Half-Life 1 Anthology

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• 4 exciting tiles in 1 great action-adventure compilation
• Survive killer aliens in Half-Life's plot-driven, complex world
• Explore restricted areas of mysterious government facility in Blue Shift
• Opposing Force offers new arsenal of weapons and 12+ multiplayer maps
• Team-based multiplayer game, Team Fortress Classic

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000AOE4BM
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 26, 2005
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,236 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Half-Life 1 Anthology features four exciting tiles in one great compilation. Titles include Half-Life, Half-Life Blue Shift, Half-Life Opposing Force, and Team Fortress Classic.

Half-Life
Half-Life features an integrated storyline with stunning visual effects and a huge, sprawling environment filled with aliens determined to hunt you down and kill you. You no longer just point and shoot--Half-Life is a dynamic, plot-driven, complex world where you need to play smart to survive. Monsters have a strong instinct for self-preservation. They will duck, jump, hide behind barriers to avoid gunfire, and even retreat if feeling threatened. Superior AI drives these behaviors and they are different for each species. Plus you can choose from 18 different weapons, ranging from a crowbar to laser-guided rockets.

Half-Life Blue Shift
In Blue Shift, players are challenged to take on the role of the Black Mesa security guard and explore restricted areas of the mysterious government facility. Blue Shift also contains the Half-Life HD Pack, which automatically upgrades the weapons and characters of all the games in the Half-Life saga with new high-definition content.

Half-Life Opposing Force
Built upon the amazing technology and with the visceral action of the original, Opposing Force returns you to the Black Mesa Research facility as one of the military specialists sent in to eliminate Gordon Freeman. The new single-player experience included is massive and incredibly challenging. Opposing Force also contains a completely new arsenal of weapons and over 12 new multiplayer maps created by many of the gaming industry’s all-star designers.

Team Fortress Classic
The hugely popular team-based multiplayer game, Team Fortress Classic, runs on top of the Half-Life engine.

Product Description

This is the must-have collection for those who haven't yet experienced the thrill of Half-Life. Discover the danger and thrills of the entire Half-Life universe with this full suite of games, expansions, mods and more. A variety of real-world, experimental, and alien-world weapons 32 player Internet/LAN support Worldcraft 2.0 beta level editor included

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Game, Bad Package, November 5, 2005

By 

J. S. Sun - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Half-Life 1 Anthology (CD-ROM)

Half Life was an amazing game wtih great AI, a story that had you glued to your PC and good graphics. That was 1998. Today it's still a classic that any true gamer should play. But this package "Half Life 1 Anthology" is not the way to get it. This package contains:

Half-Life

Half Life: Blue Shift

Half Life: Opposing Force

Team Fortress Classic

It does not contain Counter-Strike. For a better value, I would get "Half Life Platinum Collection Second Edition". it contains:

Half Life

Half Life: Blue Shift

Half Life: Opposing Force

Half Life: Counter-Strike

Team Fortress Classic

Although only Counter-Strike seems like the only difference, having a real Half Life CD-Key is a big plus. Mods work, you get more extras and generally a better experience/ deal than a crippled package.

To Parents: This is a violent game. It fully deserves a M rating with lots of blood, dismemberment, realistic combat and gore. But there is absolutely nothing past that.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This box isn't that bad., December 20, 2005

By 

Charles M. Fogarty III - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Half-Life 1 Anthology (CD-ROM)

I just bought this game yesterday, and when I got online and looked at some of the reviews I was a little worried about how well it would play, due to the Steam game engine. The fact that it only comes with one cd-rom disc for 4 games also had me a little concerned.

However, once everything was installed, there's been no problems. Despite what some reviews might say, you CAN PLAY THIS GAME OFFLINE.

Once you've installed the game, and set up your Steam account, put in the cd key, etc. you can simply click the game icon and the steam account will try to start up, but once it realises you're not online it'll give you the option of playing in offline mode.

My computer didn't suffer any lags or gameplay problems, so aside from the fact that setting up the Steam account and downloading the updates will take almost 3 hours on a 56k.

For the price, it's a good deal. just don't be surprised when you can't play it right out of the box.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definately worth it, February 7, 2007

By 

quiksilver723 (Queensbury, NY) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Half-Life 1 Anthology (CD-ROM)

I've seen a few reviews that talk about how outdated the game is and honestly they are right. But what can you expect from a game that's almost 10 years old? The graphics and sound are obviously lacking in comparison to today's standards but I'm one of those guys who judge games based on gameplay and not raw horsepower. And Half Life: Anthology has plenty of gameplay to go around.

I want to address Steam first. I do not like Steam at all. I think it's a poor way to package a sell a product to consumers. Now I do know why Valve is so sensitive about piracy and all. But there's gotta be a better way to prevent it than this. Steam is just a shear annoyance in my opinion. Now with that said though I haven't had any problem running any of my games with Steam. But I do know for a fact that if you have anything less than a DSL connection you should not getting any game that requires Steam. When I bought HL2: EP1 it took me several hours to download the program which is a far cry from just installing directly from a CD. But if I had a choice I'd do away with Steam and find an alternative because Valve is really turning away a chunk of their market by this approach.

Now with that outta the way lets talk about the game. Now as I've already stated, as well as many others here, Half Life is a outdated game in terms of graphics and sound quality. But that definately does not take away from the action and intensity that this provides you. The battles are fierce and challenging and the AI is not too shabby either. And I've jumped several times when a head crab has lunged toward the screen. The storyline is interesting also. I think I'd prefer some cutscences or narration to help flesh it out a bit more but its not bad. But take my advice, talk to the NPCs when you can. They do help direct the story a bit and can give you some insight as well. And the jumping puzzles. Well again, many people hate them. But from an old console gamer as myself they're not as bad as some of the puzzles I've seen. They take some patience, timing, and maybe a little luck as well. But they're no where as difficult as some people make them sound. But I guess that's just my opinion.

I haven't played Opposing Force or Blue Shift yet, but basing how I enjoyed HL I think that they'll be equally as fulfilling. Again, the gameplay is great, the graphics are not. So if you're into hi-def video and sound then you're gonna be sorely disappointed. But if you're like me and enjoy a solid feeling game then you can't go wrong here.