HL2: Episode 2 in winter
Orange and black box details.
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 today moved one step closer to completion as EA announced a winter (2007/2008) release date for the retail version of the game (last we heard it was summer).
It will launch in two different boxes - one orange and one black. The black box is just for PC gamers, and will include Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal.
The orange box has all of that plus Episode 1 and the original Half-Life 2 game. This is also available on PC, as well as Xbox 360 and PS3.
Episode 2 will expand on the story of Gordon Freeman as he battles his way through City 17 and past its bizarre inhabitants. You might want to stay away from the game's trailers if you're scared about spoilers.
Team Fortress 2 is a team-based multiplayer game with a swanky cartoon-style. You can pick from various roles from engineer to spy, from soldier to sniper. Something like this over Xbox Live has us very excited indeed - head over to Eurogamer TV to whet your appetite.
Finally, Portal is a single-player experience fit to tie your brain in knots. You'll use a portal gun to manipulate your environment and objects, and it looks set to have a similar impact to the gravity gun in Half-Life 2.
If you haven't already, and you probably have, head over to our review for Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1.