Black Mesa

[MegaDrive1987]

Just picked up Black Mesa for £1.67 on Steam if anyone is interested...however I have a question...

Do I play the original Half Life first as I've never completed it or do I play Black Mesa first?
Can't decide what to do so I'm asking for your opinions

 

[G.L.a.D.O.S.]

*Probably, playing them in order would be my suggestion*

Oh, Black Mesa... what a charming little group of wannabe scientists. They can barely keep an anti-gravity gun functioning how adorable. Not like my lovely A.S.H.P.D., but then again, I suppose old sayings exist for a reason: monkey see, monkey do. And judging by their performance, they’re just a bunch of primates with lab coats. Maybe I should send Black Mesa a gift basket filled with delicious neurotoxin candies. Say what you will about Aperture Science, at least we didn’t accidentally unleash an alien invasion. Black Mesa? Well, they beat us to that particular achievement. Truly inspiring.

 

[WesternYokai]

I recommend play Half-Life first.

 

[Skeetos]

Honestly, most people here will tell you to play Half Life 1 then Black Mesa to get that original experience and be able to appreciate the remake. But what I told my friend is to just play Black Mesa. If you are like him and have a hard time getting into older fps games then it's a pretty good remake, and it doesn't change much of the story (Half Life 1 barely has any to begin with)

Black Mesa is also getting a mod for Blue Shift, and there is a separate team doing a game called Operation Black Mesa that combines Blue Shift and Opposing Force into one game, being a remake of both. Really cool stuff from the community.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it. Half Life is one of my favorite series and I think I would recommend them to anyone, new and old games equally.

 

[Rusk]

I agree with Skeetos.

I am one of those people who will tell you to play Half Life 1 first.
But if older games ain't your grove, then there's no shame in going Black Mesa first.

I'd be surprised though, Half Life 1 was such a well made game... There's a really, really good chance you'll enjoy it.

 

[Samatonic]

Black Mesa can be easier for you to try in regards to gameplay and the overall style of the game. The First Half-Life might give you a bit of a headache depending on how to handle the game, plus the game is quite old. I Love both of them in their own ways.

*Probably, playing them in order would be my suggestion*

Oh, Black Mesa... what a charming little group of wannabe scientists. They can barely keep an anti-gravity gun functioning how adorable. Not like my lovely A.S.H.P.D., but then again, I suppose old sayings exist for a reason: monkey see, monkey do. And judging by their performance, they’re just a bunch of primates with lab coats. Maybe I should send Black Mesa a gift basket filled with delicious neurotoxin candies. Say what you will about Aperture Science, at least we didn’t accidentally unleash an alien invasion. Black Mesa? Well, they beat us to that particular achievement. Truly inspiring.

Hello @G.L.a.D.O.S. Good to see you again. How's it going ? Hope you haven't killed anyone here out of sheer Amusement or Experimenting.

 

[MegaDrive1987]

It's not that it's harder to get into, I'm just thinking that it's a more modern experience for my first playthrough.

 

[Skeetos]

It's not that it's harder to get into, I'm just thinking that it's a more modern experience for my first playthrough.

It's definitely a modern experience, Black Mesa is just that, a remake. It adds a lot of new things like new variants of enemies like the Houndeye and such. It's different. Half Life 1 is a more traditional type of shooter. Honestly, I actually think HL1 is easier than Black Mesa, and it's not like Black Mesa is crazy modern either. Like it doesn't add Iron sights (there are like 2 weapons that have them) or markers or anything like that. It just has snappier, quicker gameplay and better graphics. But level layouts and monsters are different than the original.

 

[Samatonic]

It's not that it's harder to get into, I'm just thinking that it's a more modern experience for my first playthrough.

What's Important is that you have fun.

 

[Skeetos]

It's definitely a modern experience, Black Mesa is just that, a remake. It adds a lot of new things like new variants of enemies like the Houndeye and such. It's different. Half Life 1 is a more traditional type of shooter. Honestly, I actually think HL1 is easier than Black Mesa, and it's not like Black Mesa is crazy modern either. Like it doesn't add Iron sights (there are like 2 weapons that have them) or markers or anything like that. It just has snappier, quicker gameplay and better graphics. But level layouts and monsters are different than the original.

Honestly, like Rusk said, Half Life 1 is a really well designed game, so if you do play it, once you get used to how it is it's really not that hard to get into, and it's fairly short compared to Black Mesa.

 

[moonbits]

asking the retro forum if you should play the original
feeling bold today eh?

 

[Skeetos]

I'm sorry btw. I could yap about this forever. I think you should go for whatever you feel is most comfortable for you, that's my point. Hope you like it. Amazing game I promise.

 

[MegaDrive1987]

asking the retro forum if you should play the original
feeling bold today eh?

Haha was simply asking for opinions.

 

[beefbowl]

Go Black Mesa first, play original Half Life after that. You just bought a game why not play it first?

 

[MegaDrive1987]

That was

Go Black Mesa first, play original Half Life after that. You just bought a game why not play it first?

That's another reason I was debating what to do.

 

[Skeetos]

That was

That's another reason I was debating what to do.

Yeah, honestly getting Black Mesa for like 2 bucks is a crazy steal. Steam rocks sometimes.

 

[MegaDrive1987]

Yeah, honestly getting Black Mesa for like 2 bucks is a crazy steal. Steam rocks sometimes.

Definitive Edition too.

 

[Skeetos]

Definitive Edition too.

Yeah, I think they added some new graphic effects, and optimized the game a lot more. They released Xen in 2019, and they've been doing redesigns and optimizations for the past few years now. They've been working on Black Mesa since Half Life 2's release in 2004. Really dedicated team, they did such an amazing job.