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Valve: Any Half-Life 3 clues are 'community trolling the community'
So your friend heard from his friend who used to go out with a girl who was a cousin of a Valve developer that Half-Life 3 would be released as a Steam exclusive this March? Or maybe you just crawled across a convincing website which seemed to point to another, long-awaited iteration in the Half-Life series? Well bad news, friends: "You are being trolled." That's the word from Valve writer Chet Faliszek, who says on the Steam forums that "there is no ARG," and there are no official hints out there at all that a third Half-Life game is coming any time soon. We don't care how convincing that secret FTP that the guy on IRC told you about was: any Half-Life 3 rumors so far are completely unofficial, as great as that fan-made Portal short was. Then again, it would be just like Valve to say that an official ARG wasn't official, wouldn't it? Maybe they're just trying to hide the real story by saying it too is a fake! Conspiracy!
Half-Life fan film 'Escape From City 17' concludes
It's been a few years since we last heard from the Purchase brothers, co-creators of the "Escape From City 17" live-action short. The duo makes the wait worth our while, however, with this thrice-as-long sequel to their original 2009 Half-Life fan film.
Portal 2 Achievement invites Half-Life 2: Ep 3 conspiracy theory
All fifty of Portal 2's Achievements have been uncovered by Xbox360Achievements.org. In typical Valve fashion, there are some comedic gems in the list, like "The Part Where He Kills You," and some in-jokes, including "Narbacular Drop" and, yes, "Still Alive." But one Achievement is generating some real buzz: "Ship Overboard" has players discovering "the missing experiment." Some have suggested that this Achievement is a possible reference to the Borealis, an Aperture Science vessel first mentioned in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. In the brief scene (embedded after the break), Isaac Kleiner notes that the Borealis contains some kind of technology that can help humanity. Could Portal 2 tie into the final Half-Life 2 episode? Or are overeager fans simply grasping at nothing? April 20 can't come soon enough.
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 is $2
Steam's "Midweek Midness" sale features Half-Life 2: Episode 2 for $2. The discount will be available until Thursday at 7PM ET. Point your gravity gun at the couch cushions and grab that loose change!
Steam for Mac adds Half-Life 2 with cross-platform Steam Cloud support
The Mac Steam release list is a bit thin in terms of quantity this week, but the additions are pretty substantial. As promised, Half-Life 2 is now available for Mac and -- as we dearly, dearly hoped -- Episode One and Episode Two are also available. All three Half-Life 2 games feature cross-platform Steam Cloud support, meaning that players' games are saved on Steam's servers and can be opened from any computer, PC or Mac. Additionally, Half-Life 2 and Episode One have been updated with over 40 new achievements. All three titles are currently 30 percent off: HL2 for 7 bucks; and Eps. 1 & 2 for $5.59 apiece. The complete Orange Box collection (with cross-platform Steam Cloud support across all games) is also currently discounted ($21), with the Team Fortress 2 for Mac release promised soon. Finally, EVE Online: Tyrannis will launch for both PC and Mac later today, making it Steam's first game to launch simultaneously on both platforms.
Half Life Episode 2 almost complete, says Valve
In a press release on Friday, Valve announced they are nearing completion of Half Life 2: Episode Two and is on schedule for its third quarter release this year. They go on to say that they spent time early on in the development cycle to get high quality concept art produced on vital areas in the game, so that everyone on the team would be able to share a cohesive vision and be able to bring it to life in the final product. Evidently, upon release we'll be able to make direct comparisons to these pieces with locales in the game. Either way, any news is good news when it comes to Orange Box. Except for delay announcements, which this is not, which is good ... news.[Via G-Source]
Portal only open four hours
Kim Swift, Valve's level designer stated that Portal clocks in at around four hours to complete. As a standalone retail game, that would be quite disturbing, but given that it's accompanied by four other titles in the Half Life 2: Orange, we're a little more forgiving. Still, the game promises to be a bit of a mind-frack, though Swift promises that the difficulty curve isn't going to be overwhelming as the game teaches you to "think in portals". So, are you going to put into the better part of an afternoon into this when you pick up Orange later this year, or are you going to stick with Half Life 2 and its episodes with a side of Team Fortress 2?
