The They Hunger Trilogy was Classic of the Month for October and November 2015.
Basic Details
- Title: They Hunger Complete Series
- File Name: hl1-sp-they-hunger-with-steamfix.7z
- Original File Names: TheyHunger3.exe, tht_steamfix.exe
- Size : 45.24MB
- Author: Neil Manke
- Date Released: 27 March 2001
Download Options
Installation Instructions
- Extract the Hunger folder into either your \SteamApps\[username]\half-life or \SteamApps\common\half-life folder, whichever is relevant to your particular Steam installation.
- Restart or start Steam.
- They Hunger Trilogy should now be listed in your Library tab.
If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.
Awards
Playthrough Videos
The playthrough below is part of the Classic of the Month Event, run by Don AKA Unq.
Reader Recommendations
Total Downloads
Please note: These statistics are valid from December 2010
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19,247Overall
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6Today
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28Last 7 days
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90Last 30 days
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1,210365 days
Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 36 comment(s) with meta review data.
Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 35 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 5 Hours, 31 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 24 Mins by ꒌ РΔТΔРΣ 14 ꒌ
Longest: 12 Hours by Gypsy_Jim
Total Time Played: 198 Hours, 24 Mins
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 35 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 5 Hours, 31 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 24 Mins by ꒌ РΔТΔРΣ 14 ꒌ
Longest: 12 Hours by Gypsy_Jim
Total Time Played: 198 Hours, 24 Mins
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Jump to a review
Another great must play. The makers of this mod improved more and more with any of the three episodes they released. 5/5
Every single episode have great mapping and new weapons, enemies and zombie varified models. Watch out with the zombie bull, REALLY.
I recommend this mod even to those people that think “man, I’m sure there’s no soldiers in this mod, it will be pitifull boring”, cuz action is there anyway.
Rating: 5/5 + Excellence Award
Good: Outstanding campaigning; Great scripted sequences; Good replay value.
Bad: Textures are low-res.
Review:
Simply stunning. This mod is terrific. Its long, not too difficult, has a great story, and put together very nicely. Out of all the mods here, this is the one to go get. Neil Manke put together a very nice, challenging, and amazing SP mod. The textures are all brand new, the weapons are all brand new, the story is all brand new…you get the picture. There are three chapters in this story. Basically, you’re a person who is trapped in a town where everyone is zombies, made possible by a mad-scientist from the local loony hospital, and you have to destroy him, and all his friends. There are new monsters, new people, new weapons, new everything.
I guess I cant really knock off too many points for low-res textures, considering how old the HL engine is (I’ve been spoiled by the newer games:). I cannot stress this enough: go get it! There isn’t a thing that you can’t like about this mod. Amazing. Also, word has it that Neil is working on converting They Hunger to Source, so that should be even better!
how come no one has pointed out that the file size is 66.6? lmao
greatest SP mod for hl evar! well for the moment, I have alot of catching up to do =)
Can anyone please tell how or what to do to get They Hunger Trilogy to open. The file has been placed in my HL\Steam directory and shows in 3rd party mods in Steam, but when attempting to open the game, after the 2nd attempt crashes to desktop. The game will not load. Please help!
Now a different problem. Why ,after logging my help request does not show my name, instead it shows Anonymous.
Hey i`ve downloaded this thing just yesterday and im on chapter 3 about 2 or 3 maps from the end… and on a “load” sequence it shuts HL down!! I want to win it!! i`ve played like 8hs straigt and I dont want to I need to finish please tell me is it this download or maybe I ****** up?
I’ve never encountered this problem before but maybe another reader can help.
By the way, please watch your language.
0kay thanks, sorry I expected spoilers for that.
Try seeing if your solution can be found here:
http://manke.planethalflife.gamespy.com/
The FAQ has lots of problems/solutions covered.
As always, make sure you have the latest update of Half-Life (if required) and sometimes it helps if you simply switch to “Software” mode for your graphics until you pass your game crash point.
hey thx but I guess.. ill must download it froma diferent source it dosent work re-instaling they hunger and I have waayyy to many mods to take the trouble of taking out HL to re-instal so ill get just the episode 3 of TH.
Not a whole lot to say here… the mod has an excellent storyline and excellent gameplay, even if you’re not into the whole shambling zombie apocalypse genre. A variety of locales and an arsenal full of spankin’-new and reskinned weapons will keep you engaged the entire time. The story is excellent, and draws on a number of horror movie cliches without itself becoming cliche. It manages to be funny at times, scary at others, and intense throughout. Playing through They Hunger is a halloween tradition of mine. Download it now, and have a great time!
They Hunger is a must for anyone interested in single player mods. The storyline is supreme, and grows as the game goes on. The gameplay is excellent, and worthy of several replays (I couldnt tell you how many times I have played this, and still felt that it was origional and fun!). The textures may be low res, but the map design more than makes up for this. They Hunger is definitly an epic, and a mod that will definitly be remembered. Neil Manke and crew are modding gods, and are currently working on a They Hunger sequel for the Source engine.
So, my advice to you:
wonder what happened to that idea then…
This mod was a stupid piece of poo. The zombies sounded like retards and not like zombies. Even when I replaced moste of the sound files it still sucked. It doesn’t even have a good storyline, just a bunch of stupid zombies and bad voice actintg
PS come to mommy, brains, flesh creature, what are you doing, there will be more, hopefully not!!!!!!!!
this was the most useless comment.
Good episode indeed ! I’d like to inform you all HL fans about my mod “Halflife vs The Ring” based on blockcuster movie.. it’s almost finished.
Please stay tuned
They Hunger is one of the best mods for Half-Life. It has its own storyline, it’s interesting…Not as scary as it is supposed to be, but anyway, it’s a good mod, with new weapons, enemies, models…Well.It really deserve a
Great mod I think, but only zombie aliens. It’s fun to play. New weapons, and continuosu zombie sayigs : “” fileeÅŸ'” (flesh) :D:D
I was not the greatest lover of this series with Hunger 1, however, 2 was a great improvement and finally 3 turned the series into a classic.
I am in love .. This mod is freaking great!
Hey, I am having the same problem as NoD. In the part of TH3, the train ride, I go down a ladder into a train cart and the ladder brakes and the train starts moving. After a few seconds a loading zone occurs and the game stops. The link above doesn’t help me so please answer my question.
Have you tried installing the third part separately? It might just be a bug and there’s nothing anybody can do. One other option is for a PP reader to offer a save just after this point. Can anybody help?
Okay, I’ll try that but first, does it delete all my saves?
Back up your save folder to another spot just incase.I started playing this yesterday to see if I could recreate it but only made it through hunger 1 and 2 and just started 3 before my eyes said enough.I’ll get to that spot sometime today and see what happens.Need coffee first :p
I like this forum, everyone is so nice and helpful.
Didn’t crash on me so I dunno but made a save for you right after the loading screen.
http://rapidshare.de/files/40394081/train-save.rar.html
Wow thanks, but where to I put the file? Sorry I only know how to play the mods, not organize them. D:
Woah, forgot to login haha. ^^ was posted by me, synth.
