If "The Orange Box" sounds like something new to you, then I strongly suggest that you click here and read our extensive review of a part of this excellent game package from Valve, namely Half Life 2: Episode 2. Apart from it, the game compilation known as "The Orange Box" also includes the first episode of Half Life 2, together with the puzzle game Portal and the long-awaited team-based FPS Team Fortress 2. Valve Corporation released this package back in October 2007, and now they decided to make the titles available separately...

On the 9th of April, there will be exactly 6 months since the official release of The Orange Box, and since that date, the box will be splitted as it follows: Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two will remain together, but Portal and Team Fortress 2 will be sold individually.

While Valve didn't announce any pricing details yet, some retailers are already listing Team Fortress 2 and Portal for $19.99 each, while the two Half Life 2 episodes come for a price of $29.99. Since nothing is sure for now, we'll get back to this issue if something changes.

Remember the highly-acclaimed Crysis? Well, considering its system requirements, maybe some of you didn't get your hands on it yet, and maybe it's better this way. Why? Because a lot of people had various issues with the initial release, and now a new patch has just arrived!

First of all, I have to show you the right direction to follow, if you missed our in-depth review of the game, so, before doing anything else, go here and read PlayerzBlog's review, then get back to the story we have today...

I hope you enjoyed it, because now you'll find out about the things added to this amazing game by the latest patch, labeled 1.2...

Basically, it's about tweaking multiplayer gameplay, mod support (oh, yeah!) and balance of weapons, AI and vehicles, as it follows:

- Added mod loader to main menu
- Increased damage of most player-fired weapons and decreased damage of most AI-fired weapons
- Added auto team balance
- Added grenade indicator for enemy and friendly team
- Added additional audio feedback (headshot/body) on bullet impact
- Fully implementing Crytek's internal anti-cheat-solution
- Added numbers to energy bar in PowerStruggle for quicker reference
- Added team colors to kill/death messages
- Team killed players no longer drop their weapon
- Improved vehicle handling under braking and boosting
- Greatly increased AAA damage vs. VTOL and Helicopter
- Reduced collision damage for players hit by vehicles at lower speeds

These being said, there's only one thing left to do...so here you have the link. Good luck!

Since Team Fortress 2 doesn't need any introduction, I'll get straight to the subject: your favorite class-based online multiplayer, cartoon-style shooter,  just got some interesting updates...

First, there's the patch for the PC version of this game, which includes reduced ammo levels for the Demoman and Soldier, but also some other small fixes. To find out more about it, you can check the official page, here.

Next, there are two additional updates - a preview of an upcoming map, together with the confirmation of the Plush toy versions release by Valve, starting with my favorite, the Heavy, and its beloved and expensive to use weapon, Sasha. More details can be found here.

Classic first person shooters are very old in the game scene, and if you want to have at least some success with a new title belonging to this category, you need to come up with something new, while using a good graphics engine, or create a good one by yourself, and I didn't say anything about the story, yet! I know it's hard for producers to create one, but it's even harder for gamers to find an interesting FPS title these days, so Gamecock's upcoming FPS called Section 8 comes just in time...

The first ingredient has been well chosen, since the Unreal Engine 3.0 is a solid graphics engine to use, and there are a lot of games using it already, some with a higher degree of success than others, obviously. The story is placed in the future, and it's all about an insurrection growing in Earth's colonies, so Earth sends a heavily armored elite fighting division, the 8th Armored Infantry, referred to as "Section 8". From here on, you can imagine what's going to happen, I am sure of that!

For now, it's known that the game should arrive in 2009, on PCs and game consoles, and Gamecock claims to offer us heavy tactical game play, unique multiplayer gaming, and even more, but that's what remains to be seen, since not even the official site of the upcoming game is ready...

If I say "Quake", anything else is nothing. I know that the FPS genre is not where it was once, especially since Quake Wars and Unreal Tournament 3 didn't manage to achieve impressive sales. Anyway, sometimes, it's more than just sales, it's about setting the direction for those to follow, as Quake and Quake 2 did, just as Unreal Tournament's graphics engine is now used in a wide range of games, and not limited strictly to games. Anyway, let's get to our topic today... what do you think about being able to play Quake in your Web browser, for free?



When I found out about it, I was simply thrilled by the idea. This piece of news is really hot, since Id Software and IGA Worldwide announced a few hours ago, at the Game Developer Conference, their plans of releasing a completely free, ad-supported, browser-based, Quake Live.

Unfortunately, there's no word about an official release date, but you can do as I did, and subscribe at QuakeLive.com to take part in the beta-testing of this game. For now, the promises are full friends list, tournament and stats tracking, but I am sure the best part is yet to come, and I am talking about the graphics, sound and gameplay, of course...