Edge Of Darkness

for Half-Life

3rd September 2011

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

After proving your skill and cunning by escaping the Black Mesa complex alive, you have been called on by a shadowy organisation – the Alien Counter-Insurgency Bureau – to help protect mankind from the threat posed by Xen.

Tonight, the A.C.I.B. has need of your special abilities to counter a new threat to civilisation. You have been given a rendez-vous in the warehouse district of the city to receive your mission briefing.

This was September 2015’s Classic of the Month mod.

Basic Details
  • Title: Edge Of Darkness
  • File Name: hl1-sp-edge-of-darkness.7z
  • Original File Name: eod.zip
  • Size : 5.36Mb
  • Author: Chris Spain
  • Date Released: 13 June 2000
MapTap Users

Download directly into MapTap [5.36MB]

You MUST have MapTap installed before using this link.

Download Options

Download to your HDD [5.36MB]
You can still use it with MapTap once you have downloaded it.

Installation Instructions
  • Copy the eod folder into your Half-Life folder.
  • Restart or start Steam.
  • Edge Of Darkness should now be listed in your Library tab.

If you require more help, please visit the Help page.

Awards

Edge of Darkness is a HALL of FAME entry

Playthrough Videos

The playthrough below is part of the Classic of the Month Event, run by Don AKA Unq.

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a 1024 pixel wide image.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
Reader Recommendations
Avoid It!
Think Twice
Maybe
Play It Later
Play It Now!

38 recommendations, average score: 4.97 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.03 (what's that?)
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Meta Review Data
Statistics based on 12 comment(s) with meta review data.

Installed:
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 12 Users

Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 28 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 35 Mins by fefor
Longest: 2 Hours, 55 Mins by fleetlord
Total Time Played: 17 Hours, 35 Mins
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Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
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50 Comments

  1. Ben

    I just played through this one not too long ago. Though short it is one of the better mods I’ve seen in terms of design going into each level and in storyline.
    Too bad it wasn’t longer.

  2. STORY: After proving your skill and cunning by escaping the Black Mesa
    complex alive, you have been called on by a shadowy organisation – the
    Alien Counter-Insurgency Bureau – to help protect mankind from the threat
    posed by Xen.

    Tonight, the A.C.I.B. has need of your special abilities to counter a new
    threat to civilisation. You have been given a rendez-vous in the
    warehouse district of the city to receive your mission briefing.

  3. The Abandoned Workshops

    Gameplay:
    Balanced and consistent, a little easy at first but later in it can get a bit tricky. Plenty of ammo and other supplies around to remain in the action and a lot of cover if under heavy fire. Nothing too frustrating anywhere during the mod, however some few puzzles aren’t obvious at first. Enemies are mostly soldiers throughout several levels, but eventually you’ll fight some Xen aliens, although they aren’t too difficult to beat, so everything remains fun and enjoyable. A few secrets to get a few extra weapons to help you on the mission which were a nice find, and some traps for the player to look out for.

    Design:
    This modification keeps a consistent, solid and tidy structure throughout the entire mission. Each area of the mountain complex has its own style of design and texturing, the first part having a lot of marble and a rich sense added to it. The labs also have their own style but look similar to those from Black Mesa. Texturing has been done well in each area, while some mix others together to add more detail into it. Each room has plenty of objects, furniture or computers to fill up the space but of course some crates which gets a bit old. The lighting is moderate throughout with nothing that looks bad or out of place. Everything uses the default textures and sounds, but use them well to create some interesting designs for a few rooms and corridors, and the thunder from the introduction level. There was a slight bug with the bathroom door later in the mod, in the blue corridor. Pressing the use key on the glass panel causes it to “open” therefore closing earlier than the main door if that is opened as well making it look weird, doesn’t affect gameplay though.

    Conclusion:
    Balanced, consistent and enjoyable gameplay with a solid, tidy design throughout.

    Rating: 84%

  4. Afro-Dude

    Excellent single player mission for half life, it almost puts you inside a secret agent adeventure, but of course, it’s half life, it uses the weapons from half life, there aren’t new textures, but there are a lot of fun scripted events, these are well done because they make you feel inside the adventure (just like half life 1 did).

