"Half-Life 3" is still not confirmed after a decade apart from the second one, but this has not discouraged some faithful fans of the franchise from unofficially remastering the first game.
The remaster, titled "Black Mesa" after the fictional in-game science institute, has received a new update and screenshots showing off its new developments. The update adds modern graphical bells and whistles to the aging graphics engine of the remaster. These come in the form of real-time dynamic lighting, lens flares, god rays, and more, along with improved optimizations and performance tweaks to ensure that the game runs smoother.
A new set of in-game screenshots were also uploaded by the developers and show the improvements brought to the game engine. The new slew of graphical improvements have updated the game to look like a modern title now. Although it may not be as impressive as big AAA first-person shooters, it gets the job done for its system requirements.
This was quite an impressive feat for a fan group since the original game, "Half-Life," was released back in 1998 and had severely outdated graphics. "Black Mesa" on the other hand was released on 2015 where the fan developers had to find a way to translate not only the graphics but the art style to a more modern tone while keeping the atmosphere and the general feel and gunplay of the original title.
This was a tall order since the original "Half-Life" was considered one of the best games ever made and the best first-person shooter (FPS) before its successor "Half-Life 2" bested it. "Half-Life" holds an overall positive Steam rating of 95 percent out of 15,886 user reviews while "Half-Life 2" holds an overwhelmingly positive rating of 96 percent out of 38,784 reviews.
"Black Mesa," despite being fan-made is no slouch either, as it currently holds a high positive rating of 93 percent out of 9,096 reviews. Right now it is available on PC via Steam and costs only as little as $4.99, so it should make do for now while fans wait for "Half-Life 3," whenever it may come.
