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Half-Life 2: Episode Two delayed 'til Feb 2007 [Update 1]
Doug Lombardi, of Valve fame, announced that Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal will all be pushed back to February of next year. The reason? Valve was a bit aggressive with their release date. Too aggressive, they say. As a shift in management practice, Lombardi says: "our thing is always that we're trying to make really good experiences and so we're going to manage to that rather than the schedule." Good for you guys. Really.Now, about Portal... seems Lombardi is interested in the idea, so much so that he wants to toss it into future episodes. It's that cool and fun to play with. This brings up memories of the gravity gun. You know, that insanely neat tool/weapon/toy used in the main game of Half-Life 2. Just for fun, what was your greatest moment with the gravity gun? Rig up any incredibly complicated traps just to get that one enemy? With that in mind, are you looking forward to playing with the portal gun on your PS3? Or PC, but PS3 eventually.[update: fixed image... brain farts are not uncommon when portals are involved. Thanks, insane_cobra!]
Gangs of London code leaked, Sony not amused
An internal beta of Gangs of London, a forthcoming spectacle of urban violence on the PSP, has been leaked onto BitTorrent sites across the net. After vowing to never again take firewall advice from Gabe Newell, Sony Computer Entertainment UK urged gamers to avoid downloading the game -- not because it's illegal or morally reprehensible, but because the game is so full of bugs. "It is not the complete game and it has anomalies in the code since it hasn't been through our QA process yet."Content with having spared code kleptomaniacs the inconvenience of encountering technical anomalies, Sony's David Wilson goes on to condemn piracy, noting that "there are proven links that exist between counterfeiting and organised crime and that has some serious consequences (and victims) that people should give due consideration."Be sure to give this issue your due consideration before purchasing the game later this year and running about London, stealing and killing things.
Students snatched up to develop Portal
There's an interesting rags to finely rendered riches story to be found in an interview conducted with Valve's newest employees -- the DigiPen students responsible for Narbacular Drop, a crazy foray into transitive gameplay that now serves as the inspiration for Valve's mindbending Portal. Kim Swift, one of the developers on the project, notes how rapidly their run-in with Gabe Newell changed their careers and their lives:"Gabe watched our demo and basically hired us on the spot. It was kind of shocking. We stood around in the parking lot afterwards gibbering to ourselves for about 20 minutes."The rest of the interview clarifies some issues regarding the Half-Life 2: Episode Two companion, ruling out multiplayer (for now) and firmly labeling the game as a level-based adventure of puzzles and experiments gone awry. Swift was slightly lethargic in sharing information with regards to where exactly Portal fits into the Half-Life universe, though we'd bet a headcrab or two that the protagonist will be a Black Mesa alumni. Perhaps Adrian Shepherd has become an unwitting test subject for the Aperture Science Laboratories? That suggestion isn't too outlandish, at least not to the same degree as this response from Swift when she seemingly misunderstands a question about EA potentially purchasing Valve:"As far as I know, Valve has no plans of purchasing EA."Win-win scenario in an alternate universe: Valve-EA releases a Half-Life game on time, every year.Previously: Half-Life 2 confirmed for Xbox 360, PS3 First trailer of Valve's Portal released Team Fortress 2 is so 'incredibles'
Rumor: Half-Life 2 on PSP?
The research people of Penn, Shoen, and Berlan Association Inc. are notorious for slipping future releases of games. In fact, they revealed the Xbox 360 version of Half-Life 2 a full three days before Valve admitted to working on it. Considering how Half-Life 2 is branching out to other platforms, is PSP next? Well, according to an IGN post by Nirvanakicks [Insider membership required], a new survey from Penn, Shoen, and Berlan Association Inc. seems to suggest "yes". While I'm skeptical, it would be an amazing addition to the PSP library, even without fancy HDR lighting.
