The final version was released on Steam today. Black mesa – remake of the first part Half-life. A team of loyal fans of the game began working on the project in 2004, and only by 2015 did he get to early access. Five years later, enthusiasts brought the matter to an end. Yes, you understood correctly: Black mesa along with the long-suffering world, Zen lived to see the release. We tell you why this is important.
After fifteen years of development, dozens of broken deadlines and beta testing conducted by a fan remake Half-life finally leaves early access and receives the cherished digits “1.0” in the version number. During this time, two generations of game consoles managed to change, and the engine Source acquired an heir and, as it seemed, ceased to be relevant. Yes there Valve managed to announce a full continuation of the legendary series of shooters – it’s just some kind of madness! But it is in the light of the imminent release Half-Life: Alyx (the events of which occur just between the first and second parts of HL) it seems that now is the best moment for a full release Black mesa.
About the main part of the remake, covering events from the introductory trip on the monorail to the cleaning of the Lambda complex, it has already been said enough, since it became available to the players back in 2012. We proceed immediately to the main thing – the last episodes of the game, unfolding in the border world called Zen. For their development Crowbar collective a good half of the time has gone. Many were perplexed: “What to do there? Four levels, two of which are boss battles. Yes, all this content in the original Half-Life could be easily run in an hour and a half. ”
But Xen is a special snowflake and requires a special attitude. Even the staff Valveincluding himself Gabe Newell, have repeatedly recognized that the last act of the game was not worked out enough, and if the developers had a second chance, they would have changed a lot there. This chance ultimately went to a team of enthusiasts who made a strong-willed decision to thoroughly remake Xen and, as it seems, approached a difficult job with all possible responsibility. But was their effort enough?
Gordon, it seems to me that we are no longer in Black Mesa
First of all, Xen looks amazing. Say that Crowbar collective squeezed out of the engine all the juices would be an understatement. If earlier there could still be doubts, then a full release removes all questions – Black mesa this is by far the most beautiful game on Source engine for all its long history. Fans of looking at textures point-blank, of course, will face cruel disappointment, but the function of immersion in an absolutely alien and unexplored world of the local environment – from skybox and colors to alien flora and fauna – is more than fulfilling. Such spacious and elaborate spaces in the first Half-life never been before.
The gray-green paths suspended in the air and the angular platforms from the original cannot be compared with the local splendor. Most of the work is done by dynamic lighting, glare and shadows. Screenshots do not give a complete picture of the beauties of Xena – they bloom exclusively in motion. For the last five hours stretching Black mesa never for a second does the feeling that this world lives, breathes and wants to kill you let go. And he copes with the latter much better than his inferior brother from the late 90s.
A protective suit can be recharged from luminous crystals – believe me, this will come in handy
The point here is not so much in Xena’s overgrown bestiary (an unexpected meeting with a zombie scientist is more likely to be a reminder that Gordon is not the first person to set foot on this earth) or in the number of enemies. The main thing is that the developers Black mesa changed in Xena from the gameplay point of view, except for the changes already familiar from the first half of the game, these are bosses. Let’s be honest, in the original, none of them posed a great danger to the player. The last opponent seemed to be an absurd joke. It is enough to recall that in his arsenal there was exactly one attack that could cause damage, and even that one could easily hide behind the rocks, unceasingly shooting a helpless freak.
IN Black mesa the leader of intruders from another world will give a light even to seasoned fans of shooters. Throughout the battle, which can now rightfully be considered a worthy end to the adventure, you cannot stop for a second. If you dodge one attack, be sure: the boss is already preparing the next. In the fight choreography, the double jump, which performs the function of dodging, is significantly improved compared to the original. In the battle with the uterus of headcrabs, one can not do without it either. This battle extends to a whole level and sometimes resembles the scene from the movie “Remember”, where the protagonist loses his memory in the midst of the chase and wonders: “Is it I who is chasing that guy, or is he chasing me?” The hunter and the victim here can change places in the blink of an eye, and adrenaline rolls over.
Fighting the head womb of the headcrabs – a grueling endurance race
Just don’t think that the updated Zen is perfect – oh no! And most of his problems, like twenty years ago, lie in level design – uneven, like the slopes of local hills. The first steps on the lands of the border world, the flight from the flock of gargantua, the battle with the final boss and the ending definitely lay claim to the highest lines in the list of the most vivid scenes of the entire remake. But at the same time over the last few hours Black mesa you are very likely to find at least one moment for which the game wants to hate. Here everyone will find poison to their taste.
Judging by the reviews, most of the complaints from the fans were caused by platform segments in the penultimate chapter. Before diving into the new Zen, I reshooted the original Half-life, and compared to the local jumps, the local platforming did not cause me much suffering – physics Source saves. But in the dark and confused corridors of the uterus’s ridge of the headcrabs, I repeatedly pressed Alt and F4 into the keyboard in a fit of despair. And this is not the only point that raises the classic question: “Where the hell should I go?” Compliance with the spirit of the old school is, of course, good, but not in cases where it interferes with the gameplay. Finally, Black mesa not without bugs. It’s no harder to get stuck in textures than 20 years ago, and I even had to pass one of the levels from scratch due to the stupid AI. However, the most obvious flaws will almost certainly be repaired by patches, and the shortcomings of the level design will not cancel the fact that it is several times better than what we saw in the original.
Vortigaunts who terrorized Gordon the whole game turned out to be quite a friendly folk
Black mesa – still an exceptional case in the modern gaming industry. The stigma of the “fan project” has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it saved developers from a lot of problems. It’s scary to imagine that the public would create any AAA games with the authors if they allowed themselves to postpone the release date as creators Black mesa. Command Crowbar collective I worked at my own pace, and the players eventually got a “fan project”, which has no analogues either in scale or in depth of study. On the other hand, none of this could have happened. Development Black mesa started with a group of lovers Half-lifewho were unhappy with how she herself Valve in 2004 transferred to the engine Source game of their childhood, and decided to prove that they can do it much better. Rightholders could instantly destroy any efforts of presumptuous arrogant – this happens all the time. But Valve allowed Black mesa happen and benefit from it seems to be all.
Perhaps this is the best battle in the history of Half-Life
In an ideal world, development history Black mesa should have become a sobering slap for all game companies trying to tie their fans’ hands. In a world where Bethesda forbids Vasyan777 to remake Doom, a Nintendo trying to remove all stunning copies from the network AM2Rmany times superior to official reprints Metroid 2, Black mesa – a project kissed by god. Or Gabe Newell, who really believes in whom. Monument to fan love and respect.
Six minutes of Black Mesa gameplay in the world of Zen. Source: IGN
Will it Valve is this story poorer? Yes, hell with two. What looks more likely is the scenario in which a new generation of gamers who discovered the universe Half-life thanks to the fan-made development, it will rush to go through the second part, or even completely break into the nearest online store to order Valve index awaiting the upcoming VR hit. Development Crowbar collective It’s best to prove that it’s time for developers to stop being afraid of their own fans. Even if for every similar success story there are a dozen terrible crafts like Hunt down the freeman – they will still perish in the abyss of history, but Black mesa take a deserved place on the top of the mountain from their corpses.
