Black Mesa

As if Half-life 1 wasn't already a masterpiece, we get a lovingly crafted remake by devoted fans that stays as true to the original in all the places that matter, and dramatically improves on the areas that haven't aged quite well. I wouldn't say its necessarily a blanket improvement over the original, but while i'm usually the kind of person to say people should play the originals and ignore the remakes, i'd never question someone playing only Black Mesa and not the original.

The only aspect of the game i'm not 100% on is the Vortigaunt village sequence near the end, since it seems like a weirdly heavy handed way to try to bridge hl1 and 2, but its still a very well done sequence gameplay wise, and overall I prefer it more than the original Xen.

A confusing mix of immersive narrative experience on the one hand and decidedly un-immersive boomer shooter / first person platformer on the other. The former definitely has potential, with an intriguing premise, a generally well-drawn and atmospheric setting, and, most interestingly, thoughtful use of design to ground the player in the setting, the role of Gordon Freeman, and the events of the narrative. The opening section in which you tour the Black Mesa facility and then gradually prepare yourself for the impending disaster epitomises this approach.

Unfortunately, however, more moderately-paced immersive sections like the one described above rarely take centre stage beyond the opening and a smattering of short-lived sections later on (e.g. the first time you enter a vortigaunt village in the Interloper chapter). Instead, the bulk of the game plays like a standard boomer shooter / retro platformer. As is typical of a shooter, these sections are filled with affectless, hyperactive violence divorced from any narrative context, which gets mind-numbing quickly (at least for me) and undermines the player's sense of grounding in the fictional world. Platforming and environmental puzzle-solving similarly lacks groundedness, and suffers from imprecise and bouncy first-person movement. And, perhaps most frustratingly, it's all far, far too long. Almost every chapter feels at least twice the length it needed to be, and the second half of each almost always drags, with the same basic elements being remixed to the point of tedium. The gameplay just isn't well-tuned enough to sustain this bloated length, with the result that I was virtually begging for the game to be over once I hit the final couple of Xen chapters.

Even when focusing attention solely on the game's more immersive moments, it's still fair to say that they have very minimal narrative content by modern standards, with little detail being added beyond the basic premise. There are no written sources to discover, for example. NPC interactions can be engaging, but there's much less acerbic wit and interesting lore here than you'd find in Portal, for example, despite this game having a very similar feel tonally.

Overall, despite being billed as a remake, Black Mesa still feels too much like a relic of another era, conceptually and mechanically. It has a fresh coat of graphical paint, and it's easier to get through due to an updated combat system, but the core hasn't really changed much in any meaningful way, nor has it aged well in my view. If you're a fan of vintage FPSs or retro games in general, or if you grew up with the original, you might enjoy this more than I did. But, for me, there just isn't anything here that stands out as being worthy of attention in the modern day, save the immersive design that's most present in the first ten minutes of the game's runtime.

Must play if you're a fan of narrative based fps. It's level design and flow is excellent and satisfying.

If you've read my review on the original Half-Life, then you'll know that while I enjoy that game, I feel there was significant room for improvement with its filler as well as when you arrive on Xen. Suffice to say, this fan made remake of that game addresses these issues and delivers a game with beautiful landscapes and little to no filler content that adds to the franchise by incorporating elements from the sequel and its expansion pack that weren't thought of during the first games development. You can check out my review of the original game for more info on what I love about these games, but suffice to say, this is the definitive version you should play.

La estética y la banda sonora son el fuerte de este maravilloso juego, es diferente a la del original pero igual de buena, la banda sonora es muy epica y contribuye a los climax del juego, el original tenia muy pocos momentos asi pero black mesa tiene mas lo cual es bueno por que esos momentos son geniales, no son repetitivos y ayudan a mantener el ritmo.

i really, really dont see how this doesnt improve upon the rating of hl1.