Team Fortress 2 is so 'incredibles'
Valve released this teaser trailer for Team Fortress 2 today. The game is definitely funked out with a Pixar-esque twist. Now couple this with what we saw in the Portal peek yesterday, throw in HL2 with Episodes 1 & 2 tacked on, and Valve looks to be on the verge of releasing an uber-impressive package for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 -- and hopefully in time for the holidays. Happy, happy. Joy, joy. A note from Valve PR: All the footage shown in this trailer was created using Source. Some of the effects, namely depth of field and motion blur, were applied via post-processing features built into the Source engine technology.
First trailer of Valve's Portal released
One of the announced games to be featured alongside the upcoming PC and console versions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two is one that promises to obliterate your concepts of traditional level design and generally assault your brain with a large rolling pin. It's called Portal and, should the name not be explanatory enough, it deals primarily with gaping holes in time and space which magically transport you to different locations. Where Human Head's Prey took you for a wacky ride through these portals, Valve's title equips you with a sterile looking gun and urges you to make your own entry and exit points with wild abandon. The trailer (embedded in the second part of the post) aptly demonstrates the powers of the portal gun, the dangers of getting caught in an infinite loop and, of course, how using rampant teleportation can enable you to solve puzzles involving crates of some kind. As they say, hilarity ensues.[Thanks Easy_G!]
Half-Life 2 gets a few episode boosts on PS3
Near the end of 2006 we can expect a lovely port of the more than lovely Half-Life 2 to the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3. But, we don't just get the great game, we also get the great two "episodes" also being released separately for the PC. The episodes are basically extensions to the story, sometimes explaining unclear parts of the main story. Oh, and they're insanely fun.PC players won't feel too bad about the consoles getting the two episodes included with their copy of the game. At the same time it's released on consoles, PC gamers will have two other games to choose from: Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Still, would a console gamer be able to handle all that awesome in one package? Spacing it out on the PC may have been necessary to save our lives.
Internet survey lists Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360
A recent survey (see above), conducted by Penn, Shoen, and Berlan Association Inc., included Half-Life 2 in a list of "soon to be released games for Xbox 360." While this is in no way official confirmation that a port is in the works, it's the second time we've seen Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360 listed -- EB Games & GameStop did it back in May.While Valve continues to remain tight-lipped, a Half-Life 2 port that includes multiplayer and expansion capabilities is the obvious candidate for the company's confirmed Xbox 360 project. That's not to say we wouldn't prefer a wholly original title instead; but, seeing as how it took Valve five years to craft the initial version of Half-Life 2, perhaps it's in the company's best interests to continue to milk the title for all its worth. After all, a game as superb as Half-Life 2 deserves proper console treatment -- that Xbox version just didn't cut it.
Couch co-op gives way to internet teamplay
Co-op mode in video games is often a very popular feature, probably because of the added intensity of competing with A.I. in partnership with a friend. Games like Halo and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory become entirely different (and better) games when played in co-operative mode. Of course, the early innovator was Contra, which, without a co-op mode, would have been just another side scrolling shooter. With the greats of the co-op gaming genre in mind, Vic over at Bits & bytes & pixels & sprites has written up a feature calling for a next-generation renaissance in co-operative games. Couch co-op has never been an assured feature with games, especially recently. Since 2000, developers on the PC platform have clearly ignored the co-op mode in favor of dedicated multiplayer modes with big name first person shooters like Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and Quake 4 skipping on the mode. Games with teamplay orientated multiplayer modes like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty have picked up the fundamentals of co-op based games and thanks to their easy accessibility over the internet, have become wildly popular as a result (especially in comparison to the limit of 2-4 players in a usual co-op game). There will always be developers that include couch co-op modes in their games (Bungie, Blizzard and Ubisoft come to mind), but there's unlikely to be a massive resurgence in the number of couch co-op games mainly due to an internet based takeover of team based gameplay. [Thanks, Daniel Zuccarelli]
Half-Life 2 half-confirmed for 360?
