Today, people are grateful as the application of Valve is an ultra convenient online store which and is now the top method for staying online and connect with fellow PC gamers. Valve cofounder Gabe Newell says that the Valve application is their companies’ way of fighting piracy because they inhibit the same property of illegal copiers. The Steam application provides instant access which is one of the building blocks of piracy.

The system requirements of Steam are as follows:

1. Windows 2000, XP or Vista

2. 64 MB RAM

3. 400 Mhz processor

4. 1GB HD space (recommended)

5. Internet connection (broadband recommended)

Go ahead and download Steam.

Image source from Steam.

Post from: EveryJoe

Gamers Always Connected

If you are interested to beat this CS nutz’ record then you got to follow these rules:

1. Have to be played on the same map: QPAD AIM map.
2. 12 hours.
3. First to ten wins the match and meet the next challenger (King of the hill)
4. The player with the most rounds during 12 hours has to beat a total of 518 kills.
5. Players are only allowed to change ingame settings.
6. Counter Terrorist skin have to be used on both sides. (So both sides have same visibility)
7. No “duck” bind on mouse wheel
8. No scripts allowed
9. Freezetime 0 sec
10. After reaching 10 the result screen have to be pictured in combination with detailed written documentation.

Is either you break the record or yourself at the end.

Image: GP

Post from: EveryJoe

Counter Strike Guinness World Record

We think Valve Software is pretty cool, coming out with outstanding shooters like Half-Life, Team Fortress, and Portal, to name a few. The Washington-based developer also created Steam, which is arguably the best content delivery system out there. So when rumors of Google planning to purchase Valve turned up, we can’t help but pay attention.

Does this mean Google is entering the video games arena? Perhaps not. According to The Inquirer, Google seems to be interested in Valve because of Steam.

The Inquirer writes:

“Google Portal may be a nice idea, but that is irrelevant. Google Content Distribution (Beta) however should make just about every other competitor lose several years of sleep, most of their remaining hair, and large gobs of stock price.

Valve has the best content distribution platform out there, bar none. Steam may have had rough patches here and there, but they are almost all ironed out now, and just about everyone that matters has signed up to use it.

When Google picks them up, it will be a clean kill, no one else will matter. It is a good buy for them, a good thing for Valve, and in general, good for everyone except MS. Then again, they are irrelevant now, so who cares?”

Update: Valve told MTV Multiplayer that the Google rumor is a “complete fabrication.” Those were the exact words of Valve PR guy Doug Lombardi.

Image of Left 4 Dead is courtesy of Valve.

Post from: EveryJoe

Updated: Google to purchase Valve, Valve denies rumor

Gabe Newell, Valve Software’s big cheese, told VideoGamer that Left 4 Dead will have a demo for the Xbox 360 and PC. According to Newell, the demo would “probably” include the Hospital level and would include online cooperative play, in addition to the single player component.

Left 4 Dead is an upcoming multiplayer FPS-cum-survival horror game developed by Valve, and it’s coming out for the Xbox 360 and PC. Unfortunately, Valve’s co-founder could not provide a release date for the demo. If you’re wondering what the Hospital level that Newell is referring to, then watch its video after the jump.

Strangely, the level looks nothing like a hospital. Left 4 Dead is shipping on November 17 for the Xbox 360, and November 20 for the PC.

Image of Left 4 Dead is courtesy of EA.

Post from: EveryJoe

Left 4 Dead demo is coming to Xbox 360, PC

I have a confession to make. The video you see above is my first peek of Left 4 Dead, Valve Software’s upcoming survival horror FPS. To keep the engine from looking dated, Valve added several post-processing effects like color correction, film grain, and vignetting. And as you can see, the Source engine is looking alive and well despite being four years old.

Watch more Left 4 Dead videos after the jump.

As you can see, the zombies of Left 4 Dead is nothing like your slow, shambling Resident Evil types. Indeed, this game is shaping up to be a killer. Left 4 Dead is expected to be launched on November 18th for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Post from: EveryJoe

Left 4 Dead looks like a killer

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

CS Online is the Asian version of Condition Zero. The game is being developed by Nexon, a Korea-based company. This version would come with new weapons, maps, and player models that are tailored for the Asian audience.

New terrorist models are: Red Beret Condittiere, Asia Red Army, National Liberation Campaign, and Vigilante Corps. Likewise, there are new Counter-Terrorists, such as: South Korean 707, Taiwanese Police Special Forces, Chinese Devil Squad, and Japanese SAT.

Unlike the previous Valve games, CS Online doesn’t require you to have Steam.

According to MMOtaku, over 170,000 gamers participated in CS Online’s closed beta test. The game will be released in Korea (obviously), China, Japan, and Taiwan.

Aside from the obvious cosmetic modifications for the Asian audience, I don’t think there would be any major gameplay differences. So my question is: how would this game make Asian gamers stop playing their favorite treadmill MMOs? I don’t think the new models would be incentive enough.

Post from: EveryJoe

Counter-Strike Online recently holds beta test

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?

Read

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