Left 4 Dead short film rivals Hollywood production values (video)
As the gaming culture matures, a handful of impressive fan films paying homage to popular titles have continued to emerge. First, the “Escape from City 17” Half-Life shorts from two years ago set a new standard with their Hollywood-lite production values, then earlier this year Modern Warfare and Portal received similar treatments. Now another Valve-published game, Left 4 Dead, has been reimagined in this live-action eight-minute film.
Check back shortly for our exclusive interview with … Continue Reading
The 10 Best Gaming Videos of 2011
This year has been a great one for gaming. To celebrate, here are 10 of the finest gaming related videos to have hit the scene in 2011. Some are fan made, some are by big game studios, but all are worth watching. Some are for mature audiences.
Dead Island: trailer of the year?
Few game trailers have elicited as emotional a response as this one, for Dead Island. Moody, subtle and emotionally rich, it … Continue Reading
Valve: first Portal 2 downloadable content will be free
Valve is bucking one of the largest trends in the video gaming industry — releasing additional content for games and charging extra for it — by releasing the next phase of content for its blockbuster hit Portal 2 for free for all gamers.
Downloadable content for games can be as big as the blockbuster games themselves. The Call of Duty series, a first-person shooting game set in wartime, has proven this point multiple times by … Continue Reading
"Portal Kombat" shows the duality of gamers (poll)
Today saw the launch of two major video games, and they make up a tale of two gamers. Portal 2 is a thinking person’s shooting game, meant for people who like to solve puzzles and outsmart rivals in an action game. Mortal Kombat, on the other extreme, is a twitch game, where you have to mash buttons as fast as you can to defeat your enemy.
The two game launches show how very different game … Continue Reading
Valve generates a consumer backlash with end of alternate reality game
Valve concluded its Portal 2 alternate reality game Friday morning with a new message for gamers: You can speed your access to the game by purchasing more games from Valve’s Steam online game distribution service.
Users aren’t too happy about that, given the reaction on Twitter, as many assumed that the Portal 2 game would be unlocked early on Steam at the conclusion of the alternate reality game, which required users to solve puzzles collectively … Continue Reading
Valve's alternate reality game stirs fascination with Portal 2
Hoping to build interest in its upcoming Portal 2 video game, game creator and publisher Valve has created an “alternate reality game” (ARG) to get fans started early.
The is part fantasy, part reality. It uses real-world connections as developers seed clues among the media and fans. ARGs are tried and true ways to market a game or other product without spending a great deal of money, since interest spreads by word of mouth. The … Continue Reading
Valve reveals details to sequel for its beloved Portal game (video)
Portal was one of the most popular video games of 2007. Part of the allure was its humble roots as a title developed by independent game creators. At the E3 trade show in Los Angeles, game publisher Valve announced that it will launch Portal 2 in 2011 and revealed details of the game.
Portal was a single-player first-person shooter game conceived by students from the DigiPen Institute of Technology; they were hired by Valve, the … Continue Reading
