The guys over at Valve are hard at work on Half Life Episode 3 and they will finish it when they darn well please. In an interview with Eurogamer.com spokesperson Doug Lombardi dropped a bit of Portal news also.

“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.”

He also says it will be more then just “a bunch of new puzzles”.

Sweet! Not only new Portal stuff but it looks like they will be giving us some quality new stuff. There really isn’t any release date news here or even a ballpark date but still it looks like the critical darling that was Portal is being given some real tlc and the next one should be great as well.

Always interested in giving people a deal Valve is planning on continuing giving DLC for free for their games.

Thanks eurogamer.com

Also known as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Premium Cooperative Downloadable Content, one of the longest titles in gaming history. Did you catch the word “premium” in there? Yeah, it’s gonna cost you, 800 M$ Points. That’s not exactly cheap, seeing as how you can pick up the entire game now used for around $20 or less most places. However, if you’ve already squeezed all the fun out of the original co-op mission, you and friend can get back to hunting those gosh darn terrorists.

The 800 M$ Points’ll get you nine new maps. These include two brand new levels and seven maps inspired by classic Ghost Recon games. No word on when or even if these maps will ever be free like the Halo 3 and Gears of War maps eventually become.

If you want something free, they’ve got something for you too. Yay, more guns. The “More Guns” pack is just around the corner and will be entirely free of charge. What is it? Hmm, let me explain. It’s, well, more guns. Yep, seven more guns to be precise.

Boom!

This new video for the upcoming Bourne Conspiracy game looks pretty good. Although it lacks the face that made Jason Bourne famous, it really looks great. I’ve seen some previous videos on X-Play where they showed actual gameplay and it looks like a game I’m definitely interested in. I was a really big fan of the movies and the books. I just hope it’s not just a movie-to-game-cash-in.

Boom!

So, Sony had announced Skype would be coming to the PSP and it’s here. Yay! Sorry, it only works on the new Slim PSPs.

Here’s the Press Release:

Skype™ communication features available

London, 30th January 2008 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the immediate availability of the latest system software update for PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable). Version 3.90 will enable all owners of the new PSP Slim & Lite* to make and receive phone calls, adding a whole new raft of functionality, highlighting the true portability of PSP.

Skype™ is a little piece of software that allows users to make free calls over the internet to more than 276 million other Skype users anywhere in the world, whilst also having the ability to make cheap SkypeOut™ calls to landlines and mobile phones. With the addition of these features, alongside the ability to send and receive Skype Voicemail, PSP can now claim to be a highly cost-effective and accessible portable communications device, in addition to its entertainment credentials.

To use Skype on PSP**, users simply need to upgrade to system software 3.90, register and talk, using a headset and remote control or Go! Cam.

Also added through system software update 3.90, is the Go! Messenger icon, highlighting the commitment shown towards communications on PSP***. Although Go! Messenger will not be available until early March, the presence of the icon not only emphasises its impending arrival but also allows users to obtain more information about the feature from a dedicated website, accessed via clicking on the icon. More information about the release of Go! Messenger will be announced soon.

* The Skype functionality is available for the PSP Slim & Lite only

** To use Skype on PSP users require a suitable WiFi internet connection

*** Go! Messenger functionality will be available with all models of PSP, including Slim & Lite

Boom!

As reported last week the demo for the new Turok game was available to download…..unless of course you live in North America. Well rejoice America because we can now download the demo. It’s available on Xbox live so go check it out.

The hype bus for this game is starting to roll. I saw a commercial for the game 3 times in about 2 hours of TV watching last night. The game hits stores Feb. 5th and it looks pretty good.

Download the demo and let us know what you think. Anytime you can hunt a T Rex it’s gotta be somewhat good.

How many times have we been bit in the arse by a crappy Star Wars game? It’s hard to even count the number anymore. Keep your heads held high Star Wars fanboys the near future looks grand. Star Wars Force Unleashed is coming in April and it looks awesome. Check out this development video on some of the new force powers, word of warning, your face may melt off after seeing it.
You can see parts 1 and part 2 also check them out they are sweet as well.
Thanks Gametrailers

YES! YES! YES!!! Thank you EA. They are a bit pissed about the total joke and travesty that was Fox’s report the other day on their newly acquired master piece that is Mass Effect. We already posted the video here, take a look if you wanna get mad about something.

