08-03-2006
Head over to ign.com. A revisit of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 are in order. Expect Portal and Team Fortress 2 to be available December 2006 as part of the Half-Life 2: Episode 2 release.

07-28-2006
Several Steam updates released in recent weeks. The updates will be applied automatically on startup. Most are dealing with multi-player.

07-24-2006
Prey was released with little fanfare, but still a great game in my opinion. A thorough review can be found on Slashdot.

07-15-2006
Great short on the Top 10 video game weapons. I couldn't agree more.

06-01-2006
Hit Man 2: Blood Money is due to hit store shelves today.

Developed by Io Interactive, the game is the fourth in the series. This time, Agent 47 sees a more powerful agency go up against his own, The ICA. When he loses his contract with The ICA, he travels to America to hunt down those responsible, taking in locations such as Las Vegas in along the way.

05-30-2006
A second teaser trailer was released by Valve and is available via Steam in the "My Media" section.

The 150th issue of PC Gamer hit the shelves recently (A "Special Collector's Edition" - Woohoo! Not). Nice trip back in time covering many of the most beloved PC games. It also includes the latest info on Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and the upcoming F.E.A.R.: Extraction Point expansion pack.

05-25-2006
Half-Life 2: Episode One has gone gold. Release date is June 1, 2006 and can be pre-loaded now via Steam in case you don't want to wait for the retail version.

Designed to be four to six hours in length, you once again step into the hazard suit of Dr. Gordon Freeman. In this, the first of three episodes, you face the immediate repercussions of your actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Several questions will also be answered, but more will develop as a result.

In addition to the new single player experience, two multiplayer games are also included. Should be a good ride. Check out the latest teaser trailer released yesterday.

Episodes 2 and 3 have also been announced, with the trilogy expected to conclude by the end of 2007. Each of these episodes will cost $20 to purchase and download. After all three episodes have been released, the total cost will be around $60. By that time Valve will probably bundle the episodes into a retail expansion (Anything to make a buck, no?) Needless to say, Half-Life will have much to look forward for the next year.

Also note, a substantial Source engine update has been released fixing many problems both big and small.

05-15-2006
Just completed the first SiN Episode. I was disappointed. It played like an unoriginal FPS. Same ol' hat: Gun-n-run in uninteresting maps that lacked any creativity, eventually meeting up with two of the same Bosses split within the game. Save your $$s and blow it on the upcoming Half-Life 2: Episode 1 expansion pack in my opinion.

05-08-2006
Along with the announcement of the Xbox 360 port of the first-person shooter, Sierra announced that the PC version of F.E.A.R. will receive an expansion pack in the fall.

F.E.A.R. Extraction Point will pick up where the original game left off. It will feature new maps, weapons, and enemies for the player to deal with. There will also be some faces from the original game showing up in the expansion.

The popular FPS game thrilled players with its suspenseful plot and excellent visual effects and physics. Fans of the original are sure to pick up the new expansion for further fun in the paranormal world of F.E.A.R.

The pre-order process has begun for the long-awaited SiN: Episode 1 and the stand-alone expansion Half-Life 2: Episode 1.
Steam has started its pre-loading process for both games. Gamers must have Steam installed on their computer in order to pre-load either game. The process will prepare fans of both series to play the game as soon as they are launched (SiN on May 9th and HL2 on June 1st).

In HL2: Episode 1, it will feature events immediately following the cataclysmic conclusion of Half-Life 2 with Gordon and the resistance trying to escape the collapse of the citadel and defend against Combine forces.

:: Welcome to city 17 (What’s left of it) ::

It goes without saying - If you have to ask, then you don’t understand. The recently announced official website for Half-Life 2: Episode 1. The game hits stores (and Steam) on June 1st. The video says it all. God bless Valve. The A.I. in the Source engine has been bumped, providing even more realistic interaction with the NPCs. Also to be included in this release is the much touted HDRI technology.

For those interested parties, the story up to this point. More available on wikipedia.org.

Eurogamer has a disappointing update on the status of Half-Life 2: Episode 1. I think we all know what it is as we're so use to it by now. Anyway, its tied to an interview with Gabe Newell as conducted by Game Informer. Check it out.

:: All Hail The Halo Graphic Novel ::

Targeted to be a 128 page, full color, high quality hardcover graphic novel featuring an anthology of original stories; it should be available in July, 2006.

Speaking of Halo, rumor has it Micro$oft will be porting Halo 2 to the PC. The catch? You need to be running Windows Vista. Let's face it, that's going to be a long wait.

Called fearfans.com, FilePlanet recently opened the site dedicated solely to all things F.E.A.R. Check it out.

I also had an opportunity to play the new TimeShift demo, another FPS produced by Atari that's due to release May 11, 2006. My score? Suck Factor - 10. Save your $$. Either that or flush it down the toilet. Same difference.

The warped folks over at Rooster Teeth continue to create some great machinima, this time using the F.E.A.R. engine to do their creative best. Of course, you have to be a gamer to truly appreciate these.