This last "act" of Surface Tension is a critical transition point in the story of Black Mesa. Up until this point, the HECU have been a formidable enemy for Freeman, even though Freeman has managed to best them in every encounter. Recall that the chapter opened with them clearly in control of most of the surface facilities. However, this act illustrates that the Xenians have them clearly outmatched; they are stronger, unpredictable, and are far greater in numbers. The three maps on display here tell all that through an effective use of scripted battle sequences, radio transmissions, and environmental storytelling. Personally, I think Black Mesa did a far better job at this than in HL1, where you don't really see how much they were outmatched. In HL1, I didn't quite understand WHY the HECU pulled out as they seemed to be holding their own relatively well. Here, there's no question that they are defeated - the exploding Osprey, the Manta destroying the Abrams, the corpses and destroyed military vehicles strewn about the surface, the haunting IFAK message. This type of progression and pacing is something that Valve typically excels at, so to see Crowbar Collective accomplish this in spades is really great. I have to single out the entire last map with the Garg chase. It really is a work of art. Much like the topside battle in WGH, everything comes together. You have the moody and alien-sounding-like "Surface Tension 3" soundtrack that ratchets up the tension, the EAS transmission letting you know that the situation has blown way beyond an incident at just the facility, the vehicle checkpoint full of dead HECU and Xenians, and the hard-to-ignore feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Then it all culminates/explodes with the Garg chase and re-emergence out onto the surface, where you see the Ospreys and Apaches fleeing the facility, all while an air raid siren blares in the distance. One of my favourite sequences in the game period.
I feel like another huge change in this segment was the noticeable and increasingly present Xenian flora infestation throughout the base. Really gives the sense that not only is this a full-fledged invasion, but it shows that the aliens seem to have intentions to terraform the environment itself with their own species. I'll never forget crawling into the snark-infested vent system was my first WTF moment on this account. This is further supported in Forget About Freeman where you begin to see the horrors of how the Xen growth has begun consuming the HECU corpses left strewn around the old battle sites. At this point it became clear to me that the HECU weren't so much adversaries to the Xen army but were instead becoming food for this infestation. Black Mesa definitely did a much better job at detailing the extent of the infestation throughout the Black Mesa facility which seemed to help Half-Life Alyx make way more sense with how the combine had engaged in extermination efforts for the infestation during their occupation. Although as an aside I can't tell for sure if species such as the Antlions were actually from Xen or somewhere else (personally I still hold out hope that they might have been a Race-X species given their appearance but that's an opinion more than anything).
@@connorgolsong290 He has been playing for about 2 years and he did it becuse he thought the people on hia team were the other team he couldbt see id they were his team or the other team.
Small detail, but I really love how you tested out the Xenian launchpad at 1:40 with the cone, really adds to the idea that Gordon is still a scientist, and is of course going to test out this mysterious alien thing before stepping on it.
There are several changes I made in this video that are NOT part of the base game: - The radio transmission at 20:52 is a cut message that I really liked. Therefore I added it back in to where I think it most likely would have been - I extended the EAS signout tone so that it leads into the start of the song "Surface Tension 3" at 31:46, for a more ominous tone - Boosted the radio message at 32:09, it is impossible to hear over the soundtrack in the base game - Boosted the Garg's roar at 33:38, it is barely audible in the base game - Added chopper sounds to the Apache flyover at 35:38 - the base game lacks any sound for this sequence
@@kirillmaloshenko1281 Thanks! Yeah the "Holy shit, was that him" was added officially into the game in Apprehension, but the sniper radio transmission was something I added in. I did think about whether or not it would make sense for me to do so, but before I get onto the roof, a lone HECU grunt was up there shooting down at the aliens during the Manta v. tank scene, so I did think that it'd be justified for the HECU to have left a radio up there and not realise that Freeman might be listening in.
@@Sexy_Nutella I love that it builds suspense for the sniper climb, cuz normally it just shows up out of nowhere. I mean, the latter is what snipers are ideally supposed to *do*, but this is a video game- not only that, but one trying to be "valve quality". and valve is very well-known for letting the player know what they're up against when it matters
Yeah, I thought I was the only feeling bad for the HECU soldiers in this section of the game, they're being overwhelmed by alien forces and desperate for reinforcements, and I'm killing what's left of them lol Well, it's not Gordon's fault that they want to kill him as well.
@@AndersonMallony-EricCF I know it may not be in the line with lore if there is any about them after Black Mesa but I wish some of them survived and decided to help out the resistance in Half-Life 2 maybe settle down a little bit if they could.
@@mikhilmuhuthan6903точно, помню сначала сообщалось об аварии и эвакуации с объекта , затем эвакуация проводится в радиусе 80 километров от объекта , а уже в конце оказывается что эвакуируют весь штат, и мобилизуют армию и всех кто может держать оружие , это действительно показывает всю плачевность ситуации. Но что меня всегда пугало , это то что солдаты и персонал комплекса , которым удалось выбраться оттуда , еще не подозревают что они не спаслись , а лишь оттянули неизбежное. Простите что пишу на русском, надеюсь встроенный переводчик ютуб переведет мой комментарий.
Hard to think that back in the day most of this wasn't in the game, I'm so glad they added it back, cause it makes this chapter one of the best of the whole game. It's admirable how much effort the developers put in this chapter, trying to make the background look by huge adding those mountains in the desert, the airport, the fight sequences and the beautiful skybox, specially considering this is still Source engine. It always makes me think about all the hard work they put in this game by making it look as beautiful, complete and cinematic as possible. I'm glad you actually took the time to show us all of the beautiful views like 4:17 that weren't actually in the game before
Yeah, he didn't deserve any of that. Although, I admit the first time I played through that section, I thought it was kind of played for comedy, given his line that it couldn't get any worse.
I love how crowbar collective made this level, as it goes on it slowly leaves small hints as to the army struggling to gain a secure area in the research facility until it gets to the very end where it really starts throwing hints towards what will come in the next level
dude your gameplay is top fucking notch, the amount of effort put into playing freeman like a careful scientist, the way you react to the setpieces around you, genuinely shows off what the game f e e l s like. also the Tau jump as mortars hit the gargantuan was just cherry on top of the cinematic cake, that move went hard
I am so happy to hear that you dig this style of gameplay, and especially that Tau jump haha. My aim with that is to make it "realistic" (get Gordon away from the blast zone) and also to get a good angle on how the mortar kills the Garg :)
I really like those back and forth battles with the HECU pitted against the aliens. Gives you a sense of scale, you feel like there is a war around you and you are running straight into the fire.
the gargantua chase sequence has haunted my nightmares ever since i first played thru it. nothing else has ever made me feel a similar rush of adrenaline and pure terror.
I love how when the Garg shows up you have to IMMEDIATELY start hauling ass in order to get away. That thing is super menacing, way more than the one from Power Up.
Yeah, I believe the devs made a point to escalate each encounter with the Garg. This chase in ST is intense, but then you have the multiple Gargs chasing Freeman in Interloper! ha
Yeah. Feels the opposite of Striders from HL2 which definitely feel like RPG enemies which you can one-shot at higher levels in later episodes. This isn't a BAD thing, mind you, as this showcases the power of the Gravity Gun and Magnusson Device. @@Sexy_Nutella
I was laughing so hard when I saw that. I guess that grunt was just way too stressed out. Canonically there might have been a bunch of friendly fire incidents like this, who knows
29:27 this part is always sad and frustating. I understand what you feel try to open the door. I try to save the guard many times i played even with traps.
Just finished watching it I love this part of the game because it really shows how desperate the HECU is, and how they are losing the war against the aliens... and you managed to capture all that essence in this video. Also i love the new rocks design, and the new animations they added that contribute to the atmosphere.
@@Sexy_Nutella my favourite part of the Hecu vs Xen war is the dogfight during the topside battle in Forget about Freeman, it really shows the scale of the invasion, not only on land but the skies too
Well this was just delightful! I know you were having problems with AI shenanigans and that the fight scenes weren't going great..but the footage you got here looked fantastic. I really like you adding back in that diologue with the sniper. It adds something that I think would have been missing without it. What an amazing job..I think this may have been your best video yet for this project. Highly impressed.. take as long as you need to get them right, because these results are worth any wait :D
Brimming with novelty, this chapter adds so much depth and identity to the story! At times, it might feel like the studio have gone a tad too far on the 'spectacle' aspect and away from the 'combat' part, but just then they added the sniper section, announced from a freaking radio! I absolutely adore those little winks to Opposing Force, like "Goose-4", "This whole operation is FUBAR" etc. The whole idea of the aerodrome is breathtakingly-well executed, from the initial glimpse in the distance, through the airstrips and landing pads, down to the last part where you sneak across the hangar with the guard. Also the combat feels more demanding and there's actually no need to look for a reason to use the rocket launcher more often. Being able to program the sentry guns is also a nice touch.
