Free mod for Windows
SMOD is a free mod for Half-Life 2 created by SMOD: Tactical Developer's Group for Microsoft Windows. Like Half-Life 2 Mirrored Mod and Half-Life 2 Beta Minimalist Mod, it aims to improve the original game in different ways. In this case, it adds a lot of content, including new weapons, branches in the story and gameplay features.
Half-Life 2 was released in 2004, and some take the game as obsolete given its age. SMOD is an excellent attempt at keeping the title alive and does so magnificently. Development began in 2012 and has continued ever since, so bugs from previous versions will have been solved by now.
New weapons and visuals
The immediate change in SMOD is the more than 20 new weapons. But that’s not all. You can also create new weapons and import others. There are improvements in these weapons, such as allowing you to look down the sight while holding them.
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There’s also bullet time which slows the time, a melee kick attack, and new NPCs. These include an attack drone, rebel Combine troops, super-soldiers and more. Together with the visual changes, they bring a completely new experience from the base game.
Lots of revised content
SMOD doesn’t only bring new ideas to the table. It also changes fundamental aspects of the original game to make it arguably better. For instance, weapons and objects can be used in different ways, such as throwing a crowbar to hit enemies.
But perhaps the most exciting part is that plot elements are changed, too. There’s a skippable episode and changes to a particularly infamous officer burning to death. Aside from that, some level of randomisation and branching offers new life to the title.
What the original should have been like
Undoubtedly, Half-Life 2 is a cornerstone of video games. It’s captivated players for decades and continues to do so. With SMOD, you get a package of exciting elements and ideas so good that you wish they’d been part of the original game.
One of the best parts of this mod is that it’s fully customisable, with console commands and the CFG files. It encompasses so much that it would be challenging to return to the original version after trying it. This mod is so popular that it aims to become a staple for any Half-Life 2 installation, allowing other mods to integrate with it.
