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After 10 years, I've finally accepted that 'Half-Life' is dead
Ten years ago today, Valve released Half-Life 2: Episode Two. It was the second of three announced games that directly continued the story that started in 2004's heavily lauded Half-Life 2. Episode One and Episode Two were released in 2006 and 2007, respectively, with the second ending on a major cliffhanger. Unfortunately, this is where the Half-Life universe ends. The first Half-Life and its sequel had endings that wrapped up the main story in each game, though both games left players with plenty of unanswered questions. Episode Two, on the other hand, had a very Empire Strikes Back ending that begged for resolution. Throughout one full game and two episodes, protagonist Gordon Freeman is accompanied by all-around badass Alyx Vance, who has worked with her father, Eli, to help humanity resist the aliens that have enslaved the species. At the end of Episode Two, Freeman, Alyx and Eli experience a temporary victory, closing a portal that traps the Combine aliens on Earth and giving humanity a last shot at freedom. The success is short-lived, however -- two nightmarish aliens capture and kill Eli and are about to kill Freeman and Alyx until a last-minute rescue leaves them safe but devastated as the game fades to black.
'Half-Life' writer reveals what could've been Episode 3
Nearly ten years after the debut of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the world is still waiting for Valve to deliver the final episode in the trilogy, but we may have to settle for something else. Just a few months after the last of the game's writers left Valve, and 21 years to the day since the company started, lead writer Marc Laidlaw has posted "Epistle 3" to his personal website (it's overloaded and inaccessible now, but you can view it on Archive.org).
Valve has no more 'Half-Life' writers left
Marc Laidlaw's departure from Valve last year was a shock. The author was responsible for single-handedly writing both Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and worked as the story lead on the latter's two episodic sequels. Chet Faliszek and Erik Wolpaw, co-writers on Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two, stuck around however, meaning some of the series' writing talent still remained at Valve.
Razer reveals the first games for its VR developer kit
Razer and the OSVR alliance have been working on their developer-ready VR headset for a while, but they haven't said much about what you'll play on this early hardware. That's a bit odd for technology that revolves around gaming, don't you think? Never to fear, though, as the first games have arrived for OSVR's Hacker Development Kit. They're mostly what you'd expect for a SteamVR-compatible device: a pair of Valve classics (Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2), a popular spaceflight game (Elite: Dangerous) and a racing title (Live for Speed). About the only outlier is Spermination, a shooter that's about as odd as its name suggests.
Valve Source Filmmaker makes a movie out of any Source game, now you're directing with Portals (video)
Creating machinima with a video game engine usually requires accepting one of two truths: either that it will require a lot of fudging or that it will have all the sophistication of playing with action figures. Valve Software isn't very happy with that dichotomy, which is why it's posting its very own movie-making tool, Source Filmmaker, as a public beta. Any game that runs on the Source engine, whether it's Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2 or another in the family, can have gameplay run-throughs edited and dissected right down to custom facial expressions. As Valve expounds in the video after the break, throwing a gaming-grade PC at the task gives directors the advantage of seeing exactly how any changes will look in the final scene; there's no rough wireframes or pre-rendering here. Budding Francis Ford Coppolas can sign up for an invitation to the Filmmaker beta at the project page. If you'd just like to see how far someone can go with the end results, we've also included the latest Team Fortress 2 character profile video, Meet the Pyro, after the jump.
Boston Dynamics Alpha Dog makes Alyx Vance's pet look like a toy (video)
Boston Dynamics' BigDog is one of our favorite insane-level DARPA projects; a robotic pack-mule that can carry 400 pounds of kit for troops. At some point, the Massachusetts mechanics decided the bot would be far better if it was the size of a bull, or, you know, an SUV. The Alpha Dog loses the un-stealthy buzzing noise of its predecessor, has a range of 20 miles and can take much more punishment. If you check out the video after the break, you'll see two people unsuccessfully attempt a takedown on the monster -- Half-Life 2 diehards might experience a combat flashback at the mere sight of it. AT-AT Jr is expected to see field testing sometime next year when it won't have a test bed of rocks to contend with, but the US Marines. Mark our words: we expect 'em to appear in every nightmarish dystopia of the 2020s, and take a starring role in the forthcoming Robopocalypse.
