Must play Half-Life 2 mods [Part 3]

This is the final part in the current series of articles that were aimed towards putting the spotlight on some noteworthy mods for Half-Life 2 (Source Engine). In the last couple of articles, we talked about Minerva and Curse: Episode 1, and this week we would like to leave you with a round-up of some critically acclaimed or generally intriguing mods for the Source engine. Some of the mods listed here require installation of particular games, while others will work on any game that comes with Source SDK . If you have purchased the required game, Steam will take care of all dependencies and download the necessary files.

Research and Development
Genre: Puzzle
Setting: Half-Life 2 Universe
Requirement: HL2- Episode 2
Download: http://www.moddb.com/mods/research-and-development/downloads
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Research and Development is a puzzle-centric mod that has the Gravity Gun as the only weapon in the game. If you want to get a fair bit of idea about this mod, think back to Half-Life and Half-Life 2 and the game sequences where Gordon is left to fend off threats without any conventional weapons. Research and Development takes those parts of the original game and creates an entire single-player experience around it. You can even think of game-play in this mod as something that Gordon Freeman would do if the struggle between the Combine and the Resistance were to end. Research and Development is a mod for HL2: Episode 2, so you will need to install that before being able to play this mod.

Zombie Panic: Source
Genre: Multiplayer, Team-based survival
Setting: Total Conversion
Requirement:Any Source engine based game  

Zombie Panic: Source is a total conversion multiplayer mod for the Source engine. This mod is based on the classic zombie-outbreak survival setting that pits a team of Zombies against a human team. When we read about this mod we were intrigued by some of the design elements and at the very least it should work well as a poor man’s Left4Dead. Unfortunately, we did not have great luck with finding any online games. Zombie Panic has a fairly long history and a very active development community. So we would like to give this mod the benefit of the doubt and conclude that the issues we faced were just an isolated case. Besides, this mod also has support for games over local area networks (LAN) and one cannot go too wrong with that.

Flipside
Genre: Platforming
Setting: Total Conversion
Requirement: Half-Life 2
Download: http://www.playflipside.com/download.php

Flipside is the quirkiest mod that we came across during our hunt. This is a 2D side-scrolling platformer which follows the exploits of a madman’s escape from a mental asylum. The mod gets its name from one of the central design element which flips the world between its darker and lighter sides. For instance, something that may appear as a cutesy rabbit may turn into an evil nurse when the world is flipped on to the dark side. Flipside’s combat system is pretty much old-school, so this might mean a steeper learning curve for those who are not accustomed to the dark-art of 2D platforming.

Synergy
Genre: Multiplayer, Co-operative
Setting: Half Life 2
Requirement: Half-Life 2

Synergy is a collection of co-operative or team- based multiplayer modes. This mod comes with its own levels or maps; however the great thing about it is that it injects co-op features into other games like Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, and third-party mods like Minerva: Metastasis. Synergy offers a great opportunity for those who have always wondered what it would be like to explore Half- Life 2 with your friends. 

NeoTokyo
Genre: FPS, Squad-based
Setting: Total Conversion

NeoTokyo is a squad-based FPS, set in futuristic Tokyo that has become rife with political and social turmoil. The player can choose to join one of the two opposing factions of the game— the JINRAI or the IM-NSF (Interior Ministry National Security Force). Both factions have cybernetically enhanced soldier classes like Recon, Assault and Support. These enhancements give players access to skills like active camouflage, night-vision and motion-vision. Additionally, a player’s soldier class will also determine availability of weapons and explosives. A player can also progress in rank as they rack up points by efficiently completing objectives. We reckon you will like Neotokyo if you are a fan of squad-based games like Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six.
 

Half-Life 2: Wars [Coming Soon]
Genre: RTS
Setting: Half-life 2
Requirement: Half-Life 2, Source (Orange Box) SDK
Download: http://www.hl2wars.com/files.html
 

This is a real-time strategy mod currently under development by an online community of developers. This mod has been in development since a couple of years and due to the relative ambitious nature of the project, the final release is still a distant realization. However, the good news is that you can get a taste of things to come as the development team has released a single-player beta of the mod. In this mode, the player can choose to play either as the Combine or join the Resistance forces. Going by the latest developer blog entries, the project is still pretty much active and the team is currently looking to expand.

Eternal Silence

Genre: Action (Sci-fi, Space)
Setting: Total Conversion
Requirement: Any Source engine based game 

Eternal Silence uses the Source engine to create a game that incorporates elements of a shooter and a space-flight game in a single package. So with this mod you have a distinct choice between piloting a craft and playing as an infantry soldier, or seamlessly switch between the two. In flight, you can take the battle to your enemies either by directly engaging them in dog-fights or you can safely escort your ground-troops to infiltrate and capture the enemy base from within. Eternal Silence has been around since early 2007 and it is now one of those mods to be officially supported by Steam.

Dear Esther
Genre: Adventure
Setting: Total Conversion
Requirement: Any Source engine based game
Download: http://store.steampowered.com/app/17550/
 

Dear Esther is a mod that is worthy of a look even if you are not a big fan of exploration centric adventure games. This mod is part of a research project based at the University of Portsmouth, U.K., with the objective of radically changing the way games are designed. The strong point about this mod is that it’s engaging narration, background score and art combine to great a very unique mood for a game.The story follows the adventures of a man who is drawn to a mysterious island by someone named Esther, and the mystery unfolds by locating clues and generally exploring the island. The beauty of the story is that the enigmatic Esther and the entire island may actually be a product of the man’s delusions.

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Faiyaz Shaikh