So, first up, we're delving into what exactly has taken so long - especially in light of 2008's rather stunning trailer that promised a release date of, er, three years ago.
And that, as it's turned out, has been a lot harder than Montero and his constantly fluctuating team first assumed. The goal, then, is to improve on something already considered by many to be perfect. To hear project lead Carlos Montero tell it, Black Mesa's an obsessively redesigned, rebuilt-from-the-ground-up love letter to Valve's opus.
Maybe, though, that part's not such a coincidence. The lofty promises, the incredibly lengthy periods of radio silence, the incessant cries of 'vaporware' and 'it'll probably be a huge letdown' - all of it. Create a robust mod based around a game in that franchise, and its development mirrors that of its crowbar-wielding, hazard-suit chic father series nearly one-to-one. Name your franchise Half-Life, and it takes half a lifetime to come out. The universe has a weird fondness for improbable coincidences.
