I Played Through Episode Two Holding A Goddamn Gnome (Spoilers) [James via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

Other than that, I've got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption wondering where the hell I've been and some must-play time with Dementium: The Ward.

So what is it, dear readers? What are you playing this weekend?

Over at Computer and Video Games they've posted up and interview with Valve's Kim Swift and Doug Lombardi on the upcoming Episode Two in-house mod, Portal. It's a pretty interesting read, documenting the jump from a small group of students giving a look to Gabe Newell of a proof-of-concept to being flung into the world of some of the best game designers on the planet.

Kim Swift claims to have never heard of Prey before starting at Valve, which is a bit silly: it's only a game that dates back to 1997. But here's something that I hadn't really considered — Portal actually has it's own story and takes place in the Half-Life universe:

How does the Portal story fit into the Half-Life universe? How much work has gone into it?

Kim Swift: Uh, no comment? We've definitely thought about how the storyline's going to fit back-ends with the main characters in the Half-Life universe - Gordon's Half-Life world. But there's nothing we can really disclose at this point...

Doug Lombardi: You're not Gordon in a Portal. You're someone who hasn't been introduced before. You play a new character in the Half-Life universe. And you're basically a rat in a maze in this test facility - a test subject for Aperture Science laboratories.

Which is kind of neat, though I assume it can't really be in the Half-Life 2 universe. I doubt there are many independent theoretical physics facilities after the 7 Hour War. Florian Eckhardt

Interview: Portal [CVG]

Florian Eckhardt as the Spy, debonair in lounge suit and matching leather S&M mask. Eliza Gauger as The Heavy, as befits her girth. Ashcraft — voted Kotaku Editor Most Likely To Be Mistaken for a Small Mammal — as Scout; Crecente as the Pyro, the most useless Team Fortress class.

We are absolutely stoked for this game. Florian Eckhardt

This is the demonstration of Portal from Valve's presentation at the EA Summer Media Event. It was as much overshadowed by the announcement of Team Fortress 2 as it was unfairly overshadowed by it. Yes, this is very much inspired by Prey's cool-ass portal system, but Human Head Studios certainly didn't explore the mind-bending infinite dimensional paradoxes of portals like this.

Holy crap, this looks neat. Is there any chance of getting this implemented into Half-Life 2: Episode Three? Florian Eckhardt

This is our favorite part of the press release, though:

"By evolving our development process to an episodic approach, we're able to reduce risk from things such as schedule and funding and invest more in new types of gameplay," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "This allows us to produce innovative titles such as Portal and Team Fortress 2 and deliver them in a timely fashion to customers along with Episode Two."

Team Fortress 2 was announced in 1998. In what lunatic asylum does that equal 'timely'? Next up, George Broussard disengorges his bulk from the 3D Realms home offices to tell us all that the partnership with Triton allowed Duke Nukem Forever to be created and published in mere nanoseconds. Florian Eckhardt

VALVE REVEALS NEW DETAILS ON EPISODE TWO

Includes Team Fortress 2 and Portal, Heading To PC and Next Gen Console

Bellevue, WA, July 14, 2006 - Valve , developer of the blockbuster series Half-Life and Counter-StrikeTM, unveiled Team Fortress 2 and Portal, two new games to be included in its next release, Half-Life 2: Episode Two. In addition, the studio announced its plans to deliver these products, plus enhanced versions of Half-Life 2 and Episode One, in one tremendous package for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

"By evolving our development process to an episodic approach, we're able to reduce risk from things such as schedule and funding and invest more in new types of gameplay," said Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "This allows us to produce innovative titles such as Portal and Team Fortress 2 and deliver them in a timely fashion to customers along with Episode Two."

Episode Two advances the 16-million unit selling franchise, as Valve's trilogy of episodic single player releases continues the award-winning story of Half-Life 2. Armed with new weaponry and vehicles, Dr. Gordon Freeman must race through a countryside riddled with an increasingly feirce Combine threat.

Team Fortress 2, an all-new version of the title that spawned team based multiplayer action games, features the most advanced graphics of any Source-based game released to date. Players choose from a range of unique character classes such as medic, spy, sniper, or engineer and must work together to complete a variety of tactical objectives.

