Half-Life 2: Aftermath

Ending on a rather anti-climactic note, Half-Life 2 left gamers wanting a little more (and critics argue on whether that's a good or bad thing).

Ending on a rather anti-climactic note, Half-Life 2 left gamers wanting a little more (and critics argue on whether that's a good or bad thing). Valve President Doug Lombardi revealed that Aftermath will show "what's become of your friends, City 17, and the world since your venture into the Citadel." The enhanced AI will allow for more collaborative gameplay with NPCs, so you can expect the game to build up that burgeoning romantic tension between Alyx and Gordon. Pushing the physics envelope a bit further, Aftermath also promises to add new abilities to the Gravity gun and a wider variety of puzzles.

Details surrounding the game remain sketchy: Valve remains tight-lipped as to what new weapons or vehicles to expect from the game, if any. Abstract revelations aside, expect the game to nevertheless be a hit when its released. But considering their recent breakup with Vivendi Universal, Aftermath may only be available online.

Luminous Luxuries

Valve will release Lost Coast, a graphical upgrade, via their free Steam service. Along with one playable level, the upgrade will implement overexposure, multi-layered skyboxes, light blooms, and other high-end visual frills. According to Lombardi, your rig should have a processor "well over" 2GHZ and 1GB+ RAM, plus the latest and greatest from ATI and nVidia, which means that a large chunks of users will need to disable these options. Expect the Half-Life 2 expansion and Day of Defeat: Source to take advantage of the technology as well.

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