10 Video Game Mods That Restored Essential Features
5. Half Life - Black Mesa
Some video game mods are so comprehensive, they cannot stay as just an addition to a game. Black Mesa is a fascinating example of this - a comprehensive remake of the original Half Life using Half Life 2's iteration of the source engine. Valve have ported the original to Source already, but its effort there pales in comparison to the Crowbar Collective's comprehensive remake of the innovative FPS.
The mod was started back in 2012 and was approved for commercial release by Valve. 8 years later it is finally complete, and rather than just porting the game as is with new graphics, Black Mesa completely reimagines and fixes the notoriously buggy and poorly designed Xen chapters of Half Life.
Xen is now rendered breathtakingly, with the platforming and puzzle-shooter elements completely remade in a more modern and comprehensible manner. Does the final level and climax of a game count as an essential feature? The 2,373 peak concurrent players in the last 30 days seem to think so.