While the actual “Half-Life 3” is probably still a long time away, fans are currently able to enjoy the next best thing – “Black Mesa”, a remake of the original “Half-Life” made by a team of dedicated fans in their free time. The game is actually a mod running on Valve’s own Source engine, and has been in development for a long time.
It’s been so long since the project was first announced, that some began to consider it as “vaporware”, or software that will never be released. Eventually we did get to see the first half of the game though, which was released for free and covered the entire story up until Xen. The developers then stated that the other half will be finished in the coming months, along with the multiplayer component which was also not released with the original version.
Now, the game has been launched on Steam as an “Early Access” title, meaning players can purchase it during its development and play it as it grows. This is obviously not meant for everyone, as Early Access games are typically full of bugs during the earlier stages of their development, but those who want to see how the game looks as early as possible will get a chance to do so.
A trailer released for the Steam launch also previewed the multiplayer component, explaining it as a test facility for weapons within Black Mesa. The trailer was filmed in the style of old VHS footage, and showed a brief tour of the Black Mesa facility right before the major accident occurred.
There has been one major change in the release plans for the game, however – it’s no longer a free mod but rather a commercial standalone game (still running on the Source engine though) that costs $19.99. This came as a surprise to most fans who were expecting the mod to stay free, but in the end nobody seems to really mind the change in pricing.
In what’s probably a very unique development for a title in the gaming industry, players are actually happy to move from a free model to a paid one, knowing that it’s going to support the development of a game they’re all interested in.
The game has been enjoying great reception on Steam so far, with a 10/10 user rating and the positive reviews keep coming. Users seem to be very happy with what the game has to offer for its price, and it looks like the developers have struck a gold mine in getting permission to make their game commercial.