PENETRATION
Half-Life 2
Any new graphics? Yes
Any new sound? No
Any new models or code? No

Ha1fer
File size: 67.6 mb
Number of levels: 7
Difficulty levels included? Yes
Background story? No

Much like bad sex, Russian designer Ha1fer's Penetration can be somewhat intense but a little disappointing at the same time. Set in City 18, the map pack ignores the events of Valve's Episode 1 and tasks the player with "penetrating" yet another East European stronghold under the Combine regime.

As you can tell from the screenshots, the architecture and overall visuals are roughly on par with Half-Life 2, though certain aspects betray a lack of understanding. For instance, the beginning coastline section has the right details - cranes, Combine outposts, rocky cliffs, boats, an endless ocean - but then you notice that a lot of the cliffs form 90 degree angles, or that the grass is perfectly flat with little height variation, or that the Combine design motif is subverted for blocky and undetailed rooms. It's like a cardboard cut-out; it might look like the real thing at a distance, but it clearly isn't the same.

Though for the most part, it does a good job of mimicking HL2's style and sensibilities; you'll drive a vehicle, shut off some Combine shield walls, and even fight some zombies. The pacing is also reminiscent of HL2, allowing the player some rest and exploration time between fights.

However, that's where the similarities end, as Penetration fails to vary its "run and gun" gameplay: The physics simulation is relegated to clutter and needless detail in front of buildings. Enemy types are rarely mixed, resulting in wave after wave of the same combat encounters. There is a notable absence of antlions, despite some of the chapter taking place on the coastline. Non-combat interaction (i.e. puzzles) is confined to pushing buttons. With the exception of the wonderfully vast first level, the entire map pack seems like a connected assortment of copy-and-paste rooms / hallways instead of actual locations.

For example, the middle of the chapter sags with a long and tedious cliff-corridor romp against fast zombies. There are several problems with this setup because (1) There's no enemy variety. It's just wave after wave of fast zombies, which gets boring. (2) The areas are long and wide open, the opposite of Ravenholm. There's very little height variation or cover, so you can see and shoot the zombies miles before they become an actual threat. (3) The player has plenty of shotgun ammo from the setpiece before, making combat rather simple. (4) The zombies are spawned from invisible triggers that the player touches, resulting in a very scripted feel. In summary, the author used the fast zombies in their least effective manner, with the possible exception of drowning them in the ocean.

Normally this kind of design is tolerable. Unfortunately, as with many map packs, the look of the levels begs comparisons to HL2 throughout the entire unit. Thus, the unit never matches its reference material nor attempts any new gameplay or visual ideas. It's the same stuff you did back in City 17, except with less competency. In some ways, it's actually quite a few steps backward. But if you're looking for a decent map pack with plenty of combat, Penetration delivers, although there's not much of a climax and it's not as satisfying as it could have been - much like bad sex.