Half-Life : Opposing Force (PC)

Until a certain day in late 1998, it was easy to forget that first-person shooters actually had single-player modes. Quake 2 had great deathmatch but the ordinary mode was mediocre; further, rumours were circling that the next Quake game would be multiplayer-only. Then a game came along whose single-player mode had so much playability, atmosphere, plot and general yummy goodness that it moved the goalposts. To another country. That game, ladies and gentlemen, was Half-Life and this is the first official mission disk for it.

So, a bit of a tough act to follow, then, and hardly an enviable task for the developers Gearbox. The original plot followed a research scientist, Gordon Freeman, who is caught up in events when the secret research facility at which he works, Black Mesa, is invaded by dimension-hopping aliens. The plot thickens when the government send in troops to silence everyone with extreme prejudice.

Opposing Force follows Corporal Sheppard, one of the grunts sent in to kill everyone. The only survivor of a helicopter crash, Sheppard has to contend with tons of hostile aliens, as well as the attempts by the government to clean up the mess by nuking the whole area. As far as expansions go, this one's pretty ambitious, including several new enemy types, ten new weapons and new allies, all adding to up to a fresh-feeling experience.

What there is of it is good; level design has the same attention to detail that characterised the first game, the new weapons are entertaining and the new enemies deadly. However, if you completed Half-Life on the "Difficult" setting, then you will likely be disappointed by this disk because it's simply too short and too easy. Although this is entertaining enough, there are better mission packs available for free over the internet and you have to pay for this one. Disappointing.