I thought you guys already posted this...

Is anyone surprised that there might be a sequel to one of the most successful game franchises, ever?

i hope they end the current story, and maybe have gordon, the man everyone in the game reveres as one of the finest scientists in the world, create another enormous catastrophe that threatens mankind. i don't want to keep fighting the combine, at least HL1 was a story in itself that could've stood alone without a sequel, all the games since have continued the same combine-centered story and always end on a cliffhanger. they need to finish the story on earth with the resistance and have gordon go back to fighting aliens on other planets or secret government agencies/ninjas.

The reason I'm not surprised, but nonetheless delighted is because of the amazing progress Half Life 2 showed over Half Life. And if they continue to make strides like that, game away you wonderful makers of games you.

Gordon only fights enemies when it's his fault they show up though.... how could Gordon open a portal to a dimensional of blood-thirsty conquest-hungry ninjas?

Didn't they announced a while back that there was going to be an Episode 4 developed by another team which didn't focus on Freeman (like Blue Shift and Opposing Force, I guess)?

I'm with reply #1.

As long as we get Half-Life 3 in a amazing deal like the orange box, I'm all for it :]

Everyone's fractions are way off here..

Half-Life

Plus Half-Life 2

Can ultimately be considered as "Life"

Therefore the next sequel will be called "Second Life"

...dear god

@lordofsword: I also hope they wrap up the current plot-line and move to another.

One of my favorite parts of the series is the very beginning of HL2 where you're exploring what seems to be a very different world -- until you get a level or two in and realize that it's the same world that you ruined -- only it's a decade or two in the future. As much as I love the current setting/enemies/etc., I'd love to see Gordon pulled into stasis again only to re-emerge years later at....(well, I'll leave that part up to Valve!)

I see no possible reason for them to stop. Great, hyper-critically acclaimed games, a devoted fan base, and a high selling franchise. Half-Life won't stop for a long while.

@DeLoRtEd1: Ha, nice.

Really though, Half-Life can't end.

Although this news should be a surprise to no one, I am very glad to hear it!

However, I think I'd rather Valve work on a new Portal...or rather a new game with GLaDOS...and a companion cube...

@DeLoRtEd1: No, no, no. Did you do physics? Everytime there's a new half life, the original is halved. But as this happens, it never reaches zero. So... Half-Life 2 should really be Quarter-Life, hence the next sequel would be Eighth Life [as in 1/8, not just 8]. Gah!

Shepa! I want him back... smooching Mossman.

I thought the episodes /were/ Half-Life 3.

@DeLoRtEd1: LOL

I was pretty excited to see the Aperture Science vessel on the hazy video feed at the end of Episode 2.

I think they said the episodes would be a complete trilogy, but it wouldn't be the conclusion of the whole HL story. I'm guessing they'll abandon episodic format, and it'll be another half decade of development before a revolutionary HL 3.
@Majorasblaze - Now with added words!: Yeah, they said the episodes included the content they would have put into the 3rd installment, but since they chose to continue HL2 episodically, they can now make HL3 a significant improvement, like the quantum leap of 1-2.

Good. Just because sequels can suck, doesn't mean they absolutely must. It's good to see that Valve isn't going to go all pissy non-conformist on us.

@Trencher-1: As I was happy to see the Black Mesa stuff in Portal.

could be as long as Final Fantasy series...

Half Life X-2 starting Alyx!!

@DeLoRtEd1: Technically it would be a 3/4 Life. [en.wikipedia.org]

Sorry, I'm being *that guy*

The need HL3 with Source 2.

I would pay real money to have the original half-life redone in the new engine.

Ep2 is looking sweeeeeet and the gameplay is better then ep1, but the original still holds a special place in the pantheon of FPS. I still bust that out once a year to play.

I want a Portal gun for Episode 3! We all know it's possible, do it!

You know, Valve themselves didn't actually create the mechanics behind the Portal gun. The code behind that was originally made by a group of students at Digipen Institute of Technology for their senior project, Narbacular Drop. (The name of the game was made so that it would be easy to google... so google it.)

When Valve saw the game in action they hired the entire team on the spot to make it work with their engine. With the way Portal turned out, I'd say it was a smart move on their part.

whatever, Lombardi. just give me some more Portal maps already. or Portal 2. or Portal: Episode 1. or whatever. more Portal.

please.

DeLoRtEd1 wins this thread.

@jchasse: ... they did redo the original with the source engine. It's called Half-Life: Source...

@jchasse: You mean Half-Life: Source?

@Raynre:

There's a much better mod in development called Black Mesa. It looks phenomenal and truly updates HL in the source engine unlike HL: Source, which I think just updates the textures and adds better lighting and water.

Episode 4 will be played exclusively from Lamarr's perspective. You hop from mind controlled human to human host while avoiding those pesky 1 hit kill shotguns.

Quick question: Is Half Life the opposite of Second Life?

@DeLoRtEd1: Crap! You beat to a Second Life joke. What are the odds? And not only that, but yours was much better than my half-assed attempt.

@Copesetic: yes. one's a game, and the other is a chat room.

@SSJPabs: With SCIENCE!

@cactaur: Isn't Lamarr 'neutered'?

Anyone with half a brain knows that IPs should die. Only ones that don't are Japanese loved RPGs for some reason that escapes me.

If you can make a good game you most likely can make a 2nd good game that has nothing to do with the first. Which incidentally they have done with FF.

A tale should end. Most good stories have endings. Let Gordon Freeman retire or something.

I'm sure the portal gun will show up in newer HL titles.

...but let me know when there's another actual Portal game! If they bundle it with the next Half Life, I'll have no choice but to get it too!

1. Never played a single Half-Life game in my life, and never plan to, even though I have the Orange Box (for Portal).
2. How can you have episodes in a single sequel? Couldn't they just call them Half-Life 2, 3, and 4?

I want some info on episode 3. a screenshot, teaser, trailer, something!!!!

@DeLoRtEd1: Lol. Genius.

@Malavin: No. Valve made half-life 2 in episodes so it wouldn't take as long to get a product to retail as it would if they made the full game first. But now it's getting a little crazy with content from 3 slipping into 2 and the portal side-story that now has to tie into the overall story.

It made perfect sense when they came up with the idea, but now it's a little confusing if you haven't been paying attention to the series.

If they keep up with the gman nabbing gordon and putting him in stasis they can continue indefinitely. Unless they want to explain what exactly what's going on, then they might have to reach some sort of closure with the series.

They're going to milk the fuck out of this one for years to come. The thing is, I bet they wish they could have pounded out some episodic content for HL1 but were restricted or just too busy. Hopefully they continue on with the whole HL2-ep1-ep2-ep3/HL3-ep1-ep2-... so on, I sure wouldn't mind.

Though, I'd like for a HL3 to cover some new ground and jump in just like HL2 did; out of stasis and right into some freaky shit.

@Tisbod:

Naw! I'm not talking HKL Source, I'm talking something with quality. I mean something more like the Black Mesa Mod that Crimson Pahntom mentioned. The one that was voted best mod of 2006 ;)

They have some pretty wallpapers on their site but it sure would be nice to have a playable game. I'ld pay real money for that. Gabe you listening?

@mowh: They did make episodic content for HL1. Sort of anyway. Halflife: Opposing Force and halflife: Blue Shift were expansions to the original. While they didn't exactly continue the story, they did tell it from different points of view and introduced new characters.

I think it would be pretty obvious.

The story won't be wrapped up in Episode 3 and Valve have left a lot of room for further games with the story.