Half life expansion question

[Sarevok]

So I have decided to play the Half Life games. At the moment I am trying to finish Half Life 1. Excellent game with great AI. The marines in this game are nearly as good as the overrated Replicas from FEAR. Hard to believe HL was made in 1998 !

Now I got one question. Before I move to HL 2 do I need to play the expansions to HL 1 ? Will I be missing any plot points if I dont ?

[DPDarkPrimus]

No, the Opposing Force and Blue Shift games are seperate.

Adrian Sheppard, the main character from OF, hasn't been seen at all outside of his own game, and while Blue Shift gives an explanation as to how Barney escapes Black Mesa, it's not required to play.

[Uraniun235]

Excellent game with great AI. The marines in this game are nearly as good as the overrated Replicas from FEAR. Hard to believe HL was made in 1998 !

I wouldn't say the AI is extremely sophisticated. It was tremendously better than what came before it, but what really made the HL marines stand out was the detail and care that went into crafting the scripted actions which the AI drew upon.

I'd be interested to learn just how much enemy AI has actually grown since HL, and how much of the improvement since then has merely been more detailed and sophisticated scripted actions (player tosses grenade; marine runs away from grenade).

[AidanMcfay]

While HL2 does not need Blue Shift and Op4, both expansions are awesome. Its fun running into places you've been before as someone else.