How Big is Black Mesa? [Half-Life lore]

Here we have a relatively new video that covers the ever enigmatic Half-Life franchise: the size of the Black Mesa scientific facility specifically. It’s made by YouTuber moldbun that goes into great detail on the subject, using as much canonical information as possible. Meaning that the unofficial Black Mesa remake is not used for reference much. If you are like me, someone who thinks about Half-Life on a weekly basis—this will undoubtedly tickle your fancy.

Now if Valve would just stop making multiplayer slop for a moment and finish the series…

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Stargate SG-1: The Alliance Trailer – Cancelled Game [Video]

Recently, I stumbled across information that there was a Stargate SG-1 game in the making, but for whatever insane reason, it was cancelled. Another sweet dream dead, because there aren’t many games set in this rich and wonderful universe. From what I know, we have the fan-made Stargate: Adventure, which is fine but very short. And Stargate: Timekeepers, a Commandos-style trial-and-error game that I didn’t like, nor did I play much at all, hence no review.

Slim pickings, which makes this gaming betrayal sting even harder. It was going to be a first‑person, squad‑based shooter where you get to control the legendary SG-1 team. Just check out the awesome trailer (and more) after the jump!

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Star Wars: Republic Commando Intro Remake [Animation]

I’m a bit ambivalent when it comes to game remakes, since it’s mostly old hat, with a new, “supposedly” improved skin. However, if there’s one game that would probably benefit from a remake, it’s Star Wars: Republic Commando—if it were more than just a surface-level improvement, that is. It could use an upgrade in mechanics and especially in size, since it feels overly cramped in places where it shouldn’t. Sadly, the video by Oleksandr Maziura is just that: only a video—but he provides a great visualization of what a remake could have looked like if we lived in a better timeline. Video after the click!

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Occam’s Sponge: Mapping the Timelines of the Command and Conquer Canon [Lore Video]

Here we have an excellent video by the one-hit YouTuber Ictiv. The reason I call him “one-hit” is that he released this exceptional summary of the confusing Command & Conquer timeline four years ago and then just disappeared. Almost like he had his own chronosphere. The reason the Tiberium series of C&C are a tad messy is because of its connection to the Red Alert series. The Red Alert games use time machines and split timelines as important plot points, so there isn’t an easy linear progression to follow.

This naturally won’t bother 99% of players, but for those of us who love lore and obsess over story details (serious gamer autism), it’s a fascinating video that tries to make sense of it all and establish a canonical timeline. An underrated lore video for sure—so make sure to check it out after the jump!

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Dead Space [Animated Comic]

Whatever you think of Electronic Arts, they had a knack for producing awesome comics to promote their games. Or, well, used to, anyway. The Dead Space animated comic is probably the best promotional material I have ever seen in this regard. It’s superbly made, with excellent voice acting and a gritty graphic‑novel style that fits the theme—complete with buckets of blood and gore.

The Dead Space animated comic tells the story of Aegis VII, where humanity dug up the dreaded Red Marker—which later sealed the fate of the planet-cracker ship USG Ishimura, where the first Dead Space game takes place. In other words: it’s a spectacular prequel for those of us who want more juicy Dead Space lore. Watch the film below, but make sure to skip the first 2:23 minutes, because it’s just a weird summarization that spoils the story. I have marked the time-jump. Enjoy!

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