Recent reviews by Elephants Doing Crack

This was AMAZING!!!

But it is only 30 minutes... Valve come on guys?! Make a full game.

At least it is free, so that is really cool

Holy crap, where do I even begin with Portal Reloaded? This is an incredible mod and I can’t even begin to imagine how the dev team even managed to pull it off. Now I’m not really huge on Portal, I am more of a Half-life fan than anything else. I am just not a puzzle guy mainly because I am pretty stupid. Since Portal is in the Half-life universe, I have to play it.

What about Portal mods then? Most of the Portal mods that I have seen or played feel the same to me, so they don’t make me come back… usually. Also, I didn’t like how Portal 2 was filled with a TON of jokes while leaving behind the dark and mysterious atmosphere from the first game; of course, Portal 2 is better in every way, shape, and form compared to the first game. But that environment from the first Portal was amazing. Now that I think about it, Half-life Alyx had a lot of annoying jokes… thanks, Jay Pinkerton. I am getting off track. Portal Reloaded is an interesting mod for Portal 2 with some REALLY hard puzzles.

If you came to me in 2011 and told me that this was like an expansion pack, DLC, or something similar to PORTAL: STILL ALIVE for the Xbox 360’s Orange Box, then I would believe you. This honestly has the same polish and love as Valve’s Portal, I haven’t seen a mod do something like that since Portal Stories: Mel. The voice actor sounded like they came from Portal 2, the AI robot or whatever, you know the one. The Soundtrack is short, but what is there is beautiful work, I recommend you listen to it. I won’t spoil too much, but the mod does have some Half-life related appearances in it; which I want because these two-game series are connected, yet the games only name-call each other and we never see it for ourselves in-game (PLZ VALVE).

To start with, the main mechanic and gimmick of the mod is that you have a third green portal that takes you into the future. This third portal leads to some very cleverly made puzzles and interesting comparing then and now with the locations. Hell, I always thought something about Portal 2 was missing and could have had another thing added to it. I am okay with change and mixing things up, if it is pulled off right. The green portal is pretty much the only thing that is new here. I mean sure there is a new protagonist and characters but… more on that later. The time portal, the green portal, whatever the f*ck you want to call it, is a very cool mechanic. Being in the present, then the future is a drawing experience: the present being very well cleaned, while the future is basically a jungle. Plus, if you heard anything about this mod, this is why you are playing it. I still don’t know how they did it, it’s very impressive from a technical level.

I like the puzzles, they made me go insane, but cleverly made. The hardest puzzles for me were the fourth chamber and the last chamber. The fourth chamber was hard because I did not grasp the mechanic yet and was still learning. It was like learning how to swim, but then the swim teacher picks you up and throws you into the water. Yeah I would be confused too. The fifth chamber was WAY more easier and the mod even remarks on that. Was this a good idea? I think so, it makes the player look stupid in retrospect and when you continue through the game it’s like nothing. The last puzzle though, I won’t say, but I would have never figured that out on my own. That was a very refreshing puzzle that I haven’t seen before. But yes, the puzzles are very well made… for the most part at least.

However, I do have some problems with this mod, no product is always perfect. For one, the biggest point for me was the story. It wasn’t deep or awful but just fine. This is okay by me because it’s a side story, kind of like Gearbox’s Half-life 1 expansions. The pitch for the mod itself, on the story, is a neat idea that I would love to see explored more. But, the characters are… honestly I don’t even know their names. Whom was I playing as? Was it the cut character Mel? WHO EVEN WAS I? The only thing the robot AI has going for him is that he sounds like the AI from the base Portal 2. Other than that, nothing much else. The dialogue sounds like from Portal 2... which really isn't that hard to write down, I could do it and so can you. Portal Stories: Mel, for a random example mod, had a much better plot, characters and more fascinating/new set pieces.