    The level design is outstanding, it makes my PC lag (lol) but not too much to waste the fun, the architecture is perfect and well crafted into the adventure, it feels great.

    The battles are great, though, I would like a bit more stealth element, all the action is amazing throughout the mod, and stoping Mr. Smith is one of the must fun action I ever had in any mod.

    This is the first SP adventure that I play twice in a row, so, what the hell are you waiting for? download NOW!

    4/5

  5. Dr. Feelgood
    Play It Now!

    In my opinion, this is the greatest Half-Life single player mod.

  6. Gilfrarry

    There’s a walkthrough available at the author’s website.

  7. Zockopa
    Play It Now!

    Released long years ago in the high time of HL1-SP-Mapping and Modding this little gem
    remains still in my top ten.

  8. Play It Now!

    This is also in my top 10 now that I played it.Lots of action,great scripting especially the scene with the assasins,barney and the gman lol.Great environment and use of it.I really liked the use of some switches that in hind sight you shouldn’t of pulled but that would spoil the fun.

  9. shawn
    Play It Now!

    Absolutely splendid mod, as much fun as the original Half-Lfe, and perhaps more so. Inventive levels, solid plotting, some really clever touches in the gameplay. One of the rare mods that rewards contunual alertness and problem-solving ability. Bravo!

  10. Sengoku
    Play It Now!

    I liked it very much. Very fun.

  11. Moonsorrow
    Play It Later

    Nice mod….but how to get out after burning the G-Man?

  12. Zombie-Hunter
    Play It Now!

    wadda ya mean with “play it later”???? this mod rox!!! it must be “play it NOW!!!!
    btw, after burning g-man, go and look for the door on the left (the scientist should be standing near this door), then look for a small air vent and jump through, a new level should load as you do that.

  13. Matt714
    Personal Favourite

    Even after all these years, this splendid mod is still one of my favourites.

    The level design is quite simple, but it is marvellous when bundled with the fast paced action. My only gripe with it is that the opening sequence is not very straightforward, in fact it is very easy to miss the area where you are given your first weapons, which makes the following level where you meet the first enemies quite puzzling.

    In the end, there is not much to say. Download it. Now.

  14. Anonymous

    how do you get out of the room with the oozing oil ? walkthrough says that one of the door is suppose to open, but nothing happens, I just burn to death….

  15. Andrew37
    Personal Favourite

    cool mod, you are kind of a spy… and the best part is that you kill the gman šŸ˜€

  16. Personal Favourite

    Wow, this mod is incredible! I can’t believe I haven’t played this earlier… Great gameplay, nice use of music and voices from the game, and not too hard but challenging. Too bad the author doesn’t make maps anymore.

  17. wolf

    This is a great mod; it takes around an hour to two to complete. Most importantly, unlike many other mods, the design and map layout are professionally done.

    Rating: 95%
    Recommendation: Personal Favourite (My kind of game!).

  18. Play It Now!

    Great single player mission! Great map design, use of textures, and implementation of unused Half Life assets. Play it now!!!

  19. Personal Favourite

    One of the best HL mods for me. Beautiful mapping, cutscenes, interesting gameplay.

  20. Ten Four Reviews
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

    Subject: Gordon Freeman.
    Mission: Thwart the G-Manā€™s plans to open a portal to the border world Xen.

    Sound familiar? Thatā€™s the premise of Chris Spainā€™s Edge of Darkness. But this is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill rehash of Half-Lifeā€™s story. Instead, Edge of Darkness is one of the most engaging and enjoyable Half-Life single player episodes to date.

    The plot is relatively simple: you reprise your role as Gordon Freeman. On an assignment for the Alien Counter-Insurgency Bureau, you are charged with infiltrating the G-Manā€™s secret hideout, foiling his evil plot, and escaping with your life. Oh, and kicking some serious ass in the meantime. But beware: Edge of Darkness is also pretty tough in a couple of points (especially the finale). Your combat skills will certainly be challenged in this episode.

