the abandoned workshops

Gameplay
Quite unique for Half Life, a short side scroller mod where you play as a robot who was hacked into to go haywire as indicated by the title to be free. Weapons have been modified to be a little more useful for this and there are a few nice fights, some can be an annoyance since your bullets might not hit your enemies due to their position in the map but the concept is still enjoyable. In the short amount of time you fight a few different enemies, gather some weapons and have a nice finish but it would have been nice if it was longer.

Design
Average and bland, structure, texture and lighting wise as there isn’t anything really special about the looks. Ofcourse it has some nice elements from typical sidescrollers such as platforms and crushes it misses a decent design to look good as well which ruined it quite a bit.

Overall Conclusion
Fun concept, quite tricky gameplay set in a bland set of maps.

Author: Scott Bell
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 60%
Download: Here

Gameplay
Originally made for his brother’s birthday, the author made one very unique mod which is very enjoyable and quite funny when playing through each of the levels. Although it isn’t very long it has a lot of nice elements and includes some new enemies, weapons and items that fit well with the them. Good flow and simple fights keep everything balanced and nothing goes out of place to ruin any of the expierence.

Design
Very good, with sweets being the main theme has been approached well with several lollies and other such sweets scattered around this world logically, with other elements such as houses made of sweets and places covered in what looks like sugar. The colour scheme has a lot of soft colours which adds a little more atmosphere to the overall look of things which also kept the mod enjoyable.

Overall Conclusion
Short, unique and very enjoyable.

Author: Unknown
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 90%
Download: Here

Gameplay
You have been selected to test out a new anti-aircraft weapon, but all you’ve got to do is fly a jet while they do what they want to do. Sounds like you’re going to die pretty soon though, but ofcourse you don’t. You crash land near an enemy base and must try to find a way out and survive. The mission is pretty difficult with several soldiers constantly attacking you keeping a lot of action within this one which can be quite fustrating and tiresome. Especially with some of the limited supplies, since I couldn’t find any. There are however some good elements in there but the drawn out fights can ruin the gameplay making it less enjoyable.

Design
Rather average throught with a few interesting objects or structures here and there but most of it is quite simple. Mix of large and small locations which are usually filled with large containers and crates, can still be quite empty and bare looking. Texturing is alright, however bland in many areas making it look boring. Lighting is also quite bad, especially in the sewer areas, most of the time it is used doesn’t create much ambience and again looks bland.

Overall Conclusion
Tiresome gameplay, few interesting elements with some average yet bland design.

Author: Nathan Ruck
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 66%
Download: Here

Gameplay
Zombie action throughout the whole mod with a lot of twists and turns to the plot causing several events to take place throughout three different episodes, each one better than the last. New weapons are also available to the player but they won’t be obtained until later within the levels but the zombies aren’t hard to kill off using a melee unless ofcourse you come across a horde of them. But human zombies won’t be the only thing you’ll come across and there will be a few NPCs to progress the story a bit more as well. The flow in each episode is enjoyable and keeps a good pace though some battles with zombies can get a little tiresome from time to time. You’ll also be travelling through several different locations, sometimes revisting others in later levels. Nothing too difficult is present in the mod, except for a few gun wielding enemies which can be taken out pretty easily.

Design
An average structure throughout the whole mod however with a great design that keeps it’s own horror atmosphere mostly through the textures being used and the quality of them which in it’s own way creates a good theme for each location, be it inside or out. Even though the structure is rather average, texturing deffinitely helps make it look better and the design fits well with the other models used in the mod such as the enemies and weapons. Lighting is moderate, without any problems and dark areas aren’t too overwhelming making them more atmospheric. A lof of ambience sounds have also been used throughout to keep each location to feel alive and add more to atmosphere.

Overall Conclusion
Well known mod with enjoyable, zombie gameplay with decent design throughout.

