Video game censorship is very much a thing, and every country seems to have their own way of going about it. Some are fixated on covering boobs and butts while others have issues with blood and guts. Germany is known for the latter. The original Half-life is one of the most infamous examples of blood and guts censorship, with human enemies being replaced by robots, blood-less enemy deaths, springs spewing from Barnacles, and friendly NPCs that sit down and shake their head when you shoot them (before they disappear).
It's certainly awkward and incredibly goofy, but those days are apparently over according to Schnittberichte, who reports that Half-life's entry in the Germany's catalog of censored games has been “prematurely” removed. Valve is now free to sell the standard version of the game in Germany, and it would certainly seem like a relatively safe way to bag a few extra Euros.
Here's what is probably the most comprehensive video of all of the German version's alterations.
Source: [Schnittberichte via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