It goes in
Program Files\Steam\steamapps\username\half-life\Hunger\SAVE
Hi. I just downloaded this mod and placed it into my half life directory (I can only play Half Life on Steam). I read that to play this mod I need to select it from the custom game menu when I run Half Life. Here’s my problem; my Half Life doesn’t have a custom menu option. I’d appreciate it greatly if someone helped me with this, because it sounds like an excellent mod and I’d love to play it.
As long as the hunger folder is in the half life folder just restart steam and they hunger should be in the steam game menu.
Ah! So it is. Thank you!
Ok, I put everything in the right folder, but it’s still not showing up, im been tinkering with this all day. -.-
Everything?There was only 1 file.All you had to do was un zip the file and put it in the mods save folder.You can also rename your save folder and make a new one with just that file.Thats what I did to make sure I had the right file to send.
Ok I did what you told me to but now there are no saves at all. When I downloaded your file it was not in a zip folder.
@38, your not confused about a .zip or a .rar file, are you?? It was sent as a .rar, (almost the same thing), I just reinstalled “They Hunger” to see what the problem is/was. Synthsteel, have you made an first save when playing? You must do this for the game to create a save folder!! I DLd “andyb’s” .sav file put it in my save folder and it worked just fine! 🙂
Back again!!, Synthsteel, are you using the WON version or the Steam version of HL1?? If your using the WON version you have to go to the “custom game” section and activate “Hunger” to see your saves, the “Steam” version is in the console to start the game, both work fine here!
Oh, it’s a rar lol, didn’t notice. I thought it said .sav. Anyway I played They Hunger. It’s just a map in the game that doesn’t want to load and crashes the game. The thing is that I copy and pasted the file into my save folder and deleted all the other saves and no saves appear in the load saved game screen. I play the WON version of Half Life by the way.
Extract the file from the rar file.Then play start the game then save.Quit the game and put the sav file in the mods save folder.I’ll try doing it in the morning as I just got back from camping but I hate it when something don’t go right.I usually check for both versions and did not this time.
Okay it looks like this. C:
Sierra
Half-Life
HUNGER
SAVE
train-save.rar
You need to extract the files in the .rar into the save folder. They should have the .sav suffix. Make sure you have a backup of your save folder before you overwrite any saves you already have. Just copy the folder to another location in case something goes wrong.
Get winrar and extract it. http://www.rarlabs.com
Ok everything extracted and when I loaded the save, the same thing happened. Half-Life closed and I was brought to the send error report screen. Just like what happens when I go to the actuall loading zone.
This mod is great. It took me atleast 8 hours to finish this mod. And the installer turned out pretty fine for me, I didn’t have any problems with it. And as for that train part, I didn’t have any problems with it. I can get you a save file if you want,though by the looks of it, you’ve already got one.
My they hunger is broken I guess. Wierd because I have installed it again several times already.
Synth have you redownloaded the file and reinstalled?Maybe the map got corrupt.
Ok.
OK! I can now say that the Complete Series does not work. For me atleast. So I downloaded the separate They Hunger 3 file from vgpro and it worked! Thank you guys for the help and for the save file so I don’t have to start all over. Wish I did not start right beside a headcrab lol but it’s all good, thanks.
Sometimes it doesn’t work with just one save, I’ve had the same problem, too. I don’t know why, or what other saves it needs. It’s a mystery!
Great. Forgot to post that I finished it. I loved the boss battles. Boss battles really make mods good for me.
Steam Patch for this version.Dunno what it does.
Filefront
I remember playing this mod back in 2001. This mod gave me the most enjoyment than any other that I’ve ever played! There were moments when I jumped in my seat when one of those mutated headcrabs sprang upon me! I love the custom models and voices added to the game as well as the integrated mix of combat and puzzles. The puzzles were never frustrating, unlike the jumping puzzles in many other mods. The final gunfight at the end of the third part was a bit frustrating, but I remember emailing Neil Manke, the creator, for help, and I actually got a friendly reply the next day! I strongly recommend this mod if you’ve never played it before.
I played this mod for the first time when my dad had a cracked old WON half-life disc with PC-Gamer’s promoted They Hunger. Of course I was too young to know anything about it, and it didn’t even work; oh well i’ve made it work at around 2005-6. The first episode brings real horror to you if you try to ignore the freaky voice acting. Aside from that the gameplay was awesome, the atmosphere was easily settling, as I immersed pretty quick in the shoes of the hero. The second episode is where i’ve been stuck the most in, and after a few tries and 1 year pause, i’ve reached some really freaky institute, where more freaky experiments take place, freaky enamies appear. The most memorable enamy, besides the frequent zombies and headcrabs were the frankenstien-looking monsters, created by dr. Franklin’s experimental revivings. I was really scared when one charged at me. The third and final episode starts pretty quick, as you discover the hospital you were housed got overran by the undead too. New weapons, as well as new enamies came to this part of the game. My favourite weapon through the game was the rifle, because it replaces the mp5’s skin and, besides other weapons even though some are freaky, really gives the game the chronologic immersion feel to the player somewhat, because I relate the game’s time to ours.
This mod is overall awesome: The level design is purely extraordinary; the textures are somewhat good, since added are few; The weapons this mod feautures are good to shoot and throw at the funny yet nice to combat enamies. The story is simple yet interesting, because, as half-life the story telling tradition, it unfolds secrets like tape recordings and inscriptioned objects. The sounds are perfect as they are, though I reccomend playing this mod without the high definition pack, since it doesn’t add anything but different sounds to a few first weapons. Lastly, voice acting is a bit off, except for the radio man and for Dr.Franklin, and a bit sherrif Rockwood.
Bottomline: A truly Half-life follower, in all it’s aspects, except for voices. It’s cleverly done and the maps are excellent. There’s also alot of new content to discover throughout the whole game. You will surely have fun if you have some respect for the work and not criticize it’s weak parts. I tell you , this mod is highly acclaimed and my favourite.
Have fun playing it!
It’s a great mod, the atmosphere and design is great, the voice acting is off but don’t criticize and ignore :D. I’ve wrote a full review before but it didn’t post. Have fun playing it!
This is a freaking good mod for God sake…!!! I’m not so fond of the HL1’s mods, but this one rocks…
The ambiance is absolutly incredible, from the beginning with the first cutscene, to the deserted town, it has also a good story of it’s own, but the most interestinf part is the enemies design : the zombies are absolutly frightening, and their howling “fleeeeeesh”, “huuuuunger”, is very convincing…
And there are SO many different enemies/designs, I’m so fan of the skeletons (and also the MINI-skeleton, ha ha!), but there are also bulls-zombies, marines-zombies…
It’s also a good idea to put the Marines in this game, because I’ve always thought they Hunger and HLverse are linked together, such as a virus spreading in water, linked to the headcrabs, and it could transform people in “simple” zombies…
The overall design in all the mods is cool, the forest, the catacombs, in the first, the town, the police batiment, the asylum…
The last one has some very good moments with the fighting against the Marines, but sometimes it is a little too difficult, such as some fight scenes with the bulls, an helicopter, and the too last boss, despite being very entertaining, are a real pain in the ass…
The weapons are also well done, changing the crowbar for a shovel (adapted!)…
But overall, it has no real “weak points”, and it could have been released as a real game… seriously, because there are so many things of HL changed that it could have been a total conversion…
Play it if you haven’t already… Cuz” They Hunger : Source seems, saddly, to have disappeared 🙁
This is a classic HL mod! The only downside is the last boss of episode 3 just has too much health! On hard I use all my ammo and the helicopter only just starts to smoke! Other than that, the whole series is great, and one of my favourites.