Yeah, these maps were perfectly paced in my opinion. I second the thought on the RPG, once I got it it became very difficult to use any other weapon on the harder enemies. It was so easy to just shoot and forget.
The later parts of Surface Tension really do a good job of making the situation feel apocalyptic and giving a sense of doom, something that HL1 tried but imho didn't do as well as BM. The HECU, which is presumably one of if not the most advanced military forces on the planet, is totally outmatched and getting massacred by the Xenians. Black Mesa itself seems to be crumbling, with buildings being demolished or badly damaged, and then you have the EAS alert that confirms the invasion has spread FAR outside of the base. It really shows that this is not just cleaning up one facility...the survival of the entire world is in Gordon's hands. As an aside, I love the skyboxes in this chapter, especially how the sky goes from clear and sunny in the first few maps, to partially filled with smoke in the middle of the chapter, to completely darkened and blocked out by the end as the battle gets more and more intense. It's a really nice touch.
Yeah, Surface Tension in Black Mesa in my eyes is miles above HL1's, and the change in atmosphere is a large part of it. The skybox and how it changes from clear blue sky to smoke-filled sunset is amazing.
Finally, Gordon can take a break from all the tension on the surface. An awesome end to the long chapter, especially showing how desperate and frenzied the HECU was
@@Sexy_Nutella Man, the amount of times I accidentally blew up my own team mates during school dodgeball. Stupid idea storing the missile launchers next to the balls, but hey.
Thanks - I figured it wouldn't really make sense for Gordon to be so close to the blast zone so I was trying to come up with a way to move him off the platform without getting fall damage. Also allows me to get a good angle on the Garg blowing up
29:23 Civvie11 bringing up the Sarah Connor Psychiatrist scenes into his Half-Life Review really captures the desperate mood I keep getting playing this nowadays.
Haha, I'm glad you brought that up. I was initially aiming for the vort after missing the smg grenade, but the Guard killed it so I had to quickly adjust my laser pointer. In retrospect it might have been a tad overkill to fire an RPG at a Vort, but I didn't want to deal with its annoying dodge move.
I really love this part of the game, good that they made the ST Uncut an official part of the game. ST Really needs this escalation into Forget About Freeman. That little sneaking around part is pretty cool, altho feels a bit unnecessary. The snipers on the other hand, that could've been a longer section. About your video : - The turret sequence vs Vorts reminded me how overblown the gibbing in the game is. I mean it's a cool thing for explosions ,but bodies falling apart from machine guns and the shotgun is too much. - I liked the more cinematic experimenting with the launch pad - 7:00 never thought of getting in the vents the other way for that loot. Good to know that's an option. - "They look distracted enough" - "Yeah!" - that was a happy coincidence I bet :D - 29:26 Poor guard deserved better :(
You can actually fight those HECU soldiers at the hangar instead of stealthing it, but there isn't a non-lethal approach aside from sneaking unfortunately. I do agree that the gibbing is comical with the shotgun and 50cal, but it is undeniably satisfying to make enemies explode in a shower of gibs using them haha. Feels like the 50cal scene from Rambo 4. Thanks for the comment!
I know gibbing is kind of weird in Black Mesa, but I saw what could an M2 Browning .50 Cal (12.7mm) anti air heavy machine gun do to an armored car. Gibbing would be pretty comedic if you'd been hit by this gun, because you'd have been literally split into two.
@@dustypaint I know those guns can literally split you in two. But that needs more. Here it's like if one bullet hits, the enemy falls to half a dozen pieces. And same with the shotgun. I really don't get why games suggest shotguns have such an over the top stopping power, like instead of pellets it was slugs hitting the enemy.
3:40 That marine on the bottom left is probably drunk. 29:27 I always imagine the guard beating the grunt up and the grunt is the one screaming. 30:57 Imagine having to leave your home, and you don’t know what the heck is the government talking about. You hear this “unknown hostile force.” Are they some sort of unidentified human group? Well, you will most likely see it yourself while driving on the highway. Just envision driving and seeing a gargantua crush cars and incInerate them. 32:10 I think that radio is a small reference to Romeo and Juliet. The one bleeding is Juliet. The guy hearing him is Romeo. In the story, I believe Juliet dies.
More to Trivia: *Alongside with the release of 'Surface Tension Uncut', zombified HECU marines were added in BM; *19:54 - in original game you can destroy any snarks' nest (a.k.a. snark ammo) by yourself and snarks will swarm you; *HECU marines are actually using the NATO phonetic alphabet, here are some of terms from radio chatters: IFAK - Individual First Aid Kit, LZ - Landing Zone, ETA - Estimated Time of Arival, Mike - Minute; *20:53 - this radio could play another HECU's radio chatter between sniper and commanding officer about the identification of Gordon Freeman, but it was cut ( ruclips.net/video/yIsZSqGNvn8/видео.html, the respond 'radio_st_sniper_treefrog04' start with "They spot him."), that's nice that you restored it; *23:35 - on original game this marine survived the explosion, but in BM this moment looks a bit commical and also shows that HECU marines are a bit dumb (alongside with mispelled graffiti "SURRENDER FREEMEN" and "YORE DEAD FREEMAN" in HL1 - ruclips.net/video/jAnNALE1cHY/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/jAnNALE1cHY/видео.html ); *33:55 - noclipping in the tunnel where Garg come from leads to another pizza box and "The Pizza is a LIE!" graffiti; *34:30 - in the original game the entire entrance to the Lambda complex was surrounded by a canal and connected to the rest of the Black Mesa territory by some kind of a drawbridge ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html ); *35:52 - "I just shot three of them for dramatic effect": in HL1 when you're sending target for artillery team with tactical map you actually start series of six strikes ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html ); *35:28 - "... we are pulling out and commencing airstrikes.": in BM there's no airstrikes start in your presence in this area, but in HL1 after you jump over a broken wall, militaries start artillery barrage which hit in random places of the area around you and it can actually kill you in some cases (a good example of such a case: ruclips.net/video/hx7fuFw7AbY/видео.html ); *37:33 - and again, there's no signs that airstrikes are starting, but in original game when you running inside of this tunnel it is showing that tunnel start to collapse ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html ) and you must be prepared to dodge from falling celling parts (which actually will happen in the beginning of 'Forget About Freeman' - ruclips.net/video/6LAWKUbd7C0/видео.html ). P.s.: *"The radio message at 23:23 mentions an IFAK. This stands for Individual First Aid Kit", - you misspelled, it's actually at 33:23 ;) *"In prior builds, if Gordon does not kill the Garg and manages to make it to the bunker, the Garg will break the gate at 37:09 and follow him", - wow, I never noticed that before :D Is it still present in Definitive Edition? Btw, I found another video from the same channel: ruclips.net/video/xp0p2LrIL2w/видео.html
I have a feeling the airstrike wasn't added to that seen to pretend the Player from freaking out seeing airstrikes falling on them even though it was seen in WGH
Was all that looking at the airport to suggest Gordon was thinking of trying to escape instead of going to the Lambda Complex but decided against it? If so, excellent characterization
Not intentionally - I had simply wanted to show all aspects of the airfield to the viewer, however your interpretation is solid and we can pretend that was my intention all along ;)
After the Surface Tension epic, going through Forget about Freeman should be a breeze :) I was always a bit bummed out by how short that chapter is. Considering it even features the last bits of HECU, I feel like it might have even been a part of Surface Tension.
Yeah, it always kind of felt like an extension of Surface Tension. Though it having its own chapter makes it easier to reference the big topside fight in it. Hoping to have it done faster than I did any of the ST videos haha
The buildup for Gargantua was phenomenal, it reminded me of the first Hunter from HL2EP2. I just wish this was the first encounter with Gargantua in the game, it would have made his reveal more impactful. Also nice jump back with the Tau Cannon at 36:01, made me imagine the scene as the climax of an action sequence in a movie and I guess that was your intention (besides getting a good shot of Garg's death). Btw kinda funny a piece of Garg bouncing on the alien trampoline here 36:07 lol
17:16 that sound is the same sound of the thumpers from HL2 being deactivated. Well, I gotta say I wasn't expecting you to put out a video so soon, especially one of this length. Ps, IMDB says to never get attached to the NPCs of HL1 because they all die in one way or another. Crowbar Collective took that to another level. And it's a little harder not to get attached because they all have distinct personalities compared to HL1.
when i first played this (black mesa was my first experience of half-life btw), the moment of that EAS broadcast really unsettled me. it felt like the clock was ticking, like i had to get the hell out of black mesa before these airstrikes occurred. that soundtrack you heard during the IFAK message was playing as I listened to the EAS and the repeated dotting sound of the track started playing as soon as the part about airstrikes hitting black mesa was heard. this is some top-level stuff by CC and honestly this will remain my absolute favorite game for years to come, even though it's just a mod.
