Update: Looks like Left 4 Dead isn’t coming to the PS3 at all. Valve’s Doug Lombardi told IGN that “There is no PS3 version of Left 4 Dead currently in production.” Ouch.

Here’s shocking news. According to the latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine, Left 4 Dead is coming to the PlayStation 3, despite the fact that Valve Software, the game’s developer, is not a big fan of Sony’s home console.

Valve boss Gabe Newell has criticized the PS3, saying that it’s “a waste of everybody’s time.” While Valve hasn’t officially shared Newell’s sentiments, its actions may imply the same thing.

For starters, Valve didn’t port The Orange Box to the PS3, leaving the job to EA instead. The result: some technical issues that caused parts of the games’ framerate to suffer. The PS3 port wasn’t bad overall, but it could have been better.

Secondly, Left 4 Dead was originally intended as an exclusive for the Xbox 360 because like The Orange Box, Valve doesn’t want to port the cooperative shooter for the PS3.

Left 4 Dead’s move to the PS3 implies that while the Xbox 360 is still ahead in total units sold, Sony’s console seems to be making enough sales to get companies’ attention—even if the company in question dislikes the platform.

Does this mean I can finally play Dead Rising for the PS3?

Image of Left 4 Dead is courtesy of EA.

Post from: EveryJoe

OPM: Left 4 Dead is coming to the PS3

Remember test chamber 14 in Portal? Yes, the tricky one with all those long corridors that eats up a lot of time as you move the companion cubes. That chamber. Well, a gamer named KingpinSYD just posted a YouTube video of someone (he claims he did it) going through the chamber in four seconds.

The video’s quite choppy and everything happened so fast. From the looks of things, the gamer merely opened a portal on the floor immediately after exiting the elevator that leads to chamber 14. The portal led directly to the next elevator that leads to chamber 15.

Enjoy the video. I’ll try to do this myself.

Post from: EveryJoe

Finish Portal’s 14th chamber in 4 seconds

If you were foolish enough to get The Orange Box for the PS3 despite its negative previews, then you’re most probably moping about how bad the loading times and the framerate are, among other things. Well, there’s good news: there’s a very good chance of a patch coming.

But forget the speculation you’ll read—we’ve got proof. Someone from Valve has created a thread in the Steam forums, asking users for suggested changes and tweaks for The Orange Box’s PS3 version.

If you’ve always wanted to bitch about the game’s framerate and/or loading times, then feel free to give Valve your 2 cents’ worth. Here’s a tip while you’re at it: do include that bit about keyboard and mouse support. There’s no way we’re playing a shooter on a controller.

Post from: EveryJoe

Valve listens in on The Orange Box’s PS3 problems

1. The Orange Box
2. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
3. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Xbox 360 version)
4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
5. Bioshock
6. Halo 3
7. Crysis
8. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas
9. Warhawk
10. Unreal Tournament 3

What are your Top 10 shooters for 2007?

Post from: EveryJoe

Top 10 shooters of 2007

There are many words to describe Halo 3. Fans would call it “teh awesome,” others think “multiplayer is king,” and I say “Bungie’s on to something here.” But if there’s any description I wouldn’t give Halo 3, it’s what Time Magazine just used:

“Like a pebble that has been rounded over the centuries by the gentle splashing of the ocean waves, Halo 3 has become the perfect hardcore first-person combat simulator.”

Pebble rounded by the gentle splashing of waves? Good grief.

What’s even stranger is Time’s decision to put in Ace Combat 6 and skip out on bigger hits like Crysis, The Burning Crusade, Uncharted, Metroid Prime 3, and even the PS3’s Oblivion.

Unfortunately, this is what can you expect from the mainstream press when it comes to games.

When you thought it couldn’t get any worse, The Orange Box was placed at second. Yes, a boxed set with five (count ‘em) incredible games didn’t make first place. The five games in The Orange Box are individually excellent, so you can just imagine how much the bundle is worth when taken collectively.

Granted that Bungie was on to something with Halo 3. In fact, the very idea of a Halo game without repetitive corridors is very appealing even to Master Chief’s detractors. However, there’s no decision-making needed if you’re to choose between The Orange Box and Halo 3.

Halo 3 is perhaps the best console shooter in its era. However, when you compare it to the best FPS titles that PC games have to offer, Bungie’s best pales in comparison.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Time proclaims Halo 3 as 2007’s best game

As you can see, the 360 version is running as smooth as silk. In fact, Half-Life 2 runs better in the 360 version compared to the original PC version, thanks to the PC’s sound-stuttering bug. Verdict: the 360 version beats all. Now if we could just ditch the control pad scheme and use a keyboard/mouse combo.

Post from: EveryJoe

PS3 vs. Xbox 360: Comparing The Orange Box

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If the bad news about recent PC ports isn’t enough, then get ready for more. According to 1UP, the PS3 version of Half-Life 2: The Orange Box is having technical problems despite the supposed power that the console has under the hood.

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The most consistent issue seems to be Episode Two’s bad framerate, which bogs down during vehicular sections of the game. On the flipside, the PS3 version of Portal seems to be doing very well.

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Unfortunately, there were no details on Team Fortress 2. 1UP confessed to having server connection issues, so they were unable to spend time with the cartoony multiplayer shooter.

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Interestingly, Valve Software isn’t touching the PS3 version of The Orange Box with a 10-foot pole. Instead, the port was handed off to an internal team at Electronic Arts. It’s not really surprising, since Valve head honcho Gabe Newell thinks the PS3 is “a waste of everybody’s time.”

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Post from: EveryJoe

PS3 version of The Orange Box is “unplayable”

Even if we did know, don’t take our word for it because if there’s one thing sure about Valve—aside from the quality of their games—it’s their delays.

*Cough* six years *cough*

Warning: If you’re trying to steer clear of spoilers, then read no further. If you think you can handle it, read what’s in store for Episode 3 after the jump.

Taken from PC Gamer’s November issue:

“At the end of Episode Two, Gordon and Alyx watch a video recorded by Dr. Judith Mossman, a scientist who worked with Eli Vance and the resistance. Mossman reports of the discovery of a lost cargo ship, the Borealis, which supposedly carries a dangerous new technology developed by Black Mesa rivals Aperture Science. Episode Three will most likely take place aboard the Borealis, where you’ll be sent to retrieve the tech before the Combine get to it.

Sharp eyes will notice a group of Combine Advisors floating in the concept art. While you never directly fight these brain suckers in Episode Two, we’d put good money on being able to pump ‘em full of lead in the episodic trilogy’s final chapter.”

Brain suckers? Again?

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Post from: EveryJoe

Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is indeed coming

Why, you ask? Aren’t developers supposed to play other companies’ games if they want to make good games of their own? Of course. Just ask any marquee developer, and they’ll tell you that they play other makers’ games.

But when your office is stuck in crunch time because your team is feverishly working on a couple of games that’s scheduled for release in a couple of months, then the decision to ban one of the best shooters ever made is beginning to make a lot of sense.

Valve big kahuna Gabe Newell told CVG that they had to ban Bioshock because they need to work on The Orange Box and Half-Life: Episode Two. Sure, Orange Box may just be a compendium of the original Half-Life 2, Episodes One and Two, and a whole slew of other Valve titles, but one mustn’t forget that it’s coming out in three platforms: the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

The Valve team won’t be waiting long, however. Episode Two and Orange Box are coming out early this October (some say 9^th, others 19^th). To make up for this draconian measure, Gabe said everyone gets a copy of Bioshock.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Valve bans Bioshock in their offices