Time, Dr. Freeman?

“Shouldn’t you have been in the test chamber half an hour ago?” asks the scientist standing next to me. Quite possibly – I’ve been running around this lobby for the past 20 minutes just trying to see if I recognise any of the equations on the whiteboards. Between the unresolvable scribbles, I think I might just have seen the Schrödinger equation!

For those clueless as to the context of my equation hunting, I’m playing Black Mesa: Source. It’s a fan recreation of Valve’s PC hit, Half-Life, which was released in 1998. You are ‘mute’ physicist Gordon Freeman, whom whilst at work at the Black Mesa Research Facility, almost inadvertently creates the infamous Resonance Cascade scenario. Since the entirety of the game was played from a first person perspective (there were no cutscenes), the game was praised by many for its immersion.

But anyway, perhaps it would be more appropriate to label Black Mesa as a second attempt at Half-Life: Source; a direct port of the original game released on Valve’s then new Source engine in 2004. With few new features and seemingly little improvement over the original game, it was thought by some to be a lackluster effort by Valve. A group of fans of the original took it upon themselves to develop a new remake using freely available tools from the Valve’s Steam platform. True to Valve’s normal development time frames, the game was released in a mostly complete form eight years later, save for the final chapter.

I’m trying not to be accused of bias; however as a fan of the Half-Life series and other Valve games, it seems my patience has paid off. There is an attention to detail which will please fans of the original game, from the various control panels all the way down to the weapons. There are a handful of nice touches, with the on screen HUD showing weapon ammo much like the original and new effects too. Anyone with fond memories of backpedalling from hound-eyes whilst frantically trying to reload will not be disappointed. The soundtrack is also nice and refreshing; not a direct copy of the original, but a fitting inspiration.

I do have a few criticisms though. Despite the fresh graphics, the mechanics of the game haven’t really changed much. I’m not expecting the latest cover-based shooter tactics similar to the Call of Duty series, but it’s likely you will find yourself relying on quick-save quite often. The familiarity also makes it difficult to play sometimes, a few sections have been reworked, which hardcore fans may find jarring. It should be noted though, that it is technically based of the original game and not a direct copy, so it is to be expected.

Perhaps the most surprising thing of all is that the game exists at all, and is free to play. You might expect, that given complaints about heavy-handed attempts by publishers at enforcing copyright, that such a project would be squashed early on. However, Valve have not only allowed the game, but insist that it be distributed for free. The original requirement of owning at least one source engine game has also been dropped, and combined with the recent approval on Steam Greenlight, means that it will appear in the Steam Store right next to the original game.

So, if you’re at a loss for something to do on a Sunday afternoon, or you enjoyed the original game and its sequels, it’s worth a try. You can find it available at http://release.blackmesasource.com/. As the other scientist kindly reminded me; “We’re waiting for you Gordon, in the test chamber.”