Ever wanted to be a scientist, but never had the aptitude for it? Ever wanted to join the Army or the Marines, but couldn't because you were flat-footed? Well, you can rejoice now, because Half-Life will solve both those problems with one blow. You start off as an intelligent scientist named Gordon Freeman. You work at a place called Black Mesa, which is like Area 51. After an informative train-ride, you get off, have some chit-chat with the guards and get your suit. I was very impressed with how professional the level looked. Security guards, retina scanners, the works. This ain't your local bank. After getting your suit, you go to a room where an experiment is about to take place. You're a crucial part of it. But wait, the scientists are sounding as if something might go wrong. And then you push the specimen into the beam and . . . and shortly after that you'll be experiencing one of the finest moments in video game history. Remember that nice-looking level I was telling you about? Now visualize it with HEAVY damage, dead or dying scientists and guards and aliens popping out of thin air. AND YOU HAVE NO WEAPON! This is no Quake cake-walk with John Wayne heroics. You'll be CRAWLING in FEAR for most of the game.  I think one of the main things that made this game popular was this: It touched on the common fear of going into the unknown and feeling ill-prepared for what lies ahead. Sure, you might have 200 rounds on the MP5, a rocket launcher, and whatever else, but believe me, it won't last long (especially on hard mode).  Another thing that this game touched on was this: The fear of small spidery-creatures and large, ugly, T-Rex things that can run faster than you. Believe me when I say you'll jump when you stick your head in a tunnel and a snark or headcrab jumps out at you. After a while you manage to arm yourself and try and make it to the surface . . . only to find that Marines are attacking Black Mesa in an effort to cover up the severe accident! So now we have this ugly Bermuda Triangle of Marines, Aliens, and You. The Aliens are just plain bad.  You're just trying to get your innocent rear-end out of there. And the Marines are just following orders. Makes for one whopper of a story and a game.  But not all is run-and-gun. MANY times you'll be jumping like Mario, making well-timed decisions, and solving puzzles. But besides all that, there are three other things about this game that I like: 1)A flashlight. It's ABOUT TIME someone did something to light those dark levels. 2)Humor. Guards goof around with experimental technology--with disastrous results. 3)Well-lighted levels overall. The only FPS I've seen with more light is Serious Sam. Very rarely will you be squinting your eyes in this game.  To wrap things up, my favorite levels are the beginning one and the one entitled Surface Tension. Despite some wonderful level design in this game, I really hated the alien levels. Sure, they LOOKED nice, but when you start playing them it's a different story. Also, the two endings are too short and unsatisfactory. But overall this is a GREAT game, worth getting even now (especially if you haven't played it before), despite the fact that Return to Castle Wolfenstein (and other FPS's) are around the corner.