Welcome to the eighteenth part of Mouse's Black Mesa commentary, where today, we'll be continuing going over "Surface Tension!" In this part, I'd like to point out how much of Xen is crossing over into the Earth world, how it's not just the aliens teleporting in, but now we're getting strange alien flora growing in, too, like...

A fleshy looking alien trampoline growing in a ruined parking garage!

Seriously, these things look so creepy, I think. The middle part looks like some sort of... slightly moving, pulsating... fleshy brain... stuff... and it's got roots spanning out from it, and these tiny hairs growing on it... eugh. It looks gross.

I love it.

Of course, Gordon's first response is, Let's step on it, and

You get shot up straight into the air!

Another of the things I appreciate that they changed in Black Mesa- when you step on one of these, it launches you straight up to a designated spot. But in Half-Life? No, you continued in the direction you were going, just upwards now, too. And the things were so hard to control. They took me forever to get across.

But if you look up in the parking garage, you'll see...

Shoot, guess the guy was just having too much fun on the alien trampoline to realize how high he was getting, and got impaled on some rebar... what a way to go.

The parking garage is also where you'll star to see

Marine headcrab zombies (the one on the right). Functionally, they're no different from the other zombies, but I still think it's a neat detail, especially considering they didn't actually exist in the original game. But this, I think, is really cool because it serves as another reminder that it's not just Gordon versus aliens and marines. It's Gordon versus aliens versus marines.

You start seeing this a lot more in "Surface Tension," too; there are numerous times where you'll come across something like this, where there's already a battle in progress, and neither team notices you immediately...

And while things usually look pretty even matched at first, well... the HECU typically starts losing... pretty fast...

But we'll get to that later.

You all know by now what I'm gonna say here, right? Do I even need to say it?

I'm gonna say it anyway: look at how awesome that looks. This shot, and as you're standing here, you can hear gunfire and explosions in the distance... doesn't it just set the mood so well?

Great idea, Gordon! Just go ahead and climb through the air duct that's overgrown with alien life! Sounds like an excellent plan!

SNARKS SNARKS THIS WAS NOT AN EXCELLENT PLAN THERE ARE SNARKS BITING MY FACE

There are also a couple snark nests in the air duct for you to pick up, if you missed them back in "Questionable Ethics."

And crawling farther along, we overhear...

Hmm, I wonder what they hear...

A bit farther, and...

Well that doesn't sound good, but it's not like I can go back...

And then,

They notice Gordon in the air duct and they try to shoot him out, completely ripping apart the duct.

But if you're fast you can back up far enough to stay in the air duct, and...

Hey guys, I got some presents for you!

This is really just about the only time I ever use snarks lol. They're just not convenient enough for other situations.

But remember how I was talking about the HECU losing pretty quickly? Shortly after, you overhear this as you approach a radio

"This is Thunderclap-1. No longer in a position to assist. We're moving to LZ Finch."

"What the hell are you saying? We're freakin' surrounded over here!"

"Push out to the nearest LZ and await further instruction!"

Not long after, from the very same radio, you hear...

"Any station, any station, this is Echo-5-Bravo. Are there any available air assets able to provide support in sector 8? Hello? Is anyone reading this?"

And you can hear explosions, gunfire, and shouting in the background of the transmission.

And not long after that, from a different radio...

"Is anyone there? We need support now!"

"Goose-4, this is Bloodhound-3. Reading you loud and clear. ETA, one mike. Sit tight, guys."

Fun fact, in Opposing Force, the V-22 Osprey that Adrian Shephard's opening scene takes place in is codenamed "Goose-7," and the first of the other Ospreys that are flying alongside to be shot down is codenamed "Goose-3." So make of that what you will, but I like to think this is the crew of one of the Ospreys that was flying in alongside Shephard's!

But anyway. It's pretty clear to see that the marines are very quickly getting tied up with the aliens, having bitten off more than they can chew. And this is where you almost start feeling bad for the marines. Because sure, they've been trying to take you out, but ultimately, they were sent in to stop the aliens, to protect earth. And they're failing. They're getting panicked, they're struggling, they're dying. The aliens are winning. You'd think the HECU would decide to stop worrying about Freeman for now and just focus on slowing the invasion...

But that's it for this chapter! Next is the second to last bit of "Surface Tension!"