Back in 2005, there was a mod announced: Black Mesa: Source. It was to be a complete remake of the original Half Life done in the Source engine with fancy new graphics and everything remade from the ground up. However, suddenly the devs went silent and for several years, it seemed like it was dead in the water, even winning a place in Wired Magazine’s “Vaporware of the Year” in 2009 and 2010. Then in 2012, it blazed into release with an announcement that they would also have a pay for version on Steam eventually. That time has finally come and Black Mesa is on Steam… in Early Access… and still missing Xen… but it has Multiplayer and new, better graphics!

Given the dev’s track record, I'm especially wary of a game run by them on Early Access. This is now longer a case of “Well, if the devs go dark again, I guess we will be without a mod we all want” this is now a case of “What if the devs go dark again and people who’ve paid $20 are left in the dust.” Truth be told, the whole idea of a remake for a game being in Early Access just rubs me the wrong way. Though, I don't really see them jumping ship now that they have seemed to have really gotten into the swing of things. Also where the hell are the maps Crossfire and Datacore for multiplayer? The fondest memories I have of Half Life’s multiplayer is hitting the button in Crossfire’s bunker and then defending it from other players trying to avoid an explodey death and I’ve played Datacore so much, I could practically draw it from memory.