Black Mesa is a very cinematic game; the setpieces are epic and grandoise in comparison with their HL1 counterparts and are often accompanied with an equally cinematic score. Notable examples that come to mind include the aftermath of the Resonance Cascade, the lobby fight in Questionable Ethics, the topside battles in We’ve Got Hostiles and Forget about Freeman, arriving on the Borderworld, and the various encounters with the Gonarch. What these setpieces all have in common is that, while they are memorable in their own right due to the way they’re crafted, an equally large part of what makes them feel so cinematic is the story of Half-Life itself. For instance, Forget about Freeman’s topside battle hits hard because players know the implications of the HECU’s defeat - the Resonance Cascade is now out of control with nobody left to fix the mess it created, and its effects are felt worldwide and is the precursor to the Combine’s occupation of Earth. Similarly, the final arena in Gonarch’s Lair is an intense fight mixed with a feeling of somberness as the player has come to know of the titular beast as both a monstrous alien as well as a protective mother. In both examples, Joel Nielsen’s score conveys these thematic elements of the story in unique and inventive ways. However, for me personally this final elevator battle that caps off the lengthy Interloper chapter takes the cake for most cinematic moment in the game. It is an excellent combination of what I’ve mentioned above - epic scale, great soundtrack, and seamless integration with the story and the player’s experiences: 1) From the get-go, players are unable to see the top of the elevator shaft. However, they do know that the end is near, as they’ve already spent the previous 8 maps climbing the damn Tower. The fact that the elevator ride itself is still an uninterrupted 7-minute sequence helps emphasize the scale of the Tower, as well as up the intensity as Freeman gets relentlessly assaulted by the Controllers 2) Joel Nielsen’s track “Ascension” is the perfect score for this sequence. What starts out as a low but unsettling drone gradually picks up as Freeman ascends, eventually culminating in a climax that calls back to the Black Mesa theme used right after the Resonance Cascade in Chapter 3. This connects the story back to the Earhthbound chapter and is a sharp reminder to the player as to what they’re fighting for - the fate of the Earth is resting in Freeman’s hands 3) As many players have also observed, the literal ascension of Freeman to the top of the Tower is paralled story-wise by his ascension into the stories of legend for both the Vortigaunts and humanity. Here is a man that survived against all odds, fighting tooth and nail to get to where he is now, simply because he was the right man in the wrong place. Players know this in the back of their mind as they’re blasting away the Controllers because they’ve experienced it through Freeman’s eyes. All the running, thinking, shooting and surviving has led to this elevator, and you’d be damned if you were going to let a few dozen screaming baby-headed aliens stop you Equally important to the elevator sequence is the map that occurs right after, where not a single enemy is encountered, and Freeman is simply making his way through the “command centre” of Nihilanth’s forces, eventually emerging at the tip of the Tower to another grand spectacle - dozens of Mantas circling the Nihilanth’s portal. Not only is this a satisfying payoff to the Xen chapters, it also provides a breather for players after the hellish interiors of the factory. Again, Joel Nielsen’s appropriately titled “Respite” track for the top of the Tower hits hard because it gracefully touches on all the thematic elements of both the game’s story and the player’s own personal experiences.
Also inside the command section, all the human probes taken from earth remind the player of his mission again. After 5 hours of alien landscapes a reminder like this is needed. The ammo stashes also indicate to switch back to the whole arsenal of weapons for the Nihilanth fight.
Whew, this one was a real challenge. Having to record a smooth 7-minute uninterrupted gameplay with specific actions at specific moments of the soundtrack is grueling to say the least. I'm also not a very skilled player, so I had many failed attempts where I missed a charged Tau shot because a Controller suddenly strafed to avoid it. I wished I could've taken less damage, but having the gameplay flow to the soundtrack was more important to me, which is why I kept the footage shown here. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as well. All that is left is Nihilanth now. I have a bunch of ideas of what to do for the final video, including a few edits that I'm excited to try (and that hopefully work) for the end sequence. We're in the homestretch now...see you all on the next video for the conclusion to the series :)
I love the fact that the controllers try to stop you in the elevator. Like, the Nihilanth is a massive powerful being with plenty of ways to defend itself, but the controllers clearly think you pose a real threat to it
Totally! It's such an empowering feeling - the fact that they all start spawning in as you ascend, highlighting that Freeman actually DOES have a chance of kiling their master. It's so badass.
I loved that moment too. It reminded me why I loved what Half Life has brought to the gaming scene: how it uses audio, visual and ingenuity to convey and narrate something that hits harder than any glossary or overexposed, or overstylized scene.
When Freeman was going to depart for Xen, the controllers teleported into the chamber to attempt to stop Freeman. It's like they foresee Gordon as an imminent threat that's coming to Nihilanth .
This video right here demonstrates why I love Black Mesa. Both because of it's cinematic set pieces, it's visual beauty, it's amazing music and combat... just.... everything. It show's the end of Freemans journey to messianic godhood. If you go back to Unforeseen Consequences, you'll see the contrast of Freeman then, and Freeman now. Freeman then wasn't special, he was a Theoretical Physicist from MIT that was trained to use an Hazard Suit; which wasn't even considered all that special, just something someone did at the BMRF. One of the older scientists even comments on how he used an older model, and you see a bunch of other people on Xen having used the suit. In Unforeseen Consequences, he has to have a dime a dozen security guard to protect him; and never even fired a weapon in his life before going through HEV training (and in Black Mesa Hazard Course Mod, the scientists overseeing the training even state that Freeman taking the weapons course was an error; but allow it, seeing it as being no harm to anyone besides his time). By the time of his ascent up the elevator, Freeman is the last hope of the human race; the only one left who can possibly hope to stop the invasion and save earth. This chapter also demonstrates why Freeman (and the Half Life series in general) stands with the greats of Science Fiction. When I was younger, I always wondered, "Why is Gordon Freeman such a big deal? He's just some scientist with a suit." And... that's the point. Freeman had no business standing with the likes of the Master Chief (An augmented super soldier with an AI companion), Doom Guy (a god personifying fury, rage, and anger), and Commander Shepard (the Sci Fi equivalent to a SEAL mixed with an ultra diplomat); at least at the beginning. But this whole game demonstrates what makes Freeman so special: He's a man who refused to die like he was supposed to, and was able to win against all odds. All the greats have some kind of enemy that they must face, and they are always made to be epic and bombastic in some capacity; or at the very least made grim and cold. The Master Chief had the Covenant, genocidal xenophobes that you had no problem with killing en-mass. And in the end, it's made to be a epic triumph when you finally succeed and destroy Halo. Commander Shepard had the Reapers, and he/she (I can never decide which is canonical in my mind; on one hand, Fem!Shep looks and sounds amazing. On the other hand, M!Shep/Tali'Zorah is the best love story and relationship) had to band together an Alliance against them from scratch; making it a story of friendship. Doom Guy is... Doom Guy... But Freeman's conflict with the Nihilanth is... somber I suppose. Unlike with the above examples, no one wants this fight. Freeman would like nothing more than to go home and live as normal a life that he could manage after all the horrors he's just experienced. The Nihilanth just wants to flee Xen and find a new home for himself and all the peoples that he has amassed after fleeing the Combine. You get the sense that, had circumstances been different, the Nihilanth and humanity could have been allies against the Combine. But there's no changing the past. Freeman is on a suicide mission by this point, and he knows it. "The Last... I am the last..." The Nihilanth is the last, the last thing stopping the Combine from invading earth; the last of his kind, and the last obstacle standing between Freeman and either death or home. There is no turning back now...
You bring up a really good point that the Resonance Cascade and subsequent alien invasion is a series of unfortunate events that both races are reacting to out of necessity for survival. Like you said Freeman didn't ask for this, he certainly didn't volunteer to fix it either; he does because he's the only one that can. Great comment!
@@Leitis_Fella Very true. Even in Half-Life 2, though the Combine soldiers are very clearly trying to kill you, the instances where they show humanity is still pretty impactful.
These tones where in HL1 aswell just to a lesser degree. Gordon got stronger as he fought through the natural progression of gameplay and the player getting better throughout the game, even in BM or the original it shows this story of fighting back and becoming stronger than those that oppose you
11:18 was my favorite part, where the scientist is saying "get to the portal freeman! Hurry!" was so immersive and it shows the scientists are always there teleporting you ammo and weapons
Listening to Ascencion: Eargasm 1.0 Listening to Ascension with perfectly timed charged Tau shots in 3:37, 5:16, 5:19 and 5:46 : Eargasm - Definitive Edition Loved it! 10/10 did watch it 3 times and probably would watch it again.
I love this comment haha. Thanks for the kind words. Did you notice the Gluon timing too in the first elevator stop with the single Shielded Controller? ;P
I just realized how many soundtracks Interloper has. -Mind games: Plays when alien controllers control the vortigaunts -Shadows of Death: Gargantua Chase -Interloper: Entering factory -Harbinger: Fighting buffed alien grunts -Critical Mass: Conveyer belt fight -Ascension: Elevator fight -Respite: Teleporting to nihilanth portal
At 12:04 I love how you just showed the previous islands that Freeman had to go through to get to the top of the Tower. "The Freeman shows his excellence in all things!" - Vortigaunt from Half-Life 2 (Chapter 8 Sandtraps)
@Fjuro I'm glad - I always keep the audience/viewer in mind when thinking about what to include in these videos to maximize the entertainment and immersion.
your choreographics, especially with the music, are what really set your videos apart from other showcase channels. Absolute joy to see them I remember seeing a comment from the "Ascension" soundtrack video the composer uploaded, saying how they believe that it's not just Gordon's physical ascension to the Nihilanth, but also his ascension as an average Black Mesa scientist into something beyond what was thought possible, the savior of both humankind and vortigaunts. The soundtrack reflects that perfectly, and I get goosebumps every time I hear the chorus now. Of course, your video helped with that 👍
I remember reading that comment too, and agree that the soundtrack captures that feeling perfectly. It's probably my favourite track in the game period :) Thanks for the kind words, maximizing immersion and presenting a cinematic experience is at the forefront of all my videos.
I know some may say Black Mesa's Interloper chapter is way too long but from how I see it, it explores out the atmosphere, growth, and technology the Nihilanth has in its structure. It also shows the adventure on how far Gordon went from the Gonarch's Lair, all the way to the top of the structure. Still wish it wasn't that badly optimized that turns my PC into a running microwave.
