of the immersion of the infamous silent protagonist: Gordon Freeman. As for those of you who prefer multiplayer action over single player, Half-Life also offers a deathmatch mode which, incredibly, still has players clogging the lobbies even today. There is no ranking system, and despite its rather bland design, it's an appreciated addition to a game that didn't even need it. I am not exaggerating when I say that this game is pretty much the sole reason for Steam's very existence. Without it, Valve would never have gotten off the ground and we would live in a world absent of Portal, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, Counter-Strike, and so on. So, do not be intimidated by the fact that this game is from 1998. You'll be surprised at how well it holds up and how tight the controls are. If you want to explore Valve's roots that made them the game-changers that they are (or rather, were) today, then download Half-Life, pick up that crowbar and start whacking the hell out of everything. You won't be disappointed. Time to choooose.