Author: Neil Manke
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 92%
Download: Here

Gameplay
Your task is to return back to the Black Mesa facility to rescue two scientists that are very important, although that may sound simple enough, there is a lot of trouble ahead for the player. The action is quite hard but apporached well to keep it challenging, but again sometimes fustrating. Ofcourse you are going to have to find the scientists while several enemies get in your way throughout the facility. After finding them though, they will be following you around for the rest of the mod which adds to the difficulty. If any of them die you fail your mission so you must protect them at all costs and this is where things get fustrating since they can get stuck from time to time or run into enemy fire and even get in your way. Other than those problems the concept has been approached well and can be reasonably enjoyable once you get used to the idea.

Design
Several areas from the original Black Mesa will be revisted with several new locations that follow a similar design but with a slightly better structure. Plenty of detail has been put into both the exteriors and interiors to keep them good looking with some decent texturing throughout, again following the same Black Mesa style. Lighting is moderate with no complaints which also follow the same design pattern and keep some large areas well lit. Layout and sizes of a majority of the areas are good for both the action and travelling with the scientists throughout each level.

Overall Conclusion
Good approach to gameplay, yet quite hard.

Author: Kevin Lockitt
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 90%
Download: Here

Gameplay
Set during the Vietnam war, you Captain Percy Freeman, a Special Forces officer is sent in to find and assassinate Colonel Kurtz but the mission is a lot more than you bargained for as you are attacked by several of the undead and it’s up to you and Barney to survive. During some majority of the mod, Barney will be following you and must be kept alive while you both take on the Viet-Cong, US Marines and hordes of zombies, complete your mission and get out of there. This one contains a lot of new features which are most obvious from the start, new enemies, weapons, audio and NPC’s throughout the mod while each level sticks to a good atmosphere working well with all the new stuff. Balance in the weapons and action is good and keeps a decent flow but Barney can be a bit tricky to go where you want him to go a lot of the time. The mod is rather long but not tiresome as each area has it’s own excitement and twists within it to make sure you don’t get bored with a few simple tasks to do in some areas to proceed onwards.

Design
Very atmospheric and fits the theme well with new textures, models and skyboxes to help add to the style. Structure throughout is very good and kept in a detailed manner that fits with the style of the models. Texturing has also been worked on carefully which all fit and have been used well to help add to the theme much more. Lighting is moderate with no real complaints, some of the exterior lighting adds more to the atmosphere of each level, especially those of which the sun is set and looks great. Like stated before, the models fit with everything else so nothing is out of place anywhere in the mod, and there’s plenty of sounds around to make the place feel more alive and realistic.

Overall Conclusion
Decent gameplay that plays well with decent design, lots of atmosphere throughout.

Author: Heart of Evil Team
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 92%
Download: Here

Gameplay
You take the role of a sheriff in the western times, so the mod includes new weapons and enemies which fit in this setting. You’ll come across mainly humans in this one such as bandits, indians, miners and more each welding different weapons to fight against you with, and a few animals as well. There is also several different locations you’ll be coming across but mainly several canyons and caves which does get a little boring. Throughout the mod it can get very tiresome to play due to its length and the repeatitive action half way through, which was a shame since the start was rather fun. The action can get difficult as there are several gun welding enemies in groups of three in nearly every room or outside somewhere which makes the fights rather dull, especially with the weapons you’ll be using. There is however plenty of ammo, health and armor around. The western atmosphere has been achieved well though and sticks to that through out.

Design
Above average throughout with some decent structure for the buildings and especially the canyon areas of the mod. Texturing is also done well but the quality of them are quite low and most of the woods look quite ugly. As stated above, there are many canyon and caves to venture in which all look the same except for some texturing styles in some places which can make these locations boring to play in. Lighting is moderate, but quite bright outside to keep the warm weather feeling around each of the different maps and looks good throughout without many problems.

Overall Conclusion
Decent western style mod, with above average design but gameplay can get tiresome.

Author: WantedHL Team
Type: Singleplayer
Rating: 78%
Download: Here