Really cool end for Interloper. Again, the actions syncing with the beats are great, what a tremendous effort put into this cinematic playthrough. Well, see you in the last one!
What I love about Black Mesa is the irony behind Xen Before, in Half Life, many considered Xen to be lackluster compared to the rest to the game, some even hated it. Now, in Black Mesa, many consider it to be their favorite part of the game. Another showcase of Crowbar Collective's incredible work, when I bought the game I felt like I was stealing from them, such an amazing game yet so cheap in price.
2:58 That JUMP I'm glad I was sitting on the toilet when this uploaded, because this was a pants-soilingly good time. The moment when Freeman decides to be a god and redeem the green men from cosmic slavery, armed with the height of technology and the prayers of two races behind him. Godspeed, Freeman.
Well said!! I love the double meaning behind the term ascension in this section of the chapter :) The soundtrack is so propulsive and really "elevates (heh)" the moment too.
@herrDOS honestly, it wasn't that bad. I finished HL again yesterday, and Iterloper was pretty fun. Aside from the first map. That one is the worst in the entire game. The factory was pretty fun. I like the fights, especially considering how large the arsenal is, you're at the peak of your power. I didn't like the spinning platforms at the end of the factory tho. And the last teleporter looks great. So menacing. Honestly, I like it better than the BM one.
It's awesome how well you're able to sync your gameplay with the music. I've tried it many times in a lot of games, but I'm sure you know better than just about anyone that it's a lot harder than it looks. I LOVE the elevator battle; it's one of my favourite parts of the game and a huge relief after the previous three maps. While the conveyor belt section drags on and on, at the end of the elevator ride I was almost expecting/wanting more. Black Mesa does a really good job of giving a sense of this being what the entire game has built up to. In HL1 I never really got the sense that I was close to the Nihilanth until I actually saw it. But here you can tell that the Alien Controllers are worried, throwing everything they have at Gordon, as opposed to earlier Xen chapters and even the beginning of Interloper where they didn't seem to see him as much of a threat. One thing that I like about Interloper in general is that it fleshes out the relationship between the Vortigaunts and the Controllers and Grunts. It really shows how the Vorts are living through Hell, and why they come to see Gordon as a messiah by the time of HL2. I think the name "Ascension" for the music fits in a lot of ways - it's not just a literal ascension, it's also the ascension of Gordon Freeman from an ordinary man to a legendary saviour. Also, this is a mobile battlefield section done right. There are at least as many enemies as the conveyor belt section, probably more, but it's not nearly as frustrating because there's no shortage of cover and basically an unlimited supply of health and ammo, and I've never had an issue with being blocked from moving by enemies here. It's much more well balanced, and that makes it WAY more fun. As an aside, there's something really satisfying about destroying those power cores. And last but not least the Nihilanth's portal is just amazing. The echoes from Black Mesa, the Xen islands from the previous chapters being visible in the distance...it all just does such a great job of sending the message of "This is it. Everything you've done has been leading up to this moment."
Great analysis on the "ascension" theme and how it applies to the game in more ways than one. I also agree wholeheartedly on the satisfaction of popping the shield crystals, though that feeling is just slightly edged out by how great it felt to annihilate the Controllers with unlimited Gluon/Tau :)
All of the Interloper part has it's ups and down, but I'll never forget that elevator segment. That was the most epic and metal shit I've had ever witness in any game like this. It's just Gordon with his tau cannon fending off an army of the Controllers. This just proves that a scientist with A theoretical degree in physics can be a one man army. And the music was perfect, it was top notch, balls to the walls action.
Definitely, it's a great ending to the Interloper chapter. I too had my gripes with some parts of it, but this elevator sequence makes up for it in spades.
Man, for the last week or so I've been obsessively watching the 5:16-5:50 sequence every day, at least four times a day (not including repeats). You move so smoothly but also with such urgency, and since I have such a vivid imagination, the sequence, plus the insanely good music, just makes my mind go rampant. I clearly imagine it like a film, Gordon's desperation, but also the alien controllers' and how they must stop this freak of nature they never deemed could exist or get this far. And when the fight finally ends, that short breather you take when the music calms down and you slowly turn to watch the moving elevator, it brings out a lot of character. I've watched your Definitive Edition series multiple times, and even when I get some respite and *finally* take Half-Life off my mind for considerable time, I eventually find my way back to it and along with it, your videos. Can't wait for more content :D
I'm pretty proud of that part too, I'm glad you liked it as well! I like your interpretation of the sequence, it's really in line with what I was thinking of when I was envisioning how I'd play it out. Happy that this series is still enjoyable for you (I recall your comments when I was still in the midst of making it) and hoping that my future videos will still entertain!
I'm obsessed with this walkthrough too and I'll definitely come back here to watch it again, it has great replay value due to the immersive playstyle this dude made.
7:46 I think this is the most emotional moment in the game. When, after this terrible confrontation, while you climb up, drilling your way through the enemies, and the music is also called “Ascension.” And then the elevator stopped with a characteristic sound. And after that the inscription “Loading”. Finally, you can relax and think about what just happened.
It's still sad. After frantically fighting your way through the border world, and surviving countless attacks that give you no respite, you realize that you have become the same as the xenians were to earth: an invader, one who threatens their survival and their home. It is to realize that it is not a story where there are good or evil, but two sides that want to survive, but were forced to fight by greater forces beyond themselves, and that they will only achieve this by condemning the other. To get to the command center is to realize the sad situation that both of you are in, and that what you are going to do is necessary for the people on earth to survive.
Great observation, yeah I liked how Half-Life, and Black Mesa in particular, highlighted that the enemy you face is not invading Earth as a convenience - they are doing so out of desperation, which is also scary because that means they are in turn running from another race that is leagues above them.
@@Sexy_Nutella And what else lies beyond the veil, beyond Xen, beyond the Race X homeworld and the worlds the Combine has subjugated? When you think about it, Half-Life is just a cosmic horror universe disguised as a first person shooter.
Not sure the situation is quite so ambiguous morally, the xenians aren't monolithically evil as neither are the humans, but the Nihilanth is an enslaver and an invader, and Freeman is liberating both Earth and the vorts.
I mean... the Nihilanth had a choice. It chose to exploit the resonance cascade to invade Earth. To slaughter everyone with its army, for its own purposes. It could've instead chosen to try and communicate, strike an accord. Certainly, with beings that might've schemed behind its back, but also with beings who might've been thrilled at the prospect. The Resonance Cascade was an accident in the eyes of the Black Mesa researchers, though _we_ know it was likely arranged by the G-Man, or his 'Employers'. The Nihilanth's invasion was a choice. It chose violence for its own ambitions, and imposed its will upon a people who knew nothing about it, save perhaps a handful. It chose violence, and expected no violence in return. At least, nothing it couldn't simply shrug off as a nuisance. But its victims fought back, and proved more dangerous than its initial calculations. It started a war, that it soon discovered wasn't going to be its to win. It has no one to blame but itself.
What I love about your playthrough is how you manage to convey emotions of the scene. Starting at 4:47 and culminating a minute later, we don't see Gordon's face and don't hear his thoughts, but from his quick motions and swiftness we could tell his anger, frustration and determination to finish this for good, we can tell how focused his face is when he plows through obstacles and shrugs energy core explosions in his face, mowing down Controllers along the way like it's nothing. He truly became the Legend, the Hero, he is one man army destroying all that opposes him in his quest, and Controllers along with Nihilant are probably truly terrified of him at this point and desperate to mount any defence against Freeman's wrath. Beautiful visual storytelling.
The elevator ascension is probably the best moment in video game history by a landslide. LITERALLY everything about it mixes together perfectly to great an epic and exhilarating moment in an already awesome game. Nothing else compares for me.
Now i'll be watching this 5 times a day, thanks... This is what I wanted to see. Now, I think the voicelines in 11:15 are the actual thoughts of Freeman, remembering all the things he went through this whole hell, realizing he's at the end of the line and he's not sure if he'd even be able of getting out of his next battle alive, but with those thoughts he's encouraging himself to keep on his way to the final battle.
You are totally welcome, thanks for commenting :) Yeah, the voicelines definitely add a lot. It hits hard hearing stuff from a lot of the previous chapters. Like you said it is a reminder to Freeman as to what he's fighting for.
@@Sexy_Nutella This chapter was so good, there's no words to describe how amazing it was. And btw... A good recomendation I would really like to give you about the Nihilanth's battle: Let him hit you at least once with a high damage shot, just to demonstrate how powerful Nihilanth really is, to the point not even Freeman can fight him and getting out of there unscathed. It would be cool, imo (It's completely ok if you don't want that).
Wow what a conclusion to this chapter! 5 days ago I when I got the notification for this new video I was on a small vacation with no proper screen/audio setup to experience this in. I am so glad I waited to get back home to experience this beauty. Great video! A dance of death! Loved the tight platforming when disabling some of the cores, that stuff made me gasp! Goosebumps... Love your stuff as always, can't wait for the final battle. Great job!
that moment at 6:40 when they were like "You shall not pass" but Freeman was like "Oh but I do". Xen chapters get flak sometimes for being longer, but I felt that they had so much idea and love to pour on them, and they were all a joy to me to see and play through them.
Honestly.. This elevator sequence was SO damn satisfying when I played. Using the gluon to shred the controllers to pieces and the music hyping it up by 10x. and I was very relieved when I jumped into the teleport. after all that time I had finally made it..
@@Sexy_Nutella Can't wait for more content from you! I'm really looking forward for more Black Mesa: Blue Shift vids. (When the devs get to adding a new chapter) Wish you the best.
Beautifully stated. I love that moment too, even though it IS the calm before the storm, there's still a sense of unease and anticipation of the final boss fight. I loved how the score ended on a suitably darker note at 12:40
Thanks so much for the kind words - I am glad you enjoy the videos - my intent ever since the start was to hopefully create videos of every chapter, showing them in the best light possible.
I have thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed your incredibly well-crafted, carefully thought-out playthrough of the game. Thanks a lot for all the hard work you put into this, it really has shown throughout the whole series. I have also really enjoyed reading your detailed commentary (and criticisms!) on the maps as you've been playing them. This video was a really entertaining showcase of the elevator fight, one of the hardest moments in the entire game to get right development wise. Definite my favourite sets of playthroughs for Black Mesa! Awesome work! This is the best way to experience the game short of actually playing it yourself, I reckon! Looking forward to seeing how you tackle Nihilanth.