Of course, the only reason you are here is because of the third portal. Now this game mechanic is great, but we don’t get to use gel and we don’t see too many crazy levels except for the last puzzle in the game. Also, chamber 17 was odd to me; I didn’t know what to do for this puzzle that should have been easier to solve. So, I looked up a walkthrough and noticed I had to go past a force field, and then I could finally use my green portal. I know that may sound like game Journalism, but I don’t remember being introduced to this mechanic or what point it served in the mod for. Why couldn’t I just use my third portal anyways? I don’t know, it just didn’t make sense from a design choice in my eyes.

Then there is the menu screen, I don’t know why they got rid of the load and save option. You can still do it, but can not look back on it in the menu or while pausing. I don’t see why this decision was made? I would make a mistake in a test chamber and just want to load back before I messed up, but I couldn’t do that and had my time wasted. That is probably why they did to pound out time for the mod or something.

If you know what you are doing, this mod is like 40 minutes long. For me, it took 6.5 hours to beat it on Steam. Also, before you ask, yes I am a dumb@ss and wandered around not knowing what to do most of the time. I said I wasn’t good at puzzles man… Believe it when I say Portal Reloaded brings out the big guns for their puzzles.

Overall, Portal Reloaded is an excellent mod. Though the only thing it really has going for it is the third time traveling portal. Is this mod like Portal 3 like EVERYONE is making it out to be? No. I think the mechanic is a good idea for a sequel, but I consider this to be like a side story or prequel than anything else. To be honest, I don’t want or really care about a Portal 3 or even a Half-life 3, I just want more side stories in this universe. VALVE GIVE US AN OFFICIAL HALF-LIFE COMIC PLEASE! Hell, it is why Gearbox’s expansion packs are my favorite games in the Half-life Series. Mods like this and Portal Stories: Mel are cool as sh*t to me. Heck, I am still down with Valve’s cancelled Portal 2 project called “F-Stop,” it is a golden idea to explore in my opinion. If I had to rate Portal Reloaded, it would be an 8/10, but, Portal Stories: Mel still takes the CAKE for me. Get it? Okay I will stop with that bad joke. If you don’t know where to start with Portal Mods, I recommended that you play Portal 1 & 2, play Portal Reloaded and then Portal Stories: Mel. Anyways, that is all I have to say, I am now getting the urge to play Portal Stories: Mel. F*ck do I have to write a review on that mod too? Play this mod, you won’t regret it.

Here are my personal/other links:
My discord is “ElephantsDoingCrack#5348”
My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw
Play Portal Stories: Mel here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/317400/Portal_Stories_Mel/
Play Portal Reloaded obviously here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255980/Portal_Reloaded/

You can comment on this review or subscribe to my YouTube, I hope you enjoyed this. Happy 10th anniversary, Portal 2!

I remember hearing about this mod a year or so ago. I wanted to play it cause it looked interesting and I love seeing new content for Half-life. But then, Alyx came out during that same time, so I just played that instead and forgot about Logistique. Hell, I didn’t even know this came out on Steam until a couple of weeks ago – that’s how little I cared. But, I was still intrigued with the mod: the gunplay looked cool and has some different tweaks compared to regular Half-life 2. I’m the kind of guy who thinks gameplay should come FIRST, then the story last for games. I have Arkane Studios to blame for this belief and that design philosophy in mind. But, I was stoked to play this, Half-life mods that have new content or tweaks in their combat tend to be really good. Some examples being: Entropy: Zero, Snowdrop Escape, ICE, Underhell, Human Error, etc. However, to a huge surprise, I was beyond disappointed with this mod. Instead, I despised it and have nothing but frustrating constructive criticism for it.

I will start positive because as the old saying goes, “positivity is the best medicine.” Or is that only with laughter? Whatever, you get my point. So, what did I like about Logistique?

Well, I like the gunplay that was there. I think it was fun playing Half-life 2 differently since I feel that the base game was lacking in this regard. The game is still Half-life 2, but now with Condemned: Criminal Origins inspired mechanics. You have to check on your ammo by holding “R” and be cautious with your shots. The guns themselves feel great and satisfying to use; you acquire a Markov and an MP7 in this mod. So, in this field of the mod, I was a happy camper.

The maps and levels look beautiful. They are well detailed and are amazing to look at. So amazing that it got me invested in the world when I was exploring. In terms of graphics, it is a job well done. Though, I wish I could say the same for the rest of Logistique.

