Oh man, this one hurts for all of you Half-Life 2 fans, I’m sure.
It seems that Game Informer is reporting that there will be no Half-Life 2 Episode 3 out this year. Apparently, this was reported in the rumor column of the magazine, hinting that the next project that Valve is working on might not even be called Episode 3, but Half-Life 3.
As video game fans, we are used to delays, but I’m sure this one comes as a blow to the many devoted Valve followers out there. Especially considering the fact that two Left4Dead games have seen release in the last two years, with no news or updates on HL2Ep3 besides some vague concept art back in 2008.
While I’m not ready to cry foul on this (it’s no Gran Turismo 5, that’s for sure), I do understand the many people who will be bummed out by this news. So what about you guys? Are you upset? Were you really hoping for the next installment in 2010?
Source- Kotaku
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
but still, if they’re working on HL3, that means a complete makeover of the Source engine… but I don’t wanna wait until 2011!
Guess i’ll just keep playing mods… 🙁
While “Valve time” is almost as famous as the company itself, you really cant deny that its usually time well spent.
6 years from the original half life to half life 2, during which time they built a new engine to run it, and the results speak for themselves, HL2 is widely regarded as one of the best games ever.
2 more years to make Episode 1, and while it was short there were a number of technical improvements made to its predecessor.
18 months later Episode 2 is released with a brand new overall look, getting away from City 17 and into the mountains. The changes in colour and textures across the entire game would have taken some time to create. Add to that the time spent on Portal and TF2 (plus updates) for the release of the Orange Box, L4D one and two, and i feel Valve can be amazingly proud of what they have accomplished in that period of time.
We are now approaching 2.5 years since the release of Ep2, and while there is little news on Ep3, we all know that Valve has been the victims of various leaks (planned or otherwise) and hacking attempts. Perhaps the lack of news is simply a reflection on increased security. All in all, we know that Valve are amazing game creators, and i for one will be happy to wait as long as necessary, because i know that Valve will deliver in the end.
I’m always hoping for another Half-Life related game, but I know that the wait is /always/ worth it (so far)… The news (rumor) is disapointing, but I know there’ll be other games that will basically represent “filler” until it’s release.
And I thought that Ep 1, 2, and 3 together were supposed to BE “half-life 3”. Did I imagine this or was this real?
Bah, I pretty much expected this anyway.
I don’t really mind having to wait but I really wish Valve would make some noise just to tell us that they aren’t completely focused on making TF2 Updates and mediocre L4D sequels.
All they need to do is staple a generic statement onto the end of a news post, “In other news there have been office rumours of some ep3 box art…”
I have a countdown in my sidebar that shows that it 214D 12H 12m and 30s it will have been 2 years since we got any official EP3 news (which was the announcement of EP3 taking longer then ep1 or ep2)
And for those wondering, EP1,2 and 3 are supposed to make up Half Life 3 although valve will probably mess around with the numbering system if there is another HL just to mess with us.
@Julez; you are correct.
This just makes me think that Valve has something so incredible planned, that they *have* to delay it, to deliver the full power of its awesome.
What it also suggests is that the next installment will be at least as long as ep1 and 2 put together.
Not only that, but lets look at the stages of engine design.
Stage 1 – The modified Quake engine they used for HL1.
Stage 2 – The source engine.
Stage 3 – Who Knows? But it has to be better.
I, for one, am only more excited for HL3 than ever.
The only beef I have is this: the Episodes were made in order to shorten developement times.
EPIC FAIL on that one.
I’m willing to wait another year or two if they can make an engine to surpass Source. I mean, the snow/mountain levels that you know will be in Ep3 (Or HL3, whatever they’re gonna call it) will take some good computing power
After the Cliff Hanger ending of Ep2, I was supremely stoked for Ep3 – and, knowing Valve, I was sure they would deliver (after all, they had never failed me to date.)