Thank you so much for the support throughout this series! Your words mean a lot - aside from the obvious "developer commenting on one of my videos and me fanboying about it" it is nice to hear that you have enjoyed these episodes. My intent from the very start was to showcase each and every map (down to the encounters) in the best possible light. The commentary I thought would be a good idea to discuss the thematic elements of each chapter and tie it into the gameplay itself, and just how genius you and your team is to have come up with such a refreshing take on the original game. What criticisms I did have, I tried to remain fair while offering my own personal take - hopefully none of my comments have been overly harsh or critical! Nihilanth will be coming soon(tm) ;)
To call this whole thing a Playthrough would be without a doubt under-selling your time & effort. This has been a Performance. And you have performed splendidly, at times spectacularly! If I had anyone asking me "Where can I get some helpful tips, tricks or trivia on how to better play Black Mesa" or "I can't play or properly run Black Mesa in the foreseeable future, so how can I watch it?", this would be my first if not only recommendation to answer them. I know Chon "DIGITAL SPORTS" Kemp checked in for The Gonarch (What must've been your most exhaustive preparation among numerous if I'm not mistaken), but I hope other developers for Black Mesa have seen your Performance and can be proud of it for what it is; a complimentary showcase of their work. Of course, I speak preemptively. For you, The Last awaits for you.
Thanks for the kind words! I too view it more of a performance than a playthrough or a walkthrough. To be honest, if I wanted to make a comprehensive walkthrough I'd probably play a bit differently so that I don't hit as much haha. I was pleasantly surprised to know that Chon watches these videos, not too sure about the other devs. Regardless, you're right in that I really just wanted for this series to be a good showcase of their game :)
I love how some the elevators are really small and tiny in the upper areas cuz controllers are the only ones that frequent there and they can just float
I'm literally halfway to the video and i already love it. I love how you always manage to sync the song with the moves, it really makes the fight more epic and enjoyable. This video is so good
1:03 ...It somehow never occurred to me that I could just _shoot_ the explosive barrels, just like I'd done at the start of Interloper's factory segments. Adrenaline make brain no work, I guess XD
No worries, I didn't realise I could shoot them as well in my first few playthroughs. I'd wager most people would think to dodge first, myself included :)
Bro seriously you shined with the action scenes and the Taimings, seriously you do represent Gordon freeman, I can't imagine if you played Halo haha, good video
The part where the Controllers try to stop the elevator always gives me Shivers. They're not your foot-soldier Vortigaunt, they're not the brute Alien Grunt, they're alien force's commanders. These baby-head thing, just as the original Half-Life, only appears in Lambda Core's Final fight, and missing in most of the Black Mesa Xen, only to re-appear in the Nihilanth's tower in Interloper. In the Xen-Invasion command structure, they're almost top of the pyramid, only falling after Nihilanth itself. As their name states, they live to command, to control all is under them. Yet when Freeman still ascends after tearing through dozens of them, these baby-head commanders, with their telepathic ability powerful enough to move boulders and literally scorch flesh, strong enough to control packs of Vortigaunts, is desperate enough to choose to use their telepathy to jam the elevator. All in a last ditch effort to stop this one Free man's ascension. In other words, this vastly superior alien species' top commanders, are basically jamming their own flesh and bones just to stop him, just to stop you. I'm not sure what it says about the Controllers, but it gives me Shivers, not because of fear.
I think I did hit that shot in my original video, but I wasn't able to end the fight at the end of the song, which was the part that really bugged me :( Glad I was able to this time around. I was basically running on a timer once I began that section of the elevator battle haha
There is something great to be said about how you time your hits to all the major beats in the music. It really does feel immersive, like this is something Gordon Freeman would do
Thanks - immersion is what I was aiming for and having key moments timed to specific parts of the soundtrack drives it to the viewer's subconscious and makes it that much more cinematic, hence why I go for them. Appreciate the kind words :)
@@Sexy_Nutella well I think that's what the game is designed for, and you're one of the few people that actually plays it for those awesome cinematic moments. Most gamers these days are just shoot shoot bang bang gun gun, but you actually take care to put effort to synchronize it up with the music. You are really good.
@@timebomb42 Appreciate the kind words! Half-Life has always been the type of game that has all these grand cinematic moments, but doesn't hold the players' hands in order to force them to witness them; the player autonomously creates those moments :)
@@Sexy_Nutella and that's what continuously makes it one of the greatest games ever. The things I hate about most modern games is the fact that they hold your hand like a baby in order to complete it. Half-Life makes you adapt and overcome, it makes you think as well as act. And you do that better than anyone.
I don't think any of us knew we needed the uranium enrichment crystals in Xen. Also 8:18 I definitely love how Xenians have their own Area 51, with "dead aliens in preservation tubes and pieces of their technology"
@@Sexy_Nutella I also have a question. Do you know how to avoid getting framedips in the lift segment? A lot of other people like myself run into the same problem. I would think it's pretty unavoidable. And I mean, these are BAD too. Looking in the right direction can sometimes make it go to 5-9 fps and generally it's 15-20.
@@DBAWESOMESAUCE I too get framedips, though not as dramatic as yours seem to be - not sure how to go about reducing that unfortunately, aside from possibly turning down the settings. I would say it's definitely more of an issue with the game than your system, probably. The one thing that I do notice is that the framerate TANKS whenever the Alien Grunts do their hornet swarm attack That and leaving too many Controllers alive seems to also cause hitches.
@@Sexy_Nutella I think that a better CPU night help alleviate the problem. Someone on Reddit said they had the same issue with framedips and they posted a few commands that slow down the timescale to workaround the problem. Thing is, I'm using an FX-6300 which is not known for good single core performance for it's day and the guy said he was using an A10K or something similar to mine. I read also that physics calculations generally aren't multithreaded.
They are a pain when there's a whole bunch of them, and they always spawn in groups. The most frustrating thing for this video was dodging their homing orbs. That and they sometimes move extremely fast once spawned in; along with the blinding green teleport flash that makes them hard to track sometimes
In regards to my comment on Xen - if the opening of Xen is the moment where Freeman comes to terms with his death, the ascension up the tower is his conscious choice to reject that inevitability. After everything that Xen has thrown at him and everything he's seen, Freeman is finally here. He doesn't know exactly what it is that he's pushing towards, but he now has the knowledge that the Vortigaunts are behind him and that he's fighting for more than just the human race. With the Xen technology augmenting the power of his suit and charging his experimental weapons, this is a Freeman who has the rage of two species behind him and is not going to take this shit anymore. He WILL reach the tower, he WILL emerge victorious, and he WILL save his people, even if it kills him. There is no longer a question about it. When the Nihlanth sees that the force of nature that's been tearing up his factory is nothing but a hairless monkey in a primitive mechanical suit, it doesn't have time to properly register how this has happened before Freeman is on it, blasting through its shielding with the vengeance of all the species it has attacked and enslaved. It. Is. On.
Nicely said! I do wish we could've seen more of the vortigaunts in this final part of Interloper fighting alongside Freeman (akin to Vortal Combat in EP2), though I'm sure that would've pushed an already performance-heavy map over the edge.
Oh my gosh... How did I not realize until now that the Resonance leitmotif is based on the original Black Mesa Theme????? HOW DID I MISS THIS Anyways amazing video as always :D
I feel like CC should've added more details on the Xen islands in the background at 12:05 It looks to me a bit confusing empty to see a couple only. Hope it's not just me.
I wonder if it's an engine limitation (this is coming from someone who deosn't know anything about map design haha)? I did expect to see the big Xen tree in there but perhaps it was too small relative to the rest of the Xen island features to render.
@@Sexy_Nutella It's not engine limitations to render. In fact, the Xen Chapter island is actually just a texture, not a single small 3D model as a decor, which is explain why the map don't have much details and feels flat especially that Portal Hub. Another thing that i pointed out is how the map was in a weird shape compared to other decor islands. It's like instead make a bulk island like others, they literally throw the whole 6 maps to make it a huge island. I thought the whole interior inside Xen chapter was inside a giant chunk of island, asteroid or something but as seen here they basically the outside wall of the same wall seen from inside, you can see how the river map is kinda seperate the jungle map and vista map because that is the wall of the same river map wall. The lighting of Xen chapter map is also different
07:50 q gran batalla contra los *Aliens Controller* a menos q te faltaron dos más para acabarlos! 12:00 que manera ver tantas naves alienígenas preparados para q lleguen al Planeta Tierra! Buena jugada *Sexy Nutella* en el cap17d..........se acerca la gran final de todo, seré paciente de esperar el último cap18 ;)
Thought about it but I personally think it's more fitting when it happens at the start of the boss fight. I did edit the end with an ominous portal sound but omitted any Nihilanth sounds to save it for the next video.
The first time I saw your 2019 Ed. of this fight, I thought no one can top you. This time, now we know who can: You yourself. HAHAHAHAHA XD Also update: I was fairly accurate in my prediction on what part of "Ascension" plays in the preview GIF you sent yesterday! Once again, elevator fights are best fights no matter which part of the HL series, and this one is no exception. Thank you so much for giving this one the (*cough cough*) definitive justice this one deserves!
Thanks! Yeah, when listening to the track to prep for the video, I knew that I had to sync up charged Tau shots to the climax, which is something I regretted not doing in my original version.
@@Sexy_Nutella I am confused why are you not getting the support needed the video is so good as well as the game I love Black mesa , I also love your gameplay ;) (hope you will get good support from now) 🤞
I want you to know I enjoyed this walkthrough, with Nihilanth just around the corner it feels like this needs to be said. While you may not have done this with the Character Expansion Pack or the Staff/Level Overhaul mods given how they weren't updated at the time for 1.5 at the time, there is an in progress modded walkthrough of Black Mesa Definitive Edition being done by Fallen Foggy that is using those mods now that they were FINALLY updated to be compatible along with various others. Including the Hazard Course as a prologue. But anyway thanks for doing this.
