The environments are much larger, with new puzzles, some excellently orchestrated new set pieces, and the best graphics in the game. Instead of editing down the ‘Xen’ levels, Black Mesa expands them considerably, so they no longer feel like a tacked-on afterthought from a completely different game. Why Rockstar is a better game developer than Ubisoft - Reader’s Feature Remaking them is one of the main reasons Black Mesa has taken this long to complete, and it’s easy to see why given how much has changed. The most significant change though is to the game’s final four chapters, which despite Half-Life’s classic status were always rubbish. The chapter Surface Tension removes one of the main monsters and On a Rail is considerably shorter, and both work very much better as a result (oh, how we wish someone would take a similar approach to this with Alien Isolation). Not only is there a lot more detail to the geography of the levels (there are lots of minor new areas and security stations and the characters are no longer just clones of each other) but many chapters have been edited down to improve the pacing. But the most impressive aspect of Black Mesa is that it goes further than most remakes by actively improving and reediting the original design. Ordinary scientist Gordon Freeman turns up to work one day at his top secret research facility, when an accident opens up an interdimensional rift from which aliens immediately pour out (it’s a little known fact that the story was inspired by Steven King novella/movie The Mist and an old Outer Limits episode).īlack Mesa 1.0 – there’s a real survival horror vibe in some sections (pic: Crowbar Collective)īlack Mesa’s action and level design can still seem a little stiff and restrictive at times but given the age of the underlying game, developer Crowbar Collective has done an incredible job. That makes us hesitant to go into too much detail on the plot, even though it’s actually very simple. And while Valve didn’t say anything about the original Half-Life the release of Black Mesa, after all this time, hardly feels like a coincidence. Given how much time has passed since it first came out, all but the most committed fan will likely have forgotten what happened by now. With the upcoming release of Half-Life: Alyx, Valve has suggested fans reacquaint themselves with the cliffhanger ending of Half-Life 2: Episode two. Much like Valve themselves, they’ve not exactly rushed this final version, but given the quality is similarly comparable to Valve it’s difficult to complain.
#Half life 2 episode 3 black mesa tram mod
Black Mesa (named after the research base from the game) was first released as a fan-made mod in 2012, before Valve gave it their blessing as a commercial release. Valve’s lackadaisical attitude towards their franchises has always been a puzzle, although given what the Half-Life franchise probably would’ve turned into in the hands of a different publisher it’s arguable that their approach is still best. It was a similar story for Half-Life 2 in 2004, which turned up, in much reduced form, on Xbox a year later and Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 two years after that. The level of immersion and environmental interactivity was years ahead of anything else at the time and its influence can still be clearly felt today.īut while there was a PlayStation 2 version three years later (adapted from a canned Dreamcast port) it wasn’t particularly successful and most console gamers only know of the game indirectly, through its name and its impact on the industry. First released in late 1998, it not only revolutionised the single-player first person shooter genre but had an enormous impact on every type of game.
Half-Life may be one of the most influential video games ever made but to be honest, we’re not sure how many people have really played it. The fan-made remake of the classic Half-Life is finally complete, and the end result is a major improvement on the iconic original. Black Mesa 1.0 – the game that change first person shooters forever (pic: Crowbar Collective)