The gravity gun is a godsend to Gordon Freeman throughout the Orange Box. As adept at creating impromptu platforms, bridges and makeshift shields out of whatever’s laying around City 17 as it is at blowing bits off headcrabs; it’s perhaps the most intuitive and visceral gun in games. ... » Read More

Aug 28, 2008

Leipzig: The real-life Half-Life 2

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

When we went to the Leipzig GC this year, we found ourselves in strangely familiar surroundings. Strangely, disturbingly familiar surroundings. Gravity guns at the ready... ... » Read More

Jun 10, 2008

Gaming PaperCraft

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

Our origami gurus have designed some pretty sweet papercraft figures for you to decorate your office or gaming lounge. Read more to create your own Companion Cube, Big Daddy, Gordon Freeman and Vault-Boy with our printable cutouts. ... » Read More

Mar 27, 2008

The world's best counterfeit games

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

Not happy with what the devs are doing with your favourite games? Then let the gamers take over production. ... » Read More

Feb 29, 2008

Opening The Orange Box: Portal

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

The games world has gone bat shit over Portal. By the time you read this, there will be around 23,456 more blogs about the Weighted Companion Cube and over 1.2 million references on forums about “cake,” beating the previous record set by “the knights who say ‘Ni’” by 67 percent. Despite Valve’s sci-fi spatial puzzler clocking in at less than three hours, Portal has become a phenomenon, built on a ... » Read More

Feb 28, 2008

Opening The Orange Box: Team Fortress 2

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

Valve’s devotion to its customers, their unheard of desire to ensure that at every turn we are inescapably pleased with their product, is no more noticeable than with Team Fortress 2. Like doting mothers, they’ve been keeping tabs on how we play. Vast mountains of data stored in underground bunkers keep records of our every action - that time you were sniped on top of the bridge in 2fort? It’s in there. And all in the name of ... » Read More

Jan 18, 2008

Gordon Freeman: Strongest personality in gaming

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

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 ... » Read More

Jan 17, 2008

Interview: Half-life 2's David Speyrer

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

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 ... » Read More

Nov 22, 2007

Why are PS3 games always late?

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

22nd Nov, 2007 Oh PS3, you really must work on this tardiness. Youre a strong student with a lot of brains, and you can produce good work when you put your mind to it, but with this persistent lateness youre not only letting us down, but youre letting yourself down too. We know youve only just joined us and that youve had to take some time to settle in, but youre really going to have to start applying yourself from now on. Nagging teacher-speak aside, just what is it with PS3 release ... » Read More

Oct 19, 2007

What G-Man keeps in his briefcase...

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

Oct 19, 2007 Huzzah! The Orange Box is released today (It's already out in the US), bringing what's perhaps the best videogame series ever conceived to Xbox 360 (and PlayStation 3, eventually) bundled along with one of the greatest multiplayer mashups and the world's first perfect game. Given that Gordon Freeman's only made one visit to consoleland, with Half-Life on Xbox and PS2, we thought living-room gamers might need to catch up. Much of the info contained in this article is only gleaned ... » Read More

Oct 9, 2007

Team Fortress 2 primer

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

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

Jul 26, 2007

Flash Gordon

PS3 Feature | The Orange Box

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 ... » Read More

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