All Features

Gordon Freeman: Strongest personality in gaming (Half-Life 2)

Jan 18, 2008

18th Jan, 2008 [Warning: Like our Portal article from December, this piece features some pretty heady discourse, and also benefits from a visit from Mr. Narrative Theory. If that stuff makes you run screaming, then feel free to run screaming. Also, if you haven't completed Half-Life 2, leave now. This contains some inhuman spoilers.] Half-Life 2 is widely and rightly regarded as a modern classic. In terms of both gameplay and artistry there have been few, if any, games in the FPS genre which ...

Flash Gordon (Half-Life 2)

Jul 26, 2007

Having written sci-fi and horror novels such as Dad's Nuke, The Orchid Eater and The 37th Mandala, Marc Laidlaw joined Valve in 1997 during the development of the original Half-Life. He's a charming guy, and given the opportunity to speak on his specialist subject, he does so perceptively and at great ...

The ten greatest years in videogame history (Half-Life 2)

Jul 27, 2006

Three weeks ago, our sibling site NextGen posted the article, "The Ten Greatest Years in Gaming." It was full of cool industry info, but the first thing we asked was, "So, the PlayStation was first designed as an add-on for the SNES. We get the irony, but what were we actually playing in 1993 that made it so great?" We checked it out. We made a huge list of the best games of the past 34 years, taped it to the wall, and fought for days about stuff like whether one Zelda is worth more than two ...

Is Steam power the future? (Half-Life 2)

Apr 24, 2006

Wednesday 19 April 2006 The world of digital distribution is making 'going down the shops' as old-hat as, well, an old hat. And that's a leather one with a feather in it. The most convincing example of online shoppery is Steam, a powerful system from the creators of the mighty Half-Life games. Steam is to games what iTunes is to music. Valve's creation may work on a smaller scale than Apple's huge store, but it solves more problems. While music and video stores simply upload files and take ...

'Endless movie tie-ins are the death of gaming' (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

Jun 2, 2006

When Half-Life 2 was first released, many people saw the game's Steam registration process - which barred gamers with no internet access from being able to play it - as developer Valve's greatest mistake. Nearly two years on, however, and Steam is instead beginning to look like the harbinger of a wave of innovative, exciting and brilliant games. New and interesting titles, not just modifications of Half-Life 2, are being added to the online service on an impressively frequent basis. If you're ...

Valve: 'Endless movie tie-ins are the death of gaming' (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

Jun 2, 2006

Friday 2 June 2006 When Half-Life 2 was first released, many people saw the game's Steam registration process - which barred gamers with no internet access from being able to play it - as developer Valve's greatest mistake. Nearly two years on, however, and Steam is instead beginning to look like the harbinger of a wave of innovative, exciting and brilliant games. New and interesting titles, not just modifications of Half-Life 2, are being added to the online service on an impressively ...

Hidden Half-Life (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

May 31, 2006

Half-Life boss Gabe Newell has revealed that "primary characters" will die over the trilogy of new Half-Life 2 episodes. "People need to feel that characters are genuinely at risk," he says. "Otherwise they lose investment and the significance of their actions is diminished." Half-Life 2: Episode One, released this Thursday on Valve's Steam service, will kick off this exciting story arc. In the run-up to the release, we visited Valve's Seattle HQ for an exclusive interview. "With the trilogy, ...

'Half-Life 3 would have launched in 2022' (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

May 31, 2006

Half-Life 2: Episode One, which will be released tomorrow on Valve's Steam service, is the first in a trilogy of new outings for the award-winning series. We spent some quality time with the team behind the hugely anticipated game to find out more about the Half-Life franchise's episodic shift. Episode-based games are the answer to "making great entertainment for gamers," according to Valve co-founder Gabe Newell. "Episodic gaming will be as important for single-player as Counter-Strike, the ...

Valve: 'Key Half-Life 2 characters will die!' (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

May 31, 2006

• HalfLife 2 Episode One trailer 3 (WMV, 25.0MB) Tuesday 30 May 2006 Half-Life boss Gabe Newell has revealed that "primary characters" will die over the trilogy of new Half-Life 2 episodes. "People need to feel that characters are genuinely at risk," he says. "Otherwise they lose investment and the significance of their actions is diminished." Half-Life 2: Episode One, released this Thursday on Valve's Steam service, will kick off this exciting story arc. In the run-up to the release, ...

Upgrade or die (Half-Life 2: Episode One)

Feb 26, 2006

The arrival of the "next-gen" in console land is obvious - it happens instantaneously with the release of a new box. The line is blurred in the constantly evolving world of PC, but only a fool would say it's not there. PC is currently edging into new territory, boosted there by swelling processor power, sparkling new graphical technologies, and outrageous ambition. Corridors, bases and monsters can only get so beautiful; we're moving on to whole worlds now, living environments ripe with ...