Even on easy that happens to me, sure is hard….but a quick “impulse 101” to recharge soon sorts it out… 🙂
You can play it in steam…alter the path on the self extractor to C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\youraccountname\half-life
It should now show on your Library Tab.
the best zombie mod for half-life and now I wait they hunger tactical the new coming soon for they hunger
[Review applies to the original They Hunger]
It’s certainly been a long time in coming – it’s been over six months since USS Darkstar, reviewed here, was bestowed upon us – but it’s finally arrived. As is made clear in the textfile, this is much more of a break from the norm than his previous release was: “Are you tired of always fighting the same Half-Life enemies? Then accept our invitation for a vacation in a quiet and welcoming small town… They Hunger: a traditional horror story with no soldiers or aliens!” Yes, we’ve strayed into zombie country here.
As we’ve come to expect from Neil’s work, this is far more than a few extra Half-Life levels. In collaboration with his usual partners, as well as some new faces, the look and feel of Half-Life has been given a radical overhaul thanks to a large collection of custom textures, skins, models and sound effects. Every new addition is of stunning quality. The new textures are superb and the zombie skins fit the part perfectly. I’m sure all of you were expecting a visual feast from They Hunger but however high your expectations may be you’ll still be stunned as some of the scenes unfold before you. From graveyards to swampland, everything is brilliantly conceived and executed; I defy anyone to find a misplaced brush or texture in this map set.
Neil’s regular coder, Einar, has again been hard at work modifying the Half-Life code and the combination of his changes and the new weapon models is a treat to behold. Though there’s no dramatic departures from the arsenal you’re used to by now, what’s there is up to the standards of the rest and continues to add to the completeness of the unit.
Indeed, that is undoubtedly the true strong point of this release, as it always has been with Neil’s work. Everything works together here to produce a stunning overall product. The atmosphere is always creepy, created by the cinematic introduction and maintained throughout by the zombie hordes that confront you. Some fantastic set-pieces – the train, the truck, the car – pop up out of nowhere so that you’re always guessing what’s around the next corner. You’ve undoubtedly seen a zombie film at some point and if you ever wondered what it would be like to be in one then They Hunger is basically a pretty definitive answer.
The unit does have some small flaws. The relentless waves of zombies do get a bit much and it would have been nice if there’d been some more variety in the enemies. Though the gun-wielding zombies you meet later on do provide some change, it’s a very long time before you find them and zombie-bashing isn’t the most enjoyable form of combat Half-Life offers. There’s also a bit too much scope for running away from most confrontations thanks to the zombies’ slow speed. Of course, you’re not really playing the unit as it was intended if that’s your approach.
In comparison to the quality of the general gameplay and the visuals that are on offer here, however, these shortcomings really do pale into insignificance. Neil’s usual innovative design is present all the way through and there’s never a moment when you’re not wondering what’s in store for you next. If you approach They Hunger wanting and expecting yet another continuation of Half-Life then you’re probably going to be disappointed. Load it up with an open mind, however, and you’ll find yourself playing what I would rate as the best FPS add-on to date.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Thursday, 30th December, 1999 by Morgan.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four website, which is now offline. The full review is republished here by permission and more details can be found on the About page.
[Review applies to They Hunger 2]
The long-awaited sequel to one of the most enthralling Half-Life single player episodes is here. Neil Manke and his supporting team have done it again. Morgan, in his review of They Hunger, called it “the best FPS add-on to date.” The key words in that quote are to date, for now They Hunger 2 – Rest in Pieces is upon us, and it easily eclipses the original.
When we last left our beloved hero at the end of They Hunger, he was trapped in a cell about to be mutilated by a horde of zombies. They Hunger 2 picks up right where the first episode left off, with our hero badly in need of rescuing. Suffice it to say that you do escape the cell, only to find yourself still stuck in the zombie-infested town.
But if you’re thinking that TH2 is going to be just more zombie-whacking, think again. The only real problem I had with the original They Hunger was that it was repetitive. Very repetitive. Not so in TH2. This episode will keep you on your toes, while still maintaining the level of suspense of the original. There are several new monsters, introduced gradually, that will challenge your aim and reflexes.
To deal with these new threats your arsenal is expanded significantly. There are a couple of new melee weapons to be found, with much improved Zombie-Whacking Ability. Also new is a great weapon created by Minh Le of Counter-Strike fame. Be cautious with your ammo, though, since you could easily run low if you are not careful (and creative!).
The architecture and level design are truly second to none. Neil creates well-interwoven, non-linear maps that you can wander for what seems like hours. There are tons of new textures, which are of professional quality and definitely enhance the atmosphere. Your objectives, while always clear, are not easily completed and therein lies the beauty of his design. The many puzzles are non-intrusive because they are integral to the progression of the episode; TH2 is very similar in this respect to both TH1 and USS Darkstar.
There are a number of additional features that really set They Hunger 2 above and beyond nearly every other Half-Life level I have played. First, the storyline, which merely set the mood in TH1, unfolds throughout TH2 and explains more about the town’s situation and the background of the events leading to the, um, ‘zombie problems’ that plague the town. Second, the atmosphere is truly engrossing and certainly adds a level of suspense to the episode. Third, Neil always manages to keep you interested. Not only are there several puzzles to solve in order to advance, but surprises lurk around virtually every corner. Finally, the scripted sequences are clever and absorbing, like the excellent sequences of USS Darkstar and TH1.
The unique ingredient in TH2 is the mood. The horror movie atmosphere is engrossing and suspenseful. It actually had me overly paranoid – there were some subtle clues throughout TH2 that a much more frightening monster was in the area (if you recognize the portrait in screenshot 1 you know what I’m talking about). Thankfully this turned out not to be the case (yet!), but it certainly kept me on my toes.
If I really had to nitpick, there are only a couple things I could find wrong with TH2. First, some of the sounds really bugged me. The voice acting, though very well done, needs more variety. Also, the same old zombie chatter present in TH1 is still around – zombies constantly moan and whine, which kind of annoyed me after a while, especially when the zombie was in a totally different section of the map. Second, the ending was rather abrupt. It wasn’t bad, just a bit abrupt. Like I said, nitpicking.
They Hunger 2 may indeed challenge you. Not only is the combat challenging at times, but its complex layout may leave you wondering what to do next, and Neil’s many surprises may catch you off guard. If you don’t like this type of map, TH2 may not be for you. I, on the other hand, loved every minute of it.
Before USS Darkstar debuted for Half-Life, I had never heard of Neil Manke. I never got into Quake or Q2, so my only experience with Neil’s maps are with those for HL. So far I have seen three outstanding episodes, and I dearly hope to see more in the future. There is no question that They Hunger 2 – Rest in Pieces is his best work to date, and one of, if not the, best Half-Life add-on ever.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Monday, 7th August, 2000 by Unquenque.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four website, which is now offline. The full review is republished here by permission and more details can be found on the About page.
