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If you'd rather hear a bit more from someone who's been there first however, read on. Perhaps now is the time to ask the stickiest question that many reviewers overlooked in the heat of those first heady days: What is the value of Black Mesa as a game by itself? Is it still fun for those who, pardon the pun, never played the source material? If you want to find out for yourself, it's available on Steam for just $19.99 (and usually less than that during their frequent sales.

#Black mesa research facility mp5 software

Meanwhile, Valve's new Source 2 engine is rapidly outpacing the capabilities of the aging software Black Mesa was built on (ironic given the code is a veritable tower of duct-tape with its origins stretching back to the original Quake ). Now, over half a decade later, with Half-Life 3 all but cancelled and the Xen chapter still in the wind with regards to a release, the nostalgia that drove the project and those who followed it has largely faded once more.

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For fans of the Half-Life series everywhere, Black Mesa was a glorious moment of triumph, where the passion of the fans triumphed over the cash-driven realities of the gaming industry to breathe new life into an old classic. Various other updates have added fresh features, like remixed level design, Steam Workshop support, and an integrated multiplayer death-match mode (a feature originally sold separately for the original Half-Life and it's sequel). Eventually Valve themselves took notice and negotiated to have it officially added to their Steam catalog, where it continues to receive updates and technical support while the creators work on finishing the final chapter. The only part not included were the Xen levels themselves, which due to their poor reception in the original game, were to be held back and given further attention until the devs felt comfortable with what they had made.ĭespite this minor hiccup, the downloads still poured in, and the project quickly won instant critical acclaim, gaining attention from numerous publications world-wide.

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The launch version, released for free on and other, similar sites, featured the almost the entire Half-Life experience, starting from Gordon Freeman's initial accident in the Sector C Test Labs to his desperate leap into the unknown dimension of Xen. Finally however, in 2012, Crowbar Collective (as they had come to call themselves) released Black Mesa, a labor of sweat, tears and coding designed to give gamers the truly re-imagined experience they'd so desired. For eight years, they struggled, pushing back their release deadline again and again, until their creation, known to the outside world as Black Mesa: Source, was viewed jokingly as vaporware doomed to forever remain in limbo in a fashion similar to the series' elusive third installment, Half-Life 3. Frustrated by Valve's behavior, a team of like-minded fans banded together to fulfill the vision of a Half-Life reborn not as a cheap, half-hearted graphical showcase, but as it was meant to be. In addition, it made only partial use of the new graphical powers of the Source Engine, leaving it looking both out-of-date and low-quality compared to the upcoming sequel.īecause of this and numerous other flaws, the so-called 'remake' was widely reviewed as a disappointing hack-job, made to cash in quick before the release of Half-Life 2 in November of the same year. However, it also left out many of the incremental updates made through the original game's expansion packs, like enhanced world and weapon textures, or smoothed-out sound effects. Yes, the new game offered enormous graphical touch-ups such as improved water, lighting and shadows, not to mention rag-doll physics (a unique and enticing new addition for the time period). However, while it delivered in some respects, for the most part it left all but the most nostalgic members of the fan-base feeling cheated. Touted as a remake featuring the best elements of their new Source Engine, Half-Life: Source promised a bold new experience for players looking to relive the original adventure of Gordon Freeman before the time came to experience his next chapter. As part of the build-up to the release of Half-Life 2, the much-acclaimed sequel to their magnum opus Half-Life, Valve Software released Half-Life: Source in June of 2004.