Run. Think. Shoot. Live. Source. Black Mesa is the Half-Life 2 total conversion of the original Half-Life game. Utilizing the Source engine and its endless array of possibilities and powers, Black Mesa will throw you into the world that started the Half-Life continuum and introduced Gordon Freeman to the world as a gun-toting, bullet-dodging Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics.
This review may contain spoilers
Finally, after nearly half a decade in development, it's finally here.
I'll first congratulate the entire BMS team (Especially Cman2k + Raminator) on collaborating together for so long to produce Black Mesa: Source.
One thing is being a game developer is that you often know how thing's run under the hood of most games nowadays, removing the mystery and wonder of the game; but boy -- starting the mod, I was immediately swept away by the quality and detail put into each and every single map, model, animation and sound. It's as if a perfect musical conductor has tended to every corner of an old melody from years ago and has remastered it into perfection.
Story: Following Half-Life 1's plot to the absolute dot and rim; this mod has literally brought the kind of quality you would see out of Valve, I often times forgot I was playing a mod and not an actual game.
Gameplay: The game was well-balanced with the player capable of getting new weapons and enemies to combat simultaneously, level's didn't feel linear; allowing Gordan to come and deactivate a deadly turret on the path ahead, or find hidden batteries or ammunition in unexpected places. I was drowned in Half-Life Nostalgia.
Npc's were well balanced and surprisingly dynamic (especially allies) and did require more tactics and thought from the player as level's went on. Though playing on Hard, one of the biggest frustrating difficulties I'd run into multiple times were only HECU Grunts and the Helicopter.
Modelling/Art/Animation/Textures: Brilliant, totally brilliant. I did find however that some models and map area's had odd textures/Bump mapping that didn't look quite right when lit and refracted from they're surfaces, but otherwise looked beautiful.
Music/Audio: Voice acting was very well done, Xen creatures audio sounded sublime and matched well. The music wasn't the best honestly and oftentimes didn't fit the mood.
Mapping: Some clipping and a gaping hole once. Valve hire these guys. Kthx.