This is a far, far cry from the desultory copy and paste job that was the official Half-Life: Source. In Valve's later Half-Life adventures zombies became rather combustible - so now, an early threat to Black Mesa's health and safety record are the flares that can be tossed at headcrabbed scientists with flaming results.Īdd to all this the wider levels, fewer loads, smashable glass, cinematically crumbling bridges, rooms of sleeping Houndeyes and physically weighted Bullsquid flob then you've genuinely got a Black Mesa experience that's as revamped as it is authentic. The advent of physics, for example, means that the hanging crates you leap between gently sway, while objects are picked up, thrown and merrily ricocheted around military camps after explosions. This all said, Source doesn't just mean a face-lift for the facility - the way the whole secret scientific enterprise works must be subtly upgraded too. What was once a boring old control room for an industrial lift, too, can now be littered with impressively decorated screens and a mug with a picture of the Chuckle Brothers on it. What was once a large room frequented by a couple of tables and some antsy headcrabs, for example, can now suddenly be reimagined as a workplace cafeteria. Much of this comes, clearly, with the relentless march of progress. 'Barney! I just love what you've done with the place!' It's like returning to school for a ten year reunion, only to have your mind gently boggled by the fact that they've built a new science department and that the teachers, somehow, now appear to be human beings.Īs with the original game the best character in the game is Black Mesa itself - the incalculably vast facility that acted as something of a fore-runner to Portal 2's treatment of Aperture Science. As a result, the game can and will surprise, making the biggest impact on the more elderly and forgetful players who first piloted Freeman towards Xen in the days of yore. They've toyed with level lay-outs, the order you pick up weapons, which enemies crop up where and even where you first discover that fateful crowbar. The security guard performing CPR on the scientist, the collapsing computer units, the lift that not only took you downwards but (gasp!) rotated at the same time.Īt the edges of both the iconic and every-day moments that Half-Life permanently embossed onto your memory, however, are the grey areas that the Black Mesa team have filled in with some of their own colour. First and foremost, of course, it's a fantastic remake: every stupendous moment of Valve's original masterpiece has been replicated in glorious modern technicolor.Īfter that unfortunate resonance cascade, for example, you'll see Source powered renditions of the Anomalous Materials Greatest Hits that amazed you the first time round.
#Black mesa scientist for free#
The Black Mesa project was finally released for free last Friday, and it's more than a dodgy cover version. A tight edit of the familiar, the sublime and those ridiculous scientist ties, this free re-imagining of Half-Life is packed with new dialogue, subtly altered levels and all the fiery and physical powers that the Source engine can imbue.
#Black mesa scientist mod#
The mod should last around 30 to 45 minutes.” Danys007 goes on to explain how the project is a “work in progress” and “there will be a lot of changes and maps to be added.It's Black Mesa, but not quite as you knew it. “I’m new at Half-Life mapping, but I actually got pretty good already because I’ve been mapping for the game Black Mesa for two years now and Jackhammer is pretty similar to Hammer Source with a few differences of course.
“Half-Life: Out of the Dark is my first Half-Life mod ever,” Danys007 explains. RELATED: Stasis Is What You Get When You Cross Half-Life With Inscryption
The mod in question, Half-Life: Out of the Dark, is about a scientist “experiencing the after effects of the Black Mesa facility.” The mod promises to be “action packed with a bit of easy puzzling.” The campaign will apparently take about an hour to get through from start to finish.
Someone going by the name of Danys007 is currently working on a Half-Life mod which lets you assume the role of a Black Mesa scientist. Players wondering what it would be like to work in a top secret science laboratory now have something to satisfy their curiosity.