[Review applies to They Hunger 3]
Often times epic stories are nicely wrapped up in trilogies: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings, Alien. OK, so Star Wars is actually going to be 2 trilogies. And they’re making another Indiana Jones film. And The Lord of the Rings had a prequel (The Hobbit). And the Alien saga actually consists of 4 movies (with another likely on the way) and really should have been concluded after the second. So much for making my point. “What point,” you say? Read on, brave adventurer.
They Hunger 3 – Rude Awakening, the biggest and best of the series, nicely concludes the tale begun in They Hunger 1 and developed in They Hunger 2. It’s not often that the works in a trilogy keep improving as they are released, but that is the case here. Pardon the comparison of a series of Half-Life levels to cinema, but overall the They Hunger series is a true saga, not a mere collection of maps.
Some of you out there evidently liked the original TH episode better (see Jiang’s second opinion on my They Hunger 2 review for an example). Neil and his talented team did take a different direction in TH2, with more combat, much more story development, and a little less of the horror motif. TH3 takes a direction of its own. First, TH3 is quite a bit longer than either of the preceding episodes. Second, there is a ton of combat in this pack. Third, there is much less story development than in TH2, with your main objective being to put an end to the Zombie Madness once and for all.
For the sake of thoroughness, I should touch on the qualities that are common in all of the Half-Life packs released by Neil and his team. The level design is simply superb. TH3 sports more of Neil’s trademark intricately interwoven levels. If you are the type of player that is easily frustrated by this type of map, you can always refer to the walkthrough that will inevitably be available on Neil’s site. One aspect that may not be to the taste of all players is that there is a fair amount of backtracking involved in TH3. You will even visit areas familiar to you from TH2 (though they have changed significantly in the meantime). The levels have great lighting, nifty textures, and plenty of hidden rewards sprinkled throughout the maps. The new monsters and weapons are all well modeled and skinned. There are a number of clever sequences/setpieces included as well. Nothing quite as much fun as mowing down hordes of zombies in a locomotive as in TH1, but they are nonetheless impressive and cleverly designed.
A couple of things set They Hunger 3 above and beyond the others in the series. TH3 is loaded with it. As in the other episodes, there is no armor available, so you have to be that much more careful with your precious health. To make it even tougher on you, there are a bunch of new enemies to fight (including a whole slew of new zombies). This time there are soldiers (both the normal and the zombie variety), and my personal favorite, the dreaded Zombie Chicken. Also you will face a couple of monsters that are actually faster than you and they will run you down. To top it all off, the finale is one of the most challenging sequences I’ve faced in a long time – just the way I like it. In fact, Neil has decided to make a small file available on his site that will make the final encounter much easier to get through for you wimps out there. 🙂
To conquer these new challenges, you have a few new weapons to play with in TH3, such as: a TFC-style flamethrower, a chaingun, a Taurus handgun, and a medkit which allows you to heal yourself when you choose. All of them come in quite handy in dispatching your foes. My only complaint here is that most of the models are taken from HL and TFC – it would have been much better if these new weapons had new models instead of recycled ones.
One other thing stood out to me as I played TH3 – Neil’s use of sound. It is simply excellent. Although there is the ever-present zombie chatter which can get on your nerves, I am talking about the ambient sounds. They really help to flesh out the settings and add to the mood of the game. And there are some truly spooky sounds included, ones that make you mutter to yourself, “What in the hell was that?”
They Hunger 3 does have some minor issues, some of which are present in more than just this episode. While the ambient sounds are very good, many of the other sounds (specifically, the tape recordings) are awfully quiet and difficult to hear over the din of the incessantly chanting zombies. And one thing I noticed about the new model for the machine gun – the gun that you see as you hold it isn’t aimed directly at the crosshairs. This didn’t cause me major problems, but as I played I realized sometimes I aim by sight and not crosshairs, resulting in completely missing my target. Neil usually does a pretty good job with making all his locked doors make a ‘locked’ sound when you try to open them, but I noticed several in TH3 that made no sound at all when you tried them (one of my pet peeves). Finally, there’s the funky trees. Neil uses 2D sprites for most of his trees, which turn to face you as you move. They look OK as long as you’re not above them looking down, because then the trees look like they’re severely slanted as they are facing directly at you. Beyond the sprites, there is a tree texture used for backdrops in some of the outdoor areas in TH3, which, quite frankly, looks bad. The colors are ugly and the texture looks pixellated. You may think that of all the professional-quality textures Neil has made, that I am really nitpicking by complaining about a certain one. You’d be right. But this texture is prevalent in a number of the TH3 maps and it really stands out.
They Hunger 3 – Rude Awakening expands on the superb design and gameplay found in TH2. It adds more weapons, enemies, and combat, and the finale consists of a couple of memorable and very challenging battles. It wraps up the They Hunger trilogy nicely, and as much as I’d like to see Neil make more Half-Life single player maps, I think this series is best laid to rest as is – a thoroughly enjoyable experience not to be missed.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Monday, 30th April, 2001 by Unquenque.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four website, which is now offline. The full review is republished here by permission and more details can be found on the About page.
I have such mixed feelings about this mod, it’s hard to know where to begin.
First off, it’s absolutely huge. it’s taken me a week, a couple of hours or so a night, to get to the end, and it would have been even longer if I hadn’t reverted to the walk through, and even then had to cheat as well…(Which I hate having to);
Second, the design, and game-play concepts behind it, the obvious technical skill and implementation of the project is brilliant, but…and it is a but…..I got lost, time and time again. I have played many many hours of all the HL series of games now, and know what are “cues” and “hints” as to where to go, what to look for, and how to progress to the next area(s) and so on. There are virtually none in this. Without quicksave (and the walk through) I simply wouldn’t have had the patience to push through to the end, no matter how nice it all looked.
So many areas look the same. The indoors are incredibly samey, and so are the outdoor sections, and when you jump off a cliff edge into the water for the umpteenth time you have no way of knowing if you’ve accidentally backtracked, or if this is the way to go on….
Pros: There is a story. There are many unique features, such as the zombie bulls referred to in previous reviews above, and occasional cut scenes, tape recorders and so on to add to the story, but they don’t always actually help that much, if at all.
There are drivable vehicles, though in the HL vein, ie they’re stuck to a pre-determined path, rather than one you’d choose, and they are still (somehow) fun.
The enemies & other npcs are all original and fantastic with it. Dismembered hands as well as head-crabs, zombie “Barneys”, troops, scientists and so on.
I could go on, but there are plenty of “Pros” to this mod.
Negatives: I’m all for a bit of flexibility in the route that you play a game, allowing for exploration and alternative paths and so on, but please, there were times when I found myself back in “nearly identical hospital corridor three” for the eighteenth time, and began to get very very weary of exploring.
There were times when you had to break a particular picture to get access to a button to open a door/gate, but there was no way to know that that was expected of you, hidden tunnels behind shrubbery… and countless other examples that simply tested my “can I really be bothered?” sense to it’s absolute limit. Some way markers or lights, or signs or any other kind of hint would not have gone amiss, but they were just not there. Very frustrating.