No problem! To be honest there were a couple of Staff Overhaul mods that I skipped on because they also modify some of the level design elements, while I wanted to preserve as much of the designers' intent as possible. I'm glad there are walkthroughs out there with the mods though.
So one thing that I never fully understood, especially now with the remake. Is all of this in Xen solely because of the Nihilanth, or is the Nihilanth ruling Xen and the Vortigaunts under the supervision of the Combine, like how Breen was with Earth. The part I love best of this level is just how desperate the Controllers were to keep you from reaching the top. They threw everything at you.
I think Nihilanth escaped from the Combine and was ruling over Xen solely by himself. Agreed on the desperation shown by the controllers. It's a very empowering feeling
Since when I missed this one hell of a banger? I've heard that some people are making a Half-Life 2 mod, which is Dark-Life, from what I can tell, this mod looks promising. EDIT: This is about to get ugly, so get ready to experience the best fictional battle of all time.
@@Sexy_Nutella of course it is epic, btw, when you are done with black mesa walkthrough, i will be listening and watching your walkthrough, this will be my asmr of my night.
I have no sympathy for the Nihilanth. It can lament about being the last all it wants; it chose a war, it started a war, and its adversary produced a weapon that could kill it, even if in the form of a man.
After escaping the alien factory, gordon would step onto a massive elevator that leads directly to the nihilanth, the alien controllers know this, and they throw everything they have at freeman during his ascension to the nihilanth, and to xen's destruction,
About 300 takes - some of them run the entire 7 minute length of the encounter and I just didn't like how I played them, and some of them are shorter because of major screw ups or deaths. I worked on this regularly for a week straight and finally just decided to use this run because if I kept going I would never be satisfied ;)
@@Sexy_Nutella Holy shit, dedication to the craft, 100% respect from me, I couldn't ever do that (I even /tried/ to mimic doing this myself with the Forget About Freeman part with the HECU fight and that really got ballsed up fast) because I'd give up after 5 attempts, forget *300*! Seriously man, you're doing great stuff, even when rewatching now while replying, the fucking shivers I got when the sync happens, it is beyond fucking awesome! Can't wait to see the finale
@@BadgersDen Thanks :) Yeah, any encounter where I need to sync gameplay to the music is a huge undertaking. FaF took me just as many attempts to get right. Though Gonarch's Lair was defintiely the toughest.
Do you use OBS to record? I'm not sure why but I get so much stuttering while recording. I was wondering if you ever had any of those issues or had any tips.
I use nvidia Shadowplay. I used to have stuttering recording as well, but that was resolved once I set up an external hard drive to record my gameplay to, instead of the same hard drive as the one I'm running the game on. Not sure if you are already doing that, but it fixed my issues for me.
That made me think of the line early in Portal 2, and whether you would do a playthrough of that, but it's pretty different from BM and therefore hard to do with the same playthrough style.
@@SimonClarkstone I know the line you're referring to, that one got me so hyped in the Portal 2 teaser. While I'd love to do a playthrough for the Portal games, that likely won't be any time soon - that being said I never want to say no to the idea because it would be a good series to tackle :)
It does seem that a nicely timed and tossed grenade would detonate those cores right away. I had a hard time doing that so I just opted to use the Gluon and Tau
@@Sexy_Nutella Depends which part of it. Vortigaunt village was great. The factory way too long. It basically consists of "the pumps" part and "the conveyor belts" part. You repeat one thing during one and then second thing in the other, for way too much time. The second part is also basically a very long confusing tunnel. I wonder how these Vorts go to their workplaces usually? I think there's no other option than using these teleports that function kinda like checkpoints. It'd make it way more belivable place in the game world, if the factory consisted of several "hub" areas connected to each other, to get to the next one you'd need to solve hub-wide puzzle. "The pumps" part was closer to this concept and was more acceptable for me. I'd be cool if in each one we could observe a different step in Grunts' production. Here, we could only observe how they are stored and transported. The tower seems like a nice concept, but seems to be there just for Freeman to have a final challenge before boss. What is it usual purpose? Why was it constructed, how does its existence benefit Nihilanth and Controllers? From gameplay perspective it seems cool, even if it's quite a sensory overload, but other that its just a glorified elevator. I enjoyed more "wild" parts of Xen way more.
@@Mintor94 That's fair and understandable! I do like the idea of Interloper's tower being more of a hub and working in tandem with the alien grunt manufacturing process. Would be cool to see a "Interloper Overhaul" mod or something like that with changes to the conveyor section. Like you I find it to be one of the weakest parts of the game.
Quizás cuando todo esté terminado. Actualmente me estoy tomando un descanso de hacer juegos como estos, ¡toman mucho tiempo y necesito un descanso después de hacer este!
I just beated this game a cupel hours ago how many times i play it never gets old i love half life aka black mesa and half life 2 and the 2 explantion pack opposing forces and blue shift
This does sound like a fun idea. I can already imagine a counter in the corner like "X Tau shots missed", or "Y times fallen to death", and a montage of each different fail happening one after the other
Unfortunately I typically delete all my failed recordings after each upload, just because there's literally hundreds of them and they take up a lot of space on my drive. That being said, I did save the fails for this video in particular. I wasn't planning on doing a blooper reel but it is a great idea - I'll keep it on the backburner for now :)
I will consider this a best playthrough/walkthrough of Half-Life. Finally, the finale is right on the corner, it seems your journey will end now, thanks for the Vids, I enjoy it a lot. ❤😇😇
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 18/19 - Nihilanth/Endgame [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C8tFxhPLacA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 18/19 - Nihilanth/Endgame [Hard]](/img/tr.png)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 16 - Gonarch's Lair [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/PAXo-3fRx-s/mqdefault.jpg)
Black Mesa is a very cinematic game; the setpieces are epic and grandoise in comparison with their HL1 counterparts and are often accompanied with an equally cinematic score. Notable examples that come to mind include the aftermath of the Resonance Cascade, the lobby fight in Questionable Ethics, the topside battles in We’ve Got Hostiles and Forget about Freeman, arriving on the Borderworld, and the various encounters with the Gonarch. What these setpieces all have in common is that, while they are memorable in their own right due to the way they’re crafted, an equally large part of what makes them feel so cinematic is the story of Half-Life itself.
For instance, Forget about Freeman’s topside battle hits hard because players know the implications of the HECU’s defeat - the Resonance Cascade is now out of control with nobody left to fix the mess it created, and its effects are felt worldwide and is the precursor to the Combine’s occupation of Earth. Similarly, the final arena in Gonarch’s Lair is an intense fight mixed with a feeling of somberness as the player has come to know of the titular beast as both a monstrous alien as well as a protective mother. In both examples, Joel Nielsen’s score conveys these thematic elements of the story in unique and inventive ways.
However, for me personally this final elevator battle that caps off the lengthy Interloper chapter takes the cake for most cinematic moment in the game. It is an excellent combination of what I’ve mentioned above - epic scale, great soundtrack, and seamless integration with the story and the player’s experiences:
1) From the get-go, players are unable to see the top of the elevator shaft. However, they do know that the end is near, as they’ve already spent the previous 8 maps climbing the damn Tower. The fact that the elevator ride itself is still an uninterrupted 7-minute sequence helps emphasize the scale of the Tower, as well as up the intensity as Freeman gets relentlessly assaulted by the Controllers
2) Joel Nielsen’s track “Ascension” is the perfect score for this sequence. What starts out as a low but unsettling drone gradually picks up as Freeman ascends, eventually culminating in a climax that calls back to the Black Mesa theme used right after the Resonance Cascade in Chapter 3. This connects the story back to the Earhthbound chapter and is a sharp reminder to the player as to what they’re fighting for - the fate of the Earth is resting in Freeman’s hands
3) As many players have also observed, the literal ascension of Freeman to the top of the Tower is paralled story-wise by his ascension into the stories of legend for both the Vortigaunts and humanity. Here is a man that survived against all odds, fighting tooth and nail to get to where he is now, simply because he was the right man in the wrong place. Players know this in the back of their mind as they’re blasting away the Controllers because they’ve experienced it through Freeman’s eyes. All the running, thinking, shooting and surviving has led to this elevator, and you’d be damned if you were going to let a few dozen screaming baby-headed aliens stop you
Equally important to the elevator sequence is the map that occurs right after, where not a single enemy is encountered, and Freeman is simply making his way through the “command centre” of Nihilanth’s forces, eventually emerging at the tip of the Tower to another grand spectacle - dozens of Mantas circling the Nihilanth’s portal. Not only is this a satisfying payoff to the Xen chapters, it also provides a breather for players after the hellish interiors of the factory. Again, Joel Nielsen’s appropriately titled “Respite” track for the top of the Tower hits hard because it gracefully touches on all the thematic elements of both the game’s story and the player’s own personal experiences.
Also inside the command section, all the human probes taken from earth remind the player of his mission again. After 5 hours of alien landscapes a reminder like this is needed. The ammo stashes also indicate to switch back to the whole arsenal of weapons for the Nihilanth fight.
True
Beautifully stated
@@RAD1111able Thanks :) I love breaking down and talking about the themes in each chapter
@@DAS_k1ishEe Good observation - the display of items from Black Mesa is a good callback to the Earthbound chapters for sure.
Whew, this one was a real challenge. Having to record a smooth 7-minute uninterrupted gameplay with specific actions at specific moments of the soundtrack is grueling to say the least. I'm also not a very skilled player, so I had many failed attempts where I missed a charged Tau shot because a Controller suddenly strafed to avoid it. I wished I could've taken less damage, but having the gameplay flow to the soundtrack was more important to me, which is why I kept the footage shown here. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as well.
All that is left is Nihilanth now. I have a bunch of ideas of what to do for the final video, including a few edits that I'm excited to try (and that hopefully work) for the end sequence. We're in the homestretch now...see you all on the next video for the conclusion to the series :)
Add the secret gonarch challenge for nihilanth too
Hitting the music transition triggers perfectly must have been a pain, really well done sir! 1 episode to go!
Thank you :) btw I like the echoing of the scientists voices when the test when horrible wrong
I wish this was released April 1st, when you suddenly teleport a Pizza in at the end and beat the game immediatly. Sadly the stars did not align :)
It will work. All of your vids are amazing and unique. 👌👌
I love the fact that the controllers try to stop you in the elevator. Like, the Nihilanth is a massive powerful being with plenty of ways to defend itself, but the controllers clearly think you pose a real threat to it
Totally! It's such an empowering feeling - the fact that they all start spawning in as you ascend, highlighting that Freeman actually DOES have a chance of kiling their master. It's so badass.
