By 2008, the game had sold over 9 million copies. It won over fifty PC 'Game of the Year' awards and is considered one the most influential titles of the first-person shooter genre, as well as one of the greatest video games of all time. Half-Life received critical acclaim for its graphics, realistic gameplay, and seamless narrative. Valve co-founder Gabe Newell said the team aimed to create an immersive world rather than a 'shooting gallery'. Unlike many other games at the time, the player has almost complete uninterrupted control of Freeman, and the story is told mostly through scripted sequences seen through his eyes.
The core gameplay consists of fighting alien and human enemies with a variety of weapons and solving puzzles. Players assume the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist who must find his way out of the Black Mesa Research Facility after an experiment with an alien material goes wrong. It was Valve's debut title and the first in the Half-Life series.
Half-Life (stylized as HλLF-LIFE) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Microsoft Windows in 1998.
