Nuclear Winter

Nuclear Winter — an ambitious mod that tries to go beyond typical fan projects and give the player an almost full-fledged adventure with its own plot, new scenes, and unusual atmosphere.

The story unfolds in the early 21st century, when the USA conducts campaigns against terrorism in the Middle East, leading to a split in the world community and Russia and China's withdrawal from the UN. In 2009, Arab countries invade Israel, and although the USA and Britain come to help, the conflict ends in defeat. The use of tactical nuclear weapons and India's fall under Pakistan's strikes plunge the world into chaos. In 2010, the Eastern Alliance is formed under Russia's leadership, including China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Middle Eastern countries, quickly capturing vast territories and establishing a new "cold peace." Seven years later, the alliance employs cloaking technology and launches a covert nuclear attack on US cities, after which their forces land on the American coast. Despite enormous losses, the Americans don't surrender, and at the height of this war, Corporal Adrian Shephard enters the battle.

From the very beginning, everything seems familiar, but gradually the story becomes darker and takes on post-nuclear tones. Radiation, mutants, and urban locations set the tone, while individual scenes like fighter jet battles or tank encounters look very spectacular and add excitement. Urban levels stand out particularly, including a zoo and a skyscraper with helicopters — an unusual solution for Opposing Force-based mods. The atmosphere is complemented by zombie mutants, explained by "radiation," and occasionally grotesque scenes with characters and posters from the good old Xena: Warrior Princess series, which give the project the author's signature touch.

However, there are plenty of weak points. The voice acting turned out poorly: voices sound juvenile, microphones fail, and dialogues with endless "maaaan" quickly become annoying. The musical accompaniment in the form of looped riffs is also tiresome. Maps are large but often suffer from blockiness and disproportion — a legacy of early HL modding period, though by the release time (2002), players expected more. Battles with enemies, especially Black Ops, are far from ideal: enemies become "bullet sponges," making firefights drawn-out and lacking dynamism.

Still, the mod has many strong points. Well-designed puzzles using explosives don't let you get stuck, cutscenes add dynamism, and the final escape makes the ending tense and spectacular. Despite rough edges, Nuclear Winter feels like a cohesive and large-scale adventure with both gameplay experiments and its own style.

In the end, this isn't a perfect mod, but it remains a notable milestone among Opposing Force projects. It suffers from excessive ambitions and technical flaws, but simultaneously provides enough moments that make it worth playing through at least once.