It's not set in stone yet, but there's a strong possibility that Half-Life 2's Episode Three may just take place in the Arctic, the hint gleaned from a rather telling session with Valve Corporation's Doug Lombardi, as CVG reports.

It was during the preview of Episode Two that Tom Francis put forward the suggestion that the next installment would have you and Alyx traipsing in the Arctic, and instead of quickly shooting it down, Valve PR Doug Lombardi merely replied, "That would be exciting, wouldn't it?"

In a moment that would do a certain Ace Attorney proud, Tom put forward some evidence to solidify his claim: Valve's Half-Life 2 coffee-table book, Raising The Bar, which has within its pages a climactic battle in an arctic base, described in great detail. It's something to note that the same battle detailed in Raising The Bar was supposed to be the climax of Half Life 2 itself, but was cut out at the last minute.

It would make sense for Valve to flesh the entire thing on the final episode. When confronted with the fact that they gave away quite a lot with the book, Doug agreed (without confirming anything, of course), saying that for a US$ 25 book, they had to give away something.

What do you think? Will the trilogy get the ending it deserves? Updates as we get them!