This article originally ran under a different banner/website in April of 2020 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.
I had finally done it. After multiple failed attempts, I had finally taken down the Nihilanth. Relief washed over me. As I sat back and waited for the infamous choice sequence, I could feel a strange atmosphere roll over me like a fog. Might have been the impressive visuals within the Xen levels of Black Mesa. Nonetheless, the explosion goes off and he appears just as I remembered; slick black hair, a sharp blue suit, and those bright emerald eyes. The G-Man himself. A mysterious force that seemed to be behind the events that transpired at the Black Mesa facility. I always enjoyed the sense of mystery behind the G-Man. How he always shows up just in time to pull Gordon Freeman out of danger; only to let you go free when it benefited his unknown employers. His alliance never fully answered. He’s certainly the question mark behind the Half-Life series.
“Mr. Doomsayer … in the flesh,” he said in his cryptic monotone voice, “or should I say … behind the screen.”
Huh, I thought, that’s new. Then again a lot of new things were added to Black Mesa. This could be a nice little touch to have the G-Man call the player out by their username on Steam.
“I assure you … Mr. Doomsayer … this is no easter egg.” the G-Man said directly to the screen, “while I am capable … of reading your mind … I hope we could speak more … formally as it will make the interview process … more professional.”
“Interview process?” I said bewildered, “what are you talking about?”
The G-Man merely smiled. The walls around my apartment appeared to deteriorate. Panels of the wall flew off into a swirling vortex located directly behind the G-Man. The walls were soon transformed into bits of metals that began to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Before I could fathom what was going on, I was aboard a Black Mesa tram bus with the G-Man standing ominously over me.
“Yes, the interview,” the G-Man said, his monotone voice more unsettling in person, “that’s why I am here … Mr. Doomsayer … I have recommended your services as a games reviewer to my … e-e-employers. They have authorized me to sit you down for an … interview … to see if you are as … particular about games as they say. They agree that you have limitless … potential. Please have a seat … and we will begin the interview.”
I wasn’t sure what to do. I was already sitting as it seemed my desk chair had changed into the tram seat. I just sat blankly staring at the G-Man as he took the seat opposite me and began rifling through some papers in his briefcase.
“Please … Mr. Doomsayer,” the G-Man said, trying to soften his tone, “it is always good to remain … relaxed during the interview process. You have nothing to … fear.”
Having finished both Half-Life 1 and 2 and more recently, Black Mesa, I knew that statement wasn’t true.
“So … Mr. Doomsayer”, the G-Man said, staring down at some paperwork, “it appears the last game that you have played is … Black Mesa. An interesting choice … considering your … distaste for the original Half-Life.”
“I wouldn’t say I hated Half-Life,” I defensively fired back, “I just felt its age made it impossible to understand the hype behind Half-Life. I spent more time cursing out the frustrating controls and platforming sections that I wasn’t able to appreciate the gunplay or story. It wasn’t until all those issues were cleaned up in Half-Life 2, that I was able to understand why people love the Half-Life series.”
“Why do you think … people like Half-Life so much?” asked my ominous interviewer.
“Well,” I said as I tried to carefully formulate my answer, “I can’t speak for everyone, but I enjoy the Half-Life series for its realistic yet still imaginative set pieces. I think the opening scene in the first Half-Life really highlights that; everything appears to be a normal day at work for Gordon Freeman until the world turned upside down. I was really happy to experience it all over again in Black Mesa.”
“Yes, I am sure you were,” said the G-Man in his usual monotone, “could you explain what Black Mesa is … for the benefit of my … e-e-employers.”
I could immediately feel a hundred pairs of eyes turn to me, but as I looked around I couldn’t see them. It was just myself and the G-Man sitting aboard the tram.
“Are … are they here now?” I nervously asked as the answer behind who G-Man worked for was never clear.
“Oh, no,” said the G-Man in his best comforting voice, “they will be seeing this soon enough, I assure you.”
“Well,” I hesitated, “Black Mesa is a fan-made remake of the original Half-Life in the Source engine used for Half-Life 2. The team behind Black Mesa, Crowbar Collective, were even able to get the blessing of Half-Life’s creator, Valve.”
“Ah, another remake” interrupted the G-Man, “you haven’t had much luck with … remakes, this year … have you Mr. Doomsayer? I remember you having many grievances with … Warcraft 3 Reforged … and Resident Evil 3. Did Black Mesa leave you … wanting more?”
“Well, to be honest,” I stated, “Black Mesa made me look back at Half-Life and realize how much I missed.”
The G-Man gave me a perplexed look.
“Well,” I tried to explain, “when I first played Half-Life I wouldn’t say I fully grasped the narrative. Sure, I knew I was a scientist hoping to avoid being killed by aliens and marines, but I never realized how involved Black Mesa, the company, was in the story. When I entered the Questionable Ethics level to see Alien Brutes and Headcrabs locked away for experimentation, I started to wonder if the alien forces are merely trying to push back from our invasion into their home. With the Residue Processing, it hit me just how much waste Black Mesa must produce over the years. Black Mesa almost feels on par with Umbrella Corporation in how much damage they are doing. A subtle Umbrella Corporation, that’s a horrific thought. Maybe, the military is right to come in and shut down Black Mesa.