Then L4D came out and I thought so highly of Valve that I swore they could do no wrong: CS:S, HL2, TF2, and now L4D!? AMAZING!
…and then they pulled a Crazy Ivan and released L4D2 a year later.
The sound of my bubble bursting was said to be audible for miles around with the shockwave knocking out the windows on several prominent high-rises.
…at this point I am not surprised to see no Ep3 – in fact, I expect to see an L4D3 set in Alaska with characters who are even less evocative than the ones they have now and with infected that look even more so that they escaped from a disney film freak show.
[quote comment=”9941″]The only beef I have is this: the Episodes were made in order to shorten developement times.
EPIC FAIL on that one.[/quote]
got to agree with that.
I don’t really trust in rumors, but if Valve showed something… anything at all about ep3 or even HL3, i’d be a happy gamer/nerd/thing.
also, yeah, we all know about valve time, and we know something epic is coming to us. the thing is, it’s taking too long. We can thank the mod community for keeping the game alive, but there is only so much they can do.
I love Valve, and I love their work, but if no news start to hit the web after I go through Black Mesa: Source, I think I’ll go insane…
All i’m going to say i’ve been a loyal valve fan since Half life. But now they’re somthing else, they’ve pritty much abandoned the game that made them famous, and are trying to please random casual gamers than they are loyal fans. i would sacriface both Left 4 Dead’s just to see some progress on Ep3, Hl3 etc. And i’m sorry that my point is blunt but I think anybody who feels the same should not tip-toe around the obvious.
Can’t say I’m surprised, to be honest.
I mean, if the game was anywhere close to ready we’d have seen at least an in-game picture about now.
I’m a devoted Valve fan. That means that I expect the worst and hope for the best in terms of release dates. After Half-Life came out it was literally 6 years till the next game came out, and there was a 10 year wait for TF2. This really doesn’t come as a surprise to me, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if it didn’t come out in 2011 or even 2012. I would certainly be pleased if it did come out then, but with this kind of wait and suspense I think that there’ll be a lot of bitterness in the community if it doesn’t come out as the perfect game, which is always the problem with pushing back release dates (or keeping a “When it’s done” approach) and holding back information about it (see Duke Nukem: Forever).
Y’know there’s one thing they could say to keep the internet talking for a few years:
Gabe: Hey dudes! You want Adrian Shepard? You got him! KTHXBAI.
I suspect he could say that word for word and still get away with it. xD
@John
I don’t like to think of TF2’s 10 year period as everyone who loved Valve was biting their lips, waiting for it. I mean, I’d way rather see a Portal 2 before a TF3 or Counter-Strike Omega. Death Match games are great because usually the older ones are better (CS > CS:S) and don’t have a story, so we’re not waiting for that next chapter. But a Half-Life or Portal is GOTY / Surprise of the year contenders on everyone’s lists. Same thing with L4D – No story = Don’t really care. Fun at LAN’s, maybe a little online. But please, oh please, give me HL3 before L4D 3 / DLC.
@Anthony: It’s not an epic fail if it takes less than six years. Still less development time at least for two of the three episodes. Valve, for the most part, delivered.
I’m yawning as I just don’t care. I waited six years for HL2 and I waited patiently and without complaint and when I got HL2 I got one of the best games i’ve ever played. If it takes six years or more to get Episode 3, I could not care less.
@Sinister Mister:
Valve has not delivered Episode 3. I do think it is an epic fail. They chose to go this route to deliver the content quicker. In the case of Ep 3, it is failing.
You can defend them all you like and in the end, it won’t matter when they do finish the game and we are all freaking out about great it is. But if Square Enix got crap for taking 4 years to make FF XIII, a vastly larger game that didn’t have an engine already made for it, then Valve doesn’t get away scott-free with this one.
so many insightful comments, I feel bad that mine is only 2 words long.
New engine.
It’s great what you’ve been able to do with source, but c’mon Valve. It’s about time. Probably what they’ve been working on anyways.