The player assumes the role of Barney Calhoun, a security guard working near the labs where the accident takes place. [4] As in Opposing Force, Blue Shift shows the events of Half-Life from the perspective of a different protagonist. The second Half-Life expansion pack, Half-Life: Blue Shift, was again developed by Gearbox Software and announced by its publisher, Sierra Entertainment, on August 30, 2000. Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations. As a result of the teleporter's destruction, Calhoun enters a "harmonic reflux", causing him to be rapidly teleported to a variety of locations in Xen and Black Mesa. Although the Dreamcast port was cancelled, the Windows version was released as a standalone product on June 12, 2001 for Windows. Rosenberg then teleports Calhoun to the Xen border world to calibrate research equipment needed to pinpoint a teleport destination outside of Black Mesa. [23], Blue Shift and the High Definition pack were initially absent from the launch of Valve's content delivery system Steam in September 2003, despite the presence of both Half-Life and Opposing Force on the system. After reporting for duty, Calhoun is instructed to assist in maintenance on a malfunctioning elevator. Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America). It was developed by Gearbox Software with Valve and published by Sierra On-Line. In Half-Life: Source, you can choose your difficulty in the options menu. "[2] Jim Preston reviewed the PC version for Next Generation, and recommended players play the Half-Life mods They Hunger or Day of Defeat instead. The game has sold around 800,000 copies at retail, excluding digital sales on Steam. Enjoy! [14], At the European Computer Trade Show in September 2000, information about Blue Shift's story and development direction was revealed, along with a release date of November 1, 2000, for the Dreamcast version of Half-Life. After returning with a new power cell, Calhoun assists Rosenberg in evacuating the few surviving personnel through the teleporter. The Houndeye's mouth is located on the underside of its belly, close to the eye, filled with what appear to be fang-like incisors. This first chapter will show you the start of what looked like a typical work day at Black Mesa. The player also encounters human opponents in the form of a detachment of US Marines who have been sent to eliminate the alien threat and silence any witnesses. To start a new game, simply select 'New Game' for all versions of Half-Life. Emerging near Black Mesa's classification yards, Calhoun learns that Dr. Rosenberg and his colleagues plan to escape the facility using teleportation technology. Sign in to add your own tags to this product. VAT included in all prices where applicable. Half-Life: Blue Shift gives you the chance to play out the events from the original Half-Life from the perspective of a lonely security guard.Creatures from Xen (the alien dimension that caused all the trouble to begin with) abound, and nearly all of them want to eat you. Calhoun travels to the power generators on a lower level to find a fresh power cell while firefights rage between the Marines and the forces of Xen. Half-Life 2 - Half-Life 2: Total Mayhem - Full game - Download Download for free and play full version of Half-Life 2, a(n) action game, Half-Life 2: Total Mayhem , for PCs and laptops with Windows systems.Free and legal download. In Half-Life, the player takes on the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist involved in an accident that opens an inter-dimensional portal to the borderworld of Xen, allowing the alien creatures of Xen to attack the facility. [6] As Calhoun finishes repairs, however, Freeman's experiment takes place and results in a "resonance cascade", causing massive damage to the facility and teleporting alien creatures into the base. Half-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for the first-person shooter video game Half-Life (1998). You can use this widget-maker to generate a bit of HTML that can be embedded in your website to easily allow customers to purchase this game on Steam. [21] On June 16, 2001, Sierra canceled the Dreamcast port of Half-Life, citing "changing market conditions". Sign in to add this item to your wishlist, follow it, or mark it as not interested. [22] A late build of the Dreamcast version eventually leaked online, featuring complete versions of Half-Life and Blue Shift. Read more about it in the, There are no more reviews that match the filters set above, Adjust the filters above to see other reviews. - 91% of the 168 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Day of Defeat: Source, Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat, Deathmatch Classic, Opposing Force, Ricochet, Half-Life, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Portal, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, The Lab, Includes 8 items:
The player is instead given access to a limited selection of Half-Life's original weaponry. It was developed by Gearbox Software with Valve and published by Sierra On-Line. Team Fortress Classic, Opposing Force, Half-Life, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 1: Source, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Includes 4 items:
[2] A selection of enemies from Half-Life populate the game, including alien creatures such as headcrabs and Vortigaunts. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries. Calhoun regains consciousness at the bottom of the shaft and begins to fight his way to the surface to escape. Although writing that the game "feels like just a few more levels for the original game", he noted that this is what Blue Shift was designed to be, given its origins as an add-on for a Dreamcast version of Half-Life. Though IGN praised the game for maintaining the "epic" feel of the original, Blevins was critical of the relatively short length of the game. This defaults to your Review Score Setting. The overall gameplay of Blue Shift does not significantly differ from that of Half-Life: players are required to navigate through the game's levels, fight hostile non-player characters and solve a variety of puzzles to advance. The complex is more alive than ever before". [24] The game was released on Steam on August 29, 2005 along with the High Definition Pack. Initially developed and released by Gearbox Software in 2001, second Half-Life add-on, Half-Life: Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility and another look at the Incident's consequences from the eyes of Gordon Freeman's best friend - Barney Calhoun. Blue Shift begins in a similar manner to Half-Life, as Barney Calhoun rides a train through the Black Mesa facility to reach his place of work. The player guides Freeman in an attempt to escape the facility and close the portal, ultimately traveling to Xen to do so. To view reviews within a date range, please click and drag a selection on a graph above or click on a specific bar. [20] It was released on June 12, 2001. [31], Other reviews echoed complaints about the similarity of Blue Shift to previous games. [1] The game continues Half-Life's methods of an unbroken narrative. last update Tuesday, September 7, 2004. downloads 78531. downloads (7 days) 131 Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations. PC Zone's review closed by commenting that "as a Dreamcast extra it works perfectly, but as a standalone PC title there's not nearly enough to it. Story events are conveyed through the use of scripted sequences rather than cut scenes. [3] Blue Shift does not elaborate on the storyline in Opposing Force, the preceding expansion pack, and no enemy characters or weapons introduced in it appear in the game. Relive the Black Mesa Incident as Gordon Freeman's best friend - Barney Calhoun! [2], Blue Shift is set in the same location and time frame as that of Half-Life, taking place at a remote New Mexico laboratory called the Black Mesa Research Facility. [3] Eurogamer echoed criticism on the game's length; reviewer Tom Bradwell commented that "although I'm hard pressed to criticize what you get, the complete absence of everything we've learnt from the likes of Counter-Strike and everything since is frankly bizarre". GameSpy reviewer Jamie Madigan stated that "what really pulls the game down is the 'more of the same' factor". As with Opposing Force, the title has a double meaning, referring to both the blue shift light phenomenon and the name of Barney's shift. [17] The new models developed for the Dreamcast version would also be included in the PC version as the Half-Life High Definition pack, and could be applied to Half-Life and Opposing Force. [1] GameSpot reviewer Greg Kasavin agreed with many of IGN's criticisms, stating that "it's not that the game is easy so much that it's extremely short" and that Blue Shift "doesn't amount to much on its own terms". The first chapter of the Half-Life: Blue Shift remake, Living Quarters Outbound, is now released! In addition, Hill praised the game for showing more activity in the base, noting that "a whole world goes on around you, with people eating at a cantina and scientists doing their laundry. [9], Blue Shift was announced in the second quarter of 2000 as part of an upcoming Dreamcast port of Half-Life. - 90% of the 6,837 user reviews for this game are positive. Security guards and scientists will occasionally help the player in reaching new areas and convey relevant plot information. Half-Life: Blue Shift Jun 1, 2001. Blue Shift was the second expansion for Half-Life, originally intended as part of a Dreamcast port of Half-Life. It was released on Steam on August 24, 2005. [10] While the port was developed by Captivation Digital Laboratories, Blue Shift was developed by Gearbox Software, who also developed the first Half-Life expansion, Opposing Force. [33], In a review for IGN, critic Tal Blevins noted that Blue Shift's gameplay "is pretty much what we've come to expect out of Half-Life" by blending action and puzzle solving, stating that the latter "were all logical and well done, although some of the jumping puzzles were frustrating". Team Fortress Classic, Opposing Force, Half-Life, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Minimum: 500 mhz processor, 96mb ram, 16mb video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection, Recommended: 800 mhz processor, 128mb ram, 32mb+ video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection. file type Full version. As with Gearbox's previous expansion pack, Opposing Force (1999), Blue Shift returns to the setting and events of Half-Life, but portrays the story through the eyes of another character. [1], The player battles through the game alone, but is occasionally assisted by friendly non-player characters. [27], Blue Shift received a mixed reaction from critics, holding overall scores of 67.40%[28] and 71/100 [29] on the review aggregator sites GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. Madigan described the single-player campaign as "decent" and commented that the new graphics made the game "worthy of consideration". Includes 22 items:
[30], PC Zone's Mark Hill was more lenient, praising the game's artificial intelligence as "intelligent as you could hope an AI enemy to be". Blue Shift also includes a graphics pack that upgrades the Half-Life models and textures. Progress through the game's world is continuous; although the game is divided up into chapters, the only significant pauses are when the game needs to load the next part of an environment. Calhoun is the last to enter the portal and as he does so, Marines breach the laboratory and fire on him, causing the teleporter to explode. Players control security guard Barney Calhoun, employed by the Black Mesa Research Facility, who must fight his way to safety during an alien invasion. [18] At the E3 2001, Gearbox announced that Blue Shift was complete[19] and exhibited a playable version. [15], On March 29, 2001, Sierra that Blue Shift would also be released for Windows[16] as a standalone game that would not require the original Half-Life to run. Half-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for the first-person shooter video game Half-Life (1998). As an expansion pack for Half-Life, Blue Shift is a first-person shooter. At one location, he witnesses Freeman's capture by Marines midway through Half-Life, before eventually stabilizing at the intended teleport location with Rosenberg at the outskirts of Black Mesa, where they then escape the facility in a company SUV. [8] Upon his return, Rosenberg informs Calhoun that the teleporter's battery power has been exhausted, and contact has been lost with a team sent to acquire a new power cell. [25] Blue Shift was also published as part of Sierra's Half-Life: Generation compilation in 2002,[26] and as part of Valve and Electronic Arts' Half Life 1: Anthology on September 26, 2005. Blue Shift received mixed reviews. Enter up to 375 characters to add a description to your widget: Copy and paste the HTML below into your website to make the above widget appear. Hill also praised the focus "on a greater interaction with scientists as proper people rather than the two or three models that were cloned throughout the facility who kept repeating the same phrases", describing this as Blue Shift's "greatest achievement". file size 984.3 KB. The player sees everything through the first person perspective of the protagonist and remains in control of the player character for almost all of the game. [32], Unreleased Half-Life games § Half Life Dreamcast Port, "Ready to Jump Back into the Black Mesa Research Facility? If you would like, you can try out the Hazard Course, which is a tutorial for Half-Life. © 2021 Valve Corporation. In addition, Kasavin described the graphical enhancements brought about by the High Definition pack as "helpful", but noted that "they still don't make Half-Life look like a new game—nor are many of the changes themselves very noticeable". ", "E3 2001: Half-Life: Blue Shift goes gold", "Analysis: Valve's Lifetime Retail Sales For, Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Half-Life:_Blue_Shift&oldid=1014117004, Video games developed in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using Infobox video game using locally defined parameters, Articles using Wikidata infoboxes with locally defined images, Articles using Video game reviews template in single platform mode, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 March 2021, at 08:15. Filter reviews by the user's playtime when the review was written: When enabled, off-topic review activity will be filtered out. Calhoun is responsible for the preservation of equipment and materials and the welfare of research personnel, and after the accident turns Black Mesa into a warzone, he must work with Dr. Rosenberg, a high-ranking scientist involved in the experiment, to evacuate the facility.[5]. [11] The game had the working title Half-Life: Guard Duty; publisher Sierra Entertainment announced the name Blue Shift on August 30, 2000. [14] The port was delayed by Sierra to ensure the "high expectations of consumers" were met, anticipating release by the end of the year. [12] The Dreamcast port would include higher detail models and textures[13] that were double the polygon count of Valve's original Half-Life models. You will be able to choose your difficulty (Easy, Normal, or Hard) before you start the game. All rights reserved. Sign in to see reasons why you may or may not like this based on your games, friends, and curators you follow. Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations. [7] After freeing Rosenberg from the captivity of the US Marines detachment sent to silence the facility, Calhoun escorts him to a decommissioned prototype teleportation laboratory, where several Black Mesa employees have already gathered. Blue Shift also includes a substantial section dedicated to keeping a major character in the story safe from enemy characters, and escorting him to a specific location. Bradwell did, however, criticize the game's artificial intelligence and the occasional bug that caused a player to get stuck on a wall. Although they are not seen displaying this trait often, Houndeyes appear to be carnivorous or omnivourous creatures, as one is seen eating a dead security guard in Half-Life: Blue Shift. 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