HL2
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HL2: E1 for $8 means you have to buy it
One of the primary tenets of episodic distribution is a lower price for a shorter game. In the case of Half-Life 2: Episode One that means $20 for about 5 or so hours of Gravity Gun-wielding fun. Err, rather, that meant $20 for 5 hours but, if you cash in on the current promotion at retailing box-store Circuit City, you'll nab it for the low, low price of $8! That's like $1.60/hour if you're good. If you suck, you're talking about a pretty phenomenal dollar to hour investment. The jig is up June 17th, and it isn't available online, so you best get going before the eBayers start grabbing em all. Indeed, at this stage in their evolution, they can smell a deal; their senses are acutely tuned to major retail discounts. For anyone who's already purchased a copy, don't feel bad ... cause you got to play yours earlier, right? Alright, you can feel bad.[Thanks, Andy; via Insane Central]
Halo 3 has a happy ending, or how I learned to love YTMND
The animated .gif addicts over at YTMND have been very busy lately revealing the truthiness behind recent video game rumors. Here are some of those OMIGOD NEWS FLASH! announcements from YTMND's gaming posse: The PS3's 100% official start-up screen REVEALED! Nintendo's bunker busted REVEALED! Halo 3 ending REVEALED! World of Warcraft in space REVEALED! Shiggy's secret N64 formula REVEALED! Half-Life 2's plotline REVEALED! (take that, suckas) YTMND's formula is never going to get old, simply because there will never be a shortage of fanboy ideas and rumors to make fun of. [Via Xbox360Fanboy] More: The Wii zeitgeist, via YTMND, Wiill Ferrell tests Wii accelerometer technology and Dick Hunt!
Half-Life 2: Episode Two trailer; Alyx is hurt!
A clever h4xx0r has managed to extract the trailer for Half-Life 2: Episode Two from the recently released first episode. Notable points of the trailer: zOMG Alyx dies?! New baddie! An extemely potent looking and fast moving tripod. A voiceover by Dr. Eli Vance which goes as follows: "we're done running. This is our chance to take back out world, we're not going to lose it a second time." Episode Two should hopefully be out by the end of this year.
Half-Life 2: Episode One now playable
Valve has opened the virtual doors to Half-Life 2: Episode One: that's right, the first episode of the new series that follows the aftermath of Half-Life 2 is now playable on Steam. Rumors suggesting that the game would be pushed back until June 30th have fortunately turned out to be false. Up until now, pretty much all we knew about the plot of Episode One was a mysterious little blurb found on the official site that says "in Half-Life, the G-Man made you. In Half-Life 2, he used you to defeat Dr. Breen and start the Resistance. In Episode One, he's lost control." So, loyal Joystiq readers, get to it! We want to hear first impressions of the storyline, graphics and, most importantly, whether or not the G-man's immaculate suit has been torn as a result of him "losing control".
HL2 plushie headcrabs...you know, for kids
I'm not sure how many little kids are gonna be trading in their raggedy teddy-bears for Valve's official plushie headcrab, but I do know one grown man-child who is seriously considering plunking down the relatively steep $25 asking price. C'mon, for that price you could get Half-Life: Episode One and have enough left over to pick up an authentic crowbar, for that real Gordon Freeman experience.We all know these are gonna sell like crazy...question is, how many people are gonna be lazy and just name it Lamarr? How about Hedy? The name's Hedley!Click the "Continue" link to check out some additional pictures of Valve's plushie cuddlies.[Thanks, Muskie, Alex, and mofomojo]
Half-Life 2 storyline cheat sheet
Once Half-Life 2: Episode One rolls around this June, there may be plenty of gamers scratching their heads, getting their Citadels confused with their City 17s; their Black Mesas confused with their Wallace Breens; and don't forget about the G-Man. Who the eff is that guy?If you've been unfortunate enough to play neither Half-Life nor Half-Life 2, you may want to avoid Chan Karunamuni's thorough timeline of the Half-Life epic thus far. If you have played them, you'll want to freshen up before Episode One drops, which is sure to bring levels of Lost-like confusion to each installment. Pop quiz: Who "unknowingly helped the Combine campaign by launching a Lambda satellite into space?"[Via digg]
Gordon Freeman goes to Boot Camp on a Mac
Consider this a followup to our earlier post about Half-Life 2 running on an Intel Mac hacked to dual boot both Mac OS X and Windows. Now, with Apple's Boot Camp software and the official drivers bundled therein, Macs can not only run PC games (like Half-Life 2) in Windows, but can run them "shockingly well."The test computer -- an Intel-based iMac, with an ATi Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics chip -- does indeed appear to run Half-Life 2 swimmingly. If the embedded YouTube version is acting up, be sure to check out the higher quality Quicktime version on Cabel's site.[Thanks, kevan]
