With the recent passing of April Fools day, it was strange to see no major pranks revolved around the "announcement" of Half-Life 3. It seems that every year at least one outlet - or perhaps just one of your meaner friends - tries to get everyone's hopes up over the eight-year absence of Gordon Freeman. However, instead of mourning a game that never was and could possibly never be, why not revisit the ones that we already know and love - with some much-needed improvements to boot?

There are two excellent recreations of both the original Half-Life and HL2 - one was officially released on Steam just last week, and the other’s been around for a few years now. They’re both great examples of the Half-Life community bringing out the best in Valve’s iconic series, improving the existing games to make the experiences feel new and fresh even a decade later.

Half-Life 2: Update (Filip Victor)

Half-Life 2: Update is not an official patch from Valve itself, but rather a standalone download that brings several community-made fixes to the original and beloved Half-Life 2.

All you need to run the mod is Half-Life 2, installed or not. As long as Half-Life 2 is in your library, just hit Play Game on the Half-Life 2: Update’s Steam page and your free standalone download should begin.

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Lighting and shadows get the most attention in this update, enhanced to appear more detailed and dynamic. Water looks better, vistas are crisper, and particle effects and fog are also improved for stronger atmosphere.

Half-Life 2: Update comes with its own Community Commentary Mode as well, featuring notable YouTubers such as Ross Scott, the creator of comedic let’s play series Freeman’s Mind.

The info contained in the commentary is a mix of basic Half-Life knowledge (for series veterans) and some cool facts, context, and perspective that help make the mod as informative as it is good-looking.

Black Mesa (Crowbar Collective)

Speaking of good-looking mods, there’s always Black Mesa, a total conversion of Half-Life 2 and remake of Half-Life 1 by a team called the Crowbar Collective.

After years in production, Black Mesa finally released its first part in September 2012, but has yet to conclude with part 2, stopping just short of Xen. It did get greenlit by the Steam community recently, so we’re hoping for those final chapters soon.

Also a standalone, Black Mesa differs from Half-Life 2: Update because all you need to run it is the Source SDK Base 2007 found in the Tools tab of your Steam library, which is available for free. You don’t need to own Half-Life 2 or even a Source game to run it.

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Black Mesa is great for older fans who want to revisit Half-Life 1 as a new, yet familiar experience, but it’s also handy for newcomers who struggle to get into the original game at all due to its outdated look. With Black Mesa, all the good parts of the original Half-Life shine through with a brand new coat of paint: original textures, character models, and even new sounds, music, and voice acting. Download it for free from one of the sources available on the official Black Mesa website.

Fans of the franchise will appreciate the improvements made to each title, and new players - if such a person exists - will feel more at home jumping into these updated versions of both games. Of course, we're all following the mysterious adventures of the One Free Man, but until the community gets concrete proof of the games development (or lack thereof), these revitalizing fan tributes will have to tide us over.