I really wanted to give Logistique a shot and like it. But, during my first couple of minutes of playing the mod, I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it. When I am saying to myself continuously in the beginning of your mod, “WHERE THE F*CK DO I GO?!” That is not a good sign for me already, since I start losing interest in your product. I don’t know where to begin with this, there are so many moments in which the level design was god-awful (Also spoilers... if you really cared that much).
For example, after fighting your first batch of CPs, you come to a Combine barrier. So, I go on a huge Easter egg hunt by not knowing what I was doing, breaking some boxes and finding NOTHING. I just stacked a random wooden box and climbed over the barrier. Why not have a button or get rid of the barrier? In fact, what happens if I break all of those boxes? What then? For one puzzle, I couldn’t find a battery for a generator after completing another one moments before that. I checked the wires, the cars (it made sense), the area around me and didn't find SH*T! I did find a dead woman that got stabbed by a piece of debris in this one store or whatever, even though the building was perfectly fine and wasn't destroyed. So how did she die? Did she slip on a banana and impale herself on convenient debris? That is how I lost my mind trying to find this ONE battery. Then, I watched a walkthrough and found out that it was back where I started in the other area before that. Who the hell does that?! Also, there is no sprint in this mod, so they do an annoying and poorly executed platforming section. Oh, that’s not enough? Let’s add in this Combine energy thingy that tries pulling you over the edge every ten seconds. That’s still not enough? Okay, let’s blind you with an effect on your screen while that happens. Does that sound fun? Because IT F*CKING SUCKED! During the last part of the mod, there is a turret that blocks your path. All right, that is fine by me, it is an interesting way to block your journey and do something else to get past it; Half-life is well-known for gameplay like this. So, you need to get grenades... from across the map of course and come back. What happens if you run out of grenades? You run back and restock on grenades, or I guess since you can't sprint you walk back. Oh yeah, what do you even do with these grenades? Well, I didn't know either, so I nocliped around the map and found out I could get on this bridge and throw grenades into a hole. How did I miss that? Because the developers put up boxes to block the entrance and put it in range of where the turret can shoot you... Seriously guys?
There is no guiding the player with lights, confusing layouts, and not giving enough info on the situation. Hell, I looked up a walkthrough by CW3D and it seemed like he was complaining about the same issues I had. I am pretty sure I could write a novel on how bad this level design was. You just have to take my word on it, it is NOT good.

The gameplay is a little annoying. Even though I liked some of it, I still have problems with it. For one, you can’t see your health. I am going to be real with you, I don’t know if there was regeneration health or not (despite there being medic kits). Why not have like a watch or something to tell you this information? There are only four weapons in this mod, which is lower than in Alyx. You get a crowbar, a pistol, an MP7, and grenades (that you get late in-game while also being awkward to throw). Why couldn’t there be more unique weapons or maybe even more guns in general? Though I do give credit for games when they don’t have a shotgun because EVERY fps game NEEDS a shotgun I guess. But, it really would have helped the mod out in this case if you did add one.

If you do enjoy the story, it just ends without a heads up; no final boss, no last wave, nothing to hint that “this is it” type of moment. That kind of sucks because the mod had a cool opening and interesting idea for the protagonist. Besides that, I didn’t care about what happened after that. I didn’t care about the characters (that I don’t remember) or the plot. It wasn’t hard to follow or anything, it was a pretty simple story in terms of creative writing. However, my issues up above made me stop caring about it. This is more on the technical side of things, but the NPCs you talk to in this mod don’t move their mouths for some reason. Also, why are their Nova Prospekt soldiers in CITY 17?! What are they doing there? Oh, wait, sorry there are like four regular soldiers in there and every other Combine solder is from Nova Prospekt.

Do I recommend this mod? HELL NO! Do not waste your time on it. By the ending of the mod, I felt like I had forced myself to play it just because my internet was down and had nothing better to do. I couldn’t finish nor do my school work even if I wanted to or not, I didn’t have too many options. If you make a sequel, then add more combat, add more to the gameplay and FIX the level design. Overall, it had good ideas and potential, but fell flat on its face and broke a leg… literally.