30:08 Key is in the ignition, right? If I were Freeman I wouldve carjacked this Jeep and gotten away from this hellscape. Black Mesa Facility could not pay me enough overtime for all this I’ve played the original HL1 but BM does a far better job of showing the severity of this whole incident. This gameplay is amazing
35:12 I hope they tie this into Operation Black Mesa, even if they aren't being made by the same studio. Though it would be true to Opposing Force in a way if Tripmine and Crowbar collabed somehow with OBM since Gearbox and Valve did that with OpFor back in the day too.
@@Sexy_Nutella Honestly same, I can't wait for that either. The dam in opposing force is great. Also I just wanted to say that I love your videos and consider them canon
32:18 Hgrunt: [Labored Breathing] "Any Station, Any Station this is Echo-3-Juliet My team...ambushed...I am injured. I'm losing a lot of blood here...left leg" Corpsman:"Echo-3-Juliet this is Echo-5-Romeo, I need you to tie a tourniquet a hand's length above the wound. Get one from your IFAK now" Hgrunt: [Labored Breathing] "IFAK's gone." Corpsman:"Say again?" Hgrunt:[Weaker Breathing] "My IFAK'S gone...I'm..uh...---" Corpsman:"Okay, you're going to need to find another pack, and get a tourniquet out of it." Corpsman:"Are you still there?-- Echo-3-Juliet, Can you hear me?" Felicia Yu:"This is Echo-3-Juliet, Uh this guy here is passed out right now. Caught him right when he just slumped over, I found an IFAK off some guy named Henderson?" Corpsman:"Who are you, This is a military channel, State your name Now!" Felicia:"2nd Lieutenant Felicia Yu, High level security guard for the Black Mesa research facility." Corpsman:"Get off this channel!" Felicia:"Look here I have a 4-year-old kid and her father with me right now. Do you want to save this guy or not I know you swore the Hippocratic oath did you not?" Corpsman:"Uh Yes Ma'am" Felicia:"Then help me Corpsman, what remains of Echo-3-Juliet depends on it." The Corpsman talked to Felicia through the process and managed to save the guy's life but barely Felicia:"Okay Done!" Corpsman:"Okay I need you to--" Felicia:"Say again last? Echo-5-Romeo Say again last, what do we do from here?" Corpsman:"You guys are on your own, My team's pulling out." Felicia:"At least give us a way out of here Goddamnit" Another man was overheard on the radio on Felicia's end Eli:"Hey watch your language, I don't want Alyx picking that up." Felicia:"Sorry Dr.Vance" Echo-5-Romeo came back on the radio the sounds of helicopter blades being more present Corpsman:"We can't take him so you're going to have to take him with you, The best way out of here for you is the West gate least amount of resistance I think, you're heading there right now?" Felicia:"Affirmative Echo-5-Romeo, we should be able to reach it in the next couple minutes though it might be a little longer while hauling this guy uhh Sergeant Riley" The sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air made it almost impossible to hear on the other side of the radio Corpsman:"I NEED TO CUT COMMS FOR OTHER UNITS, HOPE YOU MAKE IT 2ND LIEUTENANT...GODSPEED" Felicia:"Godspeed Echo-5-Romeo Godspeed" And with that they continue to go over to the Western gate of Black Mesa with Sergeant Riley in tow with nothing but faith, good luck, and duct tape in order to get out of Black Mesa. Done Don't get a lot of feedback so how I do?
30:02 se que es ficción,pero me preguntó cómo sería tener una experiencia así,ver un estado de emergencia por la radio y tv por una guerra alienígena xd._.
i always pass by that wounded marine and the medic healing his colleague at the end which i don't remember but could be in the surface tension overhaul mod
Surface tension uncut is also my fav, it is a remix of 'drums and riffs' or 'tau9' (Edit: i've recently found out that 'we've got hostiles' is a remix of 'adrenaline horror')
While I really enjoyed some the additional scale/world-building Crowbar did, like adding the big parking lots & the airfield, I think some of the lore stuff they added to try and connect it more to Half-Life 2 kinda takes away from the original game and dare I say ruins it. I really liked the Emergency Alert radio message and it was really well done... but if the original Half-Life and Opposing Forces endings are canon (they are according to Laidlaw), then... the nuke went off, BM disappeared, & the public was never the wiser. Also Gman was the Administrator of BM, and "his" forces controlled Xen at the end so... pretty hard to reconcile that with HL2. I appreciate you taking the time to look around and show off the world & environments, and listen to the various radio traffic so that we the viewers get the full experience and a sense of the world. Surface Tension is probably the best and maybe most iconic portion of Half-Life, outside of the very beginning; that whole you being dropped into a warzone (which is itself telling a story) between the military and aliens is just great. lol watching this though, I want the damn marines to just use the .50 cal turrets. Even the Bradley / APC is just dumb as can be. "OH LOOK - Heavily armed and armored aliens are dropping right in front me... I know! Instead of hiding behind these sandbags and using a full auto .50 cal heavy machine gun, I'll just stand up and run directly at them with my pistol caliber smg! HOO-RAH!" In the original HL they actually tied the marines to the turrets so they wouldn't leave & use the normal marine AI... I feel like they really really needed to do that kind of hack here, since they obviously couldn't program the AI to do it.
Thanks for the comment! I always thought that the public did know that the Resonance Cascade was at least in part caused by Black Mesa - I recall that the newspaper clippings in HL2 and HL: Alyx mention something along those lines. I think there may have been leaks of what happened at the facility, especially with how legendary Gordon Freeman became by the time of HL2. As well, Wallace Breen was the administrator of Black Mesa, not G-man; I believe him saying "Xen is under our control" just means that they are no longer contending with the Nihilanth. Surface Tension is a great chapter like you said, I do agree that the marines' hesitancy to exhibit any form of common sense sometimes is kind of hilarious to see, that refusal to use the .50cal being a prime example.
Just wanted to say one thing. Two things actually. I'm pretty sure when Half-Life 1 was being developed (and written), they didn't expect to make a sequel. I'm also pretty sure the HECU marines in HL1 were supposed to be stronger than the forces from Xen. At the end of HL1 you can see American soldiers and tanks in Xen, suggesting they thought they had an upper hand and invaded Xen. Maybe, whoever G-Man has been working for, believed humans can be used to conquer Xen and secure the border world. In the end it was G-Man who brought THE crystal to Breen, the Administrator, and that crystal caused the Resonance cascade. Because Freeman proved himself capable, G-Man believed it's Gordon who can kill the Nihilanth and free the border world from the Combine control. (However in HL1 there was no Combine yet.) Because of the events prior HL2, the invasion of HECU forces to Xen doesn't make sense. With that Seven hours war the whole story of Half-Life universe changed and the strength of HECU soldiers didn't make sense anymore. So that's why Black Mesa as a game tells a better story of skirmishes between humans and Xenians. Don't get me wrong, I love both games equally, but Black Mesa had a chance to tie up the lore of Half-Life universe and the devs knocked it out of the park. Oh and I had to subscribe to ur channel couple of days ago. I watch your playthrough while in quarantine, although I played the 2012 BM, the 2015 BM and quite recently (because of said quarantine) went to Xen. Your videos on all HL games are amazing and seriously need more views. And subs. Found your channel thanks to the Black Mesa is genius and here's why video and for that I am extremely grateful to Soup Emporium.
Thanks for the comment. I do believe that Valve themselves have said that the reason the HECU were shown on Xen in Endgame was because the engine did not allow them to render two different skyboxes in one map. I think it was intended that the HECU and the tanks are depicted on Earth instead. Though I do agree that HL1's story was not designed to organically flow into HL2's (at first anyway). I'd imagine Valve deliberately left that ending ambiguous. I appreciate the kind words and am glad you enjoy my content! Hopefully my final few videos for this series will be equally as enjoyable.
Curiously, for me it kinda breaks the inmersion when the players stops to look at the surroundings, or move slowly to appreciate it better; because gordon is in the middle of an alien invasion, I imagine him running and moving fast, being in an emergency he wouldn't stop to look at the birds etc. On the other side, this is great for appreciating all the details the developers put!
