Half-Life Series Celebrates 20th Anniversary (Updated)
Exactly 20 years ago, Valve released one of the main shooters in the history of computer games - Half-Life. Revolutionary graphics, an innovative approach to gameplay, and a sci-fi storyline served without cutscenes ensured that the original Half-Life was a popular game that defined the further development of the entire genre of first-person shooters. Moreover, as befits any cult game, the fan community continues to release updates for Half-Life and keep the popular shooter from Valve alive. We'll start with the official re-release of the game on the Half-Life 2 engine - Half-Life Source, released on June 1, 2004. Compared to the original version, two main changes can be noted: the same shader water, which even after 14 years looks pretty good, and Ragdoll physics. In the same year, the release of Half-Life 2 thundered, becoming no less an icon in the gaming industry than the original 1998 release. After 2 years, the world saw Half-Life 2 Episode 1, a year later Half-life 2 Episode 2, after which support stopped not only for the first part, but for the entire franchise as a whole. However, if you remember the recent statement by Valve that the studio is re-developing games, we can afford a little optimistic thoughts. For example, it cannot be ruled out that the triquel will appear in the next ten years. But back to the fan update for the original Half-Life. The Black Mesa project, created by enthusiasts since 2005, deserves the greatest attention. The resulting game is even embarrassing to call a mod, because for 7 years of development, fans of the series not only recreated the first part on the Source engine, but also refreshed the gameplay with modern trends, slightly redesigned the level architecture and recorded their own authentic soundtrack. Black Mesa is available for purchase on Steam today, and the final levels in the alien Zen world are expected to be released in 2019.  Half-Life Brutal Mod deserves special attention. This is the same 1998 Half-Life, only with the level of violence turned to the maximum. No major changes, but the mod is suitable for nostalgic fans of the series. In honor of the twentieth anniversary of the series, the developers of Black Mesa have released the first trailer for Black Mesa: Xen: Read also about Project Borealis - an unofficial continuation of the series based on the leaked Half-Life Episode 3 script. The Topic of Article: Half-Life Series Celebrates 20th Anniversary (Updated). |
