A tour of 'Black Mesa'

To think Black Mesa was almost vaporware.

Amateur coders, artists, voice actors, and other creative-types have poured years of free-time into the fan-made remake of Half-Life. Porting the first-person shooter from 1998 to Valve's relatively modern Source engine was the original goal, but along the way, the team accomplished something far more ambitious: they improved upon a classic, filling plot holes and sanding the game play's rough edges.

Forum member DocSeuss wrote detailed impressions, saying "[Black Mesa] might be the best video game released this year." Before your knee jerks into the comment section, give the piece a read. He makes a persuasive argument.

We thought you might want to take a look for yourself. Below are a handful of choice tableaus from the game's introductory set piece. If you like what you see, head over to Black Mesa's page. The game is available as a free download.