A mediocre expansion to a truly magnificent game. (Half-Life - Blue Shift (PC))

Member Name: Mutalisk

Product:	Half-Life - Blue Shift (PC)
Date:	05/09/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Expansion to a great game, new depth to story, entertaining, comes with HD pack.

Disadvantages: No new guns or gameplay aspects, slightly dated, puzzles are slightly tedious,

Blue Shift is the second expansion pack to one of the most important first person shooters of all time, Half-Life. For those unfamiliar with Half-Life, here's a review bashed out by yours truly :)
http://members.dooyoo.co.uk/pc-game/half-life/120 8092/

Once again, the player is hurled into the chaos of the Black Mesa Incident and its subsequent government coverup, but this time, the player assumes the role of everyone's favourite security guard, Barney Calhoun.

Barney spends most of the game looking for a specific new, major NPC character, Dr. Rosenberg, in order to aid several Black Mesa Scientists to escape from the facility using some old antiquated teleportation technology. It's a tad more puzzle-based than the original game, which are a little tedious in places but don't really detract much from the gameplay. It's generally considered by most to be something of a cash-in however, mainly due to its failure to include any new guns or gameplay aspects. One thing it does include is a high-definition pack, which quite strongly increases the overall look of the game, specifically in its character models and gun skins, but in spite of this, it still doesn't really feel like a new game, or even a full expansion. It is very short.

In spite of its limitations, its an expansion to an already great game, with a truly timeless engine. Also, getting to play as a character seen in the original does add something of a new dimension to the plot, having occasional run-ins with the protagonist from the original, and hearing his name referenced a few times is a nice touch but sadly, none of it is a patch on its predecessor (of a surprising TWO years) Half Life: Opposing Force.

You can download this on steam for a few quid. Its not really worth paying for the retail version.

System Requirements:
500 Mhz processor,
96 MB RAM,
16 MB video card

MUST HAVE ORIGINAL FULLY INSTALLED VERSION OF HALF-LIFE TO PLAY.

Summary: Worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise.