Half-Life: Blue Shift Critic Reviews

Bottom Line is, although it is flawed this game still kicks major ass with steel tipped boot.

Put it this way - if this is your first go of a Half Life game, prepare to be shocked by the AI of these guys.

A nice return to a classic game scenario, but is far too short and fails to bring anything new to the series. While playing Blue Shift was fun, I would compare the experience to eating Chinese food. No sooner had I finished, than I wanted more.

Just know that you're in for a short ride that will leave you yearning for a full-fledged sequel.

The Music that runs off the Blue-Shift CD. It kicks in at the worst times, and resembles circus music.

Too short to justify its current MSRP.

The thing that ultimately forces me to give it a low rating is how damnably short it is – the game ending just as you are starting to get involved in the plot.

Without a more engaging gameplay style or any innovation (aside from the High Definition pack), I don’t see Blue Shift as being a strong expansion.

Beyond the HD pack, nothing has been done to evolve the game as a whole.

A lot of fun, but it was just over too quick. It's certainly worth taking a look at if you're a fan of Half-Life, but you better keep your eyes open, because if you blink you may miss it.

Short but sweet.

If you don't own "Opposing Force," get it. If you do, then don't expect a repeat performance.

The bad news is that Blue Shift, the actual game, doesn't amount to much on its own terms. The good news is that the revamped graphics and the inclusion of Opposing Force make the retail package a lot more worthwhile.

The puzzles are your standard - "push-lever-break-thing-press-button" type of brain crackers, which will be about as challenging to a HL veteran as… well okay, some of them are somewhat inventive, but on aggregate they'd only be interesting to the DC crowd I guess.

While the game looks better than "Half-Life" did before the 1.1.0.6 patch, the engine does nothing new or revolutionary and comes off as fairly dated. Don't expect any amazing solar effects or vast open areas with incredible viewing distances.

If you've never played "Half-Life" or "Opposing Force," you'll be blissfully unaware that Blue Shift has the same weapons, the same monsters, and the same basic cast of characters. But it's still a blast to play.

As it stands, it's almost in the realm of the type of content you expect to freely download.

Stevie Wonder could breeze through this first-person shooter in under five hours.

Essentially a graphics enhancement pack bundled with a short single-player campaign and a title many have already played, all for around 20 dollars after rebate.