“All these points were made in Half-Life, but I just never fully grasped them until I played Black Mesa. I am not sure why until now that I am noticing them. While I will never knock a game for its graphics, I do feel these themes can be lost when one of their many Einstein clones are eaten by a Barnacle in the original Half-Life. With Black Mesa’s updated visuals, scenes like the waterfall of toxic waste and caged Alien Brutes become almost unsettling as the gravity of it all sinks in. We are the bad guys. You can almost hear Jeff Goldblum asking if we were too busy asking if we could, to ask ourselves if we should.
“It also could have been the frustrating mechanics distracting me from Half-Life’s theme. I always felt like Gordon Freeman came to work on his rollerblades for how much he could slip and slide along the floor. While it helped with combat, it made platforming a nightmare. I remember in the original Half-Life, there was a chasm that you had to cross by jumping on these hanging shipping crates. Every time I jumped and landed on these crates, Freeman would almost take two extra steps forward without my input. Leading to me falling off these crates numerous times. Don’t even get me started on the Xen levels. When I reached the same chasm in Black Mesa, I was able to breeze through this platforming, because Freeman no longer controls like an ice skater.”
“It sounds like,” the G-Man interjected, “that Black Mesa captures everything Half-Life did correctly but polished the small imperfections.”
“Well,” I thought, “that might be true of the levels that take place within the Black Mesa research facility, but Crowbar Collective massively overhauled the last few levels that take place in Xen. Both the fans of Half-Life and even the developers themselves are noted for loathing these final levels. They feel very out of place in comparison to the journey through Black Mesa and often highlight how poor the platforming controls are. I have no doubt Crowbar Collective knew a massive overhaul of Xen was required.
“Luckily what they created was a world just as beautiful as it is hostile. Xen no longer feels like random three-dimensional levels crammed into the Half-Life world, but an almost poetic habitat to the famous Headcrabs, Bullsquids and Houndeyes. Some of my favorite sections of Xen were the abandoned Black Mesa research facilities. Desolate and crawling with Headcrab zombies, these facilities almost feel at home in a survival horror game. The atmosphere shifts from wonderous to downright terrifying as you realize you are the only surviving Black Mesa member in these dangerous uncharted lands. Even the fight with Gonarch received a massive facelift, as you spend more time running from her in scenes that feel like a sci-fi horror film. Xen perfectly showcases that Crossbar Collective is not just Half-Life fans, but true developers.”
“So … you would say Black Mesa … is perfect,” the G-Man asked with a crooked smile. Almost like he knew I had complainants.
“For starters,” I firmly stated, “I don’t believe any work of art can be perfect. I would say Bioshock is the closest to a perfect game, and I am willing to admit it has flaws. Certainly. Black Mesa is no different.”
“When I initially started playing through Black Mesa, I couldn’t get a good groove going due to the infamous loading screens that the Source engine is known for. I am not sure if they are spaced better in Half-Life 2, but I never remember them being as pace-killing as they were in the opening to Black Mesa. Between both the Unforeseen Consequences and We’ve Got Hostile levels, I felt like I couldn’t go five minutes without running into a loading screen. Luckily, it didn’t become a problem in the later levels, but it does make me wonder if Half-Life needs to be remade in a more up-to-date engine.
“I also felt the choice of music could be odd at times. Half-Life had a more atmospheric soundtrack. Music that highlights points of dread or action while staying in the background. In Black Mesa, it feels a little too bombastic. Sure it is nice to have some hard rock playing as you blast through enemy soldiers, but it feels a bit overblown when you wipe out the opposing force and the music is still going. Not a deal-breaker though.
“Finally, I am not sure I am sold on some of the puzzles Crowbar Collective added in. Since Black Mesa is in the Source engine, they wanted to add some puzzles around plugging in some power cables. While it does fit the theme of a scientist powering on machines, it did trip me up in some sections. The encounter with the first Gargantua in the Power Up level threw me through a loop. I remembered in Half-Life, he chases you through some generators that electrocute him. I attempted to repeat these same events in Black Mesa but to no success. I finally realized I had to pull in the generators before I could fry this alien monstrosity. While I will admit, I don’t hate these puzzles, but they do seem to cause some sections to drag on like the laser section in Xen.”
“Seems like … fair criticism,” said the G-Man, “would you say these flaws hindered your enjoyment of Black Mesa?”
“No not at all,” I muttered, “Black Mesa highlights everything Half-Life did right, while unafraid to fix many of Half-Life’s flaws. Frankly, that should be the standard for remakes these days. Not the standard Blizzard and Capcom seem to have set.”
“Well, you proved yourself as quite the critic … Mr. Doomsayer,” the G-Man said while taking a stand, “I have no doubt you will have no trouble deciding … what to do next. If you are still interested in the job, just step … into the portal.”
“And if I don’t you’ll kill me,” I interrupted knowing what happened to Freeman when you refused the G-Man’s offer, “you know I know how this plays out. Why offer me a choice? Why even offer Freeman a choice? Did Freeman even have a choice?”
The G-Man smiled and merely said “Time to … choose … Mr. Doomsayer.”
The irony, I thought. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to survive an army of Alien Brutes, so I stepped into the portal.
Just before everything went black I heard G-Man’s voice in the distance.
“Wisely done … Mr. Doomsayer … We will see you up ahead.”
