Half-Life: A Place in the West Reviews

Why do I love [b]HλLF-LIFE[/b], and by extension the [b]A PLACE IN THE WEST[/b] comic, so much? [i]This grew out of a shower-thought, so please bear with me.[/i] Anyways, why [i]Half-Life[/i]? Thinking about it, the game is an artfully assembled metaphor, an observant interpretation, boxed in an immersive sci-fi shooter game, filled with lush daydreams about [i]"carbon stars with ancient satellites colonized by sentient fungi"[/i]. But Half-Life is also about today's condition of man here on little Earth, about the developing definition of Humanity reaching an important crossroads. We as humankind face unprecedentend events in all our lifes, escalating geopolitical conflicts between warring empires, long-ranging meteorogical and climactic changes on our planet and, maybe most importantly for [i]us[/i], a crisis of our selves. Our millenia long battle of control over nature - starting with huggling together at rustling campfires, burning wood and woods to hold night's natural cold and darkness at bay; in the long run, also day's warm embrace during every shift in sterile, gray office cubicles - and of disciplining our minds through thought experiments, with elaborate ideologies, cultures and religions throughout history forming our dreams, our worldviews and our [i]approach[/i] to nature and reality: It all leads us today to a choice ([i]or rather to the illusion of choice?[/i]). Half-Life's lore presents this to us like in some dark, mystical mirror: will we "master" the crisis of Earth's "Resonance Cascade" by cranking up the cold-blooded control program of science against nature and our selves? Should we abolish science alltogether, reject our faculty of reason and strive again for unity with nature? Or will empathic realisation and understanding of our personal and scientific errors (we're still human after all) prevail? Will we become the reformed, indigenous Lambda Resistance or will we turn into the malignant, totalitarian bio-machine known as the Combine? [i]A Place in the West[/i] as a comic strips away the limitations of riding on a rail (pun intended) while exploring story implications in a linear shooter game, and introduces the reader to a colourful world of philosophical nuances and a thought-out cast of excentric characters, each and everyone plagued by their own figurative (or maybe even real) demons. The talented writer and his artistic team explore in this book of art - in the best tradition of weighty tomes like Charles Eisenstein's [i]The Ascent of Humanity[/i], Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy's [i]Out of Revolution[/i], or even sci-fi classics like Isaac Asimov's [i]Foundation[/i] and Stanisław Lem' [i]Solaris[/i] (maybe in an easier digestible, more aesthetically pleasing way) - what it ultimately means to be Human and where progress (or "progress") can and maybe will lead us. Is there (transcendent) purpose? Is crisis damnable, and can we learn from it? Are emotions, empathy and our morality a hinderance for evolution, or maybe rather the key? Are (trans)humanism and nature compatible, and should life even be "mastered"? Should the risk and danger of failure stop our curiosity? Is G-Man a no-good, obsessive-compulsive hoarder, with more competent agents of influence just like Gordon? If such questions really fascinate you, if looking like a geek fathoming about them in front of your friends (like I do) doesn't bother you, and if ravishing art really is your thing, I implore you to take the first chapters of [i]A Place in the West[/i] (they're free!) and start reading them right now. They will be worth your [i]time[/i].

I love this work it has a great artstyle, a great storyline and it is a great extension to the Half-Life Universe with an other point of view. 11/10 Edit: fixed some typos.

Absolutely fantastic comic book series revolving around a group of survivors in the half-life universe. You can even read the first chapter for free to see if you like it or not!

It's good fanmade comic. Great little bite of half lifey goodness for those who need a fix. Considering it's a comic, I won't go into the story as that would defeat the point. It has a nice art style, expands on the Half-Life mythos a little bit. I woudln't call it a compelling read by by any stretch, but a fan of comics or half-life with some time to burn should enjoy it. One thing is nobody knows if they will actually finish the series. Plus there are achievements, which are nice.

The writing for this is all over the place. There were, what, three flashbacks? It's the first chapter, just show it all happening in order. The pacing is completely off, as well; it feels like I was hurtled through the story as fast as possible to the point where someone giving anything more than a bare-bones summary of the comic would end up giving a page-by-page recreation of it. The characters don't even seem like real people. If you really must go into this, view it more as a pantomime than something resembling a more serious tone. Oh, and the characters are so forgetable that I can't remember their names, it's just Alcoholic Saddy Daddy, Plucky Girl, Vortigaunt and Supporting Characters. If you want something with a bit more punch, a story and characters which have actual... well, character, I heartily recommend the Team Fortress comics as a starting point.

im in love with this comic and am on my hands and knees begging everyone to read it. its so fun and interesting, the characters are charming and multi-dimensional, and the world is so alive. its fascinating to explore what a post rescas america looks like and how on earth people are coping with the fallout

It's really interesting to see the Half-Life universe in the point of view from citizens and refugees. It has a pretty interesting story and the characters are great too. Now if Valve would make a Half-Life comic, that would be extraordinary

I used to really really like this comic but the more I go through this comic, the less I understand what is even going on anymore. I'm really lost with this story and it just didn't doesn't feel like Half-Life. it feels like some other story that will out of no where chuck in a Half Life reference without really making it part of the actual story. There's a lot of potential in the Half Life universe but I don't think this is it anymore. I feel they've over complicated the story with too many moving pieces and lost what made this interesting in the first place. It also adds a lot of its own lore to Half-Life but way too much too quickly. Hopefully it'll get better but I have just kind of lost interest in this now.

Stunning art and insightful writing. Set far from both Half-Life 1's Black Mesa Research Facility and Half-Life 2/Half-Life Alyx's City 17, APITW explores the fallout from the Black Mesa Incident and the Seven Hour War in a way not done by the games; While the Combine do exist, they are a distant threat, unaware of the remaining human survivors in North America, who are trying to build a life for themselves in the ruins of a world gone to hell. Whether you're already a fan of the Half-Life series, looking to find out what the fuss is all about before you try the games, or just looking for something to read, A Place In The West is a good place to go.

Great little comic story about Half Life Universe. Really amazing work for free. The commentary i only watched 8 mins is great also. Support this little but amazing good/ friendly developer, to play the game. I give 77 % for "Comic Fans" & 82 % for achievement hunters (you can get them very fast/ easy). Thx 4 reading.