Black Mesa Mod Misses Its Release Year

For some shooter fans, it's been a tough year. Games which had originally been promised to see the light of day in 2009--Splinter Cell: Conviction, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2--all ended up slipping to next year for one reason or another. It wouldn't be a long shot (hah) to blame a certain record-breaking FPS game that came out this holiday season for stealing the limelight as well as potential gamer dollars. However, up until yesterday, there remained a particular title that was steadfast in its dedication to release alongside the giant of Modern Warfare 2 - in part because it appeals a wholly different shooter audience--though no less hardcore in their own right--and, of course, because it's a free mod.

We saw the first trailer of Black Mesa a bit over a year ago, when fans and modders alike were celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the release of the original Half-Life. Even seeing the video now will likely send chills down the spine of anyone who appreciated the PC classic when it originally came out. In addition to all the unforgettable Half-Life moments, the mod promises all-new graphics, dialogue, models, weapons, co-op modes... almost a reimagining of one of PC's greatest games, but with modern tools.

Fans have been clamoring for the mod's release since even before the first footage was shown, promising a 2009 release, and the Black Mesa team expressed their deep appreciation for those fans when they had to announce they wouldn't make the date:

Unfortunately, to our great disappointment, Black Mesa will not make a 2009 release.

Cynics may now rejoice, bets may be collected, and I think a mod team member has to eat his shoe, but we hope our loyal fans will forgive us and realize that the delay will translate into a better final product that's (hopefully) more easily available to everyone.

Mod teams of all sizes are frequently afflicted by the threat of incompletion - sometimes a byproduct of overestimating their own product's scale and sometimes from the simple economy of time: unless you have a salaried sales manager looming over your head setting deadlines, it's hard to see such a complex undertaking all the way through. That's exactly the reason why so many fans, including yours truly, were elated and starry-eyed at the determination set forth by the Black Mesa mod team in getting their game out this year.

Still, even with the delay, I remain quite hopeful for the final product. The bad news is tempered with the project leader's note: "We are floored by the level of support you have given us and are very excited we're so close to reaching our goal." So it's not going to be too much longer, in any case! Whether the mod team will go into crunch mode after the holidays or just keep on plugging and polishing to perfection, it's sure to result in a happy ending for dedicated fans who want to help Gordon Freeman escape Black Mesa all over again.

Or, to quote one of my favorite artists, "A delayed game eventually good; a bad game is bad forever."

[via: CVG]