I loved that moment too. It reminded me why I loved what Half Life has brought to the gaming scene: how it uses audio, visual and ingenuity to convey and narrate something that hits harder than any glossary or overexposed, or overstylized scene.
When Freeman was going to depart for Xen, the controllers teleported into the chamber to attempt to stop Freeman. It's like they foresee Gordon as an imminent threat that's coming to Nihilanth .
I know right when the controllers pull down the elevator they are desperate to try and stop you from killing their master
This video right here demonstrates why I love Black Mesa.
Both because of it's cinematic set pieces, it's visual beauty, it's amazing music and combat... just.... everything. It show's the end of Freemans journey to messianic godhood. If you go back to Unforeseen Consequences, you'll see the contrast of Freeman then, and Freeman now.
Freeman then wasn't special, he was a Theoretical Physicist from MIT that was trained to use an Hazard Suit; which wasn't even considered all that special, just something someone did at the BMRF. One of the older scientists even comments on how he used an older model, and you see a bunch of other people on Xen having used the suit.
In Unforeseen Consequences, he has to have a dime a dozen security guard to protect him; and never even fired a weapon in his life before going through HEV training (and in Black Mesa Hazard Course Mod, the scientists overseeing the training even state that Freeman taking the weapons course was an error; but allow it, seeing it as being no harm to anyone besides his time).
By the time of his ascent up the elevator, Freeman is the last hope of the human race; the only one left who can possibly hope to stop the invasion and save earth.
This chapter also demonstrates why Freeman (and the Half Life series in general) stands with the greats of Science Fiction. When I was younger, I always wondered, "Why is Gordon Freeman such a big deal? He's just some scientist with a suit." And... that's the point.
Freeman had no business standing with the likes of the Master Chief (An augmented super soldier with an AI companion), Doom Guy (a god personifying fury, rage, and anger), and Commander Shepard (the Sci Fi equivalent to a SEAL mixed with an ultra diplomat); at least at the beginning.
But this whole game demonstrates what makes Freeman so special: He's a man who refused to die like he was supposed to, and was able to win against all odds.
All the greats have some kind of enemy that they must face, and they are always made to be epic and bombastic in some capacity; or at the very least made grim and cold. The Master Chief had the Covenant, genocidal xenophobes that you had no problem with killing en-mass. And in the end, it's made to be a epic triumph when you finally succeed and destroy Halo.
Commander Shepard had the Reapers, and he/she (I can never decide which is canonical in my mind; on one hand, Fem!Shep looks and sounds amazing. On the other hand, M!Shep/Tali'Zorah is the best love story and relationship) had to band together an Alliance against them from scratch; making it a story of friendship.
Doom Guy is... Doom Guy...
But Freeman's conflict with the Nihilanth is... somber I suppose. Unlike with the above examples, no one wants this fight. Freeman would like nothing more than to go home and live as normal a life that he could manage after all the horrors he's just experienced. The Nihilanth just wants to flee Xen and find a new home for himself and all the peoples that he has amassed after fleeing the Combine. You get the sense that, had circumstances been different, the Nihilanth and humanity could have been allies against the Combine.
But there's no changing the past.
Freeman is on a suicide mission by this point, and he knows it. "The Last... I am the last..." The Nihilanth is the last, the last thing stopping the Combine from invading earth; the last of his kind, and the last obstacle standing between Freeman and either death or home.
There is no turning back now...
You bring up a really good point that the Resonance Cascade and subsequent alien invasion is a series of unfortunate events that both races are reacting to out of necessity for survival. Like you said Freeman didn't ask for this, he certainly didn't volunteer to fix it either; he does because he's the only one that can. Great comment!
Moral ambiguity was a huge undertone in HL1 when you really think about it
@@Leitis_Fella Very true. Even in Half-Life 2, though the Combine soldiers are very clearly trying to kill you, the instances where they show humanity is still pretty impactful.
@Sexy_Nutella the scene where the combine soldier stands looking at the endless sea from the bridge comes to mjnd
These tones where in HL1 aswell just to a lesser degree.
Gordon got stronger as he fought through the natural progression of gameplay and the player getting better throughout the game, even in BM or the original it shows this story of fighting back and becoming stronger than those that oppose you
11:18 was my favorite part, where the scientist is saying "get to the portal freeman! Hurry!" was so immersive and it shows the scientists are always there teleporting you ammo and weapons
Hope at least some of the Lambda team made it out!
Honestly dude, you are THE KING of Tau cannon synchronization
It takes an exhausting amount of attempts so I'm glad it's enjoyable :)
Sos un genio manejando la tau canon 😎😎
Listening to Ascencion: Eargasm 1.0
Listening to Ascension with perfectly timed charged Tau shots in 3:37, 5:16, 5:19 and 5:46 : Eargasm - Definitive Edition
Loved it! 10/10 did watch it 3 times and probably would watch it again.
I love this comment haha. Thanks for the kind words. Did you notice the Gluon timing too in the first elevator stop with the single Shielded Controller? ;P
@@Sexy_Nutella I did! On 3:06. Also on 4:45. Very epic!
@@smolpp1708 Ayy, you got it!
I just realized how many soundtracks Interloper has.
-Mind games: Plays when alien controllers control the vortigaunts
-Shadows of Death: Gargantua Chase
-Interloper: Entering factory
-Harbinger: Fighting buffed alien grunts
-Critical Mass: Conveyer belt fight
-Ascension: Elevator fight
-Respite: Teleporting to nihilanth portal
Wow, didn't realize how many tracks until you pointed them out!
At 12:04 I love how you just showed the previous islands that Freeman had to go through to get to the top of the Tower.
"The Freeman shows his excellence in all things!" - Vortigaunt from Half-Life 2 (Chapter 8 Sandtraps)
It's a really nice touch by the devs. Really puts Freeman's journey through the borderworld into perspective :)
I love how they made this scene like in half-life² when gordon got overcharge power in citadel, it same thing like this
I loved how you timed the tau cannon charge shots with the music at around 5:54 and before.
Glad you noticed, it was very important for me to do so. The entire song hinged on those key moments in my opinion.
@Fjuro I'm glad - I always keep the audience/viewer in mind when thinking about what to include in these videos to maximize the entertainment and immersion.
your choreographics, especially with the music, are what really set your videos apart from other showcase channels. Absolute joy to see them
I remember seeing a comment from the "Ascension" soundtrack video the composer uploaded, saying how they believe that it's not just Gordon's physical ascension to the Nihilanth, but also his ascension as an average Black Mesa scientist into something beyond what was thought possible, the savior of both humankind and vortigaunts. The soundtrack reflects that perfectly, and I get goosebumps every time I hear the chorus now. Of course, your video helped with that 👍
I remember reading that comment too, and agree that the soundtrack captures that feeling perfectly. It's probably my favourite track in the game period :)
Thanks for the kind words, maximizing immersion and presenting a cinematic experience is at the forefront of all my videos.
I know some may say Black Mesa's Interloper chapter is way too long but from how I see it, it explores out the atmosphere, growth, and technology the Nihilanth has in its structure. It also shows the adventure on how far Gordon went from the Gonarch's Lair, all the way to the top of the structure.
Still wish it wasn't that badly optimized that turns my PC into a running microwave.
I do like that they showed the inner workings of the Nihilanth's army, but the platforming and puzzles just padded it out unnecessarily in my opinion.
@@Sexy_Nutella I can strongly agree on that part. Most of the puzzles are nearly the same with having to switch a plug and a another plug.
Really cool end for Interloper. Again, the actions syncing with the beats are great, what a tremendous effort put into this cinematic playthrough.
Well, see you in the last one!
Thanks for the support throughout this series! See you on the next one :)
What I love about Black Mesa is the irony behind Xen
Before, in Half Life, many considered Xen to be lackluster compared to the rest to the game, some even hated it.
Now, in Black Mesa, many consider it to be their favorite part of the game.
Another showcase of Crowbar Collective's incredible work, when I bought the game I felt like I was stealing from them, such an amazing game yet so cheap in price.
Yeah, their work on the Xen chapters is seriously impressive. I agree with you on the price, it's a steal.
2:58 That JUMP
I'm glad I was sitting on the toilet when this uploaded, because this was a pants-soilingly good time. The moment when Freeman decides to be a god and redeem the green men from cosmic slavery, armed with the height of technology and the prayers of two races behind him. Godspeed, Freeman.
Well said!! I love the double meaning behind the term ascension in this section of the chapter :) The soundtrack is so propulsive and really "elevates (heh)" the moment too.
When the most hated stage in Half-life, becomes the most loved stage in Black Mesa
Interloper in BM definitely ended on a very high note :)
yeah the ending part is the best and ig makes up for it ,, lowkey feels like HL2
Xen was extremely hard to navigate in HL. Like, I literally couldn’t tell what was what and where to go. And it was also very ugly.
@herrDOS honestly, it wasn't that bad. I finished HL again yesterday, and Iterloper was pretty fun. Aside from the first map. That one is the worst in the entire game. The factory was pretty fun. I like the fights, especially considering how large the arsenal is, you're at the peak of your power. I didn't like the spinning platforms at the end of the factory tho.
And the last teleporter looks great. So menacing. Honestly, I like it better than the BM one.
@@erikpng you did not finish it on a crappy 15 inch 1024x768 display though. But it’s good you enjoyed
I really like the perfect sync in the perfect moments.
Im glad you do! Took forever to sync up
@@Sexy_Nutella
I really appreciate the detail, wish me luck so I can get it in 1 attempt now that I'm passing the campaign
@@Mamowabo Oh man, that sounds incredibly challenging - good luck dude!
It's awesome how well you're able to sync your gameplay with the music. I've tried it many times in a lot of games, but I'm sure you know better than just about anyone that it's a lot harder than it looks.
I LOVE the elevator battle; it's one of my favourite parts of the game and a huge relief after the previous three maps. While the conveyor belt section drags on and on, at the end of the elevator ride I was almost expecting/wanting more. Black Mesa does a really good job of giving a sense of this being what the entire game has built up to. In HL1 I never really got the sense that I was close to the Nihilanth until I actually saw it. But here you can tell that the Alien Controllers are worried, throwing everything they have at Gordon, as opposed to earlier Xen chapters and even the beginning of Interloper where they didn't seem to see him as much of a threat.
