Poke646 is a single-player mod for the computer game Half-Life. Set in an east German city, it concerns an alien outbreak. The mod features new weapons and enemies, and has many similarities with Half-Life 2. The lead designer, Marc Schröder, developed the game for his university diploma.[4][5] It has been often called one of the best single-player mods for Half-Life.
| Poke646 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Poke646 team |
| Designer(s) | Marc Schröder[3] |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | 21 December 2001[1][2] |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
A sequel, Poke646: Vendetta, was released in 2006. Anniversary Edition was released on 21 December 2016, the 15th anniversary of the original game. It bundles both Poke646 games and updates them to current versions of Steam and Half-Life.[6]
Plot
editThe game takes place 13 months after the story of Half-Life in Nation City. The player character is Damian Reeves, a technical assistant to Dr. Fuller at Poke646, an organization set up to investigate alien-related issues after the Black Mesa incident. Poke646 discovered an alien plan to invade the city. They intend to counter it by building four beam generators, which when activated close all Xen portals in the city. Reeves is knocked unconscious in a storeroom accident and when waking up, he discovers that the city has been evacuated due to an alien invasion. The player's objective is to activate the generators and defeat the aliens.
Gameplay
edit
The game features eight new weapons including a steel pipe, two different kinds of nail guns, a double-barreled shotgun, pipe bombs, and an alien gun that shoots acid. There is a stamina system when using the pipe, the character swings slower and with less power if it's used for too long. There's also a device called the IUIC which is used to contact the people at Poke646. The game features two new alien creatures: Explotoad and the final boss enemy.[7]
Critical reception
edit| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| GameStar | 84%[8] |
| PC PowerPlay | 5/5[9] |
PC PowerPlay summarized: "Poke 646 is a fantastic HL mod that does justice to the feel of the original game and improves on it in several respects, while never giving players an unwanted sense of de ja vu."[9] Level praised the graphics and music, and noted the weapon arsenal as original. It was called one of the best single-player Half-Life mods.[10] The Games Machine said the graphics have been done excellently. Many of the puzzles were described as well-done and easy to solve but some were noted as frustrating and resulting in the player getting stuck for long periods. The combat was said to be the least impressive aspect of the game due to slow and predictable enemy artificial intelligence (AI).[11] Computer Gaming World named Poke646 the single-player mod of the year, saying it's commercial quality in every way. They also called the puzzles clever and the high-resolution textures beautiful.[12] One Planet Half-Life reviewer called it the best single-player mod ever.[13] Another reviewer called it an "excellent mod" that is on par with Neil Manke's mods and professionally produced Half-Life missions.[7] Another reviewer wrote: "Everything has been brilliantly done from the storyline to the new weapons down to the lowly little roaches. I have yet to find a single player mod that has been able to top Poke646’s magnificence."[14] The report Modding Scenes said the mod has "utterly professional production values" and textures of "exceptional quality".[5]
Poke646 was named as one of the best single-player mods by Mod DB in 2002 and 2003.[15][16]
Poke646: Vendetta
editA sequel to named Poke646: Vendetta was released on 21st December 2006, the fifth anniversary of the original game.[1] Due to its shorter length, it has been called an expansion pack.[17] Vendetta features a new gun, the PAR-21 assault rifle.[18]
Poke646: Vendetta's story continues on from the end of the first game and the player reprises the role of Damien Reeves. Damien Reeves plans to seek revenge for being betrayed by the Poke646 team and to stop the Poke646 scientists from destroying Nation City to stop the Xen invasion. The player fights his way through parts of the city again to reach the Poke646 headquarters and then the Alpha labs where Dr. Fuller and other staff are planning the nuclear clear out of Nation City. The player finds out that detonation charges have been placed in the conference room, and has to find the detonator. After battling with a large Robot, the player finds the detonator and detonates the conference room, killing everyone inside, including Dr. Fuller. A cut scene reveals Damien reading a letter from a Vice-President of Poke646, saying he has been promoted for his actions and someone from administration will be there soon. A door opens revealing a man in a suit with a briefcase (his face is not seen), he simply says: "Quite a nasty piece of work, you managed over there. I am impressed." His voice reveals the identity of the G-Man from the Half-Life series.
PC Action gave a rating of "outstanding" and praised the mod's level design, graphics, and soundtrack.[18] Planet Half-Life gave a positive review, they liked the graphics, and the soundtrack including music, ambient sounds, and sound effects.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b "Poke646: Vendetta Release". Planet Half-Life. GameSpy. 21 December 2006. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
Five years ago today, the critically acclaimed Half-Life® singleplayer modification "Poke646" was released [...]
- ^ "Downloads". Poke646. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
The „Poke646: Annniversary Edition" was released on Dec 21st 2016, the 15th anniversary of the original „Poke646" release [...]
- ^ "Team". Poke646. Archived from the original on 2 April 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "POKE646". Marc Schröder (in German). Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ a b Laukkanen, Tero (2005). "Modding Scenes - Introduction to user-created content in computer gaming" (PDF). Trepo. University of Tampere. p. 58. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ "Poke646: Anniversary Edition". Mod DB. DBolical Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ a b Yahtzee. "Poke646 Review". Planet Half-Life. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 5 February 2002. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
- ^ "Gamestar results". Poke646. 6 February 2002. Archived from the original on 28 March 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
I don't think that 84% is such a bad rating for a hobby mod and free web download, eh?
- ^ a b Lee, Derek (March 2003). "Mods - Half-Life Poke 646". PC PowerPlay. No. 84. Nextmedia. p. 86. ISSN 1326-5644.
- ^ Locke (March 2002). "Mods - Poke646". Level (in Romanian). No. 54. Vogel Publishing. pp. 58–59. ISSN 1582-1498.
- ^ Della Calce, Andrea (February 2002). "Fragzone - Mod del Mese - Half-Life: Poke646". The Games Machine (in Italian). No. 153. Xenia Edizioni. pp. 90–91. ISSN 1129-2326.
- ^ Baker, T. Byrl (April 2002). "Extended Play: Homebrew - Homebrews of the Year!". Computer Gaming World. No. 213. Ziff Davis. p. 39.
- ^ Stylez. "Mod of the Week - Poke646". Planet Half-Life. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 11 January 2002. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
- ^ Hall, Gregory. "Featured Mod - Poke646". Planet Half-Life. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
- ^ INtense! (7 January 2003). "2002 Mod of the Year Awards - Best Single Player Mods for 2002". Mod DB. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
- ^ BlueWolf72 (13 December 2003). "2003 Mod of the Year Awards - Best Single Player Mods". Mod DB. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b your evil twin (13 January 2007). "Featured Mod - Poke646: Vendetta". Planet Half-Life. GameSpy. Archived from the original on 13 February 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
- ^ a b Bertits, Andreas (April 2007). "Mods & Maps - Half-Life - Komm zur Rache, Schätzchen!". PC Action (in German). Vol. 12, no. 134. Computec Media. p. 122. ISSN 0946-6290.