Half-life: Decay Article Index for
Half-life:
 

Information About

Half-life: Decay




  Developer Gearbox Software
  Publisher Sierra Entertainment
  Distributor Vivendi Universal
  Released October 29 2001
  Genre First-person Shooter
  Modes Single Player , Multiplayer - Split-screen
  Platforms PlayStation 2
  Media CD-ROM


''Half-Life: Decay'' is an Add-on included in the PlayStation 2 port of the First-person Shooter Computer Game '' Half-Life '', developed by Gearbox Software and published in 2001.

Like Gearbox's other , Dr. Gina Cross and Dr. Colette Green . Dr. Gina Cross is the model for the Hazard Course hologram, and can be seen at a point in ''Blue Shift''. Dr. Green is a new character invented for ''Decay''.

''Decay'' is not available through in 2006. If it will be successful they hope to remake it for Source Engine .


STORYLINE


Dr. Cross and Dr. Green are members of a different team in Black Mesa than ''Half-Life'''s protagonist, Gordon Freeman. They are responsible for monitoring the equipment which Gordon uses during the experiment, and are in turn monitored by Dr. Rosenberg (who also appears in ''Blue Shift'') and Dr. Richard Keller . Cross and Green deliver the test sample to Freeman just before the "incident" occurs; like Freeman, they are forced to fight for survival in the aftermath of the resonance cascade. Cross and Green help Rosenberg reach the location he is later found in by Barney Calhoun in ''Blue Shift''. They then proceed to prepare a satellite for launch (an event seen in ''Half-Life'') and subsequently use the satellite in tandem with ground-based equipment to significantly weaken the effects of the resonance cascade. During the conclusion of the game, both characters are caught in what is explained as a "harmonic reflux" by Dr. Keller. It is during this sequence that the voice of Dr. Rosenberg can be heard warning that he "can't keep the portal open much longer," alluding to Calhoun's coinciding trip in Xen during ''Blue Shift''. Dr. Cross and Dr. Green then return safely and Dr. Keller congratulates them on their success. It still remains unclear whether the doctors managed to survive the nuclear explosion that occurs at the end of ''Opposing Force''.

However, in ''Opposing Force'', the player can find a dead body resembling Cross's located in one of the Displacer Cannon's teleport destinations. Some argue that this may not actually be her, rather just another slain member of Black Mesa's research team since ''Decay'' had not been released at the time and likely could not have been taken into account yet.


GAMEPLAY

Unlike the other narrative-based ''Half-Life'' games, which are Single Player only, ''Decay'' is designed for Co-operative Play . While it can be played by one person, swapping between the roles of Dr. Cross and Dr. Green, the game is intended to be played by two players in Split-screen . Various puzzles and combat situations throughout the game require the co-operation of the two characters.

The game is also unique in the context of the ''Half-Life'' series by being the only game divided into separate missions, instead of a single unbroken narrative.

''Decay'' has a ranking system for all of its nine missions, ranging from ''F'' (worst) to ''A'' (best), based on time played, number of shots fired, accuracy, number of reloads, and number of enemies killed. If all nine missions are achieved with an ''A'' level, a bonus mission, Xen Attacks, can be played as a pair of Vortigaunt s.

''Decay'' is also the only game of the series where it is possible to fight and defeat a Xen Manta ship, which serves as the final boss.


EXTERNAL LINKS