A game like Black Mesa is one of the riskiest a developer can make. You're taking a beloved piece of gaming history and remaking it. The original Half Life was a gaming juggernaut, so what's the risk? Ask the producers of the Ghostbusters reboot. When you start messing with peoples' great memories, you run the risk of really getting yourself in hot water.

Well, make no mistake: Black Mesa is *exactly* the game those brilliant developers at Valve had in mind when they made the original Half Life. Don't get me wrong; I'm not denigrating the original, not by any stretch of the imagination. I own two copies -- the original CD and my new Steam copy -- and I'm going to continue enjoying the original. But Black Mesa really is what that game wanted to be. It just has the advantage of having software that wasn't even a twinkle in an engineer's eye back in 1998, and consumers with rigs that can make the most of that output. If Valve were making Half Life today, I'm sure Black Mesa is what it would look like.

But make no mistake, folks: this is NOT a direct remake. You, like I, may know the Half Life levels forward and backward, where every goody is, and where every weapon is. Well, forget it. In giving HL its facelife, the Black Mesa developers moved, tweaked, and subtly altered the game. You'll recognize rooms, places, and sequences with nostalgia. But that shotgun in the security cage with the guard? It ain't there. You won't be able to take your old Half Life knowledge and speedrun Black Mesa. And, in my estimation, that's a good thing.

There are new environmental puzzles. The facility, even in its run-down sectors, is gorgeous eye-candy all the way. Little unobrusive easter eggs (like the Black Mesa emergency procedures signs) add flavor to the levels and give we old-timers a nod without breaking the world immersion. That Crowbar Collective has dedicated thousands of person-hours to this project is obvious: this masterpiece is a labor of love.

If you're a Half Life fan, a Portal fan, or just like a good atmospheric shooter, this is a must-buy. I'll admit it freely: I was leery of this title. "How do you remake a game like Half Life?" I kept asking myself. The answer? Like this. This is how it's done.