And so we return to the mute protagonist. Or maybe, since we now take the reins of a soldier working with the group who opposed us (hence the name) throughout much of the other two installments. Perhaps 'tis better to name him an antagonist? A 'gentleman of colour' (for the politically correct amongst us) or a black dude (for those us who find political correctness to be as asinine and patronising as it truly is) no less. It's something we still don't see enough of if you ask me. Main characters that aren't young to middle-aged white men with short hair. But then, since the core game's hero was a lab tech with thick, Vera Duckworth glasses, and Blue Shift (more on that later) was the slightly portly, affable, infinitely approachable and chatty night watchman, Valve (I know it was Gearbox) were already showing a tendency for breaking with the norm, before there was even a 'norm' to break.

Anyway. Whereas Blue Shift would be, effectively, a fleshing out of some of the sideline events, Opposing Force is a fleshing out of...some of the other sideline events, but from the perspective of the 'bad guys'. Sort of. There was less story here, I found, and a larger emphasis on shooting and exploring. Even some minor puzzle solving. Though it was rarely more than figuring out when would be the best time to run between two jets of flame, it did offer some variety at least. But don't worry, that's not a bad thing. It's just as much fun as the other two games, and still has enough going on to keep the narrative watchers happy.

Valve took a bit of a gamble here though. Rather than having the game, an expansion at the time, developed in house, it was outsourced to Gearbox. Who, back then, had yet to become the powerhouse we know them as now. In fact, I'd wager a large part of their current success could be traced back to Opposing Force. They stayed faithful to the look and feel of the core game, whilst expanding on and adding to the lore. The return of the G-man and an 'ending' that didn't actually accomplish anything was gloriously anti-climactic, just like it’s predecessor. You’re just there, on the chopper, being told “well done” and you’re like “I JUST KILLED A FREAKING DEMON WITH A PISTOL BITCH!” The G-man, the ultimate troll. Wait, G...Gaben. Now it makes sense!

There are also a number of new environments, some new character models, and even a few new weapons. Their excuse for Gordon and Barney not finding any of them was some flim flam about not encountering the guys who carried them, even though they did...but not, in Gordon's case, in a way that allowed him to nick their guns. Which is a shame actually, the sub machinegun, which I always remember as the key piece of new kit from Opposing Force, is a pretty nifty piece of kit. It became my go to weapon for much of the time I spent playing it. Though there was still ample reason to switch it up, so don't take that as any indication that the variety is lacking. Far from it.

Anyway, new stuff. But still, there's that strong feeling of it being more the same. And that definitely went in the games favour. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And it ain't broke, it really ain't. The gameplay remained as fluid and entertaining, the environments as varied, retaining the room for exploration and alternate paths of its predecessor. It does, in places, lack a little of the polish, but is still a visually impressive title, especially for the time, the size of the studio and the speed at which they put it out. The last, I'd say, being testament as much to their skill as the quality of the engine Valve had built at the outset.

So yeah, the game's great.