Release
Friday, September 14, 2012
Critic score
88/100
Platform families
2
Editorial overview
Inside Black Mesa
What it is
Black Mesa is a re-envisioning of Valve Software's classic science fiction first person shooter, Half-Life. Powered by Source Engine, You will re-visit the inaugural role of Gordon Freeman and his memorable journey through the Black Mesa Research Facility. Expect detailed environments to explore, a huge cast of characters and experimental weaponry. All-new music, voice acting, choreography and added dialogue give way to a more expansive and immersive experience than ever before.
The premise
The plot of Black Mesa is almost identical to Half-Life's storyline, playable through the "Lambda Core" chapter. As in the original game, the player controls Gordon Freeman, a scientist working at the Black Mesa Research Facility. He is tasked to place a sample of a strange material into an electromagnetic instrument, using the Hazardous Environment Suit Mark IV to do so safely. However, the sample material causes a "resonance cascade", devastating the facility and creating an interdimensional rift to an alien dimension called Xen, bringing its alien creatures to Earth.
Freeman survives, finds other survivors, and makes his way to the surface with the protection of his hazard suit to get help. Upon reaching the surface, however, he finds that the facility is being cleansed of any living thing - human or alien - by armed forces. From other scientists, Freeman finds the only way to stop the alien invasion is to cross over to Xen and destroy the entity holding the portal open.
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