Events, Game Design, PC, Xbox 360
Everyone’s got principles. For example, the guys and gals at Valve are staunch advocates of “better late than never.” From Half-Life 2 to Portal, most Valve products are delayed at least once before they’re released.
With Valve’s online game distribution system getting more popular and EA having joined up with them back in 2005, it is about time that some of EA’s titles made it onto Steam! Games like Spore, Warhammer Online, and Mass Effect are now available for download via Steam. More titles like Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, and Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 will be added next month. It’s beginning to look like Steam will soon become the envy of all other forms of downloadable PC games in the future with EA finally backing them up in this department. However, for those of you outside of the United States prepare to be disappointed as the only fully confirmed availability for this service is if you live in North America and there is no indication of whether this service will become available outside of the U.S. just yet.
Valve, the masterminds behind the Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and many other amazing series, have dazzled us since they first tossed us into the body of Dr. Gordon Freeman. However, the people developing Black Mesa thought that the original Half-Life needed to be re-done. Now don’t go getting offended just yet, not until you’ve seen exactly what they’ve accomplished.
If you’re anything like me, whenever you go to a new restaurant or store for the first time, you can’t help but assess the best ways of locking the place down in the event of a zombie attack. This is an especially nasty habit whenever you go apartment shopping; rent should always be cheaper for ground floor apartments with large windows. Thankfully, these borderline psychotic musings are finally coming in handy in video games, thanks to Valve’s most recent foray into their beloved multiplayer first-person shooters, Left 4 Dead.
Gamer Culture, Headlines, PC, Xbox 360
Newsflash: the economy’s in the toilet. I’ll give you a moment to come to terms with that. Now that you’re caught up, I’m sure you’re seeing signs of our monetary woes everywhere. People are traveling less, shopping less, and yes, that was an investment banker that just fell past your window. However, apparently there’s an oft-overlooked sect of society that didn’t get the memo about this being one of the worst financial crises of our time.
Zombies.
If you’re anything like me, you probably have figured out an emergency plan for when the zombies finally show up. Go ahead and laugh, but they’re coming. Thankfully, the good folks at Valve have decided to create Left 4 Dead to help us prepare for this eventuality, and we’ve put down our bats to take a peek at how it’s coming along.
PC, Team Fortress, Technology, Xbox 360
Ranking Valve games is a lot like ranking your own children. When people ask, you spout, “I love them all” or something equally inane. Deep down, though, you prefer little Randy and hope Sally is the mailman’s demon spawn so you can divorce your overbearing shrew of a wife. Note to current and prospective parents: Child Services frowns upon ranking children with a branding iron, especially when rankings are subject to change.
EA is no stranger to acquisitions. The monolithic mega-corporation has been snatching up other gaming companies for years, much to the chagrin of gamers and the satisfaction of stockholders. As a result, EA has earned an unflattering reputation specifically among its detractors as a big, bad monopoly - similar to how some think of Microsoft’s computer business. Unsurprisingly, EA could have a new target in mind: Valve. Known for its epic Half Life series, the creative giant isn’t exactly prolific. Could this change if they set up shop under the enormous EA banner? Or will the next Portal game feature burly linebackers tackling each other through tears in the time-space continuum while John Madden mumbles lethargically? Wait…that actually sounds kind of cool.