    Although this is Chris Spainā€™s first single player map for Half-Life, he is by no means a rookie, having constructed the popular Rats! series of deathmatch maps, and Forces of Evil, a well-received Quake II single player series. And the experience shows. The architecture, level balance, and game flow are all first-rate. I donā€™t think Iā€™m spoiling too much when I say that your arrival at the base is just a tad too late ā€“ some portals have already been opened. But this opens the door for a good variety of enemies (including a nasty surprise at the end), instead of the standard grunt-fest. But donā€™t worry, there are grunts aplenty here, and they provide much of your resistance. Weapons, ammo, and health are pretty easy to come by, but believe me, youā€™ll need everything you can get your hands on.

    But what really sets Edge of Darkness apart from most other maps is the little extras. For example, you get a full Mission Impossible-style briefing by laptop in the beginning. Furthermore, the scripted sequences, which act as in-game cutscenes to advance the plot, are clever and satisfying to watch, yet the action is not interrupted at all.

    The only weakness of this episode is that the r_speeds get high in a couple of spots. I play on a PII 400 with a TNT card at 1152×864, and it mostly ran fine for me. But there were a couple of large areas in Edge of Darkness that could really bog down some older machines. Again, this is only in a couple of spots and should not discourage you from playing this excellent level.

    In case you couldnā€™t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Edge of Darkness and I highly recommend it. If you choose to ignore it, youā€™ll be missing out on one of the best Half-Life episodes ever released.

    Notes
    This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Sunday, 30th July 2000 by Unquenque.

    This review was originally posted on the Ten Four Website, which is now offline. Permission has been granted to republish the full review and more details can be found on the About page.

  21. Phillip says Play It!

    No doubt about it, this is a great piece of work. It’s clear the author has really tried to tell a story and added location changes that mostly make sense.

    I was a little disappointed that we never actually took the cable car ride, but I understand why.

    It follows what I feel is the BM formula of corridors and basic areas that lead to large open, central sections with battles.

    I found the bigger areas too easy but overall I had a good time. I had one WOW moment which is more than most HL1 mods, at least nowadays.

    There were plenty of nice touches, like the oil coming under the door and such, and it’s always nice to see little details like that.

    Certainly not my favourite mod of the 100SDoN but I can easily see why some players loved it.

    Definitely worth your time – go play it!

  22. Play It Now!

    We start on the city street, under the rain. It’s possible to notice that there’s nothing inside the house which is behind us. If it’s so well lit inside, there should be an interior.

    I enjoyed the introduction. It is amazing and also contains some humour.

    The design is beautiful, original and interesting. When we enter the base, an atmosphere of luxury if felt.

    Our actions are commented with robotic voice. Also there is a radio contact with the command. The voiced words that come with Half-Life used creatively there. Later there will be creative use of the dialogue in the scene with Barney and G-Man.

    We will encounter many interesting places, laboratories, experiments, destruction. It’s too bad that it’s not possible to get to the access card without killing the staff.

    There will be a big experiment which is as great as the one in Black Mesa, maybe even greater.

    The arrival of the tentacle is amazing and original. The final boss is also amazing and original.

    This mod is certainly worth playing.

  23. Personal Favourite

    Quite possibly the best in the 100SDoN so far.

    I have heard many people recommend this mod to me in the past, and I even downloaded it at one point, but I never actually got around to playing it until now. This one, for me, was along the same lines as USS Darkstar and Life’s End and I really enjoyed it.

    The intro to this mod was fantastic, and quite possibly the best and most professional part. It tells you what you need to know, gives you your objective and basic equipment and gives you a feel for the mod as well as mixing in a little bit of humor in there. Like Phillip said, it was disappointing that you never managed to get to take the cable car however.

    The gameplay of this mod was another great part of this mod although it was too easy. The puzzles were pretty easy and boring, the combat was pretty fun though but way too easy. The whole design and mapping of the mod was really well done, and it was pleasing to look at unlike a lot of mods we’ve had in the 100SDoN so far. The glass doors were pretty nice too. There were very few bugs in this too, and the ones that did exist made very little difference and often worked in the players favour (getting the snarks and the vent zombies are two I can think of) and you shouldn’t have to use noclip. The whole atmosphere of the mod was nicely done too and gave it a good feel.

    The ending was just as brilliant as the intro was and, without spoiling everything, throws you into an epic fight against many enemies with a very unusual end of mod boss at the end of it. While it was too easy it was brilliantly done and the best ending I have seen in a HL mod.

