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New Half-Life Blue Shift remake is way bigger than the original and playable now

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Given how much time has passed since Gordon Freeman first rode the automated transit system into our hearts, I think we're all comfortable now with admitting one unassailable truth: every single moment spent in the original version of Xen is a nightmare. Half-Life 2 is 20 years old. Valve has marked the occasion with a revised and tweaked version of the FPS. But historically, it's modders who have fixed the very worst part of the iconic shooter series, first in the superlative Black Mesa, and now in its spiritual successor. An unofficial remake of Half-Life Blue Shift is available to play right now, and it's just gotten a new chapter that makes Barney's excursion into the alien border world actually enjoyable. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: The Half-Life Blue Shift remake, built using Black Mesa, is finally back 'New' version of Half-Life discovered with cut content and secrets Here are some of the best Steam games most own but too few have played

The Half-Life Blue Shift remake, built using Black Mesa, is finally back

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Short, grounded, and with regular beer-owing guy Barney as its hero, Blue Shift could be my favorite Half-Life game. Half-Life 1 gets points for originality. Half-Life 2 has excellent set pieces in the form of City 17, the coastal road trip, and Ravenholm. But Blue Shift - like Opposing Force - is so tight and focused, and rounds out the resonance cascade story so well, that I think it takes the metaphorical crowbar. As HL2 gets closer to its 20th anniversary, the idea of a Half-Life 3 feels both closer and further away than ever. Valve might be keeping quiet about the future of its FPS, but modders are hard at work. The unofficial Half-Life Blue Shift remake, built using the fan-made masterpiece Black Mesa, is finally coming back. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: 'New' version of Half-Life discovered with cut content and secrets Here are some of the best Steam games most own but too few have played Half-Life players somehow manage to beat Opposing Force in 17 minutes

October 2, 2024 Update

by benb

Fixed HLTV startup crashes and incompatibility with 25th anniversary maps. Fixed memory leak that caused a crash after repeatedly changing brightness or gamma. Enabled /LARGEADDRESSAWARE to support mods with large memory requirements.. Miscellaneous mod compatibility fixes. Miscellaneous security fixes.

A veteran developer found a beta build of Half-Life in his storage unit and has made it available for anyone to download

by Ted Litchfield

What's the coolest thing you've ever found while cleaning out your garage or a relative's storage unit? For former game developer Chad Jessup, it's probably the beta version of the original Half-Life he uncovered this month, now shared to the Internet Archive by videogame preservation enthusiast Reagan for all to enjoy... Read more.

'New' version of Half-Life discovered with cut content and secrets

by editor@pcgamesn.com

2024 has been a goldmine of Half-Life discoveries. The series has sneakily reappeared in a Counter-Strike 2 update, a mysterious Half-Life 2 patch might hint towards 20th-anniversary celebrations, and Half-Life 3 feels closer than it's ever been. There's never been a better time to dig into Gordan Freeman's silent adventures. Now, if you're as much a fan of beta builds and cut content as I am, I've got a real treat for you. A decades-old disc containing a prerelease Half-Life build has been found, and it's been archived for good measure. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Here are some of the best Steam games most own but too few have played Half-Life players somehow manage to beat Opposing Force in 17 minutes Underrated Half-Life game gets huge new Steam record 23 years later

Here are some of the best Steam games most own but too few have played

by editor@pcgamesn.com

There are some games it feels like literally everyone has played - or at least heard of. Half-Life. Portal. Left 4 Dead. The list goes on, and on, and on. But despite their popularity and status as PC gaming icons, new data from SteamIDFinder shows that the videogames we call classics too often sit collecting dust in our Steam libraries and, quite honestly, I feel slightly called out right now. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Half-Life players somehow manage to beat Opposing Force in 17 minutes Underrated Half-Life game gets huge new Steam record 23 years later Half-Life players are plotting to break a new Steam record

'There's an alternate universe where Half-Life disappeared after release': Valve's first marketing strategist Monica Harrington says she helped navigate its way out of early disaster

by Lincoln Carpenter

Looking back on Valve's record of repeated hits and the fact that most of us are playing our PC games under Steam's monolithic shadow, it's tempting to think that this was the only way history could've gone. But according to Monica Harrington, Valve's chief marketing strategist in its early years and then wife of studio co-founder Mike Harrington, we only barely avoided a world where Half-Life left Valve in ruins, and we've got her work to thank for it... Read more.

Half-Life players somehow manage to beat Opposing Force in 17 minutes

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Naturally you have to admire the work of game developers, particularly those with a talent like Valve. Between the original Half-Life, new hero shooter Deadlock, and maybe, just maybe, Half-Life 3, the Gabe Enclave has successfully produced some of the most defining PC games of the last two decades. But perhaps even more awe-inspiring is the work of speedrunners, and the ingenious ways they manage to reverse engineer and break Valve's games. 25 years since it was released, Half-Life Opposing Force, the Adrian Shephard-led expansion focusing on the HECU, has just been dismantled and rebuilt into a staggering speedrun record that almost defies belief. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Underrated Half-Life game gets huge new Steam record 23 years later Half-Life players are plotting to break a new Steam record If Deadlock is real, the visionary Valve we once knew is gone for good

