We met up with Gabe early the next morning. The first thing he did was hook us up with a couple of machines and run through the single-player game, testing the puzzles and checking for bugs. While I was more than impressed with the Day One OEM release, I was more inclined to jump straight into multiplayer. Den on the other hand, was seriously looking forward to it - this would be the first FPS game he'd ever play single player on (figures, huh). So Den left with Ted Backman, and I with Marc Laidlaw. We both started where Day One had left off (who in the world hasn't warezed it anyways?) and played until sundown, a good 8 hours or so. Was it because there was always a Valve employee peering over our shoulders, taking notes on what we were doing or how we were performing? Well, it might have been, if it were any other game.

I'm sure you've heard the reviews and previews about Half-Life - "stunning," "imaginative," and "totally revolutionary." Well, they're all understatements. At the risk of hyping it to the point where you'd expect head crabs to jump out of your screen and onto your face, Half-Life single player is by far the most incredible and immersive single player game I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. Unlike Unreal, which starts out strong but then degrades into Quake-esque "run through the level looking for a button to push," all of Half-Life's world (I don't want to say "maps" or "levels" since it's so contiguous) is filled with clever traps, animated effects, and scripted sequences. In one instance, an enemy soldier threw open a hatch to the pipe I was traversing tossed in an armed satchel charge, and slammed the hatch shut. The next second had me contemplating this strange AI behavior when the charge detonated. The pipe filled with fire and started streaming in my direction. Without further hesitation, I booked for the opposite end of the pipe, dove into a shallow pool of water and ducked, watching as the firestorm erupted from the pipe, inches away from where I was. In another room, a group of worried scientists confronted me, saying how I would have to turn off the lethally rotating surgical equipment in the next room. "Petersen turned it on, but he never came back out" one of them deadpanned. Having characters look at you and speak in their own voices is a huge part of the immerseness of the game, and in this regard Half-Life is unsurpassed.