Half-Life: Source Impressions

I've started playing through Half-Life: Source, which is a port of Half-Life to the Source Engine that powers Half-Life 2, and so far my impressions are positive.

To start, I should say that Half-Life is one of the best shooters I've ever played. It was revolutionary for its time, and re-defined the layout of how an FPS should be. It is with all that in mind that I go into Half-Life: Source, hoping for the best after a strong sense of let-down with Half-Life 2.

Basically, Half-Life: Source features the enhanced physics, rag-doll effects, lighting, and water created through the Source Engine. I've presently played through the first three levels of the game, and I must say things do play a bit different, and for the better.

The first thing I noticed was that the game world is darker due to the enhacned lighting, and light sources are now much more realisitic. Surfaces, especially metal, also reflect light much more realistically (Gordon has one shiney Crowbar). The physics are also adding a lot of fun to the game, and I must point out the big difference with this enhanced version of the first game and its sequel: Since Half-Life: Source is a port, Valve wasn't able to level design it to scream at the player every 5 seconds that it has enhanced physics. So, unlike Half-Life 2, the physics is an additional element to the game world instead of the star in a spotlight; instead of a tech demo. Shoot a Headcrab while you're on a balacony, and its corpse might fall off to the ground below. Crates on wires swing as you try and keep your balance, and enemies (especially Zombies) have great, random death animations due to the physics acting in tandem with the ragdoll physics. Water has also been improved greatly since you can see into it before going into it.

Now for the bad. I'm disappointed to see that the High Def models were not used, so you'll be looking at the same old-style models the game first featured in 1998. You can pump up the AA to cut down on the jaggies though, so it'll be a bit easier on the eyes, but Valve should have incorperated the better character and weapon models. I've also noticed that certain sounds (Gordon's footsteps while walking) are very muted, and some sounds seem missing altogether, like the Headcrab death sound. Half-Life: Source does take better advantage of positional audio over the original title, however, adding a stronger sense of realism to the game world.

Overall, my impressions of Half-Life: Source are positive. Save for the lack of better character models, the Source Engine has really complimented the established design of Half-Life. Now, if only Valve could have remembered that gameplay should be at the forefront and complimented by technology instead of the other way around for Half-Life 2...