In step

When you think of the first Half-Life , everyone probably remembers the story, the wow moments and the graphics. What is quickly forgotten, however, are the addons. Opposing Force was released at the end of 1999 and tells the story of the events in the Black Mesa research facility from the perspective of the marine Adrian Shephard. He and his team are supposed to put a stop to the alien plague.

The score

For the composition of Opposing Force , composer Kelly Bailey was replaced by Chris Jensen. In 19 tracks, he shows us how generic shooters can sound and serves us accent-free MIDI music whose average track length barely reaches the 1.5-minute mark. Ambient pieces such as The Beginning / Temple of LimboChris Jensen1, Lost in Thought / Wastes of LimboChris Jensen1 or Danger RisesChris Jensen2 are, as expected, irrelevant, whether due to reduction or repetition - it just doesn't appeal to me.

Other entries in the Half-Life -series

Soundtrack

Half-Life (1998)

Game

Black Mesa (2020)

In its exciting moments (StormChris Jensen4, Alien ForcesChris Jensen4, Bust / Race from DoomChris Jensen3, Chamber / The Ticking TimebombChris Jensen3, TunnelChris Jensen3) the score does sound like a mix of military meets Portal. The music is motivating, march-like and constantly drives us forward with the rhythm of an alarm or a beat. It's a classic retro shooter quality that may seem quite generic, but fits the game well. After 23 minutes with few highlights, however, it's already over.