Half Life has been one of the most critically acclaimed action first person shooters to ever hit the market. A sequel was announced a couple years later but the game quickly received many delays due to various reasons; one being the game’s source code was stolen from Valve. But the sequel finally made it to the market in November of 2004 and received some of the best rating a video game could ever get. But with such a great success, why stop there? The creators behind Half Life, Valve has two publishers for their games, Vivendi and EA Games. Vivendi releases their creative content on the PC while EA games helps Valve distribute their amazing content onto consoles. In the past, both Half-Life titles were released on the last generation systems. The original Half-Life made its first console debut on the Playstation 2 in 2001 and last year the second installment made its way to Microsoft’s Xbox platform. Although the console versions have never really been up to what the game could do on the PC, with the next generation consoles like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 it seems like that can change. This is the first time a Half-Life title could possibly match or even surpass what the PC version offers both visually and content. At this year’s X06, we take a look at Valve upcoming console hit.
Half-Life 2 has been around for nearly two years now but that doesn’t stop Valve on releasing this ground breaking title to the market once again. The Half-Life 2 package EA and Valve are releasing to the next generation platforms consist of five different games. The first game is the standard Half Life 2 title that was released to the PC market back in 2004. Even though this is the same game, there are two next generation modifications to the original. First is the controller, unlike the PC, you will be using the Xbox 360’s standard wired or wireless controller which is seems to react smoothly but there are a lot of people who go against using a controller for a first person action game. Really a mouse and controller is the way to go. The second upgrade to the 2004 game of the year is the visuals. Yes you heard me right, the graphics in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be enhanced to Valve’s understanding of next-gen. This means the Xbox 360 game will actually look better than the PC version, a first in the series. The game will carry higher polygon counts along with sharper textures and more particle effects.
The second and third games that will be included in the package are the first and second episodes of the episodic continuation of the Half-Life 2 saga. The first episode was first released at the beginning of June and cost the public $20 for five more hours of gameplay. With this, Valve promised at least two more episodic episodes throughout this year and the next. All two platform titles, Xbox 360 and Playstation 360 packages come out early 2007, but Valve and their digital distribution service Steam will also be releasing the second episode in the first quarter of 2007. Unfortunately they did not say whether it would be before or on the same day as the console releases but it’s expected to release simultaneously. This will help the next generation platforms get up to date with the popular series and open new doors for the company. While they haven’t decided whether they plan to release the rest of the episodes through digital distribution with Xbox Live or whether they’ll release a cheaper version of the episode on a DVD. Both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the Half-Life 2 package will receive an up to date combination of the original Half Life 2, episode one and episode two, but that isn’t all Valve is dishing out.
The fourth game Valve is including is a little game called Portal. The first demonstration was shown back in July. While all the crazy gameplay looks entertaining, nothing was really talked about for the games storyline, and at X06 it’s the same situation. Unfortunately there isn’t anything announced yet but it looks as if the game involves a lab rat testing out the company’s new equipment. Each level in Portal will involve you starting at one point of the stage and getting to the end, basically a maze theory. Each stage is setup with various platforms and dynamic environments that will test your skills and your puzzle solving techniques. If you’re not familiar with the new weapon in Portal, let me explain. The new feature in the game is the Portal Gun; this allows you to shoot a doorway to any place you wish to go. While there is a new hole in the wall, floor or ceiling you can then shoot any a new portal anywhere you can access and jump in. This will defy all human known physics and you will end up on the other side where you first shot. This new weapon gives all new meaning to strategy as you can use the enemy’s weapons against them. With that said, they also announced that each level will have multiple ways to finish mission. Although these portals seem like they can mess up and possibly send you where you don’t want to go, Valve has said they’ve tested the game vigorously to ensure the player won’t ever be stuck, and if they do there will be an auto save system active. Although this is coming the 360 and PS3 set, there is no current date for the release through Steam and PC.
The last game Valve will include is the anticipated and almost forgotten Team Fortress 2. This game will feature cartoon style visuals with its cel-shaded graphics and will include lots of special effects and sick humorous animations While Valve didn’t talk much about the upcoming title, its known that it’ll find its way to all three platforms. More information will be distributed as time goes by.
At this years annual Microsoft event X06, Valve and EA games showcased some footage from its upcoming Half Life 2 next generation package. With five different games, three of them being from the same series, this combination looks to be a hit amongst fans of the first person genre and the half-life series and retailing all these five games at the regular $60 USD couldn’t be better. With its strong visuals, fast and enjoyable gunplay and its very reasonable price tag, the upcoming Half Life 2 set should please console players as they get updated in the Half-Life universe. Check back at Advanced Media Network for more coverage on the next installment of the Half-Life series.