One thing that I like about Interloper in general is that it fleshes out the relationship between the Vortigaunts and the Controllers and Grunts. It really shows how the Vorts are living through Hell, and why they come to see Gordon as a messiah by the time of HL2. I think the name "Ascension" for the music fits in a lot of ways - it's not just a literal ascension, it's also the ascension of Gordon Freeman from an ordinary man to a legendary saviour.
Also, this is a mobile battlefield section done right. There are at least as many enemies as the conveyor belt section, probably more, but it's not nearly as frustrating because there's no shortage of cover and basically an unlimited supply of health and ammo, and I've never had an issue with being blocked from moving by enemies here. It's much more well balanced, and that makes it WAY more fun. As an aside, there's something really satisfying about destroying those power cores.
And last but not least the Nihilanth's portal is just amazing. The echoes from Black Mesa, the Xen islands from the previous chapters being visible in the distance...it all just does such a great job of sending the message of "This is it. Everything you've done has been leading up to this moment."
Great analysis on the "ascension" theme and how it applies to the game in more ways than one. I also agree wholeheartedly on the satisfaction of popping the shield crystals, though that feeling is just slightly edged out by how great it felt to annihilate the Controllers with unlimited Gluon/Tau :)
All of the Interloper part has it's ups and down, but I'll never forget that elevator segment. That was the most epic and metal shit I've had ever witness in any game like this. It's just Gordon with his tau cannon fending off an army of the Controllers. This just proves that a scientist with A theoretical degree in physics can be a one man army. And the music was perfect, it was top notch, balls to the walls action.
Definitely, it's a great ending to the Interloper chapter. I too had my gripes with some parts of it, but this elevator sequence makes up for it in spades.
Man, for the last week or so I've been obsessively watching the 5:16-5:50 sequence every day, at least four times a day (not including repeats). You move so smoothly but also with such urgency, and since I have such a vivid imagination, the sequence, plus the insanely good music, just makes my mind go rampant. I clearly imagine it like a film, Gordon's desperation, but also the alien controllers' and how they must stop this freak of nature they never deemed could exist or get this far. And when the fight finally ends, that short breather you take when the music calms down and you slowly turn to watch the moving elevator, it brings out a lot of character. I've watched your Definitive Edition series multiple times, and even when I get some respite and *finally* take Half-Life off my mind for considerable time, I eventually find my way back to it and along with it, your videos. Can't wait for more content :D
I'm pretty proud of that part too, I'm glad you liked it as well! I like your interpretation of the sequence, it's really in line with what I was thinking of when I was envisioning how I'd play it out. Happy that this series is still enjoyable for you (I recall your comments when I was still in the midst of making it) and hoping that my future videos will still entertain!
I'm obsessed with this walkthrough too and I'll definitely come back here to watch it again, it has great replay value due to the immersive playstyle this dude made.
You are a PRO. First the match fight/song in questionable ethics and now this MASTERPIECE.
Glad you enjoyed the fight ^^
7:46 I think this is the most emotional moment in the game. When, after this terrible confrontation, while you climb up, drilling your way through the enemies, and the music is also called “Ascension.” And then the elevator stopped with a characteristic sound. And after that the inscription “Loading”. Finally, you can relax and think about what just happened.
It's still sad. After frantically fighting your way through the border world, and surviving countless attacks that give you no respite, you realize that you have become the same as the xenians were to earth: an invader, one who threatens their survival and their home. It is to realize that it is not a story where there are good or evil, but two sides that want to survive, but were forced to fight by greater forces beyond themselves, and that they will only achieve this by condemning the other.
To get to the command center is to realize the sad situation that both of you are in, and that what you are going to do is necessary for the people on earth to survive.
Great observation, yeah I liked how Half-Life, and Black Mesa in particular, highlighted that the enemy you face is not invading Earth as a convenience - they are doing so out of desperation, which is also scary because that means they are in turn running from another race that is leagues above them.
@@Sexy_Nutella And what else lies beyond the veil, beyond Xen, beyond the Race X homeworld and the worlds the Combine has subjugated?
When you think about it, Half-Life is just a cosmic horror universe disguised as a first person shooter.
@@Leitis_Fella True that. The ending of Epistle 3 really reinforces this fact too, that Gordon is just a small speck in the grand scheme of things
Not sure the situation is quite so ambiguous morally, the xenians aren't monolithically evil as neither are the humans, but the Nihilanth is an enslaver and an invader, and Freeman is liberating both Earth and the vorts.
I mean... the Nihilanth had a choice. It chose to exploit the resonance cascade to invade Earth. To slaughter everyone with its army, for its own purposes. It could've instead chosen to try and communicate, strike an accord. Certainly, with beings that might've schemed behind its back, but also with beings who might've been thrilled at the prospect.
The Resonance Cascade was an accident in the eyes of the Black Mesa researchers, though _we_ know it was likely arranged by the G-Man, or his 'Employers'.
The Nihilanth's invasion was a choice. It chose violence for its own ambitions, and imposed its will upon a people who knew nothing about it, save perhaps a handful.
It chose violence, and expected no violence in return. At least, nothing it couldn't simply shrug off as a nuisance. But its victims fought back, and proved more dangerous than its initial calculations. It started a war, that it soon discovered wasn't going to be its to win. It has no one to blame but itself.
I love the timing you do with the guns and the music in every fight, that makes the game epic!!
Glad you like it! :)
What I love about your playthrough is how you manage to convey emotions of the scene. Starting at 4:47 and culminating a minute later, we don't see Gordon's face and don't hear his thoughts, but from his quick motions and swiftness we could tell his anger, frustration and determination to finish this for good, we can tell how focused his face is when he plows through obstacles and shrugs energy core explosions in his face, mowing down Controllers along the way like it's nothing. He truly became the Legend, the Hero, he is one man army destroying all that opposes him in his quest, and Controllers along with Nihilant are probably truly terrified of him at this point and desperate to mount any defence against Freeman's wrath. Beautiful visual storytelling.
Excellent breakdown of what I wanted to convey and glad it came across. Thanks for the comment!
The elevator ascension is probably the best moment in video game history by a landslide.
LITERALLY everything about it mixes together perfectly to great an epic and exhilarating moment in an already awesome game. Nothing else compares for me.
It really is a work of art in how they constructed this sequence. Splendid all around.
Now i'll be watching this 5 times a day, thanks... This is what I wanted to see.
Now, I think the voicelines in 11:15 are the actual thoughts of Freeman, remembering all the things he went through this whole hell, realizing he's at the end of the line and he's not sure if he'd even be able of getting out of his next battle alive, but with those thoughts he's encouraging himself to keep on his way to the final battle.
You are totally welcome, thanks for commenting :) Yeah, the voicelines definitely add a lot. It hits hard hearing stuff from a lot of the previous chapters. Like you said it is a reminder to Freeman as to what he's fighting for.
@@Sexy_Nutella This chapter was so good, there's no words to describe how amazing it was. And btw... A good recomendation I would really like to give you about the Nihilanth's battle: Let him hit you at least once with a high damage shot, just to demonstrate how powerful Nihilanth really is, to the point not even Freeman can fight him and getting out of there unscathed. It would be cool, imo (It's completely ok if you don't want that).
@@BlackLion-nb8fm That's a good suggestion - I'll try it when I'm planning out the video for sure to see if it'd work :)
Wow what a conclusion to this chapter! 5 days ago I when I got the notification for this new video I was on a small vacation with no proper screen/audio setup to experience this in. I am so glad I waited to get back home to experience this beauty.
Great video! A dance of death! Loved the tight platforming when disabling some of the cores, that stuff made me gasp!
Goosebumps...
Love your stuff as always, can't wait for the final battle. Great job!
Knew you were looking forward to this, and I'm glad it was worth the wait! Hope you had a good vacation!
that moment at 6:40 when they were like "You shall not pass" but Freeman was like "Oh but I do". Xen chapters get flak sometimes for being longer, but I felt that they had so much idea and love to pour on them, and they were all a joy to me to see and play through them.
Honestly.. This elevator sequence was SO damn satisfying when I played. Using the gluon to shred the controllers to pieces and the music hyping it up by 10x.
and I was very relieved when I jumped into the teleport. after all that time I had finally made it..
Yeah. The battle and subsequent payoff at the top of the tower is great.
@@Sexy_Nutella Can't wait for more content from you! I'm really looking forward for more Black Mesa: Blue Shift vids. (When the devs get to adding a new chapter)
Wish you the best.
ahhhhh beautiful tau shots! i like how calm and ethereal the moments before nihilanth fight are. calm before the storm
Beautifully stated. I love that moment too, even though it IS the calm before the storm, there's still a sense of unease and anticipation of the final boss fight. I loved how the score ended on a suitably darker note at 12:40
The Entire Black Mesa advertising team when 5:08 walks in
You have, by far, the best Black Mesa gameplay I have ever seen. This is definitely my favorite way to watch the game played.
Thanks so much for the kind words - I am glad you enjoy the videos - my intent ever since the start was to hopefully create videos of every chapter, showing them in the best light possible.
You have succeeded! The effort put in definitely shows.
I have thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed your incredibly well-crafted, carefully thought-out playthrough of the game. Thanks a lot for all the hard work you put into this, it really has shown throughout the whole series. I have also really enjoyed reading your detailed commentary (and criticisms!) on the maps as you've been playing them. This video was a really entertaining showcase of the elevator fight, one of the hardest moments in the entire game to get right development wise.
Definite my favourite sets of playthroughs for Black Mesa! Awesome work! This is the best way to experience the game short of actually playing it yourself, I reckon! Looking forward to seeing how you tackle Nihilanth.
Thank you so much for the support throughout this series! Your words mean a lot - aside from the obvious "developer commenting on one of my videos and me fanboying about it" it is nice to hear that you have enjoyed these episodes.
My intent from the very start was to showcase each and every map (down to the encounters) in the best possible light. The commentary I thought would be a good idea to discuss the thematic elements of each chapter and tie it into the gameplay itself, and just how genius you and your team is to have come up with such a refreshing take on the original game. What criticisms I did have, I tried to remain fair while offering my own personal take - hopefully none of my comments have been overly harsh or critical!
