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Game data by IGDB.com

Half-Life cover art

Half-Life

Half-Life is a 1998 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. It was Valve's debut product and the first game in the Half-Life series. The player assumes the role of Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who must escape from the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is overrun by aliens following a disastrous scientific experiment. Its gameplay consists of diverse combat, exploration and puzzles.

1998 · Valve · 0 videos · IGDB 80/100 · Players 84/100

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LinuxPCMacShooterPuzzleAdventureActionScience fictionHorrorThrillerWarfare

Videos

No videos yet.

How long it takes

Rushing it
7 hours
Normally
12 hours
Completionist
19 hours

Averaged from 20 player submissions.

Platforms and makers

Linux logo

Linux

PC (Microsoft Windows) logo

PC (Microsoft Windows)

Mac logo

Mac

GoldSrc logo

GoldSrc

Valve logo

Valve · Developer, Publisher

Sierra Entertainment logo

Sierra Entertainment · Publisher

Engine

GoldSrc

GoldSrc (also known as GoldSource, and formerly just the Half-Life Engine) is a 3D video game engine created by Valve in 1996. It was the driving force behind many famous games of the late 90s and early 00s, such as Half-Life, Team Fortress Classic, Counter-Strike, and Day of Defeat. GoldSrc is a heavily modified version of the Quake engine and runs on C++ (with some "C" code). GoldSrc and its level editor, Valve Hammer Editor, were released by Valve for public use, making it the source of countless community-made modifications.

Popularity

Playing
0.001
Global Top Sellers
0.000
24hr Hours Watched
0.000
24hr Peak Players
0.000
Negative Reviews
0.000
Visits
0.000
Played
0.002
Total Reviews
0.001
Postitive Reviews
0.001
Want to Play
0.000

Wallpapers

Details

Release date
19 November 1998
Developer
Valve
Franchise
Half-Life
Engine
GoldSrc
Game modes
Single player, Multiplayer
Perspective
First person
Themes
Action, Science fiction, Horror, Thriller, Warfare
Genres
Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure
Platforms
Linux, PC, Mac
Critic score
80/100 from 1 critics
Player score
84/100 from 2,911 players
IGDB users
88/100 from 2,910 users
Series
Half-Life
Type
Main Game
Age ratings
PEGI 16, GRAC 19+, USK 16, ESRB M, CLASS_IND 18, ACB MA 15+
Rated for
Violence, Animated Blood, Animated Violence, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
Also released as
Half-Life: Decay (Standalone), Half-Life: Opposing Force (Standalone), Half-Life: Blue Shift (Standalone), Valve Complete Pack (Bundle), Half-Life: Generation (Bundle), Half-Life 1 Anthology (Bundle)
Companies
Valve (Developer, Publisher), Sierra Entertainment (Publisher)
Also known as
Half Life, Quiver, HL, HL1, hl.exe, HλLF-LIFE, 半条命, 戰慄時空

Story

Dr. Gordon Freeman arrives late for work at 8:47 am in the Black Mesa Research Facility, using the advanced Black Mesa tram system that leads through the facility. He arrives at the Anomalous Materials Lab, his work place, and he is informed by the security officer that the scientists have a special experiment today, so he goes to the locker room and puts on the hazard suit. He goes to the lab's lower levels, and arrives at the Anti-Mass Chamber, where he is instructed that the specimen to be used that day is the rarest and also the most unstable specimen. He is tasked with pushing the specimen into the scanning beam of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer for analysis. However as soon as he pushes it, it explodes, and creates a sudden catastrophe called a "resonance cascade", opening a portal between Earth and a dimension called Xen. Freeman is apparently teleported to an alien planet and catches glimpses of various alien lifeforms, including a circle of Vortigaunts, shortly before blacking out.

Trailers

Trailer

Release dates

PC
Nov 19, 1998
PC
Nov 27, 1998
Linux
Feb 14, 2013
Mac
Feb 14, 2013

Languages

Audio
Spanish (Spain), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean, English, French, German, Italian
Interface
Spanish (Spain), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Korean, English, French, German, Italian

Keywords

aliensassassinbloodygravitydeathmilitaryrun and gunsteammultiple endingsconspiracytankslaveryteleportationsilent protagonistalien invasionone-man armydarknessboss fightexplosionradiationdeath matchdigital distributionvoice actinghumanpolygonal 3dwasd movementnon-player characterretail games with steam activationcheckpointsfalling damagemeleereal-time combata.i. companionblindnessinstant killfriendly firedifficulty levelquicksavingquickloadingvending machine interactionmercenarycheat codedigital rights managementdestructible environmentscientistinteractive environmentsinvisible wallsuicidegame with chaptersmod supportmultiplayer lanspeedrunteam deathmatchlinear gameplaymeme originin-engine cinematicdedicated serversinverted controlsscripted eventsvent crawlingjumping puzzlefirst-person platformingburninginfinite spawnoutside of the maptext dialogueelevator ambushfully customizable controlsforeshadowinggod modeanother worldstrafe-jumpingmachinimaprofessional gamingnovint falcon supportpc to console portanimal weaponrymale protagonistregional censorship

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