Half-Life 2: Ep Two Delayed Till Winter

You're going to have to wait a bit longer to get your hands on that delicious gravity gun again.

It seemed too good to be true. Not only would Valve's continued adventures of Gordon Freeman in Half Life 2: Episode Two be out later this year, but a full recap of the game and its add-ons would be out for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 too. Sometimes you have to trust your instincts.

Valve confirmed this week that Half-Life Episode Two and its console iterations would not be out until this coming winter. Valve's Doug Lombardi explained to Eurogamer that there was no specific reason for the delay.

"It's just sort of classic Valve being overly aggressive on our dates," Lombardi said in the interview. "But we're aiming for [the first quarter of 2007] right now and we're really far along in the playtest stage. You know, our thing is always that we're trying to make really good experiences and so we're going to manage to that rather than the schedule."

Lombardi also revealed how development on the three versions is being split. Valve is working on the Xbox 360 and PC versions, while it's working with teams at EA (which is publishing the game) on the PlayStation 3 version.

Half-Life 2: Episode One gave gamers a handful of hours of gameplay for around $20, but Valve is reconsidering pricing for the upcoming versions. Lombardi said that PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 would all see a full-priced version that contains Half-Life 2, Episode One, Team Fortress 2, Portal and Episode Two.

PC gamers will also be able to get just Team Fortress 2, Portal and Episode as one package, though this would be priced between the $20 Episode One cost and the regular price of the full package.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games