    The intro and ending alone are reasons to play this, but the whole thing was fantastic. Definitely worth the praise.

  24. Play It Now!

    Very nice mod. Great mapping, nice use of voices, and some very original ideas.

  25. Play It Now!

    Another excellent mod.

    The mapping and sets were really well done. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a cool assortment of locations, they’re the kind I would love to have in Gmod – if only they were current!

    Very clever use of existing voice materials, as well as models. This reminds me of another mod, the helicopter waiting outside and rushing around in a wide room – but this one was pulled off much better. (Was that the same dev? I can’t remember!)

    My problem was that I couldn’t survive the explosion in the water-floored room. I tried numerous times to crouch and blow it up from the water, but finally I got too frustrated and noclipped about. Still unclear on how you’re meant to get up to the 2nd floor of that room, but that’s fine.

    I’m also a little unclear on the presence of rockets and the tau/gluon pack ammo. Did I just completely miss it? Did we get those weapons somewhere? I didn’t have them in my weapon lists, that’s for sure. They would have come in handy in the last battle.

    All in all though, excellent and fun mod. Well worth playing.

  26. Personal Favourite

    One of the best.Starts with a great intro which leads to the mountain top hideout of the G-Man The mapping is excellent all around and the gameplay matches up to it.The pack alsp uses the HL voice files very well too.Only flaw is that it’s a little too easy.Play it NOW!!!

  27. Play It Now!

    Wow! this has to be one of the best looking of the 100 and it was fun as well!

    it’s difficult to know where to start with this one, it looked good and it played good. it’s also difficult to believe it was released over 11years ago, as most others of the same vintage in the 100 look nowhere near as polished as this. On top of everything else it appears (to me at least) the author put a lot of thought into this as well as imagination.

    The combat was a slow build up to an almost impossibly frantic finale but was fun all the way and did I mention it looked good? The test chamber section was one of my favourite parts because usually large areas can look a little bland, but the look just felt right to me. I also liked the ” Alien” style eggs containing headcrabs. The ending was manic and I admit to using cheats at the end as I chucked every thing I had (and then some) before it blew up.

    This is one that is well worth a play.

    One last thing, the opening scene, I almost expected Captain Scarlet to appear!

  28. Unq
    Play It Now!

    Oh, fond memories of this one – Edge of Darkness was my first-ever review at Ten Four. Even now it holds up well against everything out there for Half-Life – it’s a thoroughly enjoyable, action-packed set of maps that is the perfect length for me (maybe 1 hour of playtime).

    You’re given a mission at the beginning, and it’s nice that even though you seem to accomplish the original mission partway through, you still have to get your ass out of the base. This time the only knock against Edge of Darkness is that I found it too easy (even the finale). Maybe it’s my honed skills after years of Half-Life, but I recommend raising from your normal skill level for this pack to get the most out of it. Your enemies are a good mix of grunts and aliens, with a couple of boss-style fights (one with an Osprey) near the satisfying finale.

    The polish of Edge of Darkness is what impressed me the most. From the opening briefing, to the in-game scripts (attention mappers: this is how you do cutscenes), to the action-packed finale, the fine gameplay blends with believable settings and a decent sprinkling of details that really make the maps feel alive.

    Needless to say I had a great time playing this classic again. Highly recommended.

  29. Hec
    Play It Now!

    Ok, here WE HAVE an excellent example of how a mod, should tell a story, now, I don’t know how many guys waste words trying to tell a story for a mod by writing it, they write the equivalent to a book or two sometimes!!!!, god, who cares, as Phillip says:

    “tell the story into the mod, please”

    here we have a great layout plus great textures an excellent atmosphere of how the G-Man base is in a really high cold mountain, and awsome battles, oh god, I really enjoyed the battles on this one, the last part of secure the helipad by destroying the Osprey to stop the incoming waves of grunts was a delightful fine great detail, and then destroy that awsome done KingPin space ship protected by Controllers was really cool too, if I love new weaponery on mods, I also love to be able to shoot static machineguns and that helipad got one too, that’s great.

    I’m writing too many good things on this one, but just to be a Personal Fav. But for my gamers taste, maybe i’d like it to be longer, and i’d love to be able to ride and see the trip into the cablecar. But definitely it worths play it, it makes you feel a good time and mapping is really well done and it feels like every map is conected into that g-man secret complex, so come on, go on and play it!.

