Orange Box In Stores Wednesday

Ars Technica is reporting on an announcement from Valve: the Orange Box will be in stores on Wednesday. For those folks who purchased the pack through Steam, all five games will be 'unlocked' just after midnight that day. If you're like me and already owned HL2 and HL2:Episode One, the 'giveaway keys' should be available at that time as well. "In our last bit of Orange Box news, Valve has been running a television commercial for the Orange Box. It had to have been hard to make all those different games look like one cohesive package, but the company did a great job. The Orange Box can't come soon enough."

Random Opportunistic Mod Plugging of the Day!

[Ford Prefect]

Got a copy of Episode One, and want some more single-player Half-Life 2 before going all orangey with the Orange Box on Wednesday?

I prescribe my own MINERVA [hylobatidae.org], complete with needlessly cryptic website.

Random games journalist types are quite keen on it [rockpapershotgun.com]. No bribery was involved whatsoever, honest. Other links? Wikipedia! [wikipedia.org] My blog-thing! [hylobatidae.org] ... Um ... Valve Developer Community! [valvesoftware.com] Even Steam! [steampowered.com]

Described by random inhabitants of the internet as having: "extremely bad writing", with "some of the most dreadfully boring environments you'll ever see" - the "puzzles and triggers in the game are horrific", and "combat is done exactly the wrong way" - what are you waiting for?

Mod parent up, plzkthx.

[Bieeanda]

Seriously. Minerva is one of the most singularly impressive single-player mods that I've ever had the pleasure of playing through. Anyone who has HL2 and hasn't played through this is missing something wonderful.