I can understand that. I play the game through like this to show off the little details like you said. I do quicken the pace in combat sequences, and I do think the sense of urgency is still there, but I can see why you'd play differently for the sake of maintaining realism
29:25 this part is the thing i least expected while playing black mesa. I wanted to save him from that suffering but the game doesnt allow you to kill him, even after that. Felt so bad having to hear all that while i cant do anything
The full-scale war between the military and the aliens reach a all time peak, the sun starts to set over black mesa, and the sky is filled with ash and smoke, the aliens would grow even more in strength, more alien grunts teleport into the facility, manta rays destroy tanks and groups of soldiers, and a garguntua destroying anything in its path, and freeman gets closer to the lambda complex, the military start pulling out of the facility.
There's a very weird glitch in the game around the start of this video - go out of the stairwell (2:50) noticing the open area to your left, then turn right and run to the next 'room' of the carpark (going down a ramp) and enter the stairwell at the far end. Go up the stairs and you find yourself BACK WHERE YOU STARTED, with the same open area to your left (I checked the vehicle registrations and it is exactly the same) i haven't come across such a thing in a FPS before and it took me a while to figure out - to someone new to FPS's it would be totally baffling.
I believe this is simply because the same staircase connects across all 3 levels of the parking garage? If you take the ramp back down to ground level you'll be able to access the stairs all the way back up to the top as well.
@@Sexy_Nutella It's not the same staircase though, the two entrances via the middle level are quite a long way apart at opposite ends of the garage - but when you go to the top you always emerge at the same place. Anyway, it was your video that prompted me to stop running around inside the garage, but to exit via the big drop at the end. I would have expected such a big indoor space to have more going on but it turns out just to be a route to the big drop, so apart from the eye-candy, it might as well have just been a corridor. if you do decide to check this out, I'd be interested in your experience, just to see if I didn't imagine it..
@@jakell99 I think I know what you're referring to now, the big ramp that vehicles use to traverse the parking garage eventually leads to the top, as does the staircase. So both paths allow you to just reach the top. A bit of pathing to allow for exploration in an otherwise strictly linear game :P
The red wheel at 24:50 is bugged for me, it's stuck in the door no matter how many times i reset the quicksave. Update: i just tanked through the burning pipe instead.
I'll think about it, though with the Long Jump Module I don't think it'd be as dramatic as here. The gauss jump doesn't cover as much ground as the module for sure.
Man...Kind of makes you remember your conscience of how the military *_not_* the bad guys we believe they are, and all the killing you've been doing to them.
oh yassss congrats on getting good shots! I saw your update that this chapter glitches a lot, any plans for a blooper reel ? XD also great job on that gauss jump and three shells, very dramatic looking indeed!
Thanks! I always considered a blooper reel but I always have like a few hundred clips from each chapter, so i delete most of them for storage space. That being said i might just specifically do a blooper run separately after this is all done :)
damn i dont think ive ever gotten to this point in black mesa, its such a diffrence from the original, how the tone changes from horrific disaster to end of days is really such a stark difference compared to the original
I saw a video of someone playing a version of this with a HECU soldier with PTSD sitting on the box at 22:29 that won't harm you and again walking along the wall at at 31:20 or around there. What version or mod is that?
The snipers in these Half-Life games are frickin evil! Once they have you pinned down, they act like a cat playing with a mouse before they kill it. That is until they realize that the mouse has some high powered explosives they can use to put through the cat's sniper nest.
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 13 - "Forget About Freeman!" [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lnrA5zZhR7w/mqdefault.jpg)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 13 - "Forget About Freeman!" [Hard]](/img/tr.png)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 14b - Lambda Core [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/i2aZDafVR3M/mqdefault.jpg)
![CRUSH DEPTH [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wGUJRlhu6yg/mqdefault.jpg)
This last "act" of Surface Tension is a critical transition point in the story of Black Mesa. Up until this point, the HECU have been a formidable enemy for Freeman, even though Freeman has managed to best them in every encounter. Recall that the chapter opened with them clearly in control of most of the surface facilities. However, this act illustrates that the Xenians have them clearly outmatched; they are stronger, unpredictable, and are far greater in numbers. The three maps on display here tell all that through an effective use of scripted battle sequences, radio transmissions, and environmental storytelling.
Personally, I think Black Mesa did a far better job at this than in HL1, where you don't really see how much they were outmatched. In HL1, I didn't quite understand WHY the HECU pulled out as they seemed to be holding their own relatively well. Here, there's no question that they are defeated - the exploding Osprey, the Manta destroying the Abrams, the corpses and destroyed military vehicles strewn about the surface, the haunting IFAK message. This type of progression and pacing is something that Valve typically excels at, so to see Crowbar Collective accomplish this in spades is really great.
I have to single out the entire last map with the Garg chase. It really is a work of art. Much like the topside battle in WGH, everything comes together. You have the moody and alien-sounding-like "Surface Tension 3" soundtrack that ratchets up the tension, the EAS transmission letting you know that the situation has blown way beyond an incident at just the facility, the vehicle checkpoint full of dead HECU and Xenians, and the hard-to-ignore feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Then it all culminates/explodes with the Garg chase and re-emergence out onto the surface, where you see the Ospreys and Apaches fleeing the facility, all while an air raid siren blares in the distance. One of my favourite sequences in the game period.
Bro you explaned that so well, keep up the good work my man! 👌
@@marthaacosta7739 Will do :) thanks
@@Sexy_Nutella They didn't call it the 7 Hour War for nothing...
@@Phyrior the 7 hour war was not against the forces of xen but against the combine
I feel like another huge change in this segment was the noticeable and increasingly present Xenian flora infestation throughout the base. Really gives the sense that not only is this a full-fledged invasion, but it shows that the aliens seem to have intentions to terraform the environment itself with their own species. I'll never forget crawling into the snark-infested vent system was my first WTF moment on this account.
This is further supported in Forget About Freeman where you begin to see the horrors of how the Xen growth has begun consuming the HECU corpses left strewn around the old battle sites. At this point it became clear to me that the HECU weren't so much adversaries to the Xen army but were instead becoming food for this infestation.
Black Mesa definitely did a much better job at detailing the extent of the infestation throughout the Black Mesa facility which seemed to help Half-Life Alyx make way more sense with how the combine had engaged in extermination efforts for the infestation during their occupation. Although as an aside I can't tell for sure if species such as the Antlions were actually from Xen or somewhere else (personally I still hold out hope that they might have been a Race-X species given their appearance but that's an opinion more than anything).
26:42
Guard: “They look distracted enough”
HECU: “Yeah.”
That timing is hilarious lol
about to get benry'd
@@TheGringuish12 they need to mod in a guard model with a PS5 strapped on his back
@@Sexy_Nutella or a joke blackout teasing you for a guard back stabbing you
It was even more funny when SexyNutella's Gordon looked back at the window like "what?"
Timestamped 3:46 for a Top 10 anime betrayal between the two HECU grunts at the bottom left corner ;)
Lol My brother plays call of duty mordon warfare the new one he missed alot of shots and one time he killed his whole team by accident.
@@marthaacosta7739 No offense, but your brother is terrible at COD lol.
@@connorgolsong290 He has been playing for about 2 years and he did it becuse he thought the people on hia team were the other team he couldbt see id they were his team or the other team.
@@marthaacosta7739 That actually makes it funnier, thank you.
Small detail, but I really love how you tested out the Xenian launchpad at 1:40 with the cone, really adds to the idea that Gordon is still a scientist, and is of course going to test out this mysterious alien thing before stepping on it.
Thanks - exactly what I wanted to convey so I'm glad you picked up on it :)
@@Sexy_Nutella I wonder if THIS Osprey at 1:49 is the Goose-4 at the helipad, which then getting exploded by vortigaunts?
“ L O O K S L I K E A G I A N T O R A N G E I C E P O P , S I R . “
Loved how the other guy on the radio says something like "yup, that's him" afterwards
@@Sexy_Nutella 😆
I gotta buy this game this year!
We all have to but my whole gane is just so dark black textures the light dosent work I really need help with this plesas and thank you.
"Nice Camouflage, Asshole!"
It's a hazard suit, it's meant to be highly visible!
Just listening to the radios is terrifying. I mean you hear people bleeding out, calling for help, and even world ending outside.
Yeah. From those transmissions alone you can already tell how much of a gongshow it must be at the other sites where they are fighting the aliens
Plus the EAS message near the end. You know it’s not just the HECU that’s panicking, it’s the whole freaking country.
Just imagine how terrifying the Seven Hour War will be
There are several changes I made in this video that are NOT part of the base game:
- The radio transmission at 20:52 is a cut message that I really liked. Therefore I added it back in to where I think it most likely would have been
- I extended the EAS signout tone so that it leads into the start of the song "Surface Tension 3" at 31:46, for a more ominous tone
- Boosted the radio message at 32:09, it is impossible to hear over the soundtrack in the base game
- Boosted the Garg's roar at 33:38, it is barely audible in the base game
- Added chopper sounds to the Apache flyover at 35:38 - the base game lacks any sound for this sequence
That's what I was hoping to go for, glad you thought so!
