CVG has compiled a list of what they feel are the best guns in gaming... "ev4r." The list covers our favourite boom sticks from the Cerebral Bore of Turok 2 all the way to Unreal Tournament's portable nuke - the Redeemer.

As happy as we are that their list has old and genre-defining favourites like Quake's BFG 10000 and innovative and quickly outlawed "traps" like Perfect Dark's Laptop Gun, we're a bit disappointed that they failed to include a gun that we feel caused a certain game to garner 35 Game of the Year awards. We're wondering why Valve Corporation's Gravity-Gun from Half-Life 2 isn't there.

Yeah, the little devil doesn't really make things go boom, or make things 'asplodey in multiplayer, but you have to admit: As fun as a redeemer m-m-m-mega-kill is, it doesn't compare to a kill via a thrown cabinet.

The moment Alyx Vance gives you that "catch" tutorial with her lovable robot, Dog, and then you get thrown into Ravenholm, you know that you're in for gameplay that you've never experienced before. Army of headcrab-controlled zombies? Block their advance with storage boxes, and then chuck propane tanks and random steel objects at them.

Below is a demo vid by YouTube user Vakadamisk:

We say change that list. Recognize the Gravity-Gun!

Here's a quick update for Team Fortress 2 (X360, PS3, PC): The guys over at Valve posted a rather short message over at the game's official site. Nothing new really, just a post-it note reminding everyone that TF2 is doing okay and is still on schedule. Maybe Valve remembers how everyone reacted after it announced that the game is pushed back to Summer 2007.

Anyway, here's the message Valve left for every awaiting fans:

Team Fortress 2 is really moving along in development. In fact, things have reached a point where people start getting pretty antsy around the office as we get closer and closer to the 6:00 p.m. play test session. We will be sharing more information about TF2 over the next couple of months, and we'll make sure to point that out to people here.

TF2 will be released as part of Half Life 2's Episode 2 (X360, PS3) package together with another game: Portal. And by the way, the image above is currently being used by the devs as the start-up screen for the game.

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

Left 4 Dead feels a lot like the spiritual descendant of the Resident Evil: Outbreak series of games. For the most part, it's a cooperative survival horror game, hopefully without the weird feeling of running around with a broken broom like the above-mentioned Capcom game. Unlike Resident Evil, though, the design of this game is definitely Valve's specialty: Counter-Strike style.

At least, that's what Michael Booth of Turtle Rock Studios, the developer of the game, says of it. As he mentions in a GameSpot interview,

Like CS, the design goal is to create interesting areas that will allow for extended replay value. Unlike CS, the maps in each campaign are connected and lead to an eventual finale that the survivors are challenged to reach and complete. And along the way, player stats are collected and displayed at given intervals.

So you can either play as a human or a zombie, work as a team, and basically have fun in a Counter-Strike environment on the PC AND the Xbox 360? Someone bite us, because we must be dreaming. For now, here's a video embed of the game's promotional trailer. Expect more details to come out in the coming months, and pray that Valve advertises this like heck. It's going to be fun!

Given we're going to be waiting a little longer to get our hands on Half-Life 2: Episode Two, it should give this news bit time to sink in. We have just picked up word (by way of EGM) that Valve announced a name change to Half-Life 2. Henceforth, Half-Life 2: Episode Two shall be dubbed as Half-Life 2:Orange.

We don't have any details on why Valve decided to go Kojima (then again Episode Two was so George Lucas) in the naming, save that orange is a heavily used color on the Half-Life logo, Freeman's hazard suit, and Cheetos stains on many a gamer's fingers.

Whatever the case, we will just have to wait for confirmation on this turn of events, and see if Valve really decided to for a more citrus moniker for this long-awaited sequel.

We've got a hot heads-up for the guys with an inkling (and a pass) to go to next year's Game Developers Conference. We've just gotten an event update that Llamasoft's Jeff 'Yak' Minter will be delivering the keynote address at the Independent Games Summit. Xbox 360 dudes will remember Xbox 360's Neon light synthesizer

Aside from Jeff, it's also been reported that guys from several other bigwig studios will be making their statements at the Summit. Curious about the current list? Read 'em and weep: Valve, Telltale Games, Introversion, NinjaBee and Gamelab are in the current roster, with other studios expected to make their presence known in this two-day event.

"For the past eight years, the Independent Games Festival has been, like the indie film movement, a source of true daring and a jumping board for reinvigorating large-scale commercial development." said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the GDC.

The Independent Games Summit is just one of several other segments within the GDC, which is expected to kick off March 5 to 6 next year, at  San Francisco's Moscone Convention Centre.

We've recently added Half-Life 2 to the list of titles being pushed back again and again. At first, the game is expected to come out by the end of 2006. Then we heard Valve needed some more time to polish the game so we'll be getting it Q1 of 2007. Then two weeks ago, the developer came up yet again with an announcement, confirming a "summer of 2007" release.

While this kind of news automatically brings the day down the drain, it is amazing to see how true-blue fans patiently wait and find ways to kill time. Take for example the case of Xbox 360 owner PiNPOiNT. Instead of whining and moping all day long, the guy apparently had used the free time to mod his X360 console.

  

Unfortunately for the rest of us, this Half-Life 2 mod is not for sale. It was just made to help brighten up PiNPOiNT's day until the summer release. There's no denying this is outstanding work and a creative way indeed to wait. Oh well, why don't we make case mods of our own? Or better yet, why not run a case modding competition? Hmm...

Allow this writer to turn fan-boy for a moment. Why must we wait more! Screw Freeman. We want Alyx Vance and her "dog!" Here's the sad news folks: Valve's new instalment of Freeman's Alyx Vance's game is now due summer 2007. Fan-boy mode off.

CVG reports that Valve's Doug Lombardi has announced that Half-Life 2: Episode Two's release has been reset from Q1 2007 to summer 2007. Lombardi says that Valve is "now targeting summer 2007" for a release. This obviously affects Team Fortress 2 and Portal, which all form the Episode Two package.

Instead of something to welcome the new year, we now have something for the summer. Oh well. They just better use the time to polish those games up.

HL2 Episode 2 was originally expected to hit at the end of 2006, with Valve confirming back in August it had changed its mind and was instead gunning for Q1 2007, maybe February. No official reason has been given yet as to the reason for the release slip, but we're all hoping it's a good one.

Running With Scissors (RWS) have today announced that they will be bringing a new game to the Xbox 360 and PC called Postal 3. Postal 3 is a sequel to the long-running Postal series which was originally released almost a decade ago.

Postal is an odd title that doesn't really fit into a category easily. Postal is a first person shooter with attitude and a bit of dark comedy mixed in, and Postal 3 is certainly going to give you a different feel to what you expect from your average FPS title.

"We started this series back in 1997," recalled RWS CEO Vince Desi, "and while the franchise has grown into an international computer game sensation during that time, it has always been our goal to bring it to the videogame console marketplace. For many years I've been asked by gamers around the world when Postal will appear on console. I'm so proud to be able to answer our fans' prayers."

Postal 3 will include an array of performances by well-known celebrities digitally captured for use in the game, mimicking their exact movements for a realistic experience. The Running with Scissors team have teamed up with Akella to produce a high quality title for the 360 and all those Half Life 2 fans out there will be pleased to hear that Postal 3 will be using Valve's amazing Source engine to rocket Postal 3 into the gaming charts. As you can see from the above screenshot of Postal 2, the similarities between Postal and Half Life are quite visible. The only downside to this game is that it is scheduled for a 2008 release, so you have just under two years to wait until you can get your hands on it!