Black Mesa - Surface Tension - HECU v. Xenians
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- In the latter levels of Surface Tension, Gordon Freeman witnesses the full scale of the HECU's losing battle against the Xen forces, culminating in a massive battle between the two parties, involving a tank and a manta ray.
Slight hitch at 2:29 - sorry about that! I'm afraid I couldn't do anything to fix it. And I decided to keep the recording because I liked how the rest of the gameplay played out.
Notes:
One of the coolest things in Black Mesa is seeing the progression of the battles between the HECU and the Xen aliens. At the start of Surface Tension, the HECU seems to be in complete control, and Gordon predominantly fights against the marines. By the midpoint of the chapters, the sky is filled with smoke and its clear that the entire facility has become a warzone, and that the aliens are proving problematic for the HECU. Finally, in the last couple of maps, it is evident that not only are the marines losing most of the fights, they are taking casualties en masse.
The HECU catching me and the Barney at the end was surprising, because I usually manage to stealth through that section. I was glad he didn't die though. And at the very least, he had some funny responses to me blowing the stealth.
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 12c - Surface Tension [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qTD_Xe5XSB0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 12c - Surface Tension [Hard]](/img/tr.png)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 13 - "Forget About Freeman!" [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/lnrA5zZhR7w/mqdefault.jpg)
The beauty of Surface Tension is the obvious about face the story telling shows you. Back during "We've Got Hostiles" the game makes it clear the Military has taken control of the facility with overwhelming force and presence. The current Alien threat is being dealt with fairly easily. Fast forward to Surface Tension and it becomes clear the situation has gotten horribly out of hand. With a seemingly endless reinforcement of Aliens appearing around every corner the Military becomes overwhelmed and hope of containment is lost. This translates to the hope of keeping the rest of the world safe being lost since the interdimensional breach does nothing but get worse.
Yeah, this is something I loved in Black Mesa's Surface Tension chapter. It's got an entire arc in itself, and is told through scripted sequences, the environment art, and the disturbingly human radio chatter.
Then the combine comes to fuck things up
The thing i like about surface tension is the hecu and xenians fighting
It all started with one experiment that went horribly wrong...and we got this. They figured if they send the Military to clean up this mess by killing all the invading Xen creatures and people who know all about the incident, it'll all be over and they can go home. But as this stage proved..it's a lost cause.
In my opinion, this *could* be because of the Lambda Complex being the only place not entirely under military control, especially when it was under total alien invasion which actually succeeded, resulting in more black mesa remnants than anywhere else, and most likely was the last sector attacked and the last sector which holded out, my fact could be confirmed by how protected the lambda complex is, with alot of entrances leading to it and the ability to seal them off to limit the invasion of both sides, with especially it being black mesa's fort knox.
Edit: Also take a look on how things would go differently, if the tank at 1:13 wouldnt been destroyed, HECU forces would go into the Lambda Complex itself, with hopes of containment most likely going up which would motivate the now skeptic commanders to send in reinforcements to support the assault, if that would happen, freeman would be holded out at the lambda complex by the HECU soldiers attacking it, and most likely killed (unlikely) or just basically too late to arrive at the portal, especially when the core was unstable and would cause a meltdown, that'd really change up all things if you think about it, because then the Ninhilath wouldnt get killed, Black Mesa would most likely be eradicated due to the core explosion, and the xenians would stop coming to black mesa, or atleast they'd be isolated if they would do that, leading to an asumption that the combine wouldnt attack earth, that's pretty good if you think about it.
Thanks for being a player that actually just watches the AI fighting eachother over just blasting em, part of the greatness of this game is being a silent witness to the carnage. Great playthrough.
Thank you! That's what I strive for - the game has too many details and hard work poured into it to just skip over. I also feel that a lot of players just rush through the levels instead of taking the time to take these details all in, that's why I play the way I do. Thank you for noticing :)
@@Sexy_Nutella i like how you pan over when jets or the Xen manta rays are flying over or just doing a pan across the distance, its gives people who haven't played the game that extra bit of goodness and yeah Valve certainly did put alot of effort into this so its great you can showcase it.
@@sergioruiz733 Thanks! Slight correction though, this game is made by the dev team over at Crowbar Collective, not Valve :)
@@Sexy_Nutella lol omg that is right. My mistake.
@@sergioruiz733 all good! :D
My favorite part here is right after the 6:00 minute mark, when you dodge the fireball like an action movie star, then when looking at the mangled corpse of the guy who hid behind the bulwark, you shake your head in dismay. It's little details like that that make a gameplay clip like this great.
Call me weird, too, because whenever an NPC is talking to me I nod Gordon's head in agreement or disagreement, just to make it feel more lively.
Haha yeah, that's how I usually play these games, reacting to NPCs and such.
@@Sexy_Nutella yeah i do that too
Same
Same man it feels good for immersion! I hope games in the future can more seamlessly mix that element in, a blank slate like Gordon Freeman with the options to colour your experience more
Awesome me too
I think the hecu didnt lost due to the force of xen, but the amount of xen aliens randomly appearing
That's probably one of the main factors, not being to guess where and when they would teleport in.