Combat, when there was some, was either an absolute doddle, with a few hits from the spade clearing a path through the zombies, or an absolute nightmare, very nastily placed enemies with big weapons, just after a heavy battle, or wave upon wave of enemies coming at you from every direction, there just wasn’t a balance of any sort.
I hate being so negative about a mod, so will try to say that while it is simply a monumental piece of work, (that I found easier to play five or six years ago, than I do now!) with so many good reasons to try it out, it suffers for the same reason that countless other mods do, in that it is perhaps just too much of a good thing, and would have benefited from being more polished but shorter.
If you haven’t played it, then do so, just so you know another angle to the serious level HL1 mods that there are out there, but only do do if you’ve got the time, the patience, and the addiction to bother. It is a fantastic piece of work, but is just simply a few words of advice from the modders” peers away from being the masterpiece it should have been…..
It was released a very long time ago, so you’ve got to see it through your own HL1 filter I guess. I’m sad to say I won’t be playing it again any time soon.
What recommendation to give it?
It has to be a PIL I’m afraid, but you do have to tick it off your list, so do PIL…
(PS My time is only a guesstimate….)
Manually
Medium
12 Hours
Very good mod for when it came out!
here are my negatives, the first part is almost ruined by the always “GOTCHA) Barney(s) who’s rapid pistol shot quickly deplete your (hard to find) health. It’s feels like over compensation for the slow zombies so not to make the came too easy, but even on easy it was hard, especially since I was using the umbrella all too often. The 2nd was much more balanced w/ the Barney(s), but they still ambushed me often. It had the consequence of slowing down the pace of the game to the point I have to use the quick-save/ quick-loads if I didn’t approach every new area or clearing w/o scanning for the Barney(s); this is especially true for the first part.
It’s also not as scary as it could have been, the zombies audio was carrying much of the atmosphere. This negative I only mention because by now everyone is used to much more, but I assume it’s been handicap by the ancient game engine.
The rest of the game is very good; a few ooh & ahhs + a couple of cools. it would take much longer to write the good over the bad, so I just wrote the bad stuff first. 90% of you won’t regret playing (keep in mind the game engine limitations e.g. don’t expect Dead in Space atmosphere!)
Manually
Easy
9 Hours, 30 Minutes
ive been playing this mod since I was a kid. ive always loved it and still play it from time to time for fun and nostalgic value. this is my most memorable and favorite HL1 mod.
One of the best mods ever made! But it lacks some friendly NPCs and I can’t understand why the soldiers were attacking me since I was a survivor, not a zombie. The last boss was also very hard. The sounds were amazing, when you walk you can hear some zombie sounds such as “Flesh”. The locations are also great, you can fight in the countryside, in villages, in hospitals and in asylums. The skeletons were a bit stupid, since they were just reskinned vortigaunts making strange noises while attacking you.
Manually
Easy
6 Hours, 30 Minutes
Good stuff too bad this wasn’t pursued longer
Yes alas ’tis true my cosmic neighbor.
This is one of my most favorite mods for the original Half-Life. Keep this mod alive by posting how you feel about it.
This mod is the bees knees!
Manually
Hard
3 Hours
I have removed the recommendation image from this review. If after three hours of play, the best you can write is 6 words, no image is allowed.
Well… Okay so I finally did get around to playing this because Classic of the Month says I should have. 😀
Annnnnd, wow. Well, wow in both a good way and a bad way. Yes, that’s 10 hours I played. Unfortunately, 8+ of that was on god-mode, and with the occasional noclip and eventual impulse101 commands at the ready.
The good:
It is creepy as hell, and that’s no lie. The entire thing had me jumpy and yelping or grossed out and wondering what I just saw.
The textures are amazing, even now – the reskinned figures, while their models are certainly “polygon stiff” their skins (and guts, and scrapes, and blood) are all still more than eerie and remarkably well done. The reskin of the headcrabs in particular was *really* spooky. And I laughed out loud whenever the disembodied hand would come up – and the chickens. 😀 (I have a character from an old Call of Cthulhu game who has a collection of disembodied, animated body parts… every time the hand came up I thought of him.)
The use of sound fx was good, though I do think that the endless repetition from the enemies was a little annoying by the end. The voice acting in the third portion was much better than in the prior two, but kudos to even having more than just the old dialog slapped into a completely different setting.
The setting itself was both good and bad, I’ll get to the bad in a minute. The good part was, it looked very well thought out and reasonably thorough in terms of what hospitals and grounds would look like, interiors and exteriors alike. The progression between before the fire and after was also very impressive. (more later)
Anyone who says that ‘survival horror isn’t scary when you have guns’ has never played this game. While there were a ton of different weapons available, I rarely did much more than beat things to death with the umbrella or snipe when I had enough ammo to do that. Another good-bad thing there, in a minute. At any rate, having weapons in no way made it less scary. In fact it felt more desperate and difficult particularly at the start when I didn’t use godmode – the fights were… well, part of the bad.
The length was amazing, I can’t imagine a speed run on this, because there’s just so much to take in. Again, a good-bad thing.
The bad:
Okay, so… the mapping, while extensive and ostensibly each portion was very pretty, was absolutely haphazard for flow of what you’re supposed to do and when. Being able to double back in order to do something is one thing, but an utterly free-format plan definitely hindered enjoyment quite a bit. It means that very little thought was given to pushing the player in the right direction.
The fights were… absurdly hard. Every single enemy could kill me in several hits and I spent the greater part of the first hour at 30 HP or less. Since everything did at least 20 points per hit, I did a lot of ‘sprint in hit them sprint backwards’ and that got really old, really quick. It didn’t really help when I had guns and bullets, because the enemies all soaked SO much damage! When headshots weren’t possible (due to lack of a head) having to strike the body numerous times wasted a lot of ammo or brought me too close to getting hit.
Sure there were lots of health kits in boxes or scattered around – but that’s a sorry excuse for very badly imbalanced combat. I don’t want to have to suck down health kits, I want to be able to maneuver around and think tactically or be able to shoot at things without worrying whether I’ll be in range of one when I’m taken to 0 hp. Definitely a case of brutal =/= better.
The length, therefore, was something that dragged the game in the long run. There were lots of places where you’re just running around corners or down grassy rock-filled areas outside that made no sense at all, and served only to lengthen the amount of distance and time in the game. Someone above mentioned that ‘yet another hospital corridor’ thing, and yeah – that got old. Once more because the maps lacked any coherent flow to them, guiding or even hinting to the player what to do or where to go, I noclipped on 5 or 6 occasions just to see whether any given spot had a trigger point in it or if I had to go around again.
So while it’s definitely a “play it” mod, and very much one of the scariest mods I’ve seen – hell it’s scarier than most fully fledged games I’ve played in both concept and execution – unless you have a bunch of time to blow running around samey places and confusing levels, let it wait for later.
An excellent Halloween mod, however, so if what you’re looking for is a very, very hard fight and some spooky, gross, or silly (those chickens, man. those chickens) scares, this is definitely for you.
Manually
Medium
10 Hours
[Review applies to They Hunger 2]
NOTE: A lot of this second opinion has to do with the negative aspects of They Hunger 2, but I by no means did not enjoy it. I just feel all that’s good has been pretty much said above.