@@kirillmaloshenko1281 Thanks! Yeah the "Holy shit, was that him" was added officially into the game in Apprehension, but the sniper radio transmission was something I added in. I did think about whether or not it would make sense for me to do so, but before I get onto the roof, a lone HECU grunt was up there shooting down at the aliens during the Manta v. tank scene, so I did think that it'd be justified for the HECU to have left a radio up there and not realise that Freeman might be listening in.
20:52 why is that cut? thats so good.
@@Sexy_Nutella I love that it builds suspense for the sniper climb, cuz normally it just shows up out of nowhere. I mean, the latter is what snipers are ideally supposed to *do*, but this is a video game- not only that, but one trying to be "valve quality". and valve is very well-known for letting the player know what they're up against when it matters
these are actually pretty nice additions, kinda improves the overall atmosphere of the chapter.
17:09
You can really see the panic of that guy in the tank the closer that manta ray got, the HECU is the faction I feel the most bad for.
Yeah, that was ridiculously good voice acting
Yeah, I thought I was the only feeling bad for the HECU soldiers in this section of the game, they're being overwhelmed by alien forces and desperate for reinforcements, and I'm killing what's left of them lol Well, it's not Gordon's fault that they want to kill him as well.
@@AndersonMallony-EricCF I know it may not be in the line with lore if there is any about them after Black Mesa but I wish some of them survived and decided to help out the resistance in Half-Life 2 maybe settle down a little bit if they could.
What kinda scary is that the xen invasion isn't just isolated to black mesa but rather the entire state of new mexico.
@@mikhilmuhuthan6903точно, помню сначала сообщалось об аварии и эвакуации с объекта , затем эвакуация проводится в радиусе 80 километров от объекта , а уже в конце оказывается что эвакуируют весь штат, и мобилизуют армию и всех кто может держать оружие , это действительно показывает всю плачевность ситуации. Но что меня всегда пугало , это то что солдаты и персонал комплекса , которым удалось выбраться оттуда , еще не подозревают что они не спаслись , а лишь оттянули неизбежное.
Простите что пишу на русском, надеюсь встроенный переводчик ютуб переведет мой комментарий.
Hard to think that back in the day most of this wasn't in the game, I'm so glad they added it back, cause it makes this chapter one of the best of the whole game. It's admirable how much effort the developers put in this chapter, trying to make the background look by huge adding those mountains in the desert, the airport, the fight sequences and the beautiful skybox, specially considering this is still Source engine. It always makes me think about all the hard work they put in this game by making it look as beautiful, complete and cinematic as possible. I'm glad you actually took the time to show us all of the beautiful views like 4:17 that weren't actually in the game before
Yeah, I'm really glad Chon was able to finish off the chapter. Having the Garg chase be right after the snark vent was kinda weird.
I always feel so bad for the poor guard at 29:25.
Yeah, he didn't deserve any of that. Although, I admit the first time I played through that section, I thought it was kind of played for comedy, given his line that it couldn't get any worse.
@@Sexy_NutellaI felt horrible, and at the same time laughed super hard... I'm not a sadist am I?
@@bluephoenix7565
Not really, laughter can be considered a mechanism of defense in order to cope with unexpected situations.
HECU grunt: Is that all you got!?!?
*Tank gets blown up by flying manta ray*
HECU grunt: Oh.
Haha, what a case of textbook jinxing ;)
I love how crowbar collective made this level, as it goes on it slowly leaves small hints as to the army struggling to gain a secure area in the research facility until it gets to the very end where it really starts throwing hints towards what will come in the next level
Yeah, the pacing in the chapter as a whole is great.
dude
your gameplay is top fucking notch, the amount of effort put into playing freeman like a careful scientist, the way you react to the setpieces around you, genuinely shows off what the game f e e l s like.
also the Tau jump as mortars hit the gargantuan was just
cherry on top of the cinematic cake, that move went hard
I am so happy to hear that you dig this style of gameplay, and especially that Tau jump haha. My aim with that is to make it "realistic" (get Gordon away from the blast zone) and also to get a good angle on how the mortar kills the Garg :)
Me leaving Valve HQ with the plans for HL3: 34:00
Lmao
You made my day
Jajaja xD
I really like those back and forth battles with the HECU pitted against the aliens. Gives you a sense of scale, you feel like there is a war around you and you are running straight into the fire.
Agreed. Whenever there are threeway battles like the ones in this segment, you really feel like you're part of a bigger fight as Freeman
the gargantua chase sequence has haunted my nightmares ever since i first played thru it. nothing else has ever made me feel a similar rush of adrenaline and pure terror.
Yeah, it's very well done. The buildup to the chase is superb.
I love how when the Garg shows up you have to IMMEDIATELY start hauling ass in order to get away. That thing is super menacing, way more than the one from Power Up.
Yeah, I believe the devs made a point to escalate each encounter with the Garg. This chase in ST is intense, but then you have the multiple Gargs chasing Freeman in Interloper! ha
Yeah. Feels the opposite of Striders from HL2 which definitely feel like RPG enemies which you can one-shot at higher levels in later episodes. This isn't a BAD thing, mind you, as this showcases the power of the Gravity Gun and Magnusson Device. @@Sexy_Nutella
3:47 one of the biggest bruh moment in gaming story.
I was laughing so hard when I saw that. I guess that grunt was just way too stressed out. Canonically there might have been a bunch of friendly fire incidents like this, who knows
Man, I forgot how good this game was in terms of atmosphere. I Should totally go replay it.
Yeah, the atmosphere in this game is so unique, even compared to HL1
17:33 that vort is a savage legit just went up and stab the dude
Right?? What a trooper
29:27 this part is always sad and frustating. I understand what you feel try to open the door. I try to save the guard many times i played even with traps.
Such an unlucky guy.
@@Sexy_Nutella I know :'(
I wonder why the door suddenly locks right at that moment
@@WastedPotentiaI1 the door has a retinal scanner. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to explain any further.
Just finished watching it
I love this part of the game because it really shows how desperate the HECU is, and how they are losing the war against the aliens... and you managed to capture all that essence in this video.
Also i love the new rocks design, and the new animations they added that contribute to the atmosphere.
Yeah, I really wanted to play in a way that sells the hopeless nature of the HECU v Xenian fights
@@Sexy_Nutella my favourite part of the Hecu vs Xen war is the dogfight during the topside battle in Forget about Freeman, it really shows the scale of the invasion, not only on land but the skies too
@@Infamous_Val_05 Yeah that's my favourite sequence too! :)
17:11 “Is that all you got!?” Probably a bad choice of words…
Textbook jinxing!
Well this was just delightful! I know you were having problems with AI shenanigans and that the fight scenes weren't going great..but the footage you got here looked fantastic. I really like you adding back in that diologue with the sniper. It adds something that I think would have been missing without it. What an amazing job..I think this may have been your best video yet for this project. Highly impressed.. take as long as you need to get them right, because these results are worth any wait :D
Thanks! This video did take me the most effort and time thus far, I am glad you noticed the fruits of my labour :)
now THIS is what i've been looking forward to all week, your gameplay is second to none!
Glad you liked it! Put a lot of work into this one in particular :)
Brimming with novelty, this chapter adds so much depth and identity to the story! At times, it might feel like the studio have gone a tad too far on the 'spectacle' aspect and away from the 'combat' part, but just then they added the sniper section, announced from a freaking radio! I absolutely adore those little winks to Opposing Force, like "Goose-4", "This whole operation is FUBAR" etc. The whole idea of the aerodrome is breathtakingly-well executed, from the initial glimpse in the distance, through the airstrips and landing pads, down to the last part where you sneak across the hangar with the guard. Also the combat feels more demanding and there's actually no need to look for a reason to use the rocket launcher more often. Being able to program the sentry guns is also a nice touch.
Yeah, these maps were perfectly paced in my opinion. I second the thought on the RPG, once I got it it became very difficult to use any other weapon on the harder enemies. It was so easy to just shoot and forget.
Realism in half life: WE. GOT. HOSTILES.
Realism in black Mesa: my team…ambushed. Losing a lot of blood here..left leg..
Makes the HECU so much more human. I dug it.
