Have you ever heard anyone say that ‘such-and-such a mod’ is totally under recognized? There are plenty of talented designers out there, but what is really unfortunate is that many of them get completely unnoticed. Whether it be due to a lack of enough media to show, improper advertising, or simply just getting buried in the forums before anyone had a chance to check it out. In order for designers and developers to truly improve their craft, they need enough people to actually play their mods and give them some proper feedback. Let’s try and mend that, shall we?

It can be hard to keep track of things in the modding community. Unlike the multi-million dollar marketing campaigns of triple-A releases, us mappers have to rely on word-of-mouth or places like ModDB to have our creations discovered.

A result of this is that a lot of brilliant releases slip “under the radar” and fade into obscurity. To help rectify this, here is the first of what (we hope) will be a series of articles highlighting smaller maps and mods released recently which we think you should download and try out for yourself. They’re free!

Gearbox’s infamous cancelled Dreamcast console port of Half-Life 1 (although it was also developed by Captivation Digital Labs) has been shrouded in mystery for many. Troubled by delays, it was originally slated for release in summer of 2000, then fall of 2000, then late 2000, then pushed back to early 2001 and eventually, mid-2001, then finally put out of its misery in a controversial cancellation. The ill-fated port was hilariously close to release – Prima strategy guides and other promotional materials were made available (and can still be found on online auction sites for various prices), and a near-complete beta build was leaked to the Internet. Concurrently, it seems that the only way to experience the port is to download this leaked build.

But, no longer! Dedicated modders have just released a mod port of the Dreamcast version for Half-Life 1, which means that right now, you can experience the unreleased Dreamcast port for yourself! Read on for more info on the release.

VMF’s and Vodka’s upcoming Half-Life 2 mod, Ivan’s Secrets, has been in development for quite some time now, and while their media posts are always amazing, August’s may be the very best so far.

The HL2 mod “Visage” has just released its first teaser trailer and its official site. Set for release in Q4 2010, the mod looks great and we’re looking forward to seeing more of it. Check it out after the jump.

After years in the making, the Source remake of the popular Firearms mod is available. Members from the original team along with new blood have put years of work and a re-code into this release. Find out more after the jump.