First of all, it is very hard to call They Hunger and They Hunger2 (both included in this file) the best addons ever for Half-Life because there is almost no base for comparison with the other Half-Life levels. As far as I was concerned while I was playing through both They Hunger 1 & 2, I wasn’t playing Half-Life; I was playing another game. Usually I would be mad if some author threw as many puzzles as Neil did (for the record, I had to look at the walkthrough twice), but as I said for USS Darkstar, getting stuck will only add to the addiction. The only fair comparison that can be made is between They Hunger and its sequal.
Unquenque said They Hunger 2 – Rest in Pieces totally eclipsed the original. That is true, in a way, but I have to say They Hunger 2 was disappointing in some areas. They Hunger 2 was much more varied and extravagant when compared to its predecessor, however, that is not always a good thing.
They Hunger had a good thing going for it. It did not suit all tastes, but the horror theme was like no other. What Neil has done with They Hunger 2 is make it a lot more fun, but a lot less scary. They Hunger 2 continually surprised me with all the ideas Neil can come up with, from three melee weapons to all the various settings. But I did feel things became a little too extraneous and hard to understand.
They Hunger’s simplicity was its beauty. The storyline, the idea, were dead simple but still quite blood curdling. They Hunger 2 branched off into many different places and the main focus (horror) was lost. When the mundane world of human treachery and the all too clichéd mad scientist plot was introduced, the addon lost its scare. At the same time the machinations of the evil humans was very difficult to understand even through all the tape players.
I realize that They Hunger 2 gained more respect for the series than it lost, and Unquenque certainly liked it, and I by no means disliked it, but I would’ve enjoyed a more true-to-the-original approach. And one final complaint that is germane to both They Hungers: since when does good a horror theme lack good horror music? While I was beta testing Neil in They Hunger 1, he gave me the reason for leaving the music out (the game pauses momentarily) but I felt a few of the tracks on the Half-Life CD would’ve been perfect and well worth the trivial trouble it causes. Once again, Neil’s decision probably made more people happier than unhappy. I should shut up now before I make someone made enough to not do a sequel that we all probably want.
Notes
This second opinion review is republished here by permission and was originally published Monday, 2nd October, 2000 by Jiang.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four website, which is now offline. The full review is republished here by permission and more details can be found on the About page.
OK, so those Ten Four reviews above of TH2 and 3 were mine, so I won’t go into terrible detail here, but I’ll sum up my feelings since I recently played all 3 episodes for Classic of the Month.
Of course overall the They Hunger mods are superb, truly worthy of the Hall of Fame. The setting and atmosphere of TH1 are fantastic and it doesn’t feel like Half-Life, which is both a positive and negative. I personally preferred the increased action and combat in TH2 and 3, as your enemies get tougher and more mobile than TH’s zombies.
As in other Neil Manke releases, everything is nicely polished. My chief complaint about Neil’s style is the lack of direction in some places. Often you finally open up a locked door… only to find it merely leads back to a place you were 10 minutes ago. It can lead to frustration.
That’s my main criticism. Otherwise, I had a blast playing through these again and don’t hesitate to recommend them.
Manually
Medium
6 Hours, 30 Minutes
They Hunger is a definite 10/10. I beat this thrice and I’ll beat it again. Well put story-line and horror genre that’s impeccable. Personal favorite. I recommend this to everybody.
Manually
Hard
3 Hours
They hunger is an amazing mod, It’s one of my favorite mods and a classic if you’re looking for a long half-life mod then this is the one to play, the game is about zombies but it plays a lot better than most newer zombies games out there, the story is good, it’s nothing big but it keeps you playing, the sound is great and the voice acting is also pretty good, this is a great mod for anyone who likes the horror part of the base game but it’s also good for people who hate horror games because it’s pretty light hearted.
Manually
Medium
4 Hours, 50 Minutes
Am I even supposed to rate this mod? It’s not a Half-Life game, it has its own universe. I ain’t feel sad about cancelled 4th part because TH Trilogy is a finished story. So much new models and textures, some bad voice acting (hmph, i won’t rate this mod lower).
1st episode is good road trip game with atmosphere of kinda “forest horror”. 2st episode is…. “town horror” and it’s the best part of the Trilogy. I don’t like 3rd episode because it is very… tightened (?). It was pretty long and boring because of locations you’ve visited in 2nd episode and because of backtracking. 3rd episode is only reason why i can’t call They Hunger my personal favourite.
P.S. My English is bad, xd.
Using Gauge
Hard
6 Hours
An interesting modification. And the most important in its times is very playable. I recommend !
Manually
Medium
4 Hours, 21 Minutes
I played this mod for some 20 minutes. It was very good until i saw police zombies that shoot . And something that is even more unrealistic is that that i can destroy brick wall with umbrella , i uninstalled it and i won’t play it anymore. This is not mod for me , but it’s good. So i rate it 3/5.
Manually
Medium
24 Minutes
This mod is an oldie but goldie. A classic. If you haven’t heard of this mod, or worse, haven’t played it, are you living under a rock or something?
It’s a pretty silly mod, and that’s pretty much the art of it. It is full of cliches you encounter in games and horror/action movies. For an example, the mod tries to mock the way movies/games portray zombies by giving them voicelines like “brains, mmm, flesh”.
Apart from the mod being generally silly, it has interesting gameplay. While the monsters in the first episode are all reskins of already existing ones, there are later on more monsters which are unique, and I won’t tell which because I know there is for sure someone out there who hasn’t played this mod.
They Hunger will keep you busy for a while – I mean, on my first game of They Hunger, it took me about 5 hours to finish the entire trilogy. Of course, I didn’t really finish it in one sit, it took me days but I did try to finish it in one sit once, got halfway through the second episode but then more important matters cut me off and my back hurt a lot ever since.
The mod also does a very good job at keeping its replayability – something that a lot of mods and even games lack. This is one of the few mods I will never delete after finishing them, because of how fun it is to keep replaying them.
Overall, if you’re in a mood for silly mods with good gameplay to keep you busy for hours, They Hunger trilogy should be the first thing that comes to your mind.
Manually
Medium
5 Hours
I like my horrors with a slice of cheese, so I’m very biased with this one… Cheesy is one way of describing this, cheesy in a good way. Although, of course, the mod uses a lot of assets from Half-Life, it is a game that can stand on its own feet and the entire trilogy is longer than many singleplayer campaigns of modern games.
For some reason I only got to playing the full trilogy a few days ago, back in the day I only played the first episode. So this was my first playthrough and I enjoyed every minute of it. The design isn’t perfect, some maps are complicated to navigate and I got stuck quite a few times, but I never considered quitting and just looked forward to what will happen next. Sometimes it was a hilarious horror parody, sometimes it was a solid (and challenging) shooter and at all times the maps were very fun to explore with lots of details and little easter eggs.
The playtime is for the entire trilogy. I did play on hard and it was indeed very hard at times, but I never felt like it was unfair difficulty, at least not in a game where you can quicksave/quickload with a press of a button.
If you are into playing HL mods and you have not played this yet, than wtf? go play now!
Manually
Hard
6 Hours
It felt Fresh and familiar at the same time, Great Atmosphere, The dated graphics make it feel like
an old movie with very dated effects which for me added to the charm And The texture-work is fantastic Install the Trilogy And Prepare for some Good-old Ammo management Hl1!