Like what one of the marines in the hangar said "There's no frontline with these thing's!" If they knew when and where the Xenian forces were coming from. Would they have won? I don't know but, I do know. The battle wouldn't have taken such a horrible turn for the marines.
@@colbycoolby1592 At first the HECU were able to control the situation because the teleports were random and mainly consisted of xen wildlife or vortigaunts (which the Nihilanth probably sent in as scouts). The situation went FUBAR once the Xen-invaders started tactically teleporting in their more serious units like the Alien Grunts. It wasn't random anymore, they were now being dropped in at specific areas on purpose to take out the HECU and gain more control of the area. The HECU were simply out-matched at this point.
@@colbycoolby1592 Most certainly, the HECU wouldve had to pull out or face extermination anyway even without Freeman's interference or the Black Ops sneaking by everyone while they're busy and blowing the place to hell.
If given enough time, the operation would certainly be taken over by the full force of the U.S Military, as they would have more manpower and resources necessary to combat this threat
Press F to pay respect to the guard
F, didn't even survive long enough to get a beer with the other Barneys and Freeman
@@Sexy_Nutella Ultra Mega Uber F
F
F
F
AI Battle Intelligence
6:40
Zombie: This barrel is danger, i threw it away from us, to them foes.
6:47
HECU JarHead: I'LL KILL US ALL.
That looked more like a “I won’t die alone!” moment to me.
he probably just suicided because they're surrounded.
@@zandrmandr8300 fr
Imagine being one of the scientists or guards or something that survives this mess having to trek halfway across the globe to wherever City 17 is
Couldn't have been an easy journey for Eli, Barney or Kleiner :(
@@Sexy_Nutella Vdd
1:54 HECU: Nyeh
Alien Grunt: Bonk!
i love when the ai loses all their IQ
The funny thing was the medic running up to give health to the grunt, which ends up killing them both with one swing
pretty dumb
@@miodragjr didn't know you'd be here
I like how at 1:18 and 1:58 marines rappel down from the building on the right to join the amazing battle below
Yeah, sucks that they still died though :/ Gotta admire the HECU's fighting spirit for sure
Sexy Nutella@ yeah. They may have been outmanned and outgunned. But they damn well weren’t gonna give up black Mesa without a bloody fight
I really love when they say "Back up Back up Back the FU!-"
i love how the tanks just blows the aliens appart, in the last tank part i was hiding in the vent looking at the tank firing, each fire alien grunt pieces would fly away. Also the helicopter part when the APC comes they where actually able to turn the tide on the battle, surviving the APC and several of the squad who came with it, they didnt saved the helicopter tho.
Yeah, I think the HECU are programmed to not always lose the fight. Although they usually do.
ua-cam.com/video/LF-LsDaOsJ8/v-deo.html save the osprey
Too bad the Osprey can't live. It'd be cool if there was an easter egg where it could fly away or something
@@Sexy_Nutella I think it's more or less because some enemies and weapons do more damage than others. Especially since this is the Source Engine, not GoldSrc.
This game is beautiful in every way.
Love the original (actually am currently playing through it) but this is just amazing!
Playing through the original first really made me appreciate Black Mesa more :) All those recreations of sequences from the first game are great.
That tank driver had some slow reaction times
Probably stunned and shocked at the Manta!
in his defense, tank drivers have pretty limited vision and can barely see up. he can only see the general area infront of him through a small slit in the armor, which: again, is very limited in terms of view.
he had to rely on the commander for a full view, and assuming it was the commander screaming at the top of his lungs for the tank to back up, then it’d make sense for why the driver would be pretty hesitant to move back (given that from the drivers view, they were beating back the aliens down the road.)
perhaps another member of the crew verified it and/or listened to the commander but by the time he did it was obviously too late.
the best part was the tank part
The music, the setpiece - everything was awesome about that part
@@Sexy_Nutella it would be cool if there was a guy on the top gunner too
Totally agree with you.
It almost makes u feel bad for them.
I remember at this point, I sorta just ignored the marines and attacked the aliens, I did lose health, and I had to kill a few marines, but the last couple up them just aimed into the sky, completely ignoring me. I chilled with them and aimed where they were aiming and left not long after.
Haha, the AI bugs out in this game pretty frequently
I would usually just watch the fights between the HECU and the Xen then just clean up whatever is left that gets in the way of progression.
gameplay meta
Agreed
Each time I see a fight scene in a half life mod or game between two enemy forces I just watch
Yeah, same here. I love watching scripted fights between AI
Same here
6:34 They should`ve added a marine tripping up by the door and make the marine gunfire incredibly loud as a joke.
