I’m a huge Half Life fan. And although Valve seems to be dragging their feet in releasing another Episode for the Half Life series it doesn’t mean that the modding community isn’t still actively working on it. After about 4 years of development a team of modders got together and re-did the original Half Life using the Source Engine! Read more about this half life 2 mods – Black Mesa to find out more about the game and where to download it!
Brief History Half Life
Probably one of the most popular FPS games in the history of gaming. Our favorite theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman and his EAV suit along with his trusty Crowbar is what brought Valve to popularity back in 1997. Originally released by Sierra gaming using a highly modified Quake engine it re-defined gaming back in the day.
As the hero Gordon Freeman you had to escape from Black Mesa after a major disaster hit an experiment. The infamous “Resonance Cascade Scenario”. Killing head crabs, teleporting to visit an alien race, and eventually having to fend off those trying to cover it up. It was filled with action and terror seldom found in any video game at the time.
Half Life 2 Black Mesa Mod
Since then it has pretty much sat on the shelf. Valve didn’t remake it using the latest Source engine. So a group of modders Leakfree and the Half-Life: Source Overhaul Project took it upon themselves to re-create the game using the new Source SDK from 2007.
And I can tell you right now – it looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!
Not only have they updated the game itself. They have tweaked the soundtrack and the dialog a bit too. I hadn’t realized how dated the game was until I really looked at it! They really have taken an old favorite and refreshed it to the 21rst century!
You can go to their home page Black Mesa Source here btw. They have an online community forum if you run into any issues I would try going there first.
Kotaku did a pretty nifty write-up on it as well. You can even look at the first few minutes of the game and see what has been changed. Beware the possibility of spoilers?
You can take a look at the YouTube comparison video below:
Where to Get It!
You can get it at GameFront now! Here is the direct link to the page to download the 3 files. Also note you’ll need the Valve Source 2007 SDK as well. But the good news is? It is FREE!
So go to GameFront’s Black Mesa page NOW and go get it already!
Files Needed for Install:
- File 1
- File 2
- File 3
- SDK Link: Click Here
How to Install/Play
- First get the SDK and install it. You will need to have the Steam client installed in order for the link above to work. I suggest after you have it installed that you restart your computer.
- Then you will need to download the 3 files I linked to. Place them all in the same folder then run the installer (as administrator). It should find everything and install the mod for you. From what I’ve read from the instructions you might have to get 7zip.
- After it finishes installing on your computer it should be good to go.
- You will need to open up your Steam client in order to play it! Enjoy!
So yea, some of the textures weren’t loading correctly. But the game does look amazing! Apparently you might have to download the 06 SDK as well as the 2007 SDK and I might have to manually force Direct X 9 to run? I’ll have to wait and see until I can get in front of the computer to find out!
Update: Resolved the issue above – Had to re-install the 2007 SDK to get the textures to show correctly.
Let me know what you think in the comments below. Did they do the game justice? Or is it a hack job?
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