Manually
Hard
12 Hours
The Recommendation Image has been removed because the text review does not reflect 12 hours of playtime.
Amazing mod just amazing
Manually
Easy
7 Hours
This mod truly deserves its place in the Hall of Fame, it has new enemies, new weapons, new graphics, awesome atmosphere, awesome moments, is long enough that it can be released as its own game and all of this in 2000/2001! what else can I say that is not been said before? Well, maybe that it isn’t perfect and it has a few flaws that can take away from the experience (although no mod or game is truly perfect) but I’m getting ahead of myself, here are my thoughts from each episode
The first episode… was ok? I mean, I love the atmosphere and the mapping, it was just fun to explore (though a little confusing at times) but the combat was… pretty meh, really, it was interesting at first, when you have little ammo and you have to carefully fight or avoid the zombies until you get more pistol ammo, but the problem is, there are basically only 3 types of enemies in this episode, zombies, headcrabs and later on, zombie “barneys”, which make the combat somewhat boring, another problem I had was the difficulty, mostly because zombies can take 20 or 40 hp with a single attack, I suppose this was added to make the zombies more dangerous as they are usually pretty slow, but also the zombie barneys are placed in such a way that they can start to shoot you while you are still exploring your surroundings, and they can pile up the damage very quickly, I was constantly saving and reloading until I knew were each was hidden, which was very annoying, the good news is that this episode has a lot of memorable moments that keep you wanting to explore more, like the train ride, the dam, the first time you reach the town, and so on
The second episode improves a lot over the first one, it now adds more weapons, more enemies (most of these were just reskins though, they were fine except for the skeleton, which is an obvious vortigaunt, even their AI remains the same, which doesn’t really fit too well for a skeleton), and a lot more action, I personally loved exploring the asylum and seeing the new zombie experiments, the problem? Is that the maps started to get more confusing to navigate, I got stuck on many puzzles and had to look up a walkthrough to advance, this episode also tries to explain more of the backstory of the mod with a few tape recordings, but I couldn’t hear them very well
And finally, the last episode, which is the best of the three, which makes sense as Neil Manke improved his skills between each release, this one reduced the puzzles a bit more so players can’t get stuck as easily as before, now it is a lot more focused on action, there’s a new unique enemy that will surprise you, there are some great set pieces sprinkled through and you even go back to the maps from the second episode, but now with a different look, there’s even not one, but two boss fights, although the second one was really hard, mostly because of the high boss HP, which makes the fight a lot longer than needed
Overall, this was a great experience, and definitely, a must play, be careful though, it can get a little tiring due to how long it is (is basically three mods string together) and it gets confusing at times, don’t feel bad if you need to look a walkthrough to advance
Manually
Medium
8 Hours
Played it on Sven Co-op, and it was hard as hell, so yeah
this was so much fun, It’s one of those mods that, change Half-Life in all aspects, and it’s still enjoyable for me, who doesn’t like a lot of changes
Manually
Hard
4 Hours
I have seen this mod when I was a kid and now, it is my turn to play it. It was a good experience overall. They Hunger follows an unnamed writer who is taking a break from his job and is trying to have some peace in the countryside. Your car gets struck by a lightning and you find your way to the church. As you explore the church, you hear a strange sound coming from the coffin….
The mod itself comes in three parts, each part having their own settings and introducing new things as it progresses. Episode one is, without a doubt, the strongest episode. The buildup before facing the first zombie is well-done, I also like how vulnerable you are at the start. You are equipped with only an umbrella and a couple of pistol magazines, you must choose when to fire or run, kind of like Resident Evil. The way you encounter with the first police Zombie is the greatest moment, you thought you are safe and he turns around and fires at you. Although, I feel like the part of the dam could have been better because it takes too long to get inside, as you have to wait for an NPC while there is an Ichthyosaur in the water.
Episode two is the middle-of-the-road of the episodes, literally and figuratively. It starts off quite strong with a policeman coming at your aid, but for some reason, you have to abandon him somehow. You enter a sewer and the asylum, both places do not outstay their welcome and it was a fun ride too overall.
The third episode is, what I think, is the weakest of all as it feels like it really gives in to the B-rated movie tone it establishes. For the locations, it seems that the creator cannot think up of more interesting locations you want to explore, the only place that stands out for me is the farm and the Stonehenge-looking place. I have to admit about unique enemies in this episode, nurse Zombies, children skeletons, Zombie Chickens and that giant Bullsquid in the lake. (I wish it was used more, such a waste of unique model) The final bosses are too difficult for my liking as the supplies are very limited. The first one is a bit easy, even then, he takes a lot of sniper bullets. The second boss is just plain too hard, he destroys the helicopter to the point that one side is completely open for attacks. He also is even more of a bullet sponge than the former, I was down to my shotgun when it was over. Don’t give me ideas of jumping out and killing him with the melee weapons and the dynamites.
You are much more vulnerable than Gordon in this mod, you never get any access to armor and enemies hit really hard. In the first episode, you get normal Half-Life loadout: pistols, SMG, shotgun, melee, and grenades. There is also one satchel charge in this episode but somehow never seen again. The pistol can attach silencer, which makes it more accurate and I don’t see the reason to have it off. Episode two opens up a bit more and adds two incredibly redundant melee weapons, and an automatic pistol, which is descent. The last episode goes all-in with additions and it gives you another pistol (which I never get to play with it again midway through the mod), the flamethrower (functions like the Gluon Gun but it would be better if the flame effect does not blind you when you use it), and the minigun (horribly inaccurate and takes a while to spin up, only useful against the second final boss).
The enemies are given reskins to fit the horror theme, some enemies are even tweaked. Zombies come in various skins and have cheesy, yet creepy, voice lines. Vortigaunts are skeletons. Alien Grunts are melee-only and appear as Frankenstein monsters. Houndeyes become dogs and lose their shockwave attack. Zombie soldiers and policemen are HECU and Barneys, respectively. These last two are quite difficult to fight, as you have nor armor and they are really accurate with their shots. Episode 3 also introduces Zombie Bulls/Buffalos and they are just unfun bullet sponges in my opinion. It also introduces hands, faster Headcrabs that deal more damage, which are painfully hard to hit due to their size.
I also played with Remod addon, which adds higher-quality skins to every model and weapon. I feel like the Alien Grunts in Remod does not have their hitbox fixed. Their body is completely bulletproof and you have to go for the arms and kneecaps, it makes them unnecessarily difficult to fight them. The mod also changes leeches into piranha fish, which makes them easier to see. I really recommend this addon.
They Hunger is a marvel of Half-Life modding community. Despite its weak finale, it offers a uniquely fun experience with the undead.
Manually
Medium
6 Hours
Fantastic Mod! Playing it my second time!
Manually
Hard
6 Hours
A classic. Manages to be scary, action-packed, and hilarious all at once. I would say the quality begins to dip towards the end of episode 3, but I still very much recommend giving this one a go.
Great series! Representation of the buildings and the natural objects is great. Custom weapons and enemies work similarly to the original, but their new skins and some modifications make them feel as if they were new. It is a little bit hard to figure out the paths or the solution of the puzzles sometimes (I watched the walkthroughs for those things) but their design becomes better in episode 3. I love this mod!
