Editing Half-Life (video game) (section)

== Gameplay ==
''Half-Life'' is a [[first-person shooter]] that requires the player to perform combat tasks and puzzle solving to advance through the game. Unlike most first-person shooters at the time, which relied on [[cutscene|cut-scene intermissions]] to detail their plotlines, ''Half-Life''{{'}}s story is told mostly using [[scripted sequence]]s (bar one short cutscene), keeping the player in control of the [[first-person (video games)|first-person viewpoint]]. In line with this, the player rarely loses the ability to control the [[player character]], [[Gordon Freeman]], who never speaks and is never actually seen in the game; the player sees "through his eyes" for the entire length of the game. ''Half-Life'' has no [[Level (video games)|levels]]; it instead divides the game into chapters, whose titles briefly appear on screen as the player progresses through the game. With the exception of short loading pauses, progression throughout the game is continuous, with each map directly connecting to the next, with the exception of levels involving [[teleportation]].<ref name="game guide">{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Joe Grant |title=Half-Life : Prima's Official Strategy Guide |date=November 25, 1998 |publisher=[[Prima Games]] |isbn=0-7615-1360-4}}</ref>

[[File:Halflife ingame.jpg|thumb|right|An in-game screenshot of the player battling [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]], an [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 attack helicopter]], and a [[gun turret]] in the chapter "Surface Tension"]]

The game regularly integrates puzzles, such as navigating a maze of conveyor belts or using nearby boxes to build a small staircase to the next area the player must travel to. Some puzzles involve using the environment to kill an enemy, like turning a valve to spray hot steam at their enemies. There are few [[Boss (video gaming)|bosses]] in the conventional sense, where the player defeats a superior opponent by direct confrontation. Instead, such organisms occasionally define chapters, and the player is generally expected to use the terrain, rather than firepower, to kill the boss. Late in the game, the player receives a "long jump module" for the [[HEV suit]], which allows the player to increase the horizontal distance and speed of jumps by crouching before jumping. The player must rely on this ability to navigate various platformer-style [[jumping puzzles]] in [[Half-Life (series)#Setting|Xen]] toward the end of the game.<ref name="game guide" />

The player battles alone for the majority of the game, but is occasionally assisted by [[non-player character]]s; specifically security guards and scientists who help the player. The guards will fight alongside the player, and both guards and scientists can assist in reaching new areas and pass on relevant plot information. An array of alien enemies populate the game, including headcrabs, bullsquids, vortigaunts, and headcrab zombies. The player also faces hostile human soldiers and [[Black operation|Black Ops]] assassins. ''Half-Life'' includes online multiplayer support for both individual and team-based [[Deathmatch (video games)|deathmatch]] modes.<ref name="IGNrev">{{Cite web |date=November 26, 1998 |title=Half-Life Review |first1=Jason|last1=Bates|url=http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/153/153107p1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126130226/http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/153/153107p1.html |archive-date=November 26, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2007 |website=IGN}}</ref> It was one of the first mainstream games to use the [[WASD keys]] as the default control scheme.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wylde |first1=Tyler |date=June 24, 2016 |title=How WASD became the standard PC control scheme |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/ |access-date=June 9, 2023 |website=PC Gamer |archive-date=July 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230704050033/https://www.pcgamer.com/how-wasd-became-the-standard-pc-control-scheme/ |url-status=live }}</ref>