From the dystopian corridors of BioShock's subterranean "paradise" to the Strogg-infested space stations found throughout the Quake franchise, First Person Shooters have found countless ways to establish themselves as rich, enjoyable experiences, capturing the hearts and trigger fingers of gamers worldwide.

Even if it's just blasting away wave after wave of demons in Blood, or perhaps saving mankind from itself as you traverse Half-Life 2's City 17, the FPS genre has proven itself time and time again.
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Eurogamer Said: Valve has said it will definitely be making more Portal, confirming plans to add significantly more than just "a bunch of new puzzles".

Speaking to Eurogamer, spokesperson Doug Lombardi said it was less a matter of if and more a matter of what and when.

"There'll be more Portal, for sure. But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out," he said.

"The only smart thing we did for Portal was to hire those seven kids and give them the support they needed to make the game."

Unsurprisingly Valve is reluctant to be rushed by a release schedule. It's adopting the same policy for Half-Life 2 finale Episode Three.

"Gordon is our number one guy," said Lombardi. "In Episode One I think we left people with some big questions. After Episode Two people saw it was going somewhere.

"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."

He added, "Exact details on what's next for Gordon are a way off; probably months not weeks."
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Kotaku writes:

"I am a man who enjoys Half-Life 2. I am also a man who enjoys Spaghetti Westerns. To cap it all off, I am a man (perhaps the only man) who enjoyed Lucasart's Outlaws. So you can see, this project sets my heart aflutter. It's called Fistful of Frags, and is a multiplayer mod for Half-Life 2. Sure, it may not look like much, but Sergio Leone fans should note (in case, you know, it's not obvious by both the map's and mod's name) that one of the maps is an attempt at a faithful recreation of Fistful of Dollars' El Paso. Including the bank. A beta build's just been released, you can grab the link below."
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As if The Orange Box weren't already the best value in gaming, those who have yet to make the $50 plunge can get an even better deal through Valve's Steam service. For a mere $75 gamers can purchase Orange Box and 19 additional titles.

If you already have The Orange Box then you can still get some more Half-Life goodness by downloading the game's main tune, "Still Alive" by Jonathan Coultan at Amazon.com. The entire album is discounted by about $2, available at Amazon for $7.99.
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Electronic Arts has given Eurogamer a release date for the PS3 version of The Orange Box:
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Nov 9, 2007 Valve Software has revealed it's aiming for something pretty ambitious for the final chapter in the current Gordon Freeman storyline. Its plan has emerged from a question put to Valve's David Speyrer on the absence of an Episode Three trailer at the end of Episode Two. Explaining that one of the reasons for the lack of a trailer was to avoid diluting the ending of the second episode, Speyrer added that another reason "was to leave us open on Episode Three" in an interview on ... » Read More

"The second Orange Box 360 update has been released by Valve! This time, the focus is primarily on Team Fortress 2. What, exactly, have they changed?

- Reduced network bandwidth usage in multiplayer.
- Improved overall game performance.
- Arranged search results to favor preferred host conditions.
- Improved searching for ranked games.
- Addressed a possible false report of too little storage space on larger hard drives". - Gamernode
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Oct 9, 2007 The Orange Box goes live at 12:00 am Pacific Time on Oct 10, and 8:00 am in the UK. If you're on the beta now, prepare to own some noobs when the great unwashed come flooding in. And if you haven't preordered, you're going to need a headstart. Either way, it's time to brush up on a few of the lesser-known factors in the TF2 ... » Read More

Translated text; "Magazine PC Gamer of November confirms the development of Half-Life 2: Three episode and brings some information to us on the scenario of this new opus (Attention small spoiler on the end of Half-Life 2: Two Episode). ' A end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Gordon and Alyx look at a video recorded by Judith Mossman, a scientist who works at the sides of Eli Vance and resistance. Mossman brings back the discovery of a lost cargo liner, Borealis, which is supposed to transport a new technology developed by a better known mysterious laboratory under the name of Aperture Science and large rival of Black Messa," writes Jeux-France.
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Half-Life, developer Valve's multimillion dollar baby, has inevitably been targeted by movie-making hit-sniffers in the past. And with good reason - the series is a powerfully crafted chain of adventures, with real atmosphere and character. The problem, though, is Gordon. "[A movie] project always crashes up against the hard reality that Gordon Freeman is a conduit for the player's senses," explains Marc Laidlaw, one of Valve's longest serving writers. "As soon as you try to turn him into an ... » Read More