  30. Play It Now!

    This is an excellent mod, very well made gameplay and design, with little use of custom files. Although Half-Life does not contain cutscenes at all, Edge of Darkness puts them to good use (ex: the mission briefing). The scripted scenes are also good, this mod stands close to Half-Life story telling in-game (see that there’s no long story in readme as well).
    The dialogue in the mod is made from lines of scientists and Barney, and they fit nicely into Mr. Smith’s evil character.
    It’s not short or too long, I’ve played through it in an hour. There’s plenty of action or areas to admire, and the battles are similar to Half-Life 1’s Surface Tension or later chapters, they will require patience and thought to get through alive, especially on higher difficulty settings. Definitely worth your time, even if you’re new to shooter games, this will be a fun experience.
    Overall this is a kickass mod.

  31. eddyhawk

    A good one, eventhough not at the first look.
    Mission briefing and cablecar remind me of NOLF.
    The title doesn’t seem to fit the mod.
    Author’s site doesn’t have a walkthrough, eventhough it claims one. Luckily I can finish the mod myself. So here are hints for where I got stuck (while I still remember them):
    -Prison with “Einstein” professor: “Use” the door on next prison
    -Room/passage with burning oil: Immediately “use” the door in front of you and get out there
    -‘Big tank” surrounded by water: shoot the tank while underwater (with pistol), and stay underwater while the tank explodes to survive the blast
    -Big teleport hall: glass cover for buttons don’t open by themselves, break them!
    -Escape from big teleport hall: break the lower air vent nearby and go in there
    -Alien boss fight: Turn on the radio (is it necessary?), shoot the big gem thing under the boss belly (waste all your ammo here) on close range while keep circling the landing area to avoid boss” laser

  32. Personal Favourite

    EoD reeks of quality and fun. It is clearly evident that author really has put in lots of effort into making this MOD and not even a small detail has been overlooked. Also the setting of the map is away from Black Mesa of which you might have become bored until now. It is, I feel much more fun than most other MODs for HL and is really a very creative MOD.

    This MOD contains solid mapping throughout it’s entirety with really nice architecture and texturing. Textures have been used effectively to make it look like a nice, comfortable facility. The labs faintly remind us of ole” Black Mesa. There are nice clever elements in mapping and it uses the HL features in a new fashion with newer difficulties and puzzles. The first couple of maps are really good. The mission description is slightly humorous. MAP03 and MAP04 have nice simluation of a moutaintop atmosphere. There are nice scripted sequences here like the one involving you, barney, Dr. Smith, and the assassins. The MOD contains Spy Thriller action. Also there is another MOD, by the same author, Forces of Evil for Quake 2 which involves the ACIB. Clearly the mapping is indicative of why people regard Mr. Chris Spain as one of the best mappers around.

    In the second last level where we first encounter the RPG, we might get stuck behind the isotope box. Throughout the maps we receive .357 Python ammo but never get the gun itself. The facility should have more sentry turrets. There are a few areas which we might miss to explore like the area in the MAP10 where we receive snarks. The oiled room is ingenious but players might easily dodge it. The Apache in the final level doesn’t need to be destroyed as you can run and skip the entire part. The crates in the first few levels receive goodies but most of them aren’t breakable so if the player encounters an unbreakable crate, he may not think of breaking the other ones. The presence of crowbar lying on the ground in the second map feels a bit out of place. Also we receive a Glock in the rendezvous warehouse both no clips. Surely if they are sending us on a mission where we are meant to kill quite a few people, they would at least provide 1 or 2 clips of ammo. Also the solution to the puzzle in the elevator room in MAP9 is not plainly evident. Also, I would have preferred the outer area of the final map to have a dusk atmosphere to make it seem that we spent quite a few hours in the facility trying to complete our mission. All these are minor issues which I feel I am the only one who might bother about. It doesn’t actually affect the superior quality of this MOD.

    Gameplay is really easy for the most part. The Coolant Chamber, the Gate-Field room where we kill Mr. Smith and the final map can be a bit challenging. Apart from that the combat is really easy. My verdict – PLAY IT NOW. It is easily my most favorite MOD until now.

