Half-Life: Decay

Summary

Half-Life: Decay is an add-on for Valve Software's science fiction first-person shooter game Half-Life. Created by Gearbox Software and released by Sierra Entertainment, Decay was launched as part of the PlayStation 2 edition of Half-Life. It serves as the third expansion for Half-Life and, like the earlier ones, continues the original game's setting and timeline, though it tells the story from the perspective of a new set of main characters: two researchers at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Decay is a cooperative multiplayer experience, intended for two players to work together as they progress through the game's stages.

Storyline

The chapter starts with Gina and Colette arriving punctually at the Anomalous Materials department, unlike Gordon in *Half-Life*, who is running late. A security officer greets them, mentioning that today is "the big day" and that they will be working with the "new guy, Dr. Freeman." He also notes that a recent system failure might have erased their access, so they must recheck in at the next room. After being scanned and reentered into the security system, the two doctors proceed to the Anomalous Materials control room. Dr. Keller greets them but expresses irritation at Freeman's tardiness, commenting that he "doesn’t understand what Kleiner sees in that boy." Dr. Rosenberg then enters and voices his disapproval of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer being pushed to such a high power level for the test. However, he relents when Keller insists it's not his call and tells him he can return to "[his] little labs near the train yard" if he doesn't want to witness the experiment. Cross and Green head to their assigned positions for the test. Gina goes to the delivery chute to send the sample up to Gordon, while Colette moves to the lower section of the test chamber to activate the power and set it to 80%. After Gina resolves a minor issue involving a crowbar somehow lodged in the delivery chute's mechanism, the sample is delivered to Freeman, triggering the Resonance Cascade. Cross and Green lose consciousness for a while and awaken to find the lower part of the test chamber in ruins. They hear Dr. Keller and Rosenberg over the intercom, discussing their next steps. Dr. Rosenberg is determined to rescue the staff in the facility, while Dr. Keller insists on repairing the rift caused by the cascade, arguing that they caused the problem and must fix it. After retrieving pistols and battling their way through part of the lab, the two doctors return to the control room. Keller and Rosenberg inform them that they've reached an agreement. Dr. Rosenberg will be escorted to the surface to contact the military, while Keller will remain below to evaluate the damage to the equipment. If possible, he hopes to discover what went wrong with the experiment and how to correct it. Dr. Cross, Green, and Rosenberg board the elevator to reach the surface through the Hazard Course, and the mission concludes.

Screenshots

Release dates by platform

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