Last night, Valve representatives confirmed to Shacknews that the studio's upcoming trio of Source-powered games will ship for all announced platforms on October 9, 2007. The suite, sold at retail and through Valve's Steam download service, will consist of the shooter sequel Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the team-based multiplayer game Team Fortress 2, and the action/puzzle game Portal. Valve is handling development of the games on PC and Xbox 360, with EA UK's Chertsey, Surrey office bringing the titles to PlayStation 3.
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Half-Life 2 Black Box, which contained Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, was intended for those who didn't want to shell out for Half-Life 2 and Episode One. Looks like they don't have a choice now. "The Black Box has been cancelled," Doug Lombardi, Valve's director of marketing, said to IGN. "We're going to have one package, The Orange Box, available on the PC ($49.99) as well as the 360 and PS3 ($59.99). In addition to the three new products - Portal, Team Fortress 2, and ... » Read More

The weekly Steam news post has an update on the development of Valve's first person shooter Half-Life 2: Episode 2 along with some concept artwork for the game:
"Right now, we're working hard on putting the final parts of Episode Two together. Early on during development we spent a lot of time working on concept art of key areas of the game, so that everyone on the team could share a vision of what the final game would look like. The three pieces below are some examples of that work. Once the game is released you'll be able to see how these concept pieces were eventually turned into the final product."
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Chatting with IGN, Doug Lombardi and Robin Walker have said they're looking at a "September-ish" release date and, interestingly, that date might not be simultaneous across all platforms. If some versions are ready before others, they'll go out.
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According to Doug Lombari, director of marketing at Valve, the next Half-Life 2 episode will be noticeably longer than the first. "Episode 1 was about six hours of gameplay, and Episode 2 will be closer to eight hours of gameplay," Lombardi said. Valve also said that despite the delay of Episode 2, the development cycle for the episodic content was getting shorter.
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Get the hankies ready folks - Half-Life 2: Episode Two has been delayed. Again. It was originally expected to be released this summer - a delay from a previously announced early 2007 date - but it's now due this winter.
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Get the hankies ready folks - Half-Life 2: Episode Two has been delayed. Again. We were expecting it in summer - a delay from a previously announced early 2007 date - but it's now due this winter. News of the new release date was sneaked in at the bottom of a press release announcing details on the Orange Box and Black Box versions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two that'll be released to retail. HL2 Black Box is for PC and includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2, while the ... » Read More

The fresh Half-Life 2: Episode Two images just have us foaming at the mouth again in anticipation of the eagerly awaited second installment in Gordon Freeman's episodic adventures. Click here [PC, 360, PS3] to see them all. We've also got new screens of Portal [PC, 360, PS3], and we can't stress enough how amazing this subgame is going to be when it comes packaged with Half-Life 2: Episode Two on PC and next-gen machines next March-ish. Of course, if you've already seen the trailer [PC, 360, ... » Read More

Clearly, popping City 17 in the face has its drawbacks. We figured that the Combine would be out for revenge in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, but this video blows our expectations out of the water with a bazooka. Our hero, Gordon Freeman, will face multiple walkers, airships, and his newest enemy - the Hunter - all at once. Prepare for the onslaught with the fifth in the series of videos that reveal Gordon's struggle in the great outdoors. Haven't seen one through four? Hit the Movie tab up there ... » Read More

Half-Life 2: Episode Two's PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 release may have been shoved to 2007, but we've got a brace of top quality gameplay videos for you to help pass the time. Get the full Episode Two experience by hitting that movies tab above to see a Vortigant chokeslam an Antlion, Gordon pursued by a Myrmidont in his buggy and lots more alien madness. Go! September 07, ... » Read More