The Source engine proved to be an incredibly versatile and flexible tool. The first time it came to light was in 2004, in Counter-Strike: Source and, shortly after, there was Half-Life 2. Now, five years later, the engine is still being put to good use and delivering great games. The recently launched Left 4 Dead 2 has already passed two million sold copies, and Valve's Half Life 2 Episode 3 is still pending. As such, there's no wonder that, somewhere along the way, somebody decided that it would be a great idea to use the Source Engine and remake the original Half Life game.

The idea came just after the release of Half Life 2 and the project was named Black Mesa. But, now, it's 2009 and Black Mesa still keeps us in the dark. However, a recent update was made by the mod's dev team, and, for an update, it sure brings some old news. To our disappointment, but not at all our surprise, the game won't be ready this year either. Fooled me once, shame on you. Fooled me twice, shame on me. Still, it's not just old news and let-downs that the team's update has brought.

"Cynics may now rejoice, bets may be collected, and I think a mod team member has to eat his shoe, but we hope our loyal fans will forgive us and realize that the delay will translate into a better final product that's (hopefully) more easily available to everyone."

The announcement further reads that, "Once again we apologize for what has to be very disappointing news. We placed a 2009 deadline on ourselves to motivate us and bring this 6 year project to a close. And while we didn't quite make it, we have come very close, and you can expect a complete, polished game to hit your hard drives in the near future. We'll be sure and update if anything changes. Until then, hang tight, it's coming!" Just like it did when it apologized in 2007. And 2008. This is what scientists call a "pattern of repetition."