Links:
Thanks to CW3D: https://youtu.be/Y-EVDY-Xzhw
My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw

Anyways, that is all I have to say. I want to die now.

Finally, this mod is out! To be honest, I kinda forgot about Snowdrop Escape’s existence: since I didn't see anyone talk about it. That is until two months ago when somebody on Discord mentioned it was out. That doesn't mean I thought it would be bad or anything, I can tell whether a mod is going to be amazing or not. So, what do I look for in a mod? I want it to feel like an Expansion Pack or like a whole new game. That means new weapons, enemies, setting etc. So, when I saw new mechanics and guns in the tech demo videos for the mod, I got very excited. I know some people didn’t like it, cough JarekTheGaminDragon cough, but I feel the reasons are justified. I just want to get it out there: I REALLY enjoyed my time with Snowdrop Escape and it’s about as I expected.

PROS

So what is Snowdrop Escape about? Well, it is a mod where you play as a mercenary within the half-life universe named James Hugo. This means you're neither for the Resistance or the Combine. What a f*cking centrist, am I right? This mod kind of reminds me of another Half-life 2 mod out there called Half-life 2: Ice. Both are like expansion packs with new gameplay mechanics, weapons, snow-like setting, risks-taken, and a brand new story. However, like Half-Life 2: Ice, Snowdrop Escape's story is not that deep and really shouldn't be taken seriously. That's not to say the story is bad, but it is far from perfect.
So what do I like about this mod? Well to start with, I loved the graphics of Snowdrop Escape. I sometimes call these Source graphics: “The Portal 2 Graphics.” I’ve been wanting to see these types of visuals for a mod that is focused on the Half-life story side of events. The only two examples I can think of are Entropy : Zero 2 and this mod. Maybe I'm overlooking this, but god d@mn does this mod have style. The graphics did blow me away though, for the most part at least. We’ve never really had snow in a Half-life game before, so having it here is interesting. I had a lot of Metro Last Light vibes when riding the tram that was underground in the dark; I adore these moments in mods and games because I get the feeling of an adventure. But let's shut the f*ck up about all of that, the only reason I am here is for the gameplay.
The gameplay is pure fun, it’s not F.E.A.R.’s level of great, but it works as a good time killer. Speaking of F.E.A.R., a new mechanic is that you can only carry five weapons with you. But only specific categories: melee, pistol, machine gun, non-machine gun, grenades, PDA, and toxic antidote. So maybe not exactly like F.E.A.R. then... It’s still great strategizing what guns to carry: like maybe you just want nothing but shotguns or something. There is more than one type of weapon in this game and the freedom of choice is awesome. Again, like Half-life 2 : Ice, it’s here to give you a new experience and a great time. The animations are fine, but nothing fantastic since it’s a mod. There are not that many returning weapons, which I want of course. In fact, the ones that do return have new animations and tweaks, so technically they are different weapons. But, a lot of them were odd choices: 1m Grands, Famas, AK47s (which is fine by me), and probably some other strange picks. Am I complaining? Yes and no: they were new guns that were fun to use, but, they don't really fit with the Half-life universe post-Seven Hour War.
The level design wasn't that bad either, not perfect but gets the job done. I mean if a dumbass like me could figure it out with no help from the internet, that must mean it's good... right? Yeah, that does not mean it is completely great, more on that later.
The story is okay in some areas and other times isn’t. But I do think it’s cool playing as a third faction and it being its own little side HL story. In the beginning, the story was just okay or meh; but overtime, it gets better and more interesting where it goes. It is very far from perfect… but still fun.
The soundtrack is pretty damn good and it was composed by Paweł Perepelica. I’m actually listening to it while I am writing this and I do have to say that it is well made. Sadly, it’s nothing too memorable, but it’s still pretty good.

