Half-Life: Blue Shift
At what point can the consumer say, "Enough is enough!" when it comes to the milking of a franchise? Let's take the Half-Life franchise for example. Was it enough when Sierra released Gearbox's ass-kicker Opposing-Force? Enough when Rewolf's Gunman Chronicles hit store shelves? How about when Half-Life was repackaged and distributed as the "Adrenaline Pack" which included Opposing-Force and the already included Team-Fortress Classic? Certainly the last drop of curdled milk dropped with the release of Half-Life Platinum, which once again contained Opposing-Force, Team-Fortress Classic, and this time around, the biggest MOD ever, Counter-Strike. So why did Sierra forge ahead and release Half-Life: Blue Shift? Because we, the consumers asked for it!
Note
From time to time I will refer to Half-Life: Blue Shift (whoops, almost missed the "f" in "Shift") as Half-Life: B.S. for simplicity and humors sake. How fitting 
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As most of us know, Half-Life: B.S. was originally intended to be an addition included with the Sega Dreamcast port of Half-Life; a sort of extra incentive to consider buying Half-Life, not that any is needed. Gamers everywhere were upset that Gearbox, who was working on the port for the Dreamcast, had no intentions of bringing this extra episode home to the PC where it belonged. Through a combination of fate, hate mail, and the demise of the Dreamcast itself, we rejoiced when we caught wind that Half-Life: B.S. was indeed heading to the PC.
So as I sit here, glaring at the blue box on my desk, the only thought that comes to mind is "Interesting". Just interesting. Interesting is not, however, referring to the game, the idea behind the game, the game play, or even the fact that Barney looks quite a bit meaner than I remember him looking when I first trekked through Black Mesa. The thing that is "interesting" is the fact that Sierra somehow convinced me to spend over $30 for a game that perhaps should have been released in the form of a free download!
How did they pull off such a feat? Quite simple. Throw in a game that IS worth $30 (Opposing Force) and a High-Definition Pack for Half-Life. That's how! To be honest, the biggest selling point for me on Half-Life: Blue Shift was the High-Def Pack. I just couldn't help myself. I still play Half-Life death match so much that I couldn't possibly balk at the opportunity of having some higher-resolution models. Not that you can't get other free high poly weapon replacements off the net. But heck, these are OFFICIAL skins right? 
The high-def pack actually upgrades all of the weapons and non-player characters for all 3 games, Half-Life, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift. You have the option of not installing it at all, but why wouldn't you? Unless you are still gaming on a Pentium II 233 with a Voodoo 2 card, I highly recommend it. The newly skinned weapons and models look excellent.
True, I was very interested in checking out Barney's adventures, seeing how many doughnuts he shoved in his face when Gordon wasn't looking. And I was also certain that Gearbox, the makers of Opposing Force, would create another sleeper hit with yet another spin on the Black Mesa mayhem. Man was I wrong!
For Those Who Have Played Half-Life:
You know the setting, and you know the story. Been there, done that, twice. Third time's a charm right? Wrong! More like first and second time's a charm. Should have quit while they were ahead. But I digress. As you know, you assume the role of security officer Barney Calhoun, the officer that helped Gordon Freeman on a few occasions in the original Half-Life. You do remember him? As to which officer he was, I guess you'll have to ask Gearbox. This is what we call a "side-story". Witness what went on through the eyes of Calhoun as all hell broke loose in the Black Mesa facility, and the space/time continuum was ripped apart by the force of 1.21 giga-watts. Oh wait, wrong movie. Actually, witness just about nothing but 3 hours of Barney running around the facility, avoiding practically every event that made Half-Life so damn interesting. Sure, you get to see Gordon a few times throughout the game, such as right at the beginning, and later, as he is dragged off by the Grunts to a holding cell. Just don't expect any interaction with him, or any of the bigger beasts from the original.
For Those Who Haven't:
The original game puts you in the shoes of one Gordon Freeman, a scientist of sorts, whom has just been recruited by the Black Mesa Research Facility. As to what they are researching? Let's just say that it is something that they shouldn't have been messing with, since their tampering leads to the practical destruction of the complex. The result is a crossing of dimensions wherein aliens gain the ability to pop into our world and wreak havoc among the few scientists and security officers left alive in Black Mesa. It is up to Freeman to save the remaining survivors, and seal up the portal by which the aliens are gaining access to the facility. Along the way, a few security officers, one of which is supposedly Barney Calhoun (the role you assume in Half-Life: Blue Shift) aid Freeman. It isn't just extra-terrestrials that Freeman, or Calhoun for that matter, has to contend with. A special task force has been sent out by the government to clean up the mess that has been created by the meddling researchers, by what ever means necessary. That includes wiping out all scientists, including Gordon. Heck, even Barney becomes a target. On top of the alien and grunt threat lays an even more dangerous enemy. A special operations force, known as Black Ops, has also been sent in to clean up, but this time, after the military task force that can't seem to get the job done. Great action ensues throughout Half-Life, but to a much smaller degree in the role of Barney Calhoun of Blue Shift.