Valve celebrates Half-Life 2 for OS X with a nod to Apple's '1984'
Apple's "1984" commercial has become the stuff of legend -- a symbol of breaking free from what was then an IBM-dominated market. But in a stroke of irony, Valve has released its own parody of the ad to celebrate the launch of Half-Life 2 on OS X (praise be to Steam), about five and a half years after the highly acclaimed game originally debuted on PC. Better late than never, we suppose, and like always, Valve's marketing hits just the right pitch. Video after the break, along with Apple's original and another parody near and dear to our hearts.
Massively interviews Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm
One of the most significant works of machinima created in recent years is Clear Skies, an unconventional amalgam of the gritty, far future setting of EVE Online tempered with a more human touch, imbued with life through clever writing and exacting manipulation of Half-Life 2 character models. Fans and critics alike have praised Clear Skies since its release. Indeed, the film recently took top honors at Machinima Filmfest 2008, garnering a Mackie award for Best Long Format Film. This success at the festival was met with astonishment from Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm as well as from his collaborators, John Guthrie and Richie Powles. But it was decidedly less of a surprise to the many fans of the film, a seemingly ever-growing number judging by the number of times Clear Skies has been downloaded from EVE-Files. Massively recently caught up with Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm, who was gracious enough to provide us with a sequence of production stills from Clear Skies 2, explaining how he brings a scene to life in stages from voice recording, to choreography, to the culmination of this work in the final footage. While we had his attention, Ian also discussed what drives a man to dedicate years of his life to a project of this caliber, and what he has in store for us with Clear Skies 2.%Gallery-36336%
EVE Online films nominated for Machinima Filmfest 2008 awards
CCP Games announced that two EVE Online machinima have made the list of nominees for awards at Machinima Filmfest 2008: "Clear Skies" and "Havoc." The Machinima Festival is one of the major machinima events held annually. The full day event will take place on November 1st in New York City. Clear Skies is an imaginative blend of EVE Online's galactic backdrop with Half-Life 2 character models, and is a Best Long Format nominee. Much of the film takes place within ship and station interiors, and represents two years of hard work by its creator, Ian Chisholm, as well as Richie Powles and John Guthrie. Clear Skies has been well-received by the EVE Community, with the announcement thread garnering 50 pages of praise and climbing.Havoc is a newer machinima, nominated for Best Sound Design, Best Short Format, and Best Voice Acting. Havoc was created by Anil Kamath (Sound Design and Music), Chris Newcombe (Visual Design and Editing), and voiced by Sarah Murray. Like Clear Skies, Havoc is proving to be quite popular with the EVE playerbase, but holds appeal for a more general audience as well. The film is short, clocking in at one minute in length, but in that time nicely juxtaposes the grit of New Eden's setting with gorgeous visuals filmed within EVE. Like Clear Skies, Havoc is well worth a look. Video embeds of both machinima are found below the cut:
X3F TV -- Points>Life: Your Own Worst Enemy
Each week, X3F tips gamers to the tricks of the trade of Achievement hording in Points>Life. Every week a new achievement is unlocked to help you continue your unhealthy obsession with the Xbox 360 meta-game.This week in Points>Life we tackle The Orange Box. While we could have copped out and threw out one of the easy achievements we tip you off on getting a hand-full of points in this fantastic compilation. Grab points in both Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 by following our guide above!Music Credit:"Collateral Damage Pt. 2" by Critical Mood[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[MP4] Download the MP4 directly.
