But while the Blue Shift offers little new in terms of gameplay, it does come with some nice new eye-candy, not only for this game, but for the earlier two parts of the series. Included on the CD is their HD (high-definition) Pack, which greatly improves the way characters and weapons look in the game. While the weapons all work the same way with or without the pack, they look sharper, improving upon the visual experience. The best part about the HD Pack is that it also updates Opposing Force, which comes on the CD, as well as the original Half-Life. So those who are still getting a kick out of those earlier trips to the Black Mesa Federal Research Facility will get to see things just a bit more clearly.

As for the sounds in the game, they are just what we've come to expect from our earlier Half-Life experiences. You'll get the environmental effects you've grown accustomed to, with support for both A3D and EAX. And you'll still keep wishing people would learn to speak up, as you wander around the room and pay only cursory attention to them, helping to add to the realism of the game. But again, this is all more of the same.

The appeal of this expansion pack is mostly that it bundles the HD pack with a stand-alone version of Opposing Force and a few extra hours of play in Blue Shift. But while this game does not require you to own the full version of the original Half-Life, any desire to feel satisfied by the series does. So those who do not already own it should go out and buy a copy and use the HD Pack to bring its graphics up to date before playing it.

On the other side of the spectrum, though, will be those who have already played Half-Life and already bought the Opposing Force expansion pack. And while the HD Pack is nice and the few hours of play you get out of blue shift are pretty fun, I can't really recommend spending $30 on it. Perhaps if you find it in a bargain bin for $9 some months down the line, you might want to grab it then.

While the Half-Life series has brought us some great multiplayer experiences, Blue Shift does little to build upon this. The CTF games you can play with just this expansion pack might be fun, but you will find that most online players of the HL-inspired games are playing mods like Counterstrike and Team Fortress. So if you are looking for great online gameplay, do yourself a favor and download those mods as updates to your Half-Life game.

The problem with the game is not that it's bad; it isn't. Rather, the problem is that what's good about it has already been done. And while there have been some great updates to games in the past (Soul Reaver, for example, was a game that I thought made Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain pale in comparison), this is not one of them. Had this been a better-developed sequel, one that could actually stand alone as a game more than just technically, it might be worth $30. But dropping the cost of a full game for about 5-7 hours of play is all but sure to leave you feeling disappointed.

Housen Maratouk
Managing Editor