Underrated Half-Life game gets huge new Steam record 23 years later

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Valve has been in the news a lot lately. The digital storefront owner and (too occasional) game maker has just shared details on its latest project, an Overwatch style multiplayer hero shooter called Deadlock that looks to be coming out soon after running invite only tests. Less officially, we've also heard fresh rumblings about the eternally anticipated Half-Life 3, with speculation on a current iteration of the game picking up thanks to a voice actor's CV. But, amidst all of this, a group of fans has looked back further into Valve's history to make another kind of news, gathering together to give the first Half-Life's Blue Shift add on a new concurrent player record on Steam. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Half-Life players are plotting to break a new Steam record If Deadlock is real, the visionary Valve we once knew is gone for good One of the best Half-Life mods ever made is finally back from the dead

Half-Life players are plotting to break a new Steam record

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Half-Life Blue Shift is not to be underestimated. Alongside the other expansion, Opposing Force, and of course the tentpole Gordon Freeman adventure proper, the story of Barney's worst ever day at Black Mesa might seem comparatively minor. But it's a fantastic FPS, lighter, swifter, and often funnier than its siblings, and offering a totally different perspective on the disastrous resonance cascade. Built by Gearbox, alongside all the others, Blue Shift feels like the most forgotten Half-Life game. But now, as some small rumors about Half-Life 3 start to appear, HL fans are determined to prove that Blue Shift still deserves attention. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: If Deadlock is real, the visionary Valve we once knew is gone for good One of the best Half-Life mods ever made is finally back from the dead Half-Life remake dev finally has a new game, with a beta on the way

The Half-Life 3 dream lives! Valve game with supposed links to Black Mesa leaks via voice actor and conclusions have been jumped to

by

That's right Half-Life fans, you've got a new reason to believe that the long-awaited third entry is definitely, for sure this time, absolutely happening. Look, I'm sure I don't need to tell you about the history of Half-Life 3, or it's lack thereof I guess. You've seen the memes, you've seen all the times people have sworn it's definitely coming this time only to be let down. But this time, maybe it's different! As spotted over on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit, a voice actor that has appeared in titles like Starfield, Valorant, Fallout 76 and more listed something in their resume called "Project White Sands" crediting Valve as the developer - though any mention of the game has since been scrubbed from their site. So, of course, as soon as this was spotted, fans quickly jumped to the conclusion that this must be the time that Half-Life 3 is getting announced. Project White Sands could mean anything to the unassuming eye, but Half-Life fans have already connected some dots. White ...

A codenamed Valve project found in a voice actor's résumé has Half-Life fans putting on the clown makeup yet again

by Jody Macgregor

It's that time again. A leak, this time via the résumé of a videogame voice actor, has led to another rumor that Valve is working on a new Half-Life game... Read more.

If Deadlock is real, the visionary Valve we once knew is gone for good

by editor@pcgamesn.com

So right away, this whole argument comes with a big caveat, one that needs to be made clear immediately and up top: despite hints, rumors, speculation, and even some leaked screenshots, there's no saying for sure that Deadlock, supposedly a 6v6 competitive FPS in the vein of Overwatch, really is the next game from Valve. Similarly, we don't know what Deadlock actually plays like or is like - even if it exists. And so, this article continues based on two assumptions. First, Deadlock will be the next game from Valve. Second, it's exactly the kind of game that everything we've seen and heard about it so far would suggest, a hero-based PvP shooter akin to familiar tentpole releases from Blizzard, Riot, and Respawn. What follows are my personal concerns - or rather, disappointments - but also some hopes, if those presumptions turn out to be correct. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: One of the best Half-Life mods ever made is finally back from the dead Half-Life remake dev finall...

One of the best Half-Life mods ever made is finally back from the dead

by editor@pcgamesn.com

Doom, Duke Nukem, Blood, Quake, and of course Half-Life itself. There are dozens of great FPS games from the '90s, the timeless classics that helped shape the PC as a platform. Imagine now a kind of boomer shooter Valhalla, where the weapons, mechanics, and pyrotechnics that defined that glistening erstwhile era come finally together to fight, frag, and circle strafe for eternity. One of the greatest Half-Life mods of all time, itself inspired by the best ever Doom mod, delivers on that dream. And after years of silence, it's finally back from the dead. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Half-Life remake dev finally has a new game, with a beta on the way New Half-Life games found hidden in Counter-Strike 2 update Half-Life remake Black Mesa is being remade, new demo out now

Good news, Steam's just introduced a better way to enjoy dodgy smut and 6/10s with your grandparents

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Playing video games with your family is definitely never a recipe for arguments, and Steam’s just introduced an improved way to definitely not get into such arguments. Steam Families, now available in beta, will let you do a bunch of stuff with your loved ones, including play very mid games at the same time. If you’ve previously been using features like family sharing and family view, a number of elements of this latest addition to Steam won’t be new to you, but they’ve now been smushed together alongside some other stuff, in order to make managing your family a bit less of a hassle. Well, it’ll still be a hassle when your 10 year old inevitably wants to buy GTA 6, but at least now you should be able to play something relaxing while they’re on with it, to help you come up with PG explanations for all the bits they don’t understand. Read more