Individual Orange Box games hit retail April 9
Perhaps you've been burnt by digital distribution in the past, and now refuse to even touch the likes of Steam. Perhaps you found one or more of the games in Valve's critically acclaimed Orange Box to be lacking in a peel. Perhaps you'd like us to stop with the excruciating puns you jerks and report the news already geez.So, have at it: Valve has confirmed to Joystiq that the individually boxed Orange Box PC games are due to hit physical shelves on April 9th. The separate SKUs, which will be available worldwide, consist of first-person puzzler Portal, caricatured multiplayer romp Team Fortress 2, and a crowbar double-whammy in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two. Valve has yet to officially announce pricing details, but retailers currently list Portal at $19.99 and the other two packages at $29.99 each. Expect more details soon.
Valve: More Portal coming 'for sure'
Though we'd be GlaDOS can be to have another slice of Portal's topsy-turvy displacement gameplay, we'd almost certainly be unsatisfied with a quick 'n dirty content boost to our 2007 game of the year. Thankfully, Valve's Doug Lombardi has told Eurogamer that the developer isn't looking to simply throw a handful of new puzzles at us. "There'll be more Portal, for sure," he said. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."Also being worked out at Valve headquarters are the continuing adventures of crowbar-wielding physicist, Gordon Freeman, who's due to appear in Half-Life 2: Episode Three. "With Episode Three we want to live up to the promise of where we are taking things to; there's a lot of work being done to make sure we deliver on that promise." If you're dying to learn more about where said things are being taken to, you're going to have wait a bit, "probably months not weeks." And don't even get us started on how long you might have to wait for the actual game.At least you'll have some upcoming Team Fortress 2 content to keep you busy which, as per Valve's desire for all its additional content, will be free.
'First' Orange Box demo hits 360 tomorrow, Episode Two dedicated
360 owners are in for a very special Thanksgiving indeed. As if the Halo theme hitting Guitar Hero III for free wasn't enough to be thankful for, Valve – purveyors of fine gaming software – have just announced that the "first demo for The Orange Box," dedicated to Half-Life 2: Episode Two, will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace starting tomorrow. Yeah, we were drawn to that particular language as well, since it infers there could be a second and, Gordon help us, even a third sample platter of zesty Orange Box goodness. Regardless, you shouldn't need holiday deal lists to tell you that Orange Box is a steal but, in the off chance you need more coaxing, this demo oughta do nicely.
Nega-review: The Orange Box
To start with, there's "the horrendous box art, which I'm pretty certain was designed by a select group of mildy-talented fifth graders." (8)For Half-Life 2 and its episodic add-ons, "the visuals are not as good as they should be." (8) "The graphics don't compare with say BioShock, Gears of War or Halo 3," (6) and the game "suffer[s] from occasional framerate stutters and issues." (1) "There's also some noticeable pop-up." (6) "You'll ... see some chugs at certain points, such as during large chain explosions with equally large numbers of characters onscreen." (1)"There are mid-level loads that halt the action... often [for] 30 seconds to a full minute. This is especially aggravating when a load comes during a high-speed chase." (8) "Whenever you approach a new area, the game pauses and loads. This feels distinctly last-gen, especially compared with FPS of the moment Halo 3, which seamlessly loads new areas without pause." (6)As for the game itself, "some sections feel over-long, others just a lonely set of corridors." (3) Your AI teammates "can often get in your way when trying to move about small places [and] the AI often ignores [your] orders or will simply refuse to stay put and let you get through a corridor." (8) "Episode 2 is still linear. ... It's not exactly innovative - there's only one new enemy type and the lone new weapon isn't seen until the finale." (4) "The sense of familiarity can dull the game's appeal to [an] extent." (3)
Valve not looking to leave EA (4 Dead)
After enjoying a healthy relationship with EA during development of The Orange Box, Valve will likely stay in partnership with the publishing giant for 2008's zombie apocalypse epic, Left 4 Dead. Valve MD Gabe Newell told Eurogamer that it would only be a "natural consequence" of the time spent on October's orange offering. "Everybody always tells us what a horrible monster EA is supposed to be and we keep waiting for the hair to sprout out and the fangs to grow." Newell, who's obviously never seen the ending to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," now shares a tree with Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli, who earlier this month praised EA for the "freedom" (see: money) it provided throughout the creation of Crysis. Such freedom may hopefully and helpfully extend to Left 4 Dead, with Newell considering a free launch weekend for the first-person, undead person shooter. "It's definitely a game that requires you to play it - you can describe it until you're blue in the face, but five minutes of playing it is definitely better than watching a 30-second spot on MTV to try to get you to understand why Left 4 Dead is going to be worth your time and money."
