For many gamers, especially somewhat older ones, Half-Life and Half-Life 2 are synonymous with the type of high-quality first-person shooters that fans are looking for. While the series began nearly a quarter of a century ago, both entries are considered classics, to such extent that Valve updated the second game's UI for the Steam Deck, which evidently shows that the developer itself is keen to keep the antics of Gordon Freeman alive. While the 2004 installment still looks and plays good to this day, one modder has been working hard to make it an even better experience.
A user who goes by the alias ✧Twi✧ has created a mod for Half-Life 2 and the subsequent Episodes DLC content, which they call "Half-Life 2: Overcharged." The add-on, according to the description and accompanying video, implements a lot of changes to the main game, overhauling many aspects, such as adding new weapons, a kick that the player can use, better AI, more Combine enemies, extended levels, and more. There's also a new slow motion feature that's been added as well.
In general, the mod sounds fantastic, implementing a whole ruck of changes that improve the overall gameplay, whilst still maintaining what makes the original so great. The idea of modding Valve games like Half-Life 2 is definitely not uncommon, even after all these years. But "Overcharged" seems determined to take what fans love about the 18-year-old release, and inject some additional "umph" into the mix. The sheer amount of stuff that's been added by the modder is quite incredible, and allegedly even comes with reinstated assets that were cut from the beta.
It seems that the community is not ready to let go of the series just yet, perhaps because the fate of a third installment leaves the story pretty much unfinished at this stage. As disappointing as that may be, there is still a dedicated following, and with a fan-made remastered version of Half-Life 2 currently in the pipeline, it will almost certainly come back into vogue, not that it ever truly left the limelight.
As one of the best FPS games of all time, Half-Life 2 took the formula from the previous installment, which itself is considered one of the most innovative games of its time, and seemingly kicked it up a notch. It's not surprising, therefore, that people like ✧Twi✧ are keen to put their own spin on an already winning format, and "Overcharged" definitely seems like an awesome way to keep the game alive.
Half-Life 2 was released in 2004, and is available on PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, Linux, Android, and now Steam Deck.
Source: ModDB