Sometime last month, we posted an article about Valve and its upcoming Half-Life 2 box sets, which were scheduled for a summer release. However, just today, the latest update from the folks at Valve and Electronic Arts states that these box sets may instead be released by winter of this year. Sigh.

The good news is that Valve has also released some packshots of The Black Box and The Orange Box, and as we can see from the images, they're... well... black and orange. In any case, The Black Box is exclusively for PC owners and contains the games Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. The Orange Box, on the other hand, will be released in versions for the PC, the PS3 and the Xbox 360, and containsHalf-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, Team Fortress 2, the original Half-Life 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode One.

Meanwhile, Valve's co-founder, Gabe Newell, is proud of their new product and their partnership with EA, and goes on to beam that,

The Black Box and The Orange Box represent a new approach to publishing multiple products, on multiple platforms and we know through our experience that no organization in the industry is better equipped to successfully launch new product types on multiple platforms than EA Partners.

See full article for the rest of the packshots.

Well, you can't say Valve hasn't tried to get you into hanging out with the Combine. The creators of the Half-Life franchise are shipping two different bundles of Half-Life 2: Episode Two when it comes out later this year, giving you a lot of content for some pretty sweet prices.

Fans will be able to purchase an Episode Two-specific version that gets them straight into the continuing saga of Gordon Freeman, while newcomers to the second Half-Life game can purchase a set that has all the bells and whistles.

For long-time PC gamers who've spent a lot of time with Alyx Vance and company in Episode One, Valve's offering the PC-only Black Box edition of the game. This version will contain Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2, and will command a US$ 39.99 price tag.

Console and PC gamers who have yet to get in on the action will be glad to hear about the Orange Box edition of the game. The Orange Box will not only have the Black Box content, but will also include Half-Life 2 and Episode One for that added gameplay punch. There will be PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 versions of the game, which will all fetch a price of US$ 59.99.

Expect these game bundles to be out this summer. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with any more delays this time around