Once in a while there will be a great release,
and I can't help but do a long detailed review
of it rather than my usual short one paragraph
reviews. This is another one of those releases,
probably the most eagerly awaited set of levels
for Half-Life ever. They Hunger had a lot of
expectations to live up to, and it certainly
didn't disappoint!
The pack started off with a nice cinematic sequence
of you arriving at a small, quiet countryside
town where you are going to spend your vacation.
But, of course, things go wrong as your idiot
driver (unless you were driving) speeds straight
off a cliff and into the misty waters below.
From here you get to explore through the hills
and cliffs, as you make your way to the town.
And after you've accomplished your mission of
finding yourself a crowbar, you can kill the
many zombies and walking dead that want to eat
you. Obviously this where the title came from
- the zombies are hungry! Exploring the cliffs
last for several levels, where you come across
many little buildings and caves. Neil has rendered
this theme extremely well, it feels just like
some very old horror movie. Trees, graves and
swamps have been scattered everywhere, with
of course stacks of the 'hungry'.
After a few levels I was starting
to get tired of hacking away at zombie-after-zombie,
and was hoping there might have been some different
kinds of enemies. Suddenly, I saw a policeman!
So I strolled up hoping to make another friend,
who should be a bit tougher than that weak-ass
Barney. But then he starts shooting at me! Obviously
the local cops have all come out to play (and
kill zombies), but have now been converted aswell
so they've got guns and helicopters.
After several levels of exploring
cliffs, swamp and 'Devil's Rift' - a very exciting
lava-filled canyon, then came another set-piece
(the small features that all good maps should
have to make them unique). Neil used a train!
It was used very nicely indeed as I plowed through
zombies who stupidly stood in big groups in
front of me. Your task with the train was to
set the train tracks in the right direction
at each stop, which included a great looking,
but short, dam. When the train-tracks end, that's
the end of your country-side killing spree -
your in town now!
The town was a lot more cramped
as you explore the church, blow up the gas station,
and eventually end up at the police station.
Unfortunately there was a bit of a let-down
at the end - I love a big fight to finish the
adventure off, and They Hunger didn't have one
:(
The gameplay was great fun,
but there is only so far you can go with a zombie.
There are times where they are put in huge packs,
or when they close in from all around you which
can be very fun and challenging. But usually
all you need is your crowbar for the zombies
and the handgun for the cops - I didn't even
use any of my other weapons, which was a pity
since they had been nicely re-skinned. There
were a number of different kinds of Zombies,
from the normal decayed male and female, to
the headless zombie and dead policeman. But
underneath the fancy skin they were all the
same one - same attack, same speed and same
health (a zombie with health?!).
However, the great levels made
up for the lack of gameplay elements. They Hunger
may remind you of some of Neil's oldest levels,
most notably his two Alba maps for Quake. They
also had great atmosphere that was unique and
attractive. You may not find grand pieces of
architecture, but Neil's gloomy countryside
and zombie theme rivals even Valve's base! They
Hunger is almost like an entirely different
game to Half-Life, and should NOT be missed!
I certainly can't wait for They Hunger 2, which
will be a bit shorter, but that means it'll
be here sooner! Neil wanted me to mention that
to run TH2 you'll need to keep They Hunger on
your computer, but you'll want to leave it there
anyway as it is so good!
