USS Darkstar (Half-Life)

USS Darkstar is a great example of how user mods can expand the replayability of an official product. Neil Manke is the author of this add-on for Half-Life. This is an add on, not a total conversion like his other works They Hunger and They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces, and provides for some solid action. The opening title sequence is great. A long camera pan flows the entire length of the spaceship providing a feel for how big the USS Darkstar is. The setup is similar to HL, this time an alien force attacks causing chaos in the ship. The vessel is of the research variety and there are zoo-like exhibits of some of the dangerous critters throughout the ship, which means that when systems start to fail the critters escape from their holding tanks. Your ultimate goal is to reach an escape pod but along the way you’ll have to battle through the alien hordes that researchers thought would be good subjects to study. (Just like Alien Resurrection!) There is the appearance of one creature modeled for HL but never implemented. It’s neat to look at but one shot will kill it and it doesn’t seem to attack. The design is good, maintaining the constant feel that you’re trapped in the confines of the ship. And at one point you’ll find yourself shrunken to mouse size so you can access the inside of a computer. (Reminiscent of Space Quest II: Sludge Vohaul’s Revenge) Gameplay is not much different from Half-life and the weapons remain the same, too.

The puzzles make sense and it’s hard to get lost if you pay attention. The USS Darkstar is an enjoyable trip with some great references to Sci-Fi classics. To my knowledge this was Manke’s first mod (at least for HL) and each successive mod has been more polished.

(NOTE: You need the full version of Half-life to play this mod)

Time to completion: 3 – 4 hours

Reviewed by Omni