For what it's worth, Half-Life 2 showed up in a marketing survey on a list of soon to be released Xbox 360 games. This port pretty much maxed out the original Xbox's capabilities. Isn't it about time big bro got a shot?[Thanks Andy]
Play the news: kill Al Qaeda's al-Zarqawi
If you've recently witnessed the news on TV or your disagreeable neighbor's house getting blown to smithereens, you'd likely be aware that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, was killed in a decisive US air strike earlier this month. If this is the first time you're learning of it, the news is reaching you in a way quite dissimilar to the way in which the people behind Kuma Reality Games want it to. Reaching you is just the beginning for them -- they want it to grab you by the arm and yank you into a Source-powered, 3D recreation.The goal of Kuma\War is elaborate and intriguing, though much like a minefield, it's also laced with topical traps that require careful movements to navigate successfully. For every major battle or newsworthy event that takes place in the ongoing war on terror, Kuma\War offers a free, downloadable counterpart, plunging you right into the war-torn boots of an American soldier and tasking you with carrying out the very same mission. Just a scant few weeks after al-Zarqawi's death, Kuma\War will be offering "players" the opportunity to call in the airstrike that killed him or, alternatively, rush his house with a group of comrades in tow.
Valve gets all Big Brother with HL2:E1 stats
Valve has been using their episodic superstar, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, to pry into the private lives of gamers everywhere. Hey, 19.05% of gamers who played through HL2:E1 on Easy! Yeah, Valve's got your number, n00b. All that 5 hours to beat it stuff? Bzzzt! Looks like most of us (especially the aforementioned 19.05%) are breezing through it in the 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hour range. (Note: the "Average completion time" is 5 hours exact due to some stragglers beefing that number up ... c'mon, 10 hours?)Actually, according to Valve, "Episode 1 ... includes a reporting mechanism which tells us details about how people are playing the game. We're sharing the data we collect because we think people will find it interesting, and because we expect to spot emergent problems earlier, and ultimately build better products and experiences as a result."Pretty cool stuff that supports one of the foundational tenets of the episodic manifesto: that they're already working on tweaking future episodes based on feedback, both automated and submitted. So, you've already played through Episode 1, what say ye, episodic gamer?[Update: corrected the percentages; apparently, nearly one out of five Episode One'rs did the deed on Easy while 6.69% played through on Hard -- some didn't even know it! Thanks for the numbers, Jon.]
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!
UK sales charts, May 28-June 3: Double top for Hitman
This week's UK charts look suspiciously similar to last week's, despite the impending World Cup. Since we English can't walk down a street without seeing at least five St George's Crosses, perhaps all those who would buy football games are already playing them. Noticeable changes this week are merely the slight ascension of The Sims 2 and the new arrival of Half-Life 2: Episode One at number eight. 1. Hitman: Blood Money2. FIFA World Cup Germany 20063. Tomb Raider: Legend4. Pro Evolution Soccer 55. X-Men: The Official Game6. Animal Crossing: Wild World7. The Sims 28. Half-Life 2: Episode One9. Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis10. Championship Manager 2006
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".
Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360 could be in the works
Recently erected EB Games and Gamestop listings of Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360 have ignited rumors that Valve's acclaimed sequel is again headed to a Microsoft console. Despite a somewhat stripped-down version of the game being released for Xbox last November, an Xbox 360 version would presumably include added features akin to the upcoming PC 'Platinum' edition (also scheduled for February 2007), which is said to contain Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Counter-Strike: Source, and Day of Defeat: Source. In addition, Valve could use the Xbox Live service to deliver the long awaited expansion episodes*, just as we speculated back in April.In responding to the listings, Valve would not confirm the project, stating, "We've only announced development for 360. No specific titles to reveal just yet, but folks can expect to hear more before the end of this year." *See: Half-Life 2: Episode 1 set for June release; Half-Life 2: Episodes Two and Three confirmed
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]