Manually
Medium
6 Hours
My all time favorite mod. Part Half Life. Part Frankenstein and weird occult. All horror. I loved it from start to finish.
It’s a shame they never finished They Hunger Lost Souls. I would have absolutely paid money for it.
Manually
Medium
7 Hours
This mod is a true classic
like old days I miss that days
Manually
Medium
3 Hours, 10 Minutes
It starts off a bit slow in chapter 1 with just weak zombies and the occasional evil Barney around a church, but it kicks it up a notch in chapter 2 and stays consistently as great till the end.
Manually
Medium
5 Hours
A very lengthy zombie adventure with a lot of twists along the way.
It’s not really my style of game but a lot of people enjoy it so maybe you will as well.
Manually
Hard
6 Hours
I do suck at this stuff, but I do see why it’s in the Hall of Fame. Overall, not that bad.
Manually
Medium
35 Minutes
I remember when the first one came out. If I’m not mistaken it was included with an issue of PC Gamer – it was on the demo disc that was included with every issue. This mod is showing its age, but it’s still a lot of fun. You should definitely play it now.
I would say that this is great and for the time that it was released it would have been significantly impressive. I find it highly replayable and the atmosphere and gameplay are good. Yet considering the vast assortment of other quality campaigns, this takes a back seat. Definitely worth playing.
There’s no need for me to write a verbose review for They Hunger, other people have written much better ones than I could and most everybody is aware of the mod. Instead, I just want to mention that this is one of my favorite HL mods and Neil Manke is certainly my favorite modder.
I absolutely love playing older maps for various games so being able to play very high quality mods from the early days of the HL modding scene is a total dream. Playing commercial TCs/mods is another favorite of mine and with They Hunger coming via PC Gamer I feel it kind of falls into that category. The mod is actually fairly creepy too, the lower fidelity models work extremely well for horror games.
If you haven’t played They Hunger play it NOW and please, please don’t use a remod unless you’ve already played it!
Manually
Hard
6 Hours
If there are those who still play this mod this year, congratulations, you can tear your keyboard apart from being nervous. Even if you play the game in normal mode, damn soldiers, cops don’t die. You’ll know what I mean in Episodes 2 and 3.
Manually
Medium
3 Hours, 14 Minutes
The only mod that i played countless when i was much younger.
Don’t ever play on Hard unless you know all enemies placement, episode 3 is extremely difficult on hard the zombie bulls are bullet sponges and you have to take them out either by jumping in a river or from inside a house or jumping from high ground above them and killing them with the shovel.
The 2 boss fights at the end are tough as well, save and then vs dr franklin use the grenades if thrown well near him it takes less than 10 to kill.
As for Sherrif Rockwood, you will need minigun 100/250 ammo, shotgun 8/125 ammo, and small tmp 40/200 ammo.
I killed him with these and in the end had 0/0 minigun ammo, 0/0 shotgun ammo and 40/40 tmp ammo.
Enough about hard difficulty now let say that in general this mod evolves, starting a traditional horror in episode 1 and having the eeriest locations to horror action in episode 3.
This is a really impressive mod considering how old it is
Manually
Hard
3 Hours, 10 Minutes
The only mod that i played countless when i was much younger.
Don’t ever play on Hard unless you know all enemies placement, episode 3 is extremely difficult on hard the zombie bulls are bullet sponges and you have to take them out either by jumping in a river or from inside a house or jumping from high ground above them and killing them with the shovel.
The 2 boss fights at the end are tough as well, save and then vs dr franklin use the grenades if thrown well near him it takes less than 10 to kill.
As for Sherrif Rockwood, you will need minigun 100/250 ammo, shotgun 8/125 ammo, and small tmp 40/200 ammo.
I killed him with these and in the end had 0/0 minigun ammo, 0/0 shotgun ammo and 40/40 tmp ammo.
Enough about hard difficulty now let say that in general this mod evolves, starting a traditional horror in episode 1 and having the eeriest locations to horror action in episode 3.
This is a really impressive mod considering how old it is
Manually
Hard
3 Hours, 10 Minutes
Very Good
Manually
Medium
2 Hours
The intro does not run right. The headcrab at the beginning gets ran over by the car. That should not happen. Also when the car falls off the road you cannot see the lightning. The camera does not turn fast enough.
Quite the marvelous total conversion mod, a must play for people wo wanna delve into Half-Life Mods
It is true to defeat the final boss you need to make a math. For the first boss you must have 10 grenades on your hand. You should start saving on the way across the ranch back to the railroads. This grenades are to kill the boss. If we could carry 15 grenades, battle would be more logical. For the second boss, we need to save light MP full bullets (haven’t used), Shotgun ammo, you get a lot by the end, just don’t waiste too much, 100 shells is enough. Remeber to load all 9mm weapons before picking up, 9mm ammo by the end. Some sniper ammo would be nice as well. AR grenades does good amount of damage, I only saw 2 in a box inside the complex by the end, the abandoned and burned complex. If there would be more, it would be faster to eliminate that chopper.
On Hard you are like forced to use Silenced Gun all the time, it seems to do great damage output in general. The right way to use the sniper saves a lot of trouble. Grenades in general use, sucks a lot, we can snipe many enemies with a sniper. Grenades cannot even kill a bull at all or even 1 enemy with 1 grenade and they look like a boulder explosives. A bull takes like 125 machine gun ammo to be killed or 20 shotgun shells at least, it just a tank not an enemy. There’s soldiers without head shooting with precision, omg. An enemy with a blade on arms and head walking. A hand crawling around, these beast are dangerous because it’s hard to see them. Great work for the author.
Manually
Hard
5 Hours
It has its own unique atmosphere. It’s enjoyable and this was one of those early mods for HL and was released in 1999! Amazing feat if you ask me.
Though this is a horror game but i can’t lie that there were some hilarious moments, especially how the enemies sound, like the headcrabs and the skeletons, who goes therree… haha! Also the zombies too, a bit amateurish but c’mon I am being a bit harsh here, Imagine developing a mod in the late 90’s with limited technology. This alone makes it awesome.
It starts with a good atmosphere in EP1, but i think it reaches its best in EP3 and some part of EP2.
The cons are the weapon viewmodels, especially the mp5, it doesn’t align with the crosshair. so you don’t know exactly where you’re shooting. another one are the sudden zombie spawns, many of them occur in EP1 which is a bit of cheap tactic. Another one is the enemies are bulletspongy on higher difficulty, at least in my case. Well, this doesn’t matter much in the earlier maps but gets really hard towards the end, when – for example – fighting bulls and the helicopter. I tried most of time to avoid them but sometimes you had to fight and there was no escape. There were some unnecessary weapons like wrench and shovel, maybe one would have been enough. The flamethrower was very weak to use or felt weak.
I forgot to mention there are friggin chickens in this mod and they’re formidable! Level design are
mostly top-notch if you ask me, for example, the asylum, hospital, the countryside and farm; A lot of gorgeous scenery that looked amazing for an old mod.
Also, not to mention the attention to details too; I liked the log recording system which reminded me of system shock 2, even the voice acting there was perfectly done.