CONS

Now for the things I don’t like about this mod. Let’s get the elephant out of the room (no I am talking about my fat @ss), there are TOO MANY puzzles in this mod. But, are the puzzles poorly designed? No. I didn’t need to look up a walkthrough on what to do and figured them out on my own. Though that did cut back my time on the first playthrough to five hours. The puzzles weren’t hard to figure out, it’s just that there shouldn’t have been this many in the final product. If the devs are reading this: I want to let you know that I didn’t dislike your puzzles and thought they were mostly well made - but please do cut down on them next time.
There are these pointless cutscenes in the middle of gameplay and I don’t get why they are here. If these cutscenes were cut from the mod, nothing would be different. They’re just a waste of time, serve no purpose and feel inconsistent. Hugo doesn’t even talk in-game, but only in the cutscenes. I’m not against cutscenes in games, but if you are going to do it like this then just straight up f*cking cut it man.
I like the level design of this mod, it wasn’t too hard to find out what to do for the most part. But these are just some words of advice: make the arenas more open. For example, in one area, you have to wait for an elevator to come up and defend against fast zombies. When the zombies are coming from one direction while I am sitting in the corner with a shotgun shooting at them with no f*cks given, then the levels need to have more happening. The underground areas mostly suffer from this problem: they just feel tight and need expansion. I also feel like you should do a better job of indicating where the player goes since it can be confusing at times. Also, there is like this blue filter wherever you go outside in the snow, but once you step inside it’s like it’s just gone like magic. Also, fix your pacing please: one second I am riding an airboat, and then, not even 40 seconds, I am off and done with it.
You can tell that the lead devs are not native English speakers; most of the acting lines have broken English. But, there are some talented voice actors in here like Trivvy, who is currently doing Bad Cop in Entropy:Zero 2. Whoever Trivvy voice acted for was the best character in the mod. However, there are still odd picks: like why the f*ck is Tyler McViker in this thing?! I don’t have a grudge against Tyler McViker, at least I don’t think I do… but why is he here? He is just Tyler McViker and I can hear him giggling in his mic.
There are some useless items in this mod. The PDA reminds of the PDA from Doom 3 and just tells you what the protagonist is thinking. Again, why even have those cutscenes if the PDA tells us his thoughts? The antidote is a cool idea for a game mechanic; but late game, you will never use it.

CONCLUSION

My final thoughts are similar to Half-life 2: Ice, it’s a fun little fan-made expansion pack you can play. If I had to rank it, I would give it a -8/10. Just go in expecting a non-serious, but still fun, Half-life 2 Episode 2 mod. The team behind this project is already working on another mod called “Swelter." Sadly, it is not a sequel and will be its own new story. The style of Swelter seems to be Central Asian-themed, like Kazakhstan or somesh*t.

I hope you enjoyed this review of mine. Leave a comment if you want to, I will be sure to read it. Heck, maybe you could correct me on something like grammar or an argument I made. That’s all I have to say, take care!

Mod links:
Snowdrop Escape (ModDB Link): https://www.moddb.com/mods/sde
Swelter (ModDB Link): https://www.moddb.com/mods/swelter

My personal links:
I have a YouTube if anybody wants to look at that: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw

Well… this mod is dead.

I was planning on writing this review sometime in October, 2020, so that way I would be able to play the whole mod as it was. But that released date would be the month that this mod would die. I guess I should have seen that one coming, but even the devs knew long before I did. So, I guess I have to write a review before the game is taken off the Steam store page. And yeah… there are more important things to be worried about in my life, for example: LIKE MY ESSAY DUE IN FOUR DAYS FROM NOW!!!! But this is more important to me (no jokes here, I’m dead serious).

So, what do I think about Half-life: Absolute Zero? Well I want to get the elephant out of the room: the development history. Dude, I’m gonna be real with you on this, Half-life: Absolute Zero is like the Franklin Pierce or Jimmy Carter of Half-life mods. It seemed like nothing went right for these guys: the mod’s been in development for ten years, an indie game studio tried suing this team because the indie studio trademarked “Absolute Zero” (one of the dumbest cases by the way), one of their level designers just straight up left with no words or anything and is still gone to this day, they tried getting another level designer but I don’t think anybody even joined, and now they cancelled the mod. It’s so sad to look at, I just hope they find better luck than with this mod. Okay, the drama is out of the way. NOW, how is the mod itself? Well, I went on a trip and stayed at my grandparent’s farm and then I played through all of what the mod had to offer. My thoughts: it was hands down, one of the GREATEST Half-life Beta recreation mods I’ve ever played.