The later parts of Surface Tension really do a good job of making the situation feel apocalyptic and giving a sense of doom, something that HL1 tried but imho didn't do as well as BM. The HECU, which is presumably one of if not the most advanced military forces on the planet, is totally outmatched and getting massacred by the Xenians. Black Mesa itself seems to be crumbling, with buildings being demolished or badly damaged, and then you have the EAS alert that confirms the invasion has spread FAR outside of the base. It really shows that this is not just cleaning up one facility...the survival of the entire world is in Gordon's hands.
As an aside, I love the skyboxes in this chapter, especially how the sky goes from clear and sunny in the first few maps, to partially filled with smoke in the middle of the chapter, to completely darkened and blocked out by the end as the battle gets more and more intense. It's a really nice touch.
Yeah, Surface Tension in Black Mesa in my eyes is miles above HL1's, and the change in atmosphere is a large part of it. The skybox and how it changes from clear blue sky to smoke-filled sunset is amazing.
@@Sexy_Nutella Definitely! It's a masterpiece.
Imagen if apaches at 35:38 seen Doctor Freeman and just sent rocket his way to kill him
Finally, Gordon can take a break from all the tension on the surface. An awesome end to the long chapter, especially showing how desperate and frenzied the HECU was
Yeah, I'm glad these maps were added back into the base game. ST was definitely missing a huge chunk of story without them
Girls during PE: UGGGH IM SO TIRED
Boys: 3:50
Basically how vicious dodgeball was for me when I was in junior high/highschool hahaha
@@Sexy_Nutella Man, the amount of times I accidentally blew up my own team mates during school dodgeball. Stupid idea storing the missile launchers next to the balls, but hey.
23:23 "Hey Asshole!"
That part gets me every time lmao.
That gauss jump to escape the explosion at 36:02 was super smooth.
edit: What was that noise the marines made at 7:44?
Thanks - I figured it wouldn't really make sense for Gordon to be so close to the blast zone so I was trying to come up with a way to move him off the platform without getting fall damage. Also allows me to get a good angle on the Garg blowing up
That noise at 7:44 is one of the HECU's gib death sounds
3:47 poor soldier :( killed by teammate. Welp its nice that you still continue The gameplay
Yeah, it's kind of both hilarious and sad that the HECU shot a rocket right at him lmao
When the teacher leaves the room for 1 second and comes back 11:35
Hahaha!
nah Bloodhound is your buddy who got out of his class to come and hang out
Yea.
17:08 without fail, I always get chills at this bit. The music is so good
I've watched this 3 times lol, you did not disappoint.
Thanks! Glad to hear the hard work paid off :)
29:23 Civvie11 bringing up the Sarah Connor Psychiatrist scenes into his Half-Life Review really captures the desperate mood I keep getting playing this nowadays.
I really gotta watch that video - it's on my list but I just haven't gotten around to it haha
you had some pretty sweet RPG kills in this section, but 28:27 is the crowning glory
Haha, I'm glad you brought that up. I was initially aiming for the vort after missing the smg grenade, but the Guard killed it so I had to quickly adjust my laser pointer. In retrospect it might have been a tad overkill to fire an RPG at a Vort, but I didn't want to deal with its annoying dodge move.
@@Sexy_Nutella what the guard said right after was on point hahaha
True that!! Haha
I really love this part of the game, good that they made the ST Uncut an official part of the game. ST Really needs this escalation into Forget About Freeman. That little sneaking around part is pretty cool, altho feels a bit unnecessary. The snipers on the other hand, that could've been a longer section.
About your video :
- The turret sequence vs Vorts reminded me how overblown the gibbing in the game is. I mean it's a cool thing for explosions ,but bodies falling apart from machine guns and the shotgun is too much.
- I liked the more cinematic experimenting with the launch pad
- 7:00 never thought of getting in the vents the other way for that loot. Good to know that's an option.
- "They look distracted enough" - "Yeah!" - that was a happy coincidence I bet :D
- 29:26 Poor guard deserved better :(
You can actually fight those HECU soldiers at the hangar instead of stealthing it, but there isn't a non-lethal approach aside from sneaking unfortunately. I do agree that the gibbing is comical with the shotgun and 50cal, but it is undeniably satisfying to make enemies explode in a shower of gibs using them haha. Feels like the 50cal scene from Rambo 4. Thanks for the comment!
I know gibbing is kind of weird in Black Mesa, but I saw what could an M2 Browning .50 Cal (12.7mm) anti air heavy machine gun do to an armored car. Gibbing would be pretty comedic if you'd been hit by this gun, because you'd have been literally split into two.
@@dustypaint I know those guns can literally split you in two. But that needs more. Here it's like if one bullet hits, the enemy falls to half a dozen pieces. And same with the shotgun. I really don't get why games suggest shotguns have such an over the top stopping power, like instead of pellets it was slugs hitting the enemy.
3:40
That marine on the bottom left is probably drunk.
29:27
I always imagine the guard beating the grunt up and the grunt is the one screaming.
30:57
Imagine having to leave your home, and you don’t know what the heck is the government talking about. You hear this “unknown hostile force.” Are they some sort of unidentified human group? Well, you will most likely see it yourself while driving on the highway.
Just envision driving and seeing a gargantua crush cars and incInerate them.
32:10 I think that radio is a small reference to Romeo and Juliet. The one bleeding is Juliet. The guy hearing him is Romeo. In the story, I believe Juliet dies.
That EAS message really is terrifying
More to Trivia:
*Alongside with the release of 'Surface Tension Uncut', zombified HECU marines were added in BM;
*19:54 - in original game you can destroy any snarks' nest (a.k.a. snark ammo) by yourself and snarks will swarm you;
*HECU marines are actually using the NATO phonetic alphabet, here are some of terms from radio chatters: IFAK - Individual First Aid Kit, LZ - Landing Zone, ETA - Estimated Time of Arival, Mike - Minute;
*20:53 - this radio could play another HECU's radio chatter between sniper and commanding officer about the identification of Gordon Freeman, but it was cut ( ruclips.net/video/yIsZSqGNvn8/видео.html, the respond 'radio_st_sniper_treefrog04' start with "They spot him."), that's nice that you restored it;
*23:35 - on original game this marine survived the explosion, but in BM this moment looks a bit commical and also shows that HECU marines are a bit dumb (alongside with mispelled graffiti "SURRENDER FREEMEN" and "YORE DEAD FREEMAN" in HL1 - ruclips.net/video/jAnNALE1cHY/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/jAnNALE1cHY/видео.html );
*33:55 - noclipping in the tunnel where Garg come from leads to another pizza box and "The Pizza is a LIE!" graffiti;
*34:30 - in the original game the entire entrance to the Lambda complex was surrounded by a canal and connected to the rest of the Black Mesa territory by some kind of a drawbridge ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html );
*35:52 - "I just shot three of them for dramatic effect": in HL1 when you're sending target for artillery team with tactical map you actually start series of six strikes ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html );
*35:28 - "... we are pulling out and commencing airstrikes.": in BM there's no airstrikes start in your presence in this area, but in HL1 after you jump over a broken wall, militaries start artillery barrage which hit in random places of the area around you and it can actually kill you in some cases (a good example of such a case: ruclips.net/video/hx7fuFw7AbY/видео.html );
*37:33 - and again, there's no signs that airstrikes are starting, but in original game when you running inside of this tunnel it is showing that tunnel start to collapse ( ruclips.net/video/UZnd1no0mCw/видео.html ) and you must be prepared to dodge from falling celling parts (which actually will happen in the beginning of 'Forget About Freeman' - ruclips.net/video/6LAWKUbd7C0/видео.html ).
P.s.:
*"The radio message at 23:23 mentions an IFAK. This stands for Individual First Aid Kit", - you misspelled, it's actually at 33:23 ;)
*"In prior builds, if Gordon does not kill the Garg and manages to make it to the bunker, the Garg will break the gate at 37:09 and follow him", - wow, I never noticed that before :D Is it still present in Definitive Edition? Btw, I found another video from the same channel: ruclips.net/video/xp0p2LrIL2w/видео.html
Nope, you can't get the Garg to chase you down to the Lambda bunker anymore in the Definitive Edition unfortunately
I have a feeling the airstrike wasn't added to that seen to pretend the Player from freaking out seeing airstrikes falling on them even though it was seen in WGH
Was all that looking at the airport to suggest Gordon was thinking of trying to escape instead of going to the Lambda Complex but decided against it? If so, excellent characterization
Not intentionally - I had simply wanted to show all aspects of the airfield to the viewer, however your interpretation is solid and we can pretend that was my intention all along ;)
Damn, your interpretation just make these bits even better.
After the Surface Tension epic, going through Forget about Freeman should be a breeze :) I was always a bit bummed out by how short that chapter is. Considering it even features the last bits of HECU, I feel like it might have even been a part of Surface Tension.
