THE BURTON EQUATION

Battle Combine across the 20th century in this Half-Life 2 mod.

- Christopher Livingston

Sure, Gordon Freeman taking on the Combine in City 17 is pretty cool. But what about a hard-boiled private detective taking on the Combine in 1920s Chicago? Throw in some Tommy guns, trenchcoats, and a gritty voiceover, and you've got The Burton Equation, a mod that turns Half-Life 2 into a noir shooter.

Don't worry, it's not all gunning-down gangsters: there's plenty of sci-fi in the mod as well. Did I mention there's time travel? There's time travel. You may start out in gangland Chicago, but you won't stay there for long. You can sit this fight out, Dr Freeman: Zachary Burton is on the case.

In the world of The Burton Equation, the Combine aren't quite the extradimensional alien invaders we're used to. They're more like an organized crime gang, stalking the city with Tommy guns, pistols, and clubs, wearing fedoras and trenchcoats. This is Chicago in the 1920s, the time of prohibition, corruption, and lawlessness that allowed bodyguard and bootlegger Al Capone to become the de facto mayor of the city. Only in this mod, the top gangster is a wiseguy named Fabreen, head of the Metro-Gang.

The only good cop left in the city is Zachary Burton. He's disgusted by the widespread corruption, and after being prodded by a mysterious woman to get off his keister and do something about it, he goes out to, Well, do something about it. After grabbing his fedora and revolver, he settles on a plan: he just starts shooting every single dang Combine thug in the city. Look, Half-Life 2 is a shooter, not a point-and-click adventure, unless you consider pointing a gun and clicking the fire button as a 'point-and-click'.