half life apposing force
Introduction:
Sunday, April 11, 1999 we reported that the Rebel Boat Rocker,
fresh from the
cancellation of their futuristic military FPS Prax War, had re-organized
as Gearbox
Software. Well now, the newly formed Gearbox team is bringing you
another military-
themed game, in which you'll be able to experience the other side
of the battle --
as a marine -- in the upcoming official Half-Life game expansion,
Half-Life: Opposing Force.
Story:
In Half-Life: Opposing Force (Op For), you'll be playing as a soldier
-- one of the
grunts you so frequently had to challenge in the original game.
"In Op For, you play
as one of the soldiers sent to clean up the mess at the Black Mesa
facility," says
Gearbox Software's Chief Game Designer, Randy Pitchford. But, you
quickly
find that there is more to the situation than you were originally
told, as a "new alien"
race begins infesting your base. In addition, G-Man, the mysterious
brief-carrying
man from the original is back, and is trying to manipulate you
as well.
Gameplay:
Op For will contain large amounts of gameplay content, and the
size of the expansion pack
should be about 40 percent that of the original game, with about
six new chapters. "
There are lots of new environments and clever revisits to familiar
ones. Ultimately,
our soldier will obtain more than a half dozen new weapons to defeat
the new alien
threat with," says Pitchford. "And unlike the original, you will
go in fully armed."
We have spent some time with Valve understanding what the Half-Life
goals for
the player's experience were. We spent a lot of time thinking about
what things give
impact and whether the result is positive or negative for the players.
We are taking
all of this knowledge and applying it in high density to create
a significant new experience
for fans and new Half-Life players.
New Weapons:
The expansion will feature seven new weapons, and a whole new race
of aliens that
will be taking part in the invasion of Xen. "In Op For your crowbar
has been replaced
by a large pipe wrench that will also have the advantage of a new
alternative firing mode,
which will allow you (the player) to charge up a more forceful
swing that will be capable
of destroying the large, unbreakable crates from the previous game,"
says Pitchford.
Also, much like the original game's Snarks, there will be another
alien weapon for you to
turn against your enemies: those Barnacles that waited to pull
you up into their mouths with
their tentacles and chomp your head off. Now you will be able to
carry one around and
use it as a biological grappling hook on both people and walls.
When used against your
enemies, they will be dragged towards you and have their heads
chewed on by the
creature. If an inanimate object is hit, like a wall surface, the
tongue will grab hold and
pull you towards it. "It's your own personal biological grappling
hook!" says Pitchford.
  
edition du 13/06/99
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