Half Life 2 delayed
For everyone looking forward to living in Gordon Freeman's world early next year, it looks like you'll have to wait just a little bit longer. Recently Doug Lombardi, Valve's Director of Marketing, told CVG that Half Life 2: Episode 2 will be delayed until Summer 2007. I guess the Xbox version of Half Life 2 could hold you over if you can't bear the wait, but I want my episode 2 now!
HL2: Episode Two delayed till 2007
Valve Software has been one of the main proponents in the push for episodic gaming, a fact which quickly comes to mind in light of Half-Life 2: Episode Two getting its own push into the future. Releasing Half-Life 2 expansion episodes in lieu of Half-Life 3 was supposed to curb development time, something which Valve is always struggling to keep on a leash before it wrecks the office and eats all the calendars. Alas, it has run amok once again, causing Episode Two to slip to February 2007. In other words, the release gap between the first and second "episodes" has now grown to 8 months. Valve's Doug Lombardi tells Eurogamer that the delay is simply "classic Valve being overly aggressive on our dates" and that the title will likely end up being a "little longer" than the first title. A further point of consideration is that Episode Two is being developed in conjunction with several other included games (Portal, Team Fortress 2) and console versions. Lombardi also states that the extra games will result in a slightly higher price than that of the single Episode One release ($19.99), with the all-inclusive console releases expected to retail at full price. With any luck, this will be the last delay in store for Valve's upcoming release -- otherwise, we'll have to start questioning just how far the word "episodic" can stretch.
Half-Life 2 confirmed for Xbox 360, PS3
Speaking at EA's annual summer press event, Valve's Gabe Newell revealed that Half-Life 2 would be headed to the Xbox 360 and PS3, bolstered with extra content and presumably, plenty of opportunities to kill people with high velocity toilets. The full console package will be comprised of Half-Life 2, Episode One, Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 (it still exists!) and an entirely new title, Portal. According to Gamespot, Team Fortress 2 now sports a cartoonish art style and a 60's spy feel akin to that of Monolith's No One Lives Forever -- certainly a description you'd never expect to be about a game from Valve. The developer is also trying new things with Portal, which incorporates a rather imaginative gun and encourages you to blast Prey-like portals into floors and walls for all manner of object shifting, puzzle solving hijinx. The console versions of Half-Life 2 (along with all the extra goodies) are expected to launch alongside the PC game's second episodic expansion. Barring unforeseen code thefts and other delays, that means they'll be out by the end of the year. [Thanks Easy_G and icemorebutts!] Previously: Internet survey lists Half-Life 2 for Xbox 360
Half-Life 2: Episodes Two and Three confirmed
As we wait patiently for next week's release of Half-Life 2: Episode One, Valve has confirmed that Episode Two will ship by the end of the year, and will be the subject of a sneak peek included with the first expansion. Meanwhile, Episode Three is already in development and has been confirmed for a late 2007 release. How many of you have purchased SiN Episodes: Emergence, or BioWare's Neverwinter Nights premium modules? What other franchises would you like to see deliver episodic content? See also: HL2: Episode One site is up, with plot details, Half-Life 2 storyline cheat sheet
Half-Life 2: Episode Two confirmed by Valve
You didn't think it would end with Aftermath, did you? As a follow-up to Aftermath (now entitled Episode One), Valve has confirmed that Episode Two has been in development for quite some time ("about as long as Episode One," according to IGN). No other details are available right now, but it's safe to say that Episode One/Aftermath (whatever you wish to call it) will not be answering all of the questions left open by the Half-Life 2 ending. According to CVG, who will soon post an interview with Episode One designer Robin Walker, the initial release will offer around 5 hours of gameplay and will give more details as to the G-Man's involvement and the fates of the Breen and the Citadels. [Thanks, Jon D and the "almighty" Ludwig]