Interview: Half-life 2's David Speyrer (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

Jan 17, 2008

David Speyrer was interviewed for his job at Valve on the day the original Half-Life went gold in late 1998. He started working there soon after, just as Half-Life 2 began its lengthy development. Since then, hes risen through the ranks from programmer to project lead. Now, David talks us through some of the processes that led to Half-Life 2: Episode Two being the remarkable game it is. Warning: if you havent played Episode Two yet, there are spoilers ahead. Has Episode Two taken you anywhere ...

Valve's industrial revolution (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)

May 18, 2007

Back in 1996, two Microsoft executives quit their spectacularly high-paid jobs, formed a games company and made the best game ever. Twice. They didnt like the way retailers were throttling the industrys creativity, so they cut them out. They did what a lot of mod teams were doing, they hired them. They published any game they liked through their digital distribution network, however commercially risky, and saved several independent developers in the process. Their revolution was so successful ...

Ruined endings - part one (Halo 2)

Mar 2, 2007

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Epic quests need epic endings, and theres not much that's more epic than a giant red thing fighting an oversized golden award trophy. The dragon trophy decimates the Vishnu-armed creature by breathing white stuff on it, and the fate of the world is put in your hands. But the games over, so good luck with ...

Halo 2 (Halo 2)

Sep 21, 2004

Asking Bungie about the singleplayer component of Halo 2 is still useless. Journalists do their best, playing the rephrasing game until it becomes embarrassing, but no matter how they twist direct questions into innocent-sounding gambits, Bungie will not budge. "We're not here to talk about the oneplayer game" becomes the familiar refrain.Later, we get to speak alone with Bungie's studio manager, Pete Parsons, and ask if the secrecy is an attempt to give Halo a mystique, to make a geeky sci-fi ...

Sexy Fan Art: Cortana Edition (Halo 3)

Jun 13, 2008

Why do we love Cortana? After all, she's no more than an intangible chunk of computer software, a particularly well programmed series of 1s and 0s. You can't touch her. You can't look at her without seeing right through her. Even to the fictional characters within the fictional universe of Halo, she is utterly unattainable. And that is precisely what drives our overactive imaginations wild. She is the ultimate dream girl. Sassy, spunky, sexy... but beyond our reach in every possible way. ...

Our boring masked heroes (Halo 3)

Jun 6, 2008

See if you can guess what game we’re talking about: in the war-torn near future, a supersolider - outfitted in skin-tight armor - wages battle against legions of aliens/other supersoldiers. To protect his scar-ridden face, he dons a nondescript, yet sleek helmet, thereby rendering him mute and indistinguishable from everything else on sale. Give up? It’s a trick question.

You might remember our feature on the ...

HaloRadar: How Bungie Plays (Halo 3)

Apr 24, 2008

You think you're good at Halo. You think you've mastered the multiplayer. But could you beat the very best? Could you win against the actual men and women who designed Halo 3 in the first place?

We recently had the pleasure to visit Bungie headquarters and test the new maps. At the same time, we also had the pleasure of being sorely trounced by Bungie's employees in Halo 3 deathmatch. Our humiliation is your gain, however, as we ...

Halo 3 vs. Call of Duty 4: The DLC Showdown (Halo 3)

Apr 16, 2008

Here we go again. After stirring extreme fanboy ire with our BioShock vs. Halo 3 throwdown, then risking all-out internet anarchy with our Gears of War vs. Halo 3 debate, only one great argument remained to be settled... Call of Duty 4 vs. Halo 3. According to our sister site, Next-Gen, these games aren't just this generation's most popular shooters. They're the two best-selling games of any genre and of any platform. How could we not pit them against each other? Now we finally have an excuse. ...

HaloRadar: Legendary Maps (Halo 3)

Apr 11, 2008

Halo 3, the game so big it's inspired millions of multiplayer matches and over two dozen HaloRadars thus far, is due for an expansion. To help you prepare for the fresh dose of mayhem, and to help if you decide if the pack is even worth the money, we've got everything you need. Read on for tips, strategy and expert guide videos from Bungie... plus our analysis, impressions and custom gameplay footage. ...

HaloRadar: The Halo 3 Olympics (Halo 3)

Apr 4, 2008

White men can't jump, but Master Chief sure can. He also knows how to dunk, dribble, throw a touchdown, hit a homerun, drive a race car and score on a penalty kick. He's quarterback, goalie, point guard, slugger, pitcher and motorist - all wrapped into one genetically enhanced super athlete.

Hold up... you thought Halo 3 was just a shooter? Clearly, you underestimate the power of Forge and Custom Games. The editing tools don't just ...