Pros:
- It’s Half-life 1, but OH so different. Obviously, this mod is about the Alpha Build and cut content of Half-life 1. If you’ve read my Half-life: Restored Mod Review, then you would know that I think Half-life 1 is a perfect game that needs no changes. The Half-life 1 Beta is something that I am so glad never happened. More in that review, getting off track. It felt like I was rediscovering the Black Mesa Research Facility and everything felt like an alternate universe. I felt like I was playing a game that was lost in time, a game nobody played that was released in 1997. I sometimes wish I never knew what Half-life was, just so I could play it for the first time and get my first reactions; this mod is the closest thing I have to that. It made me feel like a kid again with curiosity about Black Mesa; it’s why I put up with the bugs and glitches with the mod, I was dedicated to seeing EVERYTHING.
- The gameplay is really different: for example, the HECU marines run and shoot?!! I had so much fun with it because of how different it felt compared to the retail version of Half-life. It threw me off guard and I always love that in mods, when they do it.
- This mod made me like the Half-life 1 beta a little bit more. I still REALLY prefer retail over the Beta, but it did make me think and wonder about a weird Half-life that never came to be. It’s interesting stuff even if I think some of it is dumb.

Cons:
- The mod is dead… :( That just sucks, but I can’t blame them.
- A lot of Valve’s original ideas for Half-life sucked: climbing ladders was nauseating and slow, antidotes were confusing, key cards were annoying and they sucked in Doom etc.
- Weapon animations were pretty bad, just looking at the mp5 reload animation is clear enough. But that’s probably done on purpose.

I probably have more reasons, but I don’t remember what I hated and liked about this mod. I just remember, and still do, that I LOVED it. There are only two beta mods out there that I actually like: Absolute Zero and Dark Interval (which is still kicking strong). This mod is a damn tragedy: it’s not because it was bad, unplayable, enjoyable, or even not fun. It’s because of the development hell these guys went through. I can’t believe this mod has been worked on for ten years straight and they went through all of the things I mentioned. It’s just depressing to look at and I wish no one has to go through something like this. But that can be game development for you in a nutshell... :(

I made this review on Half-life Restored. Which is a f*cking vrigin compared to the Chad Half-life: Absolute Zero: https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Arpip/recommended/1283930/

I also have a YouTube Channel, if you're interested go here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw?view_as=subscriber

You can also write a comment if you want


Cobalt-57, I won’t forget who you guys were and we all hope for the best in you. For now, just rest and know that it’s over.

So Half-life: RESTORED is a mod that adds beta contents to the game, while trying to make them fit within the current retail version. If you don't know me, I LOVE Half-life 1 and it's expansion packs. Not to brag, but, right now, I have 79 hours on the steam version of Half-life 1 (not including HL WON because god knows how many hours I put into that). Alright, you get where I am coming from, I LOVE HALF-LIFE. I never can find an excuse to not play Half-life 1 again, cause I love every second of it; hell even Xen I started liking recently, I was always hostile in the past but now it's grown on me.
I'm getting off track, how is Half-life: RESTORED? Now I have always been interested in the cut ideas on the Half-life games. But here is where the problem comes in: as much as I like the Half-life 1 beta, I am SO GLAD that Valve never went in that direction. Half-life 1 is already an amazing game and, in my opinion, needs literally NO CHANGES... *cough cough* Half-life 2 *cough cough*... Now this doesn't mean I hate Half-life 1 beta mods. In fact, this is still just Half-life 1 but with new things to it. This is still the same crack that I ask my drug dealer for every Friday night down the street from my home, but instead, he gives me Mountain Dew on top of it. Okay that's a little strange, but I still got my crack and something else with it, so I'm a happy elephan... I mean person :). But in this case, the drug dealer p*ssed on my crack; but I still got my crack though :).