1:35 One of the only two "Fucks" (almost censored but not quite) in the HL story. Along with Barney's message to Breen. And both very memorable moments
Yeah. I actually do like how Valve and Crowbar Collective are more tame in their use of swears, so that the hard moments land harder. I do think there's a Black Mesa version of the navy seals copypasta found in one of the multiplayer maps as an easter egg though ;)
@@Sexy_Nutella There is but it's censored with poorly cut in family friendly words, which makes it much funnier, imo.
on my first playthrough i wasted a bunch of rockets on the scripted tank destruction scene
Rest in Peace Chad Guard that had a likeable personality who died for no reason. Amen
Just the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time
press F to pay respect for the security guard
F
Idk if this came with the last update or it is just me but just after the fight at the LZ if you enter the building trough de door the LAV breaks and look to your right you can see the gargantua who chases you later trough the tunnels (which is probably responsible of destroying the convoy seen at the beginning of the video.
Yup, this was added after this video I believe. Great foreshadowing of the Garg chase at the end like you said
HECU : we can't fight anymore, they're everywhere!!
Vietnam marines veterans : first time?
Great gameplay you are Really there in the game yourself !
Thank you! I try to be :)
@@Sexy_Nutella You do that Really Perfect now :D
@@mythic5256 Thanks so much! Hope I can keep doing it for you guys :)
@@Sexy_Nutella im sure you can ! ^^
Everybody is talking about the HECU desperate attempt to fend off the alien invasion. But nobody speaks about the horrors the aliens go through when spawning into uncharted territory. Especially the Vortigaunts.
Imagine you getting teleported into Black Mesa not knowing what to expect. You popp up in front of a tank and 2 seconds later a tank shell flies right past you and blows up your buddy you dropped in with in millions of pieces.
"You just HAD to open your mouth!"
Yep. Poor guy
"BACK UP! BACK THE FU-"
Rip Mastiff-1
as a marine who served from 2016-2020 it’s a funny fact that during this engagement, you see the Marine Corps had brought armor.
That armor is no longer apart of the marine corps, I think we lost our battalions due to funding around 2017~
So if this went down in more recent times, as useless as the this information is, the HECU would have had significantly less firepower to even battle this threat. More or less just saying this as an interesting “hey that use to exist” thing.
Rest in Pieces, fake Barney.
r.i.p Abrams crew
Put up a good fight for sure
Something that I've been wondering after all this time. Is were all HECU units equipped with a powered combat vest? Looking at gameplay the HECU are able to take on Xenians.
6:18 😆
Forgot to clear the backblast :P
Rip security guard 1989 to 2015
0:23
This man be flyin
That ending though…..
Poor Barney :(
Eu estava jogando o original , o MMOD e o Source nesses dias e adoro jogar o Black Mesa que eles colocaram situações e diálogos novos no jogo, mas quando você o Tensão na Superfície ( Surface Tension ) no original e depois no Black Mesa , nossa como a Crowbar está de parabéns pelo remake , eu via no original e falava : Olha essa parte é aquela no remake e por aí vai , eles contaram a história através dos rádios desde o Complexo de Escritório ( Ofiice Complex ) até o Esqueçam Freeman ! ( About Freeman ) , amei essa pegada do remake e se vocês deixarem o guarda do About Freeman vivo ele fala mais coisas pra você. No caso do Surface Tension adorei tudo e ficava surpresa a cada parte que eu jogava e olha eu deixo os caras se matarem entre si e depois eu entro em cena e balanço a cabeça também e adoro explorar os jogos .
Ammunition Exploded
Player credited for kill: xXenMantaXx
1 Kill 99999 Assists
War Thunder?
@@lascha2nd199, I think so.
@@lascha2nd199 correct
Poor HECU. Leaders killed them for nothing.
Yeah, they were just following orders, even to their deaths
RIP mastiff-1 :(
Pretty sure they would've escaped but they can't just leave their marines right?
11:58 Oh °>°a...
Very unfortunate
I dont even know why hecu's smg or shotgun is weaker than the same shotgun and smg that gordon picked up from the dead hecus(im not referring to the hev suit since it protects its wearer from hazardous environments) its just they cant even kill an alien grunt easily in scripted sentences
poor guard...
I know it was intended to be kind of comical, but it was pretty morbid hearing him get pulverized :(
@@Sexy_Nutella yeah that made me super uncomfortable too
Ngl I felt really bad for that guy and I’m into do some pretty dark humorous stuff
My man had to jinx it...
Is the tank blowing up fucking synced with the best?
Yup the song is timed to that moment
BACK UP! BACK THE FU....
Such an epic moment, the voice acting was also 10/10. You can just hear the desperation in that tank operator's voice.
@@Sexy_Nutella yeah I love that we have many HECU vs Xen aliens.
R.I.P Mastiff-1
6:19 "Dingbat."
tank crew so sad
is rare in my version, beat xen warrior is hard to kill with just the smg
6:15 jajaj
Someone can tell me the music of the fight?
It's called Surface Tension Uncut by Joel Nielsen
Thank you bro
on my first playthrough i wasted a bunch of rockets on the scripted tank destruction scene
Same lol