ZTD is the video game equivalent of the sibling who needs to be shoved into a locker.

Listen, I knew this game would be a joke going in. I had hoped that it would prove me wrong, but the first few minutes proved that would be a laughable idea.

There's so many things this game does that simply do not make any sort of sense. Take the structure of the game, instead of following a branching pathway like 999 and VLR, it takes a new approach to how the story reveals itself by letting the player choose fragments. These fragments misses the mark on what made 999 and VLR so enjoyable structure wise. Zero Time Dilemma's fragments feels like an attempt to do something new and interesting, but ultimately misunderstood what made past Zero Escape so enjoyable.

Not to mention the story is insane in how unbearably mediocre it is. For the brunt of the game, you're spending time being confused about the questions presented. You find yourself making theories, drawing conclusions, combing for answers in dialogue. But once the curtain is drawn, all you see is a dirty wall full of answers that just aren't coherent. All the set up from VLR is thrown out the window for some of the most redundant and meaningless plotlines of the whole series.

Take for example, there's backstories for two new characters. It doesn't reveal a ton about either of them, but it's information that should increase your understanding of the presented situation. Do they though

No, they do not. In 999 when a character reveals something about themselves, there is some usually some connection with a larger image. Not in ZTD. It sucks because some character moments are really good. One of the reasons it's 2 stars instead of 1.5 or 1.

At least the gameplay is fine, right?? Well... I didn't enjoy the puzzle rooms as much as VLR, but they were actually pretty good most of the time. Some decent puzzles, lots of fun to be had with them.

Why the hell did they go from novel to cutscenes? They did not have to spend the money on creating full cutscenes. The visual novel aspect of VLR was not broke, they didn't need to "fix" it. All they do is make playing the game more miserable. Also due in part to the 3ds' power, and whatever budget they had (probably low) the quality of the cutscenes are pretty... poor. Lip sync is off, movements are rushed with little weight, things clip and don't connect. It's not an unmitigated disaster. But it ain't good.

Simply put, this game is a poor final entry in a series that deserved better. So many loose strings left open in the series finale that now sit in a grave, only to be explored by people willing to create fan fiction, an unfortunate death. Still, I'm glad it exists. Many adore it on the virtue of being really freaking bad. I treated it as a comedy and still had fun. I just wish I enjoyed it for reasons that would make it a good game.

I give this game a "now THIS is podracing!" ;)/10

It's odd...

originally purposed for an exclusive add-on for the dreamcast port of Half-Life 1, Blue Shift was later repurposed for DLC for Half-Life. Releasing in 2001, two years after the first expansion, Opposing Force.

Blue Shift is the shortest of the Black Mesa stories, taking a whopping 3 hours. Though it could take less than that, It only took me that long because I suck at FPS' and the final puzzle took me longer than I had hoped. That being said, it's short.

In some ways, it's a meaningful add-on to the world of Half-Life. The intro portion helps sell Black Mesa as a real location. With things like basketball courts, food courts, a shooting range. It revisits what the Black Mesa disaster means and how tragic of an event it is. How you see Gordon casually twice. I always appreciate when entertainment shows us the movements of the heroes from the outsider observing them. It paints them as human because, despite his feats, that's all he is. Gordon is just the right man in the wrong place.

On the other hand, it's very stagnant. The storyline of Blue Shift ends before the finale of Half-Life, whereas Opposing Force went on past the story, giving it a much more depthful approach to the game and new ideas. As extra content, Blue Shift plays it overly safe. It doesn't take any risks, it doesn't try to deviate from the first Half-Life in gameplay or overall experience in nearly any way. Coupled with the fact that the level design, despite being fine, is also forgettable.

Of course you don't need to shove a million new weapons in my face. Though something to feed that craving for something fresh would have been the move.

Something else I don't get, lore-wise, is why Barney is the face of this expansion. This goes along with another point I have is that the game is way too easy on medium difficulty. Lore-wise, I don't know if Barney is jacked the frick up or what, but he's able to mow down soldiers like it's nothing. Multiple groups of soldiers are just ready for you to tear apart. This guy is a security guard and frankly, I'd be wondering what he's doing as an 8-5/5 says and sometimes the weekend guard for Black Mesa. The game gives you a ton of gear at a ton of points. Even for a wasteful player such as myself, who often (accidentally) prefers placing bullets into the walls instead of their skulls, I found it overbearing. Now while healing is scarce, you're never too bad, multiple points had me low and doing fine, I just had to lock in. It just feels wrong to struggle so much as the guys who were trained in every muscle vs "Yeah I think I visited the range last week."

I know it's somewhat minute, but I want to bring it up. I think it would've been worth it to keep combat low, instead focusing on navigating quietly and facing small groups of enemies. Of course, that's just me.

Yes, you should play this, yes it's good. But it could be so much better. Especially when it was released after the great Opposing Force by two years. it was also somewhat buggy on my end; whenever my save was reloaded, it just kept firing until I pressed my mouse.

Anyways, it's a 6/10, it's aight, give it a look. Try playing it before Opposing Force, you may like it better that way, you can't go wrong with it though, it's still Half-Life, just Half-As-Good.