Nihilanth will be coming soon(tm) ;)
To call this whole thing a Playthrough would be without a doubt under-selling your time & effort. This has been a Performance. And you have performed splendidly, at times spectacularly! If I had anyone asking me "Where can I get some helpful tips, tricks or trivia on how to better play Black Mesa" or "I can't play or properly run Black Mesa in the foreseeable future, so how can I watch it?", this would be my first if not only recommendation to answer them. I know Chon "DIGITAL SPORTS" Kemp checked in for The Gonarch (What must've been your most exhaustive preparation among numerous if I'm not mistaken), but I hope other developers for Black Mesa have seen your Performance and can be proud of it for what it is; a complimentary showcase of their work. Of course, I speak preemptively. For you, The Last awaits for you.
Thanks for the kind words! I too view it more of a performance than a playthrough or a walkthrough. To be honest, if I wanted to make a comprehensive walkthrough I'd probably play a bit differently so that I don't hit as much haha. I was pleasantly surprised to know that Chon watches these videos, not too sure about the other devs. Regardless, you're right in that I really just wanted for this series to be a good showcase of their game :)
I love how some the elevators are really small and tiny in the upper areas cuz controllers are the only ones that frequent there and they can just float
That's a good point! Probably the odd Vortigaunt here and there as well
I'm literally halfway to the video and i already love it. I love how you always manage to sync the song with the moves, it really makes the fight more epic and enjoyable. This video is so good
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video. I agree on your point about the syncs, that's why I do them.
as a gamer with a SEVERE skill issue, your playthrough series has been a GODSEND to me.. more than 2 years later!
“I have not…Come this far…To die now.”
-Nick from Left 4 Dead 2
Probably what Gordon thought too :)
1:03 ...It somehow never occurred to me that I could just _shoot_ the explosive barrels, just like I'd done at the start of Interloper's factory segments. Adrenaline make brain no work, I guess XD
No worries, I didn't realise I could shoot them as well in my first few playthroughs. I'd wager most people would think to dodge first, myself included :)
Bro seriously you shined with the action scenes and the Taimings, seriously you do represent Gordon freeman, I can't imagine if you played Halo haha, good video
Man, Halo would be awesome to showcase. Halo 3's setpieces are epic
The part where the Controllers try to stop the elevator always gives me Shivers.
They're not your foot-soldier Vortigaunt, they're not the brute Alien Grunt, they're alien force's commanders. These baby-head thing, just as the original Half-Life, only appears in Lambda Core's Final fight, and missing in most of the Black Mesa Xen, only to re-appear in the Nihilanth's tower in Interloper.
In the Xen-Invasion command structure, they're almost top of the pyramid, only falling after Nihilanth itself. As their name states, they live to command, to control all is under them.
Yet when Freeman still ascends after tearing through dozens of them, these baby-head commanders, with their telepathic ability powerful enough to move boulders and literally scorch flesh, strong enough to control packs of Vortigaunts, is desperate enough to choose to use their telepathy to jam the elevator. All in a last ditch effort to stop this one Free man's ascension.
In other words, this vastly superior alien species' top commanders, are basically jamming their own flesh and bones just to stop him, just to stop you.
I'm not sure what it says about the Controllers, but it gives me Shivers, not because of fear.
I love how you hit the shot at 5:15. I had a feeling missing that in the old playthrough drove you nuts.
I think I did hit that shot in my original video, but I wasn't able to end the fight at the end of the song, which was the part that really bugged me :( Glad I was able to this time around. I was basically running on a timer once I began that section of the elevator battle haha
Yep you're right. It was a different shot on your old “Tower Ascension" video. Respect.
Epic battle! Really left me on the edge of my seat!
Great to hear that you enjoyed it :)
8:45 THE PIZZA WASNT A LIE!
But the cake still is :'(
Ascension OST be like Eeeeeey, ooweeooowoooo. Heeeey, aaaa-AAAAA-aaaaah. Eeeeey, oo-wee-ooo-wooo. Eyyyy, oooo-AAA-eeeey!
Haha nice lyrics ;) I do love how they incorporated the Black mesa theme in there
Man, the effort you put into making these high quality videos is just amazing. Keep it up!
Thanks, will do! Just one more chapter to go :) Glad to see the effort shows.
There is something great to be said about how you time your hits to all the major beats in the music.
It really does feel immersive, like this is something Gordon Freeman would do
Thanks - immersion is what I was aiming for and having key moments timed to specific parts of the soundtrack drives it to the viewer's subconscious and makes it that much more cinematic, hence why I go for them. Appreciate the kind words :)
@@Sexy_Nutella well I think that's what the game is designed for, and you're one of the few people that actually plays it for those awesome cinematic moments.
Most gamers these days are just shoot shoot bang bang gun gun, but you actually take care to put effort to synchronize it up with the music.
You are really good.
@@timebomb42 Appreciate the kind words! Half-Life has always been the type of game that has all these grand cinematic moments, but doesn't hold the players' hands in order to force them to witness them; the player autonomously creates those moments :)
@@Sexy_Nutella and that's what continuously makes it one of the greatest games ever.
The things I hate about most modern games is the fact that they hold your hand like a baby in order to complete it.
Half-Life makes you adapt and overcome, it makes you think as well as act.
And you do that better than anyone.
@@timebomb42 Yeah, the game really leans into its motto (Run think shoot live)
Ah yes, the "video that I'll rewatch 20+ times because of how epic it is: 2" has been released.
Haha! Out of curiosity, what was the first video?
@@Sexy_Nutella Your previous video with the very same elevator ascension
@@holycheburek6298 Lol! Hopefully this one was better ;)
@@Sexy_Nutella oh, you *know* it was better :)
I never thought gameplay could be an artform until I saw your videos.
Glad you enjoyed it!!
Cant wait for Nihilanth!
Glad you're excited! :)
Every time gordons moves goes on with the soundtrack
Definitely tried to pace my actions to the soundtrack. Hope it shows! :)
I don't think any of us knew we needed the uranium enrichment crystals in Xen.
Also 8:18 I definitely love how Xenians have their own Area 51, with "dead aliens in preservation tubes and pieces of their technology"
Been waiting for this one in particular. Thanks.
No problem, hope it was worth the extremely long wait! haha
@@Sexy_Nutella I also have a question. Do you know how to avoid getting framedips in the lift segment? A lot of other people like myself run into the same problem. I would think it's pretty unavoidable.
And I mean, these are BAD too. Looking in the right direction can sometimes make it go to 5-9 fps and generally it's 15-20.
@@DBAWESOMESAUCE I too get framedips, though not as dramatic as yours seem to be - not sure how to go about reducing that unfortunately, aside from possibly turning down the settings. I would say it's definitely more of an issue with the game than your system, probably. The one thing that I do notice is that the framerate TANKS whenever the Alien Grunts do their hornet swarm attack That and leaving too many Controllers alive seems to also cause hitches.
@@Sexy_Nutella I think that a better CPU night help alleviate the problem. Someone on Reddit said they had the same issue with framedips and they posted a few commands that slow down the timescale to workaround the problem. Thing is, I'm using an FX-6300 which is not known for good single core performance for it's day and the guy said he was using an A10K or something similar to mine. I read also that physics calculations generally aren't multithreaded.
@@DBAWESOMESAUCE I never thought the CPU would be the bottleneck here! Perhaps that is the case.
To be honest the controlers are more deadly then the nihilanth.
They are a pain when there's a whole bunch of them, and they always spawn in groups. The most frustrating thing for this video was dodging their homing orbs. That and they sometimes move extremely fast once spawned in; along with the blinding green teleport flash that makes them hard to track sometimes
In regards to my comment on Xen - if the opening of Xen is the moment where Freeman comes to terms with his death, the ascension up the tower is his conscious choice to reject that inevitability. After everything that Xen has thrown at him and everything he's seen, Freeman is finally here. He doesn't know exactly what it is that he's pushing towards, but he now has the knowledge that the Vortigaunts are behind him and that he's fighting for more than just the human race. With the Xen technology augmenting the power of his suit and charging his experimental weapons, this is a Freeman who has the rage of two species behind him and is not going to take this shit anymore. He WILL reach the tower, he WILL emerge victorious, and he WILL save his people, even if it kills him. There is no longer a question about it. When the Nihlanth sees that the force of nature that's been tearing up his factory is nothing but a hairless monkey in a primitive mechanical suit, it doesn't have time to properly register how this has happened before Freeman is on it, blasting through its shielding with the vengeance of all the species it has attacked and enslaved. It. Is. On.
Nicely said! I do wish we could've seen more of the vortigaunts in this final part of Interloper fighting alongside Freeman (akin to Vortal Combat in EP2), though I'm sure that would've pushed an already performance-heavy map over the edge.
Oh my gosh... How did I not realize until now that the Resonance leitmotif is based on the original Black Mesa Theme????? HOW DID I MISS THIS
Anyways amazing video as always :D
It's an awesome touch to the soundtrack eh? Good to hear from you again, and thanks as always :)
I feel like CC should've added more details on the Xen islands in the background at 12:05
It looks to me a bit confusing empty to see a couple only. Hope it's not just me.
I wonder if it's an engine limitation (this is coming from someone who deosn't know anything about map design haha)? I did expect to see the big Xen tree in there but perhaps it was too small relative to the rest of the Xen island features to render.
@@Sexy_Nutella It's not engine limitations to render. In fact, the Xen Chapter island is actually just a texture, not a single small 3D model as a decor, which is explain why the map don't have much details and feels flat especially that Portal Hub.
Another thing that i pointed out is how the map was in a weird shape compared to other decor islands. It's like instead make a bulk island like others, they literally throw the whole 6 maps to make it a huge island. I thought the whole interior inside Xen chapter was inside a giant chunk of island, asteroid or something but as seen here they basically the outside wall of the same wall seen from inside, you can see how the river map is kinda seperate the jungle map and vista map because that is the wall of the same river map wall. The lighting of Xen chapter map is also different
@@nayumiyosritomo33 That makes sense that it's a texture, thanks for explaining.
Most cinematic and buthiful episode ever since ai known Black Mesa in 98👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
07:50 q gran batalla contra los *Aliens Controller* a menos q te faltaron dos más para acabarlos!