Pros:
- IT'S HALF-LIFE 1!
- I do like some of the new things they've added from the beta/cut contents: the HEV voice is great, I like how the barneys holster their weapon, alien slaves bring back their comrades from the dead. Now this sounds annoying, but for a veteran, like me, this was FU CKING AWESOME!!! I was at On A Rail, I killed a vort in front of me and tried killing his friend that was behind him. I kill him with my shotgun, but little did I know, that dude brought the other vort that I killed back to life and let's just say that I barely got out alive... IT... WAS... INCREDIBLE...
- Maybe it's my eyes going crazy, but I think they enhanced the default models. They look good and I'm glad I don't have to use the HD pack to get better models.
- I also don't know if I am losing it, but this was harder than a usual game for me. During Lambda Core, I had NO mp5 ammo; the reason for this was because the vorts just kept reviving each other OVER AND OVER. I came up with a new strategy, every time I kill one, I get out my crowbar and smash them until there is nothing left. RIP AND TEAR!! Oh sh*t wait wrong game. In short, I was losing my mind... But yes, I was destroying vorts like they were the Flood from Halo or something. You would think that this seems unbalanced or something... but that's how I like it, HARD!!!
- I almost forgot I was playing a mod, but that's alright.
- The Glock mag was increased by one bullet. Why? The real world one has 17 rounds, like in the retail. Maybe there is one in the chamber, but after emptying a whole mag and seeing 18 I have no idea. But it was still interesting to play with, even if it is so painful in my veins.

Cons:
- MY BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THIS MOD ARE THE FU CKING TRIPMINES AND GRENANDES!!! For Grenades, they added the toss animation that Valve got rid of. It really throws me off every time: when you arm it, you pull the pin out and lift it up words in the air and are about to throw in across the room. But then the hand animation is now in the middle of the screen and it confuses me when it happens. You'll know it when you play it. And tripmines take forever to place down because you have to sit and watch some stupid animation that takes longer than my grandma to die. Just like Dishonored 2... But that's a story for another day. Also it takes a million years to use another grenade or tripmine after using them.
- The shadows are fu cking broken in this mod. Like items that are on a table have shadows going through it. And headcrab shadows are coming from the ceiling, giving away their position.
- The new NPC, Sergeant if I can recall, is really odd. I have no idea if he is shooting at me or not and his death animation really shows the time period Valve was still in.
- That one shotgun animation... it's funny, but unironically it's fu cking stupid.

There is probably more stuff that I didn't like, some of the cut contents were just dumb: like the people at High Altitude Launch Center still being alive is so odd. There were reasons why Valve cut this sh*t. I know, I gave this mod a thumbs down, but I still did enjoy myself because it's Half-life 1. But would I play this version? No... but if a update comes out, sure I'll retry it again. If you want to see a great Half-life 1 Beta mod, check out Half-life: Absolute Zero. I haven't even played it yet, however, I think I would have more fun with that mod because the whole game is different and is a completely new experience. I don't hate RESTORED, but I'll just play original Half-life 1. But I still liked it.

If you want to know my thoughts on the Half-life games, go here:
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Arpip/recommended/70/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Arpip/recommended/50/
https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/Arpip/recommended/130/

I also have a YouTube Channel, if you want you can go check that out, go here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw?view_as=subscriber

Okay, for real though, it's past my bed time and my elephant dad is gonna be p*ssed. i ams really really reallly tired rights now. I ned bedtine now

I made a video review about this game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkTw6RcAp14&t=21s

My YouTube channel (if you are interested): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGEwsB7LK8_duOhvpJW7_jw?view_as=subscriber

WARNING: MY CONTENT SUCKS AND REALLY SHOULDN'T BE WATCHED BY ANYONE

This game was okay.

I made an updated video on how I feel about it here: https://youtu.be/M6j7jge4vP4

If you want to know why this game is amazing, then watch this video I made:

https://youtu.be/QpAj6e5kVL8


WARNING: My videos are like having cancer and are worse than my existence. So don't say I didn't warn you.

What HOI4 Mod is this?