Posting this here, as it's too long for the comments.

This mod is incredible, and I loved every second of it. I loved the dynamics between everyone at the end of Chapter 4, and I loved all the tiny details like why Barney still had his weapons after the HECU soldiers put him in the container with Rosenberg. I loved the gameplay, and I loved how unique this felt, as the original felt way too dull compared to Opposing Force. A lot of the dialogue made me laugh, from the start seeing the guard missing the tram being late. Or seeing Gordon actually wave at Barney, seeing Gina wear her Decay HEV Suit in the cameras, along with the camera flashing bit, it was all super neat!

The first 2 chapters were a nice way to introduce everything to the player, seeing how alive everything was before the incident took place, and seeing how many problems the facility was having as well. Small things like being able to eat donuts, or Barney putting on ear muffs to not hurt his ears from firing his gun, It was all so nice and made a bit more sense compared to the original. The crowbar Barney uses being a different color from Gordon's was a nice way to signify that this isn't THE crowbar, and it makes it distinct from Gordon's.


Duty Calls was a nice way to show the start of the disaster, with everyone panicking and not understanding what's going on. Like when the scientist trapped says the aliens could teleport into where she was, Murdoch realistically reacts with thinking she's already gone insane. Of course, moments later she dies due to a Vort teleporting in and killing her. I did have a bit where I sequence broke the game by jumping straight to the bit where the 3rd explosive crate was, though that was my bad. But I ESPECIALLY adore the bit with the marines trying to trick Barney into trusting them. I KNEW that they were trying that, and it felt super tense, knowing any moment they would open fire at him. I adore that whole segment, it really felt like something they would do, thinking Barney didn't see them dump the bodies.


Captive Freight was another highlight, Seeing Murdoch actually alive with Otis, taking down Marines together and actually sticking together as more people join your group before you go alone to save Rosenberg. I loved the radio chatter of the soldiers being stunned that the remaining marines were asking for backup for 2 targets, because besides Freeman they really didn't take anyone else seriously. The group Barney is with is not only bad-ass, but funny as well. A lot of them bounce off each other with the dialogue, and all felt real. I loved how realistic everyone's reaction to hearing Rosenberg say that they would teleport out of Black Mesa, most of them reacting with a look of "oh. oh we're gonna die down here." I just love how unlike Gordon, who saw a friendly face every once in a while before they either stayed behind or were killed, Barney sticks with his group after they meet up again, besides the bit with saving Rosenberg. I loved how as the chapter goes on, more and more soldiers show up to stop you ultimately culminating with the tank. I loved the bit beforehand with the soldiers discovering Barney in the little crate thingy, I like to imagine he was waving at them before shooting at them. Ultimately, I think this chapter is probably my favorite due to being one of the few times in the game where you actually meet up with people, and not only that, have characters ACTUALLY survive!

HOWEVER. Focal Point was when I started seeing some problems. While Blue Shift's original Xen was too short, this was *too long.*

I'm going to stress that everything past this point is my opinion. I don't think this mod is awful like I'm seeing some people say, I think it's nearly on par with Black Mesa as a game. However, I still have thoughts that I want to get out.

So! Xen.

A lot of the ideas? suburb. I loved seeing older versions of the HEV Suit, I loved how pretty it was, and I loved a lot of the lore tidbits the mod added. It was really cool seeing how Black Mesa initially discovered Xen and all the expeditions they did to it.

What I didn't like was just how LONG everything was. It honestly felt like we lost the plot by the halfway point. It also kinda felt weird having Barney do all this insane ♥♥♥♥ like taking down an entire stronghold at the end. I get it was cool, but it felt like half the stuff I was doing would be nearly impossible for Barney to do. You're telling me he did ALL of this WITHOUT an HEV Suit, yet is not even a footnote in the Black Mesa Incident? Then again, that statement could probably also be said for the original, but still It felt TOO out there to me, idk. He did take down a tank with an RPG that realistically he shouldn't be able to carry with all his other guns so... Realism isn't exactly the focal point (haha) of Half Life as a whole. I just felt that a lot of the time, I was doing stuff just to do it, without any real goal in my head. You're in Xen for so long that it wouldn't be surprising if you forgot about Black Mesa and the soldiers for a bit. It's also insane to me that all of it is BEFORE Gordon gets knocked out, like was Barney a speedrunner or what???

I know this is a free mod. I know you guys put blood, sweat, and tears into this. I can't get mad at that. All I'm saying is it felt like there was too much going on at the end there. I constantly felt like I was near the end, only to be met with more. Maybe that's my fault, as I assumed Xen would be on the shorter side just like Blue Shift originally did it. But still, I really do feel like it's gotta be cut down, which sucks because I know how much work probably went into everything. All the ideas and everything looked great! I really do think Xen looked and felt good, but again, past a certain point I just wanted it to be over. (Which might've been because I sorta... marathon-ed the whole thing. That's probably the reason lol)

That's just my opinion though, overall I loved my time with this mod. I do really look forward to the end of the game, and I hope to see more of this. You guys have a very VERY good thing here, and I wish to see more of it in the future. I hope some of my criticisms weren't too harsh, that's not what my intention was. I just strongly feel like it's got some work to be done to it. I look forward to seeing what Power Struggle has to offer, whenever y'all get around to it. Sorry for the long review, I just had a lot of thoughts on this mod lol. Surprising that this is free, y'all cooked up something on par with Black Mesa.