But the layouts, geometry, and general sense of pacing are completely different. These new areas bear a passing resemblance to those in the original. Here, it could take a couple of hours or more depending on how quickly you move through it. To hammer it home, the original Xen chapter can easily be completed in just a few minutes. So it did the only sensible thing: redesigning the entire thing from scratch. When it came time to remake that, the team echoed the general sentiment that the last part of the game just wasn’t up to snuff.
One interesting thing about the development of Black Mesa is that it exists due to Crowbar Collective’s reverence for the source material. There are new things to find and new ways to go about progressing at times. Areas have been expanded or refocused in myriad ways. Looking at the rocky backdrops in Surface Tension in the original game and comparing it to the much larger, infinitely more believable vistas here truly makes for two very different experiences.Īnd in many instances, the level design is just different. Instead of just trying to make a 1:1 copy of the original game, many of the areas are re-imagined, so much so in some cases that it can be difficult to even recognize them. The game has an impressive sense of scale and the new visuals and sound effects go a long way towards making the narrative and events within it all the more effective.īlack Mesa is built on the Source Engine and, as such, looks and feels an awful lot like Half-Life 2. There’s more dialogue, more personality, and more detail all around. There’s a much greater variety with regard to the NPCs. Half-Life was a marvel of storytelling when it first released 22 years ago and Black Mesa only improves upon it.
The day begins at the Black Mesa research facility as Gordon takes part in an experiment that, naturally, has “unforeseen consequences.” Portals are opened and monsters come flooding into the place as Gordon moves around, fighting aliens and marines alike, in an attempt to make it out of this alive. You are Gordon Freeman, a bespectacled and voiceless scientist whose perspective you stay fixed to for the entire duration.
Can’t forget about Freemanīlack Mesa ‘s story is still very much as anyone who’s played Half-Life will remember.
It’s been a long wait and I’m happy to say that it was worth it. Another seven years and the Xen portions were done and, now, the entire shebang is finally entering 1.0. Sure, it wasn’t a complete remake of Half-Life at the time, but it was an impressive feat nonetheless. It’s hard to believe it’s been eight entire years since Black Mesa was first available to play.
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