  33. Play It Now!

    What a wonderful classic mod we have here! A lot features are making this a diamond among so many crappy SP HL1 mods.
    For instance the story with an tiny intro cutscene, “Mission Impossible”-style mission briefing and after reaching the mountain top “James Bond” is greeting! šŸ˜‰
    It all is well-dosed and made. The design, details, combat, scripts, nothing looks or feels random or just quickly made. It’s very well structured and excellent balanced.

    To make it short: go play it now!

    Pro’s:
    -Great leveldesign, lighting and architecture with new stuff
    -Good story supported with mission objectives
    -Excellent combat action with lot of weapons and ammo – and also plenty of health / armor
    -Very good scripts, sometimes surprising and always exciting, also supporting the story
    -Very good balancing, it’s not too easy but always more than fair
    -Good playtime
    -A few puzzles

    Con’s:
    -No sequel (?)
    -Minor performance issues
    -Few odd enemy placements
    -Some scripts don’t work properly (but never making you get stuck)
    -Minor AI flaws, for example grunts sometimes very stupid or just standing around

  34. Personal Favourite

    This mod was great! All of the scenes were really well done and well designed; I never really didn’t know what to do after thinking about it, and the combat was really exciting and varied. I also liked how the player is rewarded by going off into secret areas. Anyone who loves half-life mods should definitely give this a go.

  35. Play It Now!

    Very well made mod w/ very good mapping. I loved the use of the ingame dialog to tell parts of his story. I also very much appreciated the chance to get to large open areas and not feel claustrophobic!

    ONLY major complaint was the use of unlimited spawns @ the end/ boss fight. Really disappointed this gimmick is still used because it’s cheap and lacks creativity.

  36. Play It Now!

    This mod is A MUST PLAY!!

    I remember when I first played this mod and getting stuck, but now that I finished it, I really feel satisfied.

    The story is that Gordon is sent to assassinate Dr. Smith (played by G-man) who wises to destroy humanity. Your goal is to assassinate him and get out of there.

    The combat was really good. I loved that part with the tentacle which was sweet and original.

    I had a few problems with the UFO in the end, though not important.

    This is an amazing mod and you should really play it!

  37. I really enjoyed this mod and I recommend it! This mod has final boss. I love bosses!

  38. Play It Now!

    Short, but jam packed with fun stuff. This little mod has a good (simple) story, great scripted events, and very impressive map-making. It fits a lot of content into a relatively small area in a short amount of time. Definitely worth a playthrough if you’ve never touched it before and are feeling some Half-Life nostalgia.

  39. Play It Now!

    A very clever mod with an extreme diversity of battle challenges, using only original content of HL1, yet you will hardly recognize any locations, and some scripted sequences (like the one with the elevator) are professional-level,

    it’s a really nice piece of work, and the final part with the last boss is just amazing.

  40. Personal Favourite

    When i first saw mod on the internet , i was thinking it isn’t good mod , but when i tried it , i knew i was wrong about mod. This is super secret agent movies , series etc. mixed with Half-Life. I personally don’t like secret agent things , but this mod is AWESOME!! It is full of action. Only two things that maybe can be problems are: mod is short and it is missing voice acting. I know that
    many people in that time wasn’t have microphone , but mod will be really more better if they added voice acting. Players who hate fighting with Soldiers would probably avoid this mod because there is a lot Soldiers , but when i say a lot i think A LOT!!! All other players must play this mod.

    -ratare40

  41. Personal Favourite

    Amazing, definitely in my top 10 mods of all times, I loved it

  42. Play It Now!

    Edge of Darkness is a ā€œspeculation modā€, similar to Absolute Redemption, Half-Life 1 mods that try to branch out the story before Half-Life 2 was released.

    I really enjoyed the Mission Impossible/spy movie setting and the goal was simple. Kill Dr. Smith, a mad scientist who totally isnā€™t GMan. It was a joy from start to finish!

    However, some maps kind of lack in checkpoints but donā€™t let that hurt your enjoyment.

  43. Solid creation in every important aspect !

    I have just registered an account. This is my first review there but not the first nor twentieth mod/map, which I have BRUTALIZED already ^^ !
    BTW Since the first download from “runthinkshootlive.com”, I am using Xash3D_build4344 Engine fed by files from Steam version – 99% of success.

