'Half-Life' Fan Remake 'Black Mesa' Now on Steam Early Access
Fans of the shooter game "Half-Life" can rejoice. A fan-made remake of the "landmark shooter" game of Valve is now available on Steam Early Access. Called "Black Mesa," it was earlier hinted through a countdown on a website of the Black Mesa Research Facility.
An earlier version of "Black Mesa" featuring only part one of the game was released in 2012. That version was free and only required Valve's free SDK source to play, according to a report in IGN.
This version now available on Steam will cost only $20, but the report says that since this is still under development, players can only expect it to contain story chapters up until Lambda Core. However, new additions on its multiplayer deathmatch and team deathmatch mode are present in this version, which features six "completely re-imagined 'Half-Life 1' maps." The following maps will be available: dm_chopper, dm_tension, and dm_office.
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The game being on Steam Workshop also meant that the community "can also contribute their own levels to Black Mesa's multiplayer mode."
The game's developer, Crowbar Collective, intentionally placed the game on Steam Early Access so that it will be "a tool for allowing our community to participate in the final phase of 'Black Mesa's' development," according to another report in Polygon. They also indicated their plan to "go beyond the original Xen chapters found in 'Half-Life.'" They added, "We have a standard of quality that we have to achieve. Early Access allow us to commit resources to bring you the remaining chapters with the quality that you expect."
In the IGN report, the developer acknowledged the role of the community in the game's development, saying, "Back in 2012 we made the decision to release what we have completed up to that point, and were blown away by the community's response, feedback, and improvements to our work."
This version of "Black Mesa" includes "more than 10 hours of the game's single-player campaign, according to the developer, as well as multiplayer -- deathmatch and team deathmatch -- on six "re-imagined maps from 'Half-Life:' Bounce, Gasworks, Lambdabunker, Stalkyard, Subtransit and Undertow."
When "Black Mesa" reaches 100 percent, it will cost $25. Those who buy it now will get the rest of the updates for free, when its available.
