# Please help me identify an old game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 5, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360 "2013-08-05T01:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/1 "2013-08-05T01:49:51Z")
My brother asked me to help him find a game, but he doesn’t remember much. apparently it’s from the late 90’s, kind of like a fps but not quite (¿?) he describes it as fps/rpg or fps/adventure. He also says you arrive at a military/scientific compound, there’s a plague or something like that and at some point you try to find a vaccine/cure, later it turns out they’re aliens. In the end you are trying to escape from a spaceship and the gate closes right before you get out, you turn around and you’re surrounded by enemies. I know the description is very vague at best, but if anyone knows what I’m talking about it would me very appreciated. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Recusant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@Recusant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recusant)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/2 "2013-08-05T02:59:44Z")
Unfortunately, that describes quite a few games- are there any more specific details you can give us? A specific year it was played (even if you don’t know the release date, it wouldn’t have been played before that), a platform, a character or weapon name, any unusual color or lighting details, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/3 "2013-08-05T03:30:26Z")
Sadly, no, he doesn’t remember much, he is pretty sure he played it somewhere between 96’ and 99’ but that’s it. He said it was like an fps but with some distinctive mechanics, something about hiding behind pillars or walls (you can do that in every fps, so there must be something different in this one :S), I’ve helped him find obscure games/movies before, but this one has me baffled. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/4 "2013-08-05T08:20:08Z")
What is “like an FPS but not quite”? Does that mean it’s a third-person shooter? Was it on PC or a console? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/5 "2013-08-05T12:39:21Z")
Sounds like a garbled description of Half-Life. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/6 "2013-08-05T15:36:38Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Sounds like a garbled description of Half-Life. That was my first thought as well. > **[Half-Life (video game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_(video_game))** > > Half-Life is a 1998 first-person shooter game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. It was Valve's debut product and the first game in the Half-Life series. The player assumes the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist who must escape from the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is overrun by alien creatures following a disastrous scientific experiment. The gameplay consists of combat, exploration and puzzles. > Valve was disappointed with the lack of innov... > **[Save 80% on Half-Life on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/70/)** > > Named Game of the Year by over 50 publications, Valve's debut title blends action and adventure with award-winning technology to create a frighteningly realistic world where players must think to survive. Also includes an exciting multiplayer mode... ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-identify-an-old-game/665360/7 "2013-08-06T02:27:33Z")
Shadowgrounds? [http://shadowgroundsgame.com/new/](http://shadowgroundsgame.com/new/) > **[Shadowgrounds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowgrounds)** > > Linux > September 16, 2009 > Mac OS X > Shadowgrounds is a top-down shooter for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, developed by Frozenbyte. The game takes place on a space colony on Ganymede which is being attacked by aliens. It was released for Windows on November 11, 2005, in stores in Finland and Germany, and in Spring 2006 in the rest of Europe and North America. > As well as being available through retail stores, the game began being distributed on Valve's Steam on May 8, 2006. The game was al... Granted, Shadowgrounds is about half a decade after the time period, but it fits the description.