Chances are, if you play games on PC then you have Half-Life in your collection. And if you love it as much as I do you’ve played it through multiple times enjoying it just as much each time.
What would be great is if Valve decided to return to the game and give us some new content while we wait for Half-Life 3 to be completed, but that isn’t going to happen. However, you can play Half-Life on your PC today and experience a very different game. That’s because someone has taken the time to port the Dreamcast version.
Back in 2000 a version of Half-Life running on the Dreamcast was shown off at the European Consumer Trade Show (ECTS). However, weeks before a planned release the game got canceled due in no small part to the decision by Sega to stop producing the Dreamcast console.
That decision was a real shame because the game had been changed in a number of ways including doubling the polygon count of the original. However, nearly 12 years later and anyone who owns Half-Life can now play the Dreamcast build as a mod for free. It won’t take long to download either, as the entire game fits into a 105MB zip file.
As well as more polygons, the DC version plays very differently. It has unique NPCs, different props, the difficulty is different (easier), and references to the Dreamcast have been added throughout the game. Probably the biggest change though, is to the level design which has been heavily modified in places. Some areas have been remodeled completely, where as others have different lighting, slight geometry changes, or even new puzzle elements.
Overall it offers up PC gamers a fresh gameplay experience on the original. The fact it’s such a small download and completely free, makes it a must play for even casual fans of the series.
Read more and download the mod at MODDB