Unlike Opposing Force, don't expect anything new to be brought to the table as far as weapons and enemies. In fact, the cool weapons that we were treated to in Opposing Force are completely absent from Blue Shift, and even some of the original weapons from Half-Life are missing. Blue Shift is essentially just more (or less, depending on how you look at it) of what you would expect from the original, but lacking the key elements of making this a worthy official expansion to Half-Life.
A three hour tour?
If you caught the 3-hour comment from one of the previous paragraphs, you know what the biggest gripe about this game is going to be. Three hours is precisely how long it took me to whoop this game into submission, and that includes the time I spent sipping lattes and eating Chee-tos! Let's do the math kiddies. That's $10 per hour of game play. Sound a bit steep? While the sheer shortness of the Half-Life: B.S. is something to get upset about, the problem lies more on the pace of the game. Events occur less frequently than they did in the original title, which was pretty spread out in and of its self. But now we have a far shorter game, approximately 1/3 the length of Half-Life, and far less action. I don't mean cumulatively, but percentage wise. If Half-Life was 40% action, then Blue Shift is about 25%. That is WAY too little! I am not expecting the same tone of action that you would get from, say, Serious Sam, but come on!
I don't think that one can really fault Gearbox too much on the lack of action and length, given the original concept behind Blue Shift. Since it was never really intended for us hard-corers, but mainly built to be just a little bonus for Dreamcast owners, the fault may in fact lie in us for begging for a PC release. From what I understand, Gearbox did express some due-diligence (Pach told me to use that phrase in a sentence) and fleshed out the story a little more than what they were going to release for Sega. Was it enough to turn a bonus pack into a stand-alone game? I say no. There really is no way for a person that has never played Half-Life to understand what is going on, and what exactly they are supposed to be doing. It may baffle a few people as to why aliens and humans are both attacking their character, without rhyme or reason. But then again, who hasn't played Half-Life? I don't recommend admitting it if you haven't
Yes, B.S does live up to the graphical standard that Half-Life has set, from the atmospheric lighting, or lack there of, to the well thought out level designs. There is no doubting that what work WAS done, was done very well. Enemies are very well placed, which scared the poop out of me almost every time, and the scripting for scenes is exceptional. Blue Shift offers much more than anyone could ask for in a game engine that is breathing it's dying breath visually. Sure, it doesn't compete with the graphics that we are being treated to in newer games using such engines as the Quake III engine, but it is pretty fantastic for what it is. The original Half-Life was built on a heavily modified Quake 1 engine (not Quake 2 as previously thought) but it gets the job done. Still though, Blue Shift is not all what it should be.
Saving Grace's Arse
As I previously mentioned, the only saving grace of Half-Life: Blue Shift are the pack-ins. I had never played Opposing Force, and was curious as to whether or not I would agree with the majority of reviews out there pertaining to it. Well, after many more hours of enjoyment than B.S. offered, I felt avenged from Gearbox vis a vis Gearbox. (Pach told me to use that in a sentence too) Serendipity-doo-da! Had it not been for this little gem (Opposing Force), I am quite certain that I would have felt completely ripped off. Not even the high-def pack could have saved this from my personal trash-bin list! Opposing Force offered many new weapons, alien and conventional, and a much more exciting romp through the Black Mesa facility. Also, Adrian Shephard (the role you assume in Opposing Force) had a much more involving, and interesting story than poor ole Barney. There was just so much more that Opposing Force offered over Blue Shift that it is amazing that the same development team made them both.
Contusion
So should you buy it? There are really two answers to this question, with the hinge-factor (again… I was told to use it in a sentence) being "do you already own Opposing Force?" If you answer yes to that question, then it is really a tough choice. While Sierra is offering a $10 rebate to anyone that had previously purchased Opposing Force, the choice becomes even tougher. There is, no reason that you should NOT get Half-Life: B.S if you do not already have Opposing Force. Without a doubt, its inclusion makes it worth it. If you DO own Opposing Force already, then MAYBE it's worth it, taking into account the high-def pack. With the $10 rebate effectively bringing the TCO (now I am getting silly) down to $20, it will really depend. If you are a Half-Life junkie, and must play every single expansion that comes out for it [see DaveJ – Ed ], as well as any non-official community made expansions, then to you I say, "go for it!". If not, then I say, think long and hard before you plunk down those greenbacks.
Related Links:
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