12:00 que manera ver tantas naves alienígenas preparados para q lleguen al Planeta Tierra!
Buena jugada *Sexy Nutella* en el cap17d..........se acerca la gran final de todo, seré paciente de esperar el último cap18 ;)
¡Gracias! Espero terminar esta serie :)
@@Sexy_Nutella de nada, haz q Gordon Freeman entrene xD
@@omarandresorellano4142 ._?
Midnight? Ah, I got time. Love the video!
Thanks a lot! I usually have time to work on these videos late at night, hence the late upload haha :P
If this ended with nihilanth saying "freeman..." Would be way damn cooler
Well.
Thought about it but I personally think it's more fitting when it happens at the start of the boss fight. I did edit the end with an ominous portal sound but omitted any Nihilanth sounds to save it for the next video.
@@Sexy_Nutella yeah i just looked up
This has to be one of the only parts of Interloper that I enjoyed, had good action/pacing and wasn't too tedious.
One of my favourite parts too among a very long chapter haha
The first time I saw your 2019 Ed. of this fight, I thought no one can top you. This time, now we know who can: You yourself. HAHAHAHAHA XD Also update: I was fairly accurate in my prediction on what part of "Ascension" plays in the preview GIF you sent yesterday!
Once again, elevator fights are best fights no matter which part of the HL series, and this one is no exception. Thank you so much for giving this one the (*cough cough*) definitive justice this one deserves!
Thanks! Yeah, when listening to the track to prep for the video, I knew that I had to sync up charged Tau shots to the climax, which is something I regretted not doing in my original version.
Your sync is perfect
Glad you thought so! Spent a bunch of time to hit those moments in the gameplay and the song :)
@@Sexy_Nutella I am confused why are you not getting the support needed the video is so good as well as the game I love Black mesa , I also love your gameplay ;) (hope you will get good support from now) 🤞
@@n3wolf564 Having comments like yours is already a lot of support!
I want you to know I enjoyed this walkthrough, with Nihilanth just around the corner it feels like this needs to be said. While you may not have done this with the Character Expansion Pack or the Staff/Level Overhaul mods given how they weren't updated at the time for 1.5 at the time, there is an in progress modded walkthrough of Black Mesa Definitive Edition being done by Fallen Foggy that is using those mods now that they were FINALLY updated to be compatible along with various others. Including the Hazard Course as a prologue.
But anyway thanks for doing this.
No problem! To be honest there were a couple of Staff Overhaul mods that I skipped on because they also modify some of the level design elements, while I wanted to preserve as much of the designers' intent as possible. I'm glad there are walkthroughs out there with the mods though.
So one thing that I never fully understood, especially now with the remake. Is all of this in Xen solely because of the Nihilanth, or is the Nihilanth ruling Xen and the Vortigaunts under the supervision of the Combine, like how Breen was with Earth.
The part I love best of this level is just how desperate the Controllers were to keep you from reaching the top. They threw everything at you.
I think Nihilanth escaped from the Combine and was ruling over Xen solely by himself.
Agreed on the desperation shown by the controllers. It's a very empowering feeling
Since when I missed this one hell of a banger? I've heard that some people are making a Half-Life 2 mod, which is Dark-Life, from what I can tell, this mod looks promising.
EDIT: This is about to get ugly, so get ready to experience the best fictional battle of all time.
By the best fictional battle do you mean Nihilanth? :) That battle is indeed suitably epic.
@@Sexy_Nutella of course it is epic, btw, when you are done with black mesa walkthrough, i will be listening and watching your walkthrough, this will be my asmr of my night.
@@realnedreich Haha! Never tried that out but hope it works well :)
Remember this during the Xen beta?
Incredibly difficult. And the performance was much worse haha. Those were the times
All the sounds at 0:52 reminds me of transformers War For Cybertron, especially that barrel sound.
I have no sympathy for the Nihilanth. It can lament about being the last all it wants; it chose a war, it started a war, and its adversary produced a weapon that could kill it, even if in the form of a man.
Learn about it's lore and you might change your mind.
Man, what a gameplay! Nice!
Glad you enjoyed!
After 9 months we are almost done with black Mesa
Indeed. It's been a long time coming haha
Nice gameplay as always!
Thanks :)
After escaping the alien factory, gordon would step onto a massive elevator that leads directly to the nihilanth, the alien controllers know this, and they throw everything they have at freeman during his ascension to the nihilanth, and to xen's destruction,
i felt goosebumps when i arrived this part
God these music syncs, you master them beautifully my man
I'm really curious to know how many takes this scene took
About 300 takes - some of them run the entire 7 minute length of the encounter and I just didn't like how I played them, and some of them are shorter because of major screw ups or deaths. I worked on this regularly for a week straight and finally just decided to use this run because if I kept going I would never be satisfied ;)
@@Sexy_Nutella Holy shit, dedication to the craft, 100% respect from me, I couldn't ever do that (I even /tried/ to mimic doing this myself with the Forget About Freeman part with the HECU fight and that really got ballsed up fast) because I'd give up after 5 attempts, forget *300*!
Seriously man, you're doing great stuff, even when rewatching now while replying, the fucking shivers I got when the sync happens, it is beyond fucking awesome! Can't wait to see the finale
@@BadgersDen Thanks :) Yeah, any encounter where I need to sync gameplay to the music is a huge undertaking. FaF took me just as many attempts to get right. Though Gonarch's Lair was defintiely the toughest.
Do you use OBS to record? I'm not sure why but I get so much stuttering while recording. I was wondering if you ever had any of those issues or had any tips.
I use nvidia Shadowplay. I used to have stuttering recording as well, but that was resolved once I set up an external hard drive to record my gameplay to, instead of the same hard drive as the one I'm running the game on. Not sure if you are already doing that, but it fixed my issues for me.
@@Sexy_Nutella Cool. Much appreciated!
You know what else is hard?
On the other hand, don't try to guess...
Uhm...hmmm....the...shield crystals? heh xD
It's amazing, it's almost like you're dancing with the game as your partner ! 😍
The choreography did make me treat it like a dance :) Glad you appreciate it
It's been a long time
Sorry for the delay! This one was a pain to record..but when has anything in Interloper not been a pain to record haha ;)
That made me think of the line early in Portal 2, and whether you would do a playthrough of that, but it's pretty different from BM and therefore hard to do with the same playthrough style.
@@SimonClarkstone I know the line you're referring to, that one got me so hyped in the Portal 2 teaser. While I'd love to do a playthrough for the Portal games, that likely won't be any time soon - that being said I never want to say no to the idea because it would be a good series to tackle :)
All those reloads at min 9 after picking up all that ammo :P
Good timing bro i love it
Appreciate it!
What is the song at : 11:20
Respite
Meanwhile, back at Black Mesa:
Adrian Shephard and the HECU Remnants are fighting in the battlefields between Black Ops and Race X
I once use a method to easily destroy the crystal on the elevator. I throw grenade, somehow more effective then gluon gun
It does seem that a nicely timed and tossed grenade would detonate those cores right away. I had a hard time doing that so I just opted to use the Gluon and Tau
This part is the definition of "overdone"
You really despise this chapter huh?
@@Sexy_Nutella
Depends which part of it.
Vortigaunt village was great.
The factory way too long. It basically consists of "the pumps" part and "the conveyor belts" part. You repeat one thing during one and then second thing in the other, for way too much time.
The second part is also basically a very long confusing tunnel. I wonder how these Vorts go to their workplaces usually? I think there's no other option than using these teleports that function kinda like checkpoints.
It'd make it way more belivable place in the game world, if the factory consisted of several "hub" areas connected to each other, to get to the next one you'd need to solve hub-wide puzzle. "The pumps" part was closer to this concept and was more acceptable for me. I'd be cool if in each one we could observe a different step in Grunts' production. Here, we could only observe how they are stored and transported.
The tower seems like a nice concept, but seems to be there just for Freeman to have a final challenge before boss. What is it usual purpose? Why was it constructed, how does its existence benefit Nihilanth and Controllers? From gameplay perspective it seems cool, even if it's quite a sensory overload, but other that its just a glorified elevator.
I enjoyed more "wild" parts of Xen way more.
@@Mintor94 That's fair and understandable! I do like the idea of Interloper's tower being more of a hub and working in tandem with the alien grunt manufacturing process. Would be cool to see a "Interloper Overhaul" mod or something like that with changes to the conveyor section. Like you I find it to be one of the weakest parts of the game.
Vas a subir el black mesa blue shift? Ya van por el segundo capitulo.
Quizás cuando todo esté terminado. Actualmente me estoy tomando un descanso de hacer juegos como estos, ¡toman mucho tiempo y necesito un descanso después de hacer este!
I just beated this game a cupel hours ago how many times i play it never gets old i love half life aka black mesa and half life 2 and the 2 explantion pack opposing forces and blue shift
My favourite bunch of games :)
God this game is incredible
maybe you should do a blooper real after finishing the game , just a thought . Looking forward to the finale
This does sound like a fun idea. I can already imagine a counter in the corner like "X Tau shots missed", or "Y times fallen to death", and a montage of each different fail happening one after the other
Unfortunately I typically delete all my failed recordings after each upload, just because there's literally hundreds of them and they take up a lot of space on my drive. That being said, I did save the fails for this video in particular. I wasn't planning on doing a blooper reel but it is a great idea - I'll keep it on the backburner for now :)
8:45 ooh pizza
So funny that the aliens found it interesting enough to grab from Earth haha
This game have good music ❤
I will consider this a best playthrough/walkthrough of Half-Life. Finally, the finale is right on the corner, it seems your journey will end now, thanks for the Vids, I enjoy it a lot. ❤😇😇
I'm glad you continue to enjoy them, thanks as always for the support. It'll be a relief but also quite sad to finally complete this series
From being the worst chapter remade to be one of the best
The last, i am the LAST
It is a nice foreshadowing of that moment when HL-2 starts and you understand that now you are facing a bigger fish)
Definitely - great comment. Puts into perspective the scale of the universe that Freeman is just catching a glimpse of.
The Gluon gun's ammo does not deplete in this chapter.......is this due to cheat code ?
Nope. Gluon Gun is being fed ammo from the green crystals in the map. This was taught early on in the chapter
Nice job!
Thanks for the visit :)
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