Yeah, it always kind of felt like an extension of Surface Tension. Though it having its own chapter makes it easier to reference the big topside fight in it. Hoping to have it done faster than I did any of the ST videos haha
el mejor remake de un capitulo en la historia de los fps, quede sin palabras
que grande Nutella
Gracias :)
The buildup for Gargantua was phenomenal, it reminded me of the first Hunter from HL2EP2. I just wish this was the first encounter with Gargantua in the game, it would have made his reveal more impactful. Also nice jump back with the Tau Cannon at 36:01, made me imagine the scene as the climax of an action sequence in a movie and I guess that was your intention (besides getting a good shot of Garg's death). Btw kinda funny a piece of Garg bouncing on the alien trampoline here 36:07 lol
yeah, the gauss jump was to explain how Gordon would've survived a shell impact that close, and also to get a good view of the Garg dying.
4:20 I never realized that
Yeah, it's neat to see how all the maps interconnect
17:16 that sound is the same sound of the thumpers from HL2 being deactivated.
Well, I gotta say I wasn't expecting you to put out a video so soon, especially one of this length.
Ps, IMDB says to never get attached to the NPCs of HL1 because they all die in one way or another.
Crowbar Collective took that to another level. And it's a little harder not to get attached because they all have distinct personalities compared to HL1.
Yeah, people like to rag on how all the guards and scientists sound the same but they all have their own personalities and quirks which I loved.
when i first played this (black mesa was my first experience of half-life btw), the moment of that EAS broadcast really unsettled me. it felt like the clock was ticking, like i had to get the hell out of black mesa before these airstrikes occurred. that soundtrack you heard during the IFAK message was playing as I listened to the EAS and the repeated dotting sound of the track started playing as soon as the part about airstrikes hitting black mesa was heard. this is some top-level stuff by CC and honestly this will remain my absolute favorite game for years to come, even though it's just a mod.
30:08 Key is in the ignition, right? If I were Freeman I wouldve carjacked this Jeep and gotten away from this hellscape. Black Mesa Facility could not pay me enough overtime for all this
I’ve played the original HL1 but BM does a far better job of showing the severity of this whole incident. This gameplay is amazing
Haha I think the key is in there, though it seems Gordon couldn't have taken it far anyway before having to go on foot anyway!
Love your gameplays! Keep it up!
Will do! Super excited for the topside fight in the next chapter :)
35:12
I hope they tie this into Operation Black Mesa, even if they aren't being made by the same studio.
Though it would be true to Opposing Force in a way if Tripmine and Crowbar collabed somehow with OBM since Gearbox and Valve did that with OpFor back in the day too.
I'm personally looking forward to seeing the Surface Tension dam again :) with the Garg strapped to the bridge
@@Sexy_Nutella Honestly same, I can't wait for that either. The dam in opposing force is great.
Also I just wanted to say that I love your videos and consider them canon
@@Apollo-vc6sc That means a lot, I appreciate the kind words :)
32:18
Hgrunt: [Labored Breathing] "Any Station, Any Station this is Echo-3-Juliet My team...ambushed...I am injured. I'm losing a lot of blood here...left leg"
Corpsman:"Echo-3-Juliet this is Echo-5-Romeo, I need you to tie a tourniquet a hand's length above the wound. Get one from your IFAK now"
Hgrunt: [Labored Breathing] "IFAK's gone."
Corpsman:"Say again?"
Hgrunt:[Weaker Breathing] "My IFAK'S gone...I'm..uh...---"
Corpsman:"Okay, you're going to need to find another pack, and get a tourniquet out of it."
Corpsman:"Are you still there?-- Echo-3-Juliet, Can you hear me?"
Felicia Yu:"This is Echo-3-Juliet, Uh this guy here is passed out right now. Caught him right when he just slumped over, I found an IFAK off some guy named Henderson?"
Corpsman:"Who are you, This is a military channel, State your name Now!"
Felicia:"2nd Lieutenant Felicia Yu, High level security guard for the Black Mesa research facility."
Corpsman:"Get off this channel!"
Felicia:"Look here I have a 4-year-old kid and her father with me right now. Do you want to save this guy or not I know you swore the Hippocratic oath did you not?"
Corpsman:"Uh Yes Ma'am"
Felicia:"Then help me Corpsman, what remains of Echo-3-Juliet depends on it."
The Corpsman talked to Felicia through the process and managed to save the guy's life but barely
Felicia:"Okay Done!"
Corpsman:"Okay I need you to--"
Felicia:"Say again last? Echo-5-Romeo Say again last, what do we do from here?"
Corpsman:"You guys are on your own, My team's pulling out."
Felicia:"At least give us a way out of here Goddamnit"
Another man was overheard on the radio on Felicia's end
Eli:"Hey watch your language, I don't want Alyx picking that up."
Felicia:"Sorry Dr.Vance"
Echo-5-Romeo came back on the radio the sounds of helicopter blades being more present
Corpsman:"We can't take him so you're going to have to take him with you, The best way out of here for you is the West gate least amount of resistance I think, you're heading there right now?"
Felicia:"Affirmative Echo-5-Romeo, we should be able to reach it in the next couple minutes though it might be a little longer while hauling this guy uhh Sergeant Riley"
The sound of helicopter blades cutting through the air made it almost impossible to hear on the other side of the radio
Corpsman:"I NEED TO CUT COMMS FOR OTHER UNITS, HOPE YOU MAKE IT 2ND LIEUTENANT...GODSPEED"
Felicia:"Godspeed Echo-5-Romeo Godspeed"
And with that they continue to go over to the Western gate of Black Mesa with Sergeant Riley in tow with nothing but faith, good luck, and duct tape in order to get out of Black Mesa.
Done
Don't get a lot of feedback so how I do?
At 3:48 the hecu guy blew his teammate to pieces with an rpg HAHAHAHAH
Yeah, that looked equally hilarious and sad hahaha
3:47 Is he just shot his own teamates with a freeking rocket?
haha, this is just getting better and better, it could become a movie!
That's what I aim for with these videos, so I'm glad you think so too :)
30:02 se que es ficción,pero me preguntó cómo sería tener una experiencia así,ver un estado de emergencia por la radio y tv por una guerra alienígena xd._.
¡Es algo muy aterrador! Imagínese escuchar eso en la vida real: O
@@Sexy_Nutella no sabia que sexy nutella hablaba español jajjajaa que genial
13:25 LOL ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT LEG
23:35 He didn't really thought that through did he?
17:48
Alien Grunt gains 10+ points for high IQ
Yeah, that was a clutch move on its part
i always pass by that wounded marine
and the medic healing his colleague at the end which i don't remember but could be in the surface tension overhaul mod
I believe it is ya, no non-hostile marines exist in the base game
Me running away from my older brother when I steal his 19 dollar fortnite card: 34:00
Surface tension uncut is also my fav, it is a remix of 'drums and riffs' or 'tau9'
(Edit: i've recently found out that 'we've got hostiles' is a remix of 'adrenaline horror')
I do notice the similarities - nice observation!
Why I cant double or triple the Like Button? This is so Good 👍 ❤❤❤
Glad you think so!
That gargantua chase 33:30 awesome
R.I.P. the funny security guard who did that cool HECU section with u
While I really enjoyed some the additional scale/world-building Crowbar did, like adding the big parking lots & the airfield, I think some of the lore stuff they added to try and connect it more to Half-Life 2 kinda takes away from the original game and dare I say ruins it. I really liked the Emergency Alert radio message and it was really well done... but if the original Half-Life and Opposing Forces endings are canon (they are according to Laidlaw), then... the nuke went off, BM disappeared, & the public was never the wiser. Also Gman was the Administrator of BM, and "his" forces controlled Xen at the end so... pretty hard to reconcile that with HL2.
I appreciate you taking the time to look around and show off the world & environments, and listen to the various radio traffic so that we the viewers get the full experience and a sense of the world. Surface Tension is probably the best and maybe most iconic portion of Half-Life, outside of the very beginning; that whole you being dropped into a warzone (which is itself telling a story) between the military and aliens is just great.
lol watching this though, I want the damn marines to just use the .50 cal turrets. Even the Bradley / APC is just dumb as can be. "OH LOOK - Heavily armed and armored aliens are dropping right in front me... I know! Instead of hiding behind these sandbags and using a full auto .50 cal heavy machine gun, I'll just stand up and run directly at them with my pistol caliber smg! HOO-RAH!" In the original HL they actually tied the marines to the turrets so they wouldn't leave & use the normal marine AI... I feel like they really really needed to do that kind of hack here, since they obviously couldn't program the AI to do it.