The Orange Box gets a much needed makeover
Ever since we laid our eyes on the Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover art we have been a little perplexed by its simplistic design. The cover art featured a mostly orange background with white text explaining the contents and that was about it. We accepted the cover though and never made a fuss. But now it looks like Valve has had a change of heart and design philosophy. TeamXbox is reporting that Valve decided to re-design the Orange Box cover and now it actually features artwork! Indeed, it shows off beautiful Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal artwork! We're glad to see Valve add more art to the cover art and spiffy up the Orange Box, because it really looks good. Check out TeamXbox's supplied Half-Life 2: Orange Box cover viewable after the break.
TF2 devs play cross-platform, but you won't
So, Shacknews posted a lengthy preview of Team Fortress 2. At first, everything was normal, no different than what we expected. Multiple classes, fun gametypes, cool maps, protestations that the Medic is fun to play: everything was copacetic. According to the review, Team Fortress 2 will not feature cross-platform play. That's all well and good, except Valve -- developer of the PC and Xbox 360 versions (EA UK is handling the PS3 version) -- "regularly play cross-platform multiplayer games." Why then, are we denied such pleasure? According to Valve's Doug Lombardi, it "introduces more problems than it is worth." He further notes that Valve would only implement cross-platform play in a title that was designed for it from the start.Ah well, looks like we'll have to be satisfied with fragging fellow 360 fanboys.[Via Joystiq]
Half-Life 2: The Orange Box ships in October
Talking with a Valve representative, Shacknews was able to pry a firm release from their lips for a little box set known as Half-Life 2: The Orange Box. The game will hit retailers on October 9th, so we advise circling the date on your calendar with an orange marker so you don't forget. Orange marker, because it's the orange box ... get it? And to refresh your memory, The Orange Box is a bundle that will include Half-Life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal for the low, low, next gen price of $59.99. How we see it is that October will be all about carving pumpkins, eating candy corn, and playing a whole lot of Half-Life 2. Cavities be damned!
Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, Team Fortress 2 shipping October 9th
Politely telling naysayers who expected the games to miss their 2007 launch to eat crowbar, Valve has confirmed to Chris Remo of Shacknews that its upcoming Source trio will ship for all intended platforms on October 9th. The suite is comprised of warped puzzler Portal, stylized multiplayer shooter Team Fortress 2, and continued scientist savior sim Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The collection will be sold through Valve's online Steam service as well as in a retail package. The EA-distributed Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, which also contains Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One, will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 for $59.99, with the PC version priced at $49.99. There once existed a Black Box (containing the three new titles only) for those PC gamers unwilling to take the digital distribution route, but it was promptly buried in the hope of fostering a strange sort of philanthropy amongst gamers. Still, in featuring five games -- two of them proven classics -- there's little question that the Orange Box offers great value, especially if you're a newcomer to Valve's first-person shooters. [Thanks, Gogandantis]
Free Half-Life 2 games via Steam for ATI Radeon owners
In a brilliantly concocted promotion, Valve announced today that owners of ATI Radeon graphics cards can score a handful of free games via Steam. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch are among the freebies, and the promotion includes discounts on other games as well. In addition, Steam will be included in all ATI Catalyst Software and Driver packages through early 2008. Anyone who buys the new ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT will also receive Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two, which is almost more gaming goodness than the human mind can comprehend.For ATI owners, the glorious details can be found on Steam's official website. The nVIDIA Owners Anti-Steam Support (and Crying) Group will begin its weekly meetings this Saturday.[Via GameDaily]
