The pack includes updated 3D characters, weapon and item models, often increasing the polygon count 10-fold over the 1998 originals. The Blue Shift package offers the Half-Life High Definition Pack as an option at the time of install. Originally, anyone with access to the back catalog, whether through an old copy of Half-Life or the Silver or Gold packs of Half-Life 2, could download Blue Shift for free, but this has since been discontinued.Ī fan remake is currently in the works that will see the whole game remade in the Source engine currently titled Guard Duty. As Barney, the player attempts to escape the alien invasion caused by the resonance cascade and the ensuing military cover-up.īlue Shift has now been released via Steam for USD $4.99. Like Gearbox's other expansions, Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Decay, Blue Shift returns to the setting and timeline of the original story, but with a different player character: the ubiquitous Black Mesa Research Facility security guard Barney Calhoun. Half-Life: Blue Shift, commonly referred to as Blue Shift, is the second stand-alone expansion pack for Half-Life, developed by Gearbox Software and was released on June 12, 2001.