Krystal the Fox returns to… Half-Life 2?
Krystal replaces Alyx Vance in this Half-Life 2 mod — now complete with voice acting by her original actor Estelle Ellis.
Game modders really can do anything. Give them the right equipment and they can make some downright impressive new content for old games, be it new characters or levels or overhauls to the game’s systems. With companies like Valve offering official support and tools for game mods, the possibilities for some games are endless. Case in point: there’s a Half-Life 2 modification that adds fan favorite Star Fox character Krystal into the game.
Modder Gagnetar has been working on this mod for a few years now. Krystal replaces Half-Life 2 female lead Alyx Vance in the game, with the model changed to Krystal’s appearance in Star Fox Assault. That’d be interesting enough, but here’s the real kicker: Estelle Ellis, the original voice actor for Krystal, lends her voice for this mod as well.
It’s certainly an odd way to return to such an iconic character. It’s even stranger considering Ellis hasn’t taken a video game role since Perfect Dark Zero in 2005. And yet it lends an air of authenticity to this mod that makes it stand out amongst an already expansive amount of content.
See a preview of the mod below, courtesy of Gagnetar on YouTube:
Porting Krystal to Half-Life 2 complete with voice acting
The first version of this mod released in 2017, with an updated version featuring better model rigging following in 2018. Recently, however, Gagnetar has begun replacing Alyx’s voice lines with new lines supplied by Estelle Ellis. The mod even features an updated script, altering lines specific to the Half-Life character to work better for Krystal. (Though in this humble writer’s opinion, the script changes are a bit much. But that’s probably my huge Half-Life fan bias shining through.)
So how did Gagnetar convince Ellis to return to the role? Apparently, they’ve been in communication for a while, and it was simply a matter of getting Ellis the equipment necessary to record her lines remotely.
The new version of the mod with Ellis’ voice acting isn’t available yet. In the meantime, you can learn more about the mod and download the current version here. The mod is compatible with Half-Life 2 and its sequels Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two. You can also use the mod with the Half-Life 2 multiplayer mod Synergy.
Via PC Gamer.