    “Edge Of Darkness”
    Story is introduced in interesting and engaging formula, which is based upon 1st person perspective with clever use of the vanilla HL code. Impressive indeed, when compared to common “Press New Game… go to toilet… pick some drink… still text on the screen and no control…”

    Map design keeps you engaged from the beginning to the end.
    Firefights means
    recon >> explosive/crowbar opening ! >> bunnyflank&obliterate
    Xenfights means
    listen >> evade >> rip&tear
    Environment means
    the path is intuitive , hazardous machinery has warning signs, transition is unnoticable

    I didn’t ecounter any bugs. I was not caught by the elevator. I was definitevly entertained and impressed multiple times.

    I am pretty sure, this mod is fully compatible with
    BRUTAL Half-Life
    by simply throwing content from ‘bhl” directory into “eod”, keeping eod’s “liblist.gam”
    editing line
    gamedll “..\valve\dlls\hl.dll” into “dlls\bhl.dll”
    removing “gameinfo.txt”

    P.S. I am gonna play trough the “Edge Of Darkness” once again later.
    This time getting a second silienced Berretta M9 from that poor dead assassin in my hideout ( give monster_human_assassin ) … Ahh ! also avoiding that barbaric crowbar in favor of fists and kicks !

    1. This is BRUTALIZED beginning of the mappack
      https://youtu.be/sdeHs-6HLmI

  44. Personal Favourite

    Superb mod! The mountain and the labs look really good. There are enough ammo and health kits so I can enjoy the combats. I really like that the game becomes tighter after I kill the bad guy (gman). The final boss – alien spacecraft controlled by kingpin looks interesting.

  45. Personal Favourite

    A fast paced mod that gives you a wild and enjoyable ride than leaves, leaving you wanting more.
    Amazing mod.

  46. Personal Favourite

    Incredible mod. I don’t know where to begin.

    So much top notch stuff here. Amazing environments, scripting, puzzles, combat, etc. The ending battle is one of the more crazy fights I’ve played in a Half Life mod.

    First map alone is nice, left a great first impression. The warehouse covered in moody lighting and rain, made me automatically feel confident in the mod. Did not disappoint.

    Maybe I would’ve liked the mod overall to be a little harder, but that’s hardly a complaint. Difficultly itself is actually paced very nicely. Very little things I actually dislike with the mod.

    Really fun and polished experience, cannot recommend it enough. Glad to get that bastard Smith for jaywalking.

  47. Play It Now!

    I know I got old with those generic Black Mesa type levels but this one is pretty amazing tbh. The combat is nearly perfect, taking down grunts is very easy to me, thanks to the handgun’s accuracy. The boss battle is quite misorienting because I had no idea how to kill it and it took me 3-4 tries to figure it out but it’s not that hard at least. The level design is great in fact, the puzzles are well made, says the gentleman. The best part is the immersion to the story, or should I say the cutscenes are very creative. I love how you get to meet the villain and then confront him again for the showdown, just like superhero vs supervillain, rivalries.

  48. Play It Now!

    This was a medium length but very impressive mod with a unique boss fight in the end and fairly balanced.

  49. Personal Favourite

    I think this is officially my favorite out of all of the classic mods, it does everything right.

    Good combat encounters, nice brushwork with a lot of attention to detail, good atmosphere with the lighting, ambient sound and decals.

    The thing I like the most about this mod is the use of default textures to create maps that take place outside of Black Mesa, but with the help of a custom skybox and fantastic visual design the maps look great and very different from what you see in the original game.

    The city at night with rain and thunder is very well done, the lil hideout where our character receives his mission is very comfy.

    Other things I enjoy about this mod is the use of scripted sequences to convey the story (which by the way, I really dig the story and its conclussion) along with the main antagonist using the default scientist voicelines in a way that gives them a completely new meaning in this context.

    Few couple of fun puzzles here and there that were enjoyable too, my only complaint with this mod is that as someone else already mentioned: it can be hard to figure out how to kill the final boss.

    PS: I forgot to mention that I adore the intro/outro with the title of the mod made out of brushes.

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