Valve and Razer Jokingly Announce HellRazer

Getting into the spirit of April Fools' Day, peripheral maker Razer today announced a partnership with Half-Life creator Valve to develop a new PC game, HellRazer: Triple Helix, to take advantage of Razer's motion-sensing "Anaconda" controller.

Here's what Razer had to say about the "game" due in fall 2010, wink wink:

HellRazer is a squad-based tactical first person shooter set on a modern day biogenetic research lab, Onyx Rift. Gamers are thrust into the middle of a level 4 biohazard zone when the lab's centralized supercomputer goes haywire and damaged a viral research containment wing. The explosion released the deadly triple helix S.N.A.K.E. virus upon the lab's unsuspecting work force, turning them into aggressive beings which need to kill other beings in order to survive.

Players need to reach and repair the supercomputer before the military enforce a full containment to quarantine the outbreak. Work alongside colleagues against the infected to regain control of the lab before a tactical nuke destroys the entire facility.

The whole thing seems feasible, if not painfully generic, up until the part where "the two main playable characters, Gabriel Newman and Robert Krakowski, will be based on and voiced by [Valve co-founder] Gabe Newell and [Razer president] Robert Krakoff."

Then there's the part about the bonus "limited edition 12" talking plush toy" of both Newell and Krakoff. Of course, it's not until you visit the website that something appears amiss--Razer issued an actual press release with nary a hint of tomfoolery.

Good show, chaps. As the "Anaconda" controller is said to be "specifically designed for HellRazer," I'm going to go out on a limb and guess Razer's taking the piss there too.