Clanless Fun

“Last night, Valve representatives confirmed to Shacknews that the studio’s upcoming trio of Source-powered games will ship for all announced platforms on October 9, 2007.

Today’s news follows rumors originating last month that the PlayStation 3 versions of the games would be delayed into 2008. Valve’s Doug Lombardi noted to Shacknews that development has been progressing well on all three platforms.

Electronic Arts is distributing the games at retail as a package entitled Half-Life 2: The Orange Box, which also includes the original Half-Life 2 and last year’s Half-Life 2: Episode One. It will sell for $49.99 on PC and $59.99 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Previously, the company intended to sell a slimmer package, The Black Box, which would not include Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One, but those plans were cancelled last month. It is expected that Steam customers will retain the option to purchase only the newly-released games.”

Source: shacknews.com

“With Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and the compelling Portal, The Orange Box is going to be a commanding package for anyone who likes single- or multiplayer action games. Sure, Episode Two was supposed to ship last year, but it appears the delay will be well worth the wait, as Valve is packing a lot of gameplay into the package. We can expect The Orange Box to ship this fall.”

To bad they canceled the “Black Box” now you get an extra copy of Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 when you already got them.
Could give away the product-code though, so who of ~FUN~ doesn’t have Half-Life 2 ?

Read the preview here

“Valve’s goal with Half-Life 2: The Orange Box is to offer a great single-player title (Episode Two), a unique gameplay experience (Portal), and an awesome multiplayer game (Team Fortress 2). From our play date at Valve, it appears the legendary company will be able to deliver on all three aspects. While Episode Two is one sweet shooter and Portal is the next evolution in puzzle games, it’s Team Fortress 2 that proved the most impressive.

Team Fortress 2 is a fast-paced class-based online shooter. Valve’s challenge in reviving the long-dormant TF franchise was in creating a great experience no matter which of the nine classes a player chose. Along with making each class visually different, Valve managed to infuse each class with its own personality. Each requires a different type of strategy; but all nine classes are useful. And, more importantly, each is fun to play.”

See this article by IGN, the piece provides some insight on the classes used in Team Fortress 2.