Valve's Portal has certainly emerged as a true gem with its huge fan base and critical acclaim. With its Xbox Live Arcade release looming large, Doug Lombardi was asked about what's new with the downloadable version of the game. His answers follow in the full article next up.

Yes, Valve Corporation's Portal (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PC) is indeed remarkable, but as tempting as the idea may be, the game developer studio won't cash in on the highly-lucrative series...for now. Valve's Doug Lombardi speaks up about the choice they made concerning Portal, and you can read about it in the full article.

While it was a short-lived affair, the Weighted Companion Cube still managed to capture the affection of gamers who just want to finish a series of puzzles. Through perfect execution, Valve's Portal (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, PC) skyrocketed to fame not long after its release. Why? Let the developers themselves reveal what makes the game so great. See the full article to know what we're talking about.

Electronic Arts boss John Riccitiello announced that the highly successful video game compilation The Orange Box will soon be split into its component parts and will each be sold as separate titles. Some of the more memorable games include Half-Life: Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, with each title garnering its own set of accolades during the past year.

More details in the full article!

Now this is a triumph. A video of Portal's (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC) theme song, Still Alive, being sung by the Japanese synthesizer application Vocaloid has surfaced. It's not by Valve, but appropriate translation and a voice very similar to GLaDOS' make it sound very authentic. Check it out at the full article.

Songs help express the emotions present in the ending of a game - especially if the ending is a creepy one. Meet the people who helped bring Portal's (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) GLaDOS to life as musician Jonathan Coulton talks about what it was like working together with Ellen McLain and Erik Wolpaw on Valve Corporation's puzzle game.

Meet the crew after the jump!

If you've hummed to the tune of Still Alive one too many times, or fantasized going into war with the invigorating sounds of Team Fortress 2 (Xbox 360, PC, PS3), then you might want to consider buying the original soundtrack of The Orange Box.

This disc full of unique audio goodness can be yours for the paltry sum of US$ 9.95. Check out the newly-released product in the full article.

The cake is not a lie. Well, at least it doesn't seem to be according to Valve Corporation's Portal  (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) holiday greeting video. Ok, we've been fooled before, but the video seemed sincere enough and had ample coverage of cake. It seems like a pretty nice gesture from the Aperture Science research corporation.

We're pretty sure that fans of the Half-Life series would want to see the video. Be sure to head on over to the full article where we posted it.

EA Games just announced that a demo of The Orange Box (Microsoft Xbox 360, PC) is going to available from Xbox Live starting November 22. Those who haven't grabbed the box can soon try out Half-life 2: Episode 2, which is just a part of the first-person shooter collection developer Valve Corporation has released.

More details await at the full article!

Almost a month after its release, Bungie Studio's Halo 3 has finally loosened its grip on the US sales charts, with Valve Corporation's Orange Box succeeding the widely successful game. For the week ending on October 13, The Orange Box (containing Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal) is the best seller on its first week of release.

For its opening week, The Orange Box's Xbox 360 version has sold 348,049 units and Halo 3, now on its third week, has sold 285,860 units. In third place is the popular The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS handheld platform. In fourth is Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for the PSP and in fifth is Wii Sports for the Wii.

It was only a matter of time for Halo 3 to lose the top spot, but it's unlikely the same could be said for its presence in Xbox Live, where it continues to dominate the charts after dethroning the previous champ, Gears of War.