Anyways EA sent a letter to the good folks at Fox asking them to correct some miss-statements that were in their report. Here’s some of the letter :

Your headline above the televised story read: “New videogame shows full digital nudity and sex.” Fact: Mass Effect does not include explicit or frontal nudity. Love scenes in non-interactive sequences include side and profile shots - a vantage frequently used in many prime-time television shows. It’s also worth noting that the game requires players to develop complex relationships before characters can become intimate and players can chose to avoid the love scenes altogether.FNC voice-over reporter says: “You’ll see full digital nudity and the ability for players to engage in graphic sex.”
Fact: Sex scenes in Mass Effect are not graphic. These scenes are very similar to sex sequences frequently seen on network television in prime time.

FNC reporter says: “Critics say Mass Effect is being marketed to kids and teenagers.”
Fact: That is flat out false. Mass Effect and all related marketing has been reviewed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and rated Mature - appropriate for players 17-years and older. ESRB routinely counsels retailers on requesting proof of age in selling M-rated titles and the system has been lauded by members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. In practical terms, the ratings work as well or better than those used for warning viewers about television content.

Remember that little wrap up they had after cutting off Geoff Keighley with the ignorant people who have no business talking video games? They mention them to here “They have had zero experience with Mass Effect and are largely ignorant about videogames, the people who play them, and the ESRB system that governs their ratings and sales.”

Then they finish the whole thing with this :

“The resulting coverage was insulting to the men and women who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards. As video games continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment. But this represents a new level of recklessness.Do you watch the Fox Network? Do you watch Family Guy? Have you ever seen The OC? Do you think the sexual situations in Mass Effect are any more graphic than scenes routinely aired on those shows? Do you honestly believe that young people have more exposure to Mass Effect than to those prime time shows?

This isn’t a legal threat; it’s an appeal to your sense of fairness. We’re asking FNC to correct the record on Mass Effect.”

Sincerely,

Jeff Brown
Vice President of Communications
Electronic Arts, Inc.

Thank you very much EA. You may be a huge video game company eater but you showed that you do care about the products your recently acquired developers produce. You chose not to let just the online gaming sites and gamers be the voice for this travesty and put some real weight behind this matter.

Thanks Kotaku

I’m pretty stoked on the upcoming Iron Man movie. The Hulk movie not so much but hey I never even bothered to see the last one so I really have no expectations. It looks like there will be a cross over between them though. Marvel will have S.h.i.e.l.d agent Nick Fury popping up in Iron Man, oh yeah it’s Sam Jackson by the way. Then in The Incredible Hulk guess who’s stopping by, none other then Robert Downey Jr or Iron Man himself.

William Hurt drops some tid bits on the movie in a recent interview with MTV. He gives a few spoilers so beware, but you can see it all here.

Thanks Rotten Tomatoes

Good lord I’m funny! Anyway all super funny great comedy aside, the PS3 exclusive Haze has been pushed back again. I remember this game was going to be a big PS3 seller for Christmas 2007. Now it is getting the vague release window of April 1st 2008 to March 31st 2009. Oh well hopfully that window will be closer to April 2008. My guess is that with the supposed drug friendly plot lines that they have to wait for it to get out of rehab before it can be released. HAHAHA man it just doesn’t stop with comedy does it?

Thanks to TechCrunch for the link.

Ever wanted to know what it would be like if LOL Catz designed your favorite websites? Yeah, me too. Well, wonder no more. Thanks to the guys over at Malevolent Design you can now see exactly how a cat would design a website by using LOLinator. They use a very technical and scientific algorithm to determine exactly how a cat would design. They also employ many cats to ensure authenticity and accuracy.

You can enter any site you desire and the cats will go to work converting it to the cutest and most feline friendly site on the net. It’s a good five minutes of fun. Enjoy. Here’s Counteragent.com as designed by cats.

Boom!