Thanks for the comment! I always thought that the public did know that the Resonance Cascade was at least in part caused by Black Mesa - I recall that the newspaper clippings in HL2 and HL: Alyx mention something along those lines. I think there may have been leaks of what happened at the facility, especially with how legendary Gordon Freeman became by the time of HL2. As well, Wallace Breen was the administrator of Black Mesa, not G-man; I believe him saying "Xen is under our control" just means that they are no longer contending with the Nihilanth.
Surface Tension is a great chapter like you said, I do agree that the marines' hesitancy to exhibit any form of common sense sometimes is kind of hilarious to see, that refusal to use the .50cal being a prime example.
Just wanted to say one thing. Two things actually.
I'm pretty sure when Half-Life 1 was being developed (and written), they didn't expect to make a sequel. I'm also pretty sure the HECU marines in HL1 were supposed to be stronger than the forces from Xen. At the end of HL1 you can see American soldiers and tanks in Xen, suggesting they thought they had an upper hand and invaded Xen. Maybe, whoever G-Man has been working for, believed humans can be used to conquer Xen and secure the border world.
In the end it was G-Man who brought THE crystal to Breen, the Administrator, and that crystal caused the Resonance cascade. Because Freeman proved himself capable, G-Man believed it's Gordon who can kill the Nihilanth and free the border world from the Combine control. (However in HL1 there was no Combine yet.)
Because of the events prior HL2, the invasion of HECU forces to Xen doesn't make sense.
With that Seven hours war the whole story of Half-Life universe changed and the strength of HECU soldiers didn't make sense anymore.
So that's why Black Mesa as a game tells a better story of skirmishes between humans and Xenians. Don't get me wrong, I love both games equally, but Black Mesa had a chance to tie up the lore of Half-Life universe and the devs knocked it out of the park.
Oh and I had to subscribe to ur channel couple of days ago. I watch your playthrough while in quarantine, although I played the 2012 BM, the 2015 BM and quite recently (because of said quarantine) went to Xen. Your videos on all HL games are amazing and seriously need more views. And subs. Found your channel thanks to the Black Mesa is genius and here's why video and for that I am extremely grateful to Soup Emporium.
Thanks for the comment. I do believe that Valve themselves have said that the reason the HECU were shown on Xen in Endgame was because the engine did not allow them to render two different skyboxes in one map. I think it was intended that the HECU and the tanks are depicted on Earth instead. Though I do agree that HL1's story was not designed to organically flow into HL2's (at first anyway). I'd imagine Valve deliberately left that ending ambiguous.
I appreciate the kind words and am glad you enjoy my content! Hopefully my final few videos for this series will be equally as enjoyable.
16:33
"I'm upside-down. Please turn me over."
Poor marine :(
Curiously, for me it kinda breaks the inmersion when the players stops to look at the surroundings, or move slowly to appreciate it better; because gordon is in the middle of an alien invasion, I imagine him running and moving fast, being in an emergency he wouldn't stop to look at the birds etc.
On the other side, this is great for appreciating all the details the developers put!
I can understand that. I play the game through like this to show off the little details like you said. I do quicken the pace in combat sequences, and I do think the sense of urgency is still there, but I can see why you'd play differently for the sake of maintaining realism
you dont say a thing, and still, i im laughing, the way you move the camera makes me laugh
I love how the alien can destroy the APC 13:06
Yeah, I believe they just melee the APC until it blows up, and the turret can't reach them when they're right below it lol
29:25 this part is the thing i least expected while playing black mesa. I wanted to save him from that suffering but the game doesnt allow you to kill him, even after that. Felt so bad having to hear all that while i cant do anything
9:52 reference to Operation "Badger's Tooth" from Vietnam War (attention to the subtitles)
Wow, that's some awesome trivia. I googled it and learned something today. Thanks for that :)
@@Sexy_Nutella 11:40 another reference to Operation "Virginia Ridge" also from Vietnam War of 1969
@@AndersHunter Didn't realize the references were that indepth. Thanks for sharing again!
The full-scale war between the military and the aliens reach a all time peak, the sun starts to set over black mesa, and the sky is filled with ash and smoke, the aliens would grow even more in strength, more alien grunts teleport into the facility, manta rays destroy tanks and groups of soldiers, and a garguntua destroying anything in its path, and freeman gets closer to the lambda complex, the military start pulling out of the facility.
17:18 i heard that sound in hl2
Yeah, definitely a HL2 sound. I think it's from the Citadel?
it's from a thumper when you're shutting it down
18:30 Can you believe somebody was just going to throw that out???
RIP Bloodhound-3, you still did your duty o7
There's a very weird glitch in the game around the start of this video - go out of the stairwell (2:50) noticing the open area to your left, then turn right and run to the next 'room' of the carpark (going down a ramp) and enter the stairwell at the far end. Go up the stairs and you find yourself BACK WHERE YOU STARTED, with the same open area to your left (I checked the vehicle registrations and it is exactly the same)
i haven't come across such a thing in a FPS before and it took me a while to figure out - to someone new to FPS's it would be totally baffling.
I believe this is simply because the same staircase connects across all 3 levels of the parking garage? If you take the ramp back down to ground level you'll be able to access the stairs all the way back up to the top as well.
@@Sexy_Nutella It's not the same staircase though, the two entrances via the middle level are quite a long way apart at opposite ends of the garage - but when you go to the top you always emerge at the same place.
Anyway, it was your video that prompted me to stop running around inside the garage, but to exit via the big drop at the end. I would have expected such a big indoor space to have more going on but it turns out just to be a route to the big drop, so apart from the eye-candy, it might as well have just been a corridor.
if you do decide to check this out, I'd be interested in your experience, just to see if I didn't imagine it..
@@jakell99 I think I know what you're referring to now, the big ramp that vehicles use to traverse the parking garage eventually leads to the top, as does the staircase. So both paths allow you to just reach the top. A bit of pathing to allow for exploration in an otherwise strictly linear game :P
23:22 🤣🤣🤣
Poor guy didn't think it through xD
The red wheel at 24:50 is bugged for me, it's stuck in the door no matter how many times i reset the quicksave.
Update: i just tanked through the burning pipe instead.
Can you do the same thing in 36:03 on the Xen elevator of Interloper? That would be dope.
I'll think about it, though with the Long Jump Module I don't think it'd be as dramatic as here. The gauss jump doesn't cover as much ground as the module for sure.
Surface tension is easily best chapter of the game.
Agreed. I love this chapter so much.
Man...Kind of makes you remember your conscience of how the military *_not_* the bad guys we believe they are, and all the killing you've been doing to them.
Better in parts rather than a 4 hours video 👍
Glad you enjoy them!
36:00 god damn clean man!
you are the best "immersive Gordon Freeman" i've seen so far!
oh yassss congrats on getting good shots! I saw your update that this chapter glitches a lot, any plans for a blooper reel ? XD
also great job on that gauss jump and three shells, very dramatic looking indeed!
Thanks! I always considered a blooper reel but I always have like a few hundred clips from each chapter, so i delete most of them for storage space. That being said i might just specifically do a blooper run separately after this is all done :)
34:25-sound from Zombieman from Doom 2.
I don't recognize it, but the Tau Cannon pickup animation also uses the Doom door sound, so I wouldn't be surprised in the least.
got by freeman look at leg 13:23
Lol, love how it slotted right into that gap
7:41 You shot too early guys.
Wonder if they thought they got Freeman, only to be totally surprised when he shoots an smg grenade right in their faces haha
8yrs old me running after i press the neighbor’s doorbell: 34:00
damn i dont think ive ever gotten to this point in black mesa, its such a diffrence from the original, how the tone changes from horrific disaster to end of days is really such a stark difference compared to the original
I saw a video of someone playing a version of this with a HECU soldier with PTSD sitting on the box at 22:29 that won't harm you and again walking along the wall at at 31:20 or around there. What version or mod is that?
If I'm not mistaken, I'm Pretty sure it's chapter overhaul.
13:26 random leg landing 😂😂
Ok it started from local eas to statewide eas and now National EAS
It's crazy to hear how widespread the extent of the Black Mesa incident is by this point.
In the description it mentions the IFAK message is at 23:23 when its actually at 32:23
Simple typo i guess lol
Finally someone remind it xD though only i was seeing it
Thanks. Somebody else had pointed it out as well, but I forgot to fix it. It should be fixed now.
Good, as always
Thanks man!
Weird. I do not get the radio chatter in my game
Man, I love Black Mesa
Me too
Me three :)
The snipers in these Half-Life games are frickin evil! Once they have you pinned down, they act like a cat playing with a mouse before they kill it. That is until they realize that the mouse has some high powered explosives they can use to put through the cat's sniper nest.