A Day in Boot Camp

You know what they say about Texas, don't you?!

The first thing offered in Opposing Force is basic training, which basically plays out like you've never played a first-person shooter before. You'll learn to run, jump, duck, swim, fire your .357 Desert Eagle (and use that cool laser sight it comes with), survive in hazardous areas, use the night vision goggles, swing from ropes, snipe, command your squadmates and how to act like a human shield (does Gearbox watch South Park: The Movie too much?) Man, I couldn't believe it when the trainer told me to stand in the target area and let a marine take a shot at me.

Off to the basics

Obstacle course

Of course, all your favorite boot camp cliches and movie references are all bundled up for your viewing pleasure in OpFor. The boot camp is hardly a vital aspect of Half-Life: Opposing Force, but it is just so much fun. The amount of effort put into it is astounding and it shows. You'll wake up to the sweet song of the morning trumpet call and get the first dose of your daily abuse from the drill sergeant. After addressing your squad for a bit, he'll single you out, mock your abilities a bit and send you off to basic training. Humbling.

I cold kck that drill sergeant's ass!

Given a decent weapon, probably. But would you know how to climb ropes, swing from them? Even swinging from one rope to another? How about a few cool tricks with your guns? Oooh… he's got you there! Off to the basics in that case.

Oooh you're a sniper now

I uhh shot the trainer by accident

You also get to unlearn a few reflexes you picked up while playing Half-Life. 'OMG, it's a marine, FIRE!!!' (click-click-click goes the mouse as you have no weapon.) I honestly was halfway to actually doing that when I did the squad training. I immediately jumped to the side when I saw the grunts facing me. Aye… does that ever tell you how much of an effect Half-Life had on me?

After your optional boot camp is complete, you're just about ready to take on OpFor. Unfortunately, two very important things they don't teach you that they should is how to save or quicksave the game. Don't worry though; as you progress through OpFor's missions, you'll very quickly learn the importance of saving and restoring.