Reviews - Sizifus

An unexpected masterpiece, this mod has been a joy to play through from start to finish. Considering the amount of content this mod brings to the table, I wouldn't mind calling it the Opposing Force of the Half-Life 2. The story of this game has been for the most part confidently put together, it respects the lore and manages to explore it in ways that were not done in the retail games. I wouldn't mind this game become part of the canon - it expands the world of Half-Life in meaningful ways and retains the mystery of its universe. Definitely one of the GOAT of Source mods

After a long and bit frustrating wait the "Black Mesa: Source" is finally here. So what my initial thoughts? The game is good, it captures the essence of original game and puts it in to today's standards. Mission accomplished: I think this mod is a worthy remake of the original (well, most of it).

Analysis:
The atmosphere felt new and unique, but also nostalgic. The detail, which was put into the maps is nothing less than amazing, proving that Source engine is still alive and kicking (even putting to a shame some of the FPS triple A titles).

Voice acting was superb (most of the time), but soldiers voices felt bit out of the place, cliched. I know, the whole plot of Half Life is bit over the top, at that regard, but I don't think it wanted to be nothing but a parody of itself or Hollywood blockbuster sci-fi logic, but knowing, that HL spawned a quite serious plot in HL2. The voice shouldn't be the reason of detachment from soldiers, their motives and actions are quite enough

The overall gun and arsenal design were more or less top-notch (well at least for me), I really don't have anything else to say. Every gun in Gordon's hands felt like they should.. Natural.

*Spoiler*
The only problem I had with the mod was a sudden cut of the game before the final act. I know that team worked on this project hard and long, but such cliffhanger really put me off track and hurt the narrative (even if we know how Half-Life ends, most of us). The lambda stage really gets you pumped and ready to go to Xen, but the narrative suddenly stops. Just like that. With such separate epilogue I cannot call this a full remake. Not yet. But this situation made the flow of story, well... Broken.
***
Other issues are mostly performance, few crashes, bit of lag and some graphical hiccups. Nothing major.

Amazing remake, but some of the issues bothered me too much to give this 10/10. However I recommend this both to hardcore fans of the series and the newbies. 9/10, this is one hell of a package

One of the best mods around. The maps and their architecture are top notch, gameplay is stellar, story was simple, yet sucks you in quickly. The simplicity of it was the main reason why it worked so well. All acts felt suspenful and very opressing, the atmosphere was isolating and cold.
This mod is an absolute classic. By the way, this mod has most amazing OST I have heard in a mod. Maps looks great and well polished, gameplay is sellar, story and the mood are just right. If you've haven't played it yet, I say, you're missing a lot

Although architecture of maps need a lot of brush work, the gameplay was half-decent. For a quick fun, give it a try