Portal is a new type of single player game that changes how players approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in a given environment in a manner similar to how the Gravity Gun changed our approach to how an object may be leveraged in any given situation.

Team Fortress 2 and Portal will be included with all retail and Steam versions of Episode Two for the PC. In addition, these products plus Half-Life 2 and Episode One will be available in one tremendous offering for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. New videos from Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 will be released next week.

About Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2 has been named Game of the Year by over 35 organizations and sold over four million copies worldwide. The intense, real-time gameplay delivered in the Half-Life 2 games and Team Fortress 2 is made possible only by Source, Valve's proprietary engine technology.

First, Half-Life 2: Episode Two will be released simultaneously on the PC, 360 and PS3. The 360 and PS3 versions will feature all of the HL2 back content. This hasn't really been explained, but we assume it means at least Half-Life 2 and Episode One, in addition to TF2.

Not only that, but it will also include a new single-player puzzle game called Portals. It looks like we're not the only ones who noticed how fun portals were in Prey, pictured to the right. We'll let someone who actually saw it in action describe it, after the jump.

In addition to that bombshell, Newell revealed that all versions of Episode Two will ship with a separate single-player game called Portals. This is something of an insanely inspired puzzle game that takes advantage of the Source engine, judging from the hilarious trailer that Newell showed. The trailer took the form of a training video for a new employee of an advanced corporation in the Half-Life 2 universe.

The video shows a diagram and explains that as an employee of this company, you may have to find the emergency exit to a certain room. However, there are often obstacles in your way, like a gaping chasm. No problem, because all you need to use is your Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device to create dimensional doorways that let you mess with reality. For example, if there's gaping chasm between you and your objective, just shoot a portal on the far side of the room, then shoot a portal open on your side, then enter the portal. You'll instantly transport from one side of the room to the next by walking through the portal (you'll even see yourself going through the portal).

That's the simplest example of how to use the portal gun. In other situations, you may be under fire by a gun droid. So all you need to do is shoot a portal open over the gun, then shoot a portal open beneath a crate, then watch the crate fall through the hole and crush the gun. It gets even crazier, and the diagrams shown in the trailer showed some incredibly crazy things that you can attempt, like creating a series of portals so that you're constantly chasing yourself. Some of the puzzles sound like they'll be "impossible," so the challenge will be to figure out how to use the portal gun.

This promises to be an incredibly puzzle-style first-person experience, which Newell says is part of the goal. "We wanted to take physics out of this domain as a tool that lets you bounce grenades around to how can we really change the game experience for our customers," he said.

I don't really want to risk enraging Mark Rein into looping my scrotum around the bumper of the Epic Games E3 party bus, then taking it for a drive in a granite quarry. But I'll risk it: I love Valve. Florian Eckhardt

Half-Life 2: Episode Two - The Return of Team Fortress 2 and Other Surprises [Gamespot]

In sloppy 'live blog' style, Gamespot described what they saw of the game:

TEAM FORTRESS 2. WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? Hey, they're still making it! It's got a totally exaggerated, crazy art style now. Looks a little like Spy vs. Spy or No One Lives Forever, kind of a '60s spy feel. It's going to be the included multiplayer mode in Episode 2! Class-based, etc. You know the drill. Great news for shooter fans. We all thought this game was dead years ago.

We haven't seen any pictures of the new art style, but those of us who have had the privilege of getting various Valve employees drunk have heard mumblings that this project is still very real for years and would feature a stylized Cold War feel, so this is less a pleasant surprise than a confirmation that they weren't so drunk on Kotaku dollar they were hallucinating. Florian Eckhardt

360, PS3 Half-Life 2 top EA's Summer Showcase [Gamespot]

If you haven't finished Half-Life 2: Episode 1 yet, this trailer for the upcoming sequel episode is full of spoilers. For the rest of us, it raises more questions than answers. Why isn't Alyx running around in a translucent set of wet bra and panties anymore? Will Barney and Walter ever reconcile their feelings for one another after that long, languorous kiss they shared on the romantic sand dunes of City 17? Is Gordon Freeman's mind still trapped in Dog's electronic brain? Will Lou Gossett Jr. ever stop possessing those poor Vortigaunts? FLORIAN ECKHARDT