Video games have already covered hypothetical Nazis dabblings in the occult but how would World War 2 have played out were Hitler fascinated with something far, far older? Download the 438MB Half-Life 2 mod Dino D-Day from FileShack to find out.

Dino D-Day is described as a "prototype" for a planned commercial release on Steam in 2010 so it's not quite fleshed out yet but there are indeed Nazi dinosaurs to hunt.

You will need a game from Valve's Orange Box installed, then developer Digital Ranch Interactive suggests you "Hold it gently, as you woulds't a lover, lying in a field, nestled in the shade of a mighty oak tree. Perhap' you're gently petting, having just enjoyed a hamper of chilled white wine and a selection of continental cheeses. Bon apetit."

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The idea of replacing a game's sound effects with human vocal reproduction isn't entirely new, and has often been done to varying degrees of success. Enter the "All Sounds Replaced with My Voice" mod for Half-Life 2.

Noticed by the chaps over at RockPaperShotgun, the mod--created by modder Trase--replaces 1327 sound effects in Half-Life 2 with the author's vocal interpretation of the original booms and splats. It's funny, and also a little fascinating.

Download the mod on FileShack, or go through for a look at it in action:... Read more

After announcing an agreement nearly one year ago today, Valve has updated its Orange Box games--Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2, and Portal--to support Novint's Falcon three-dimensional controller.

Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike: Source and Day of Defeat will also soon receive similar updates.

The $150 Novint Falcon (shown left with optional pistol grip) was released in 2006. The three-dimensional "haptic" device is operated by a small spherical grip connected to three robotic arms.

The device's motors react to in-game events, with the end result... Read more

A technically impressive recreation of Half-Life 2's City 17 marks the first entry to "Escape from City 17," a new series of webisodes that combines live-action footage with Half-Life 2 assets and other digital effects.

The series is directed by brothers David and Ian Purchase. Their website's down, but check out their YouTube page for more info.

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Beloved developer Valve has released lifetime retail sales figures for some of its more popular games, including the Half-Life and Counter-Strike series, revealing that the studio has sold over 32.8 million games since the 1998 release of the first Half-Life.

Sales from Valve's digital distribution client are not factored in, with the figures only accounting for worldwide retail sales. With Half-Life 2, Valve began simultaneously releasing all of its PC games at retail and via Steam. The numbers were originally printed in the November issue of Game Informer, then republished by Gamasutra.

Furthermore, it was not specified if the figures of multiplatform games--Half-Life, Half-Life 2, The Orange Box--included both PC and console sales, or just PC.

• Half-Life (Valve) / 1998 - 9.3 Million
• Half-Life: Opposing Force (PC, Gearbox) / 1999 - 1.1 Million
• Half-Life: Blue Shift (PC, Gearbox) / 2001 - 800,000
  
  
• Counter-Strike (PC, Valve) / 2000 - 4.2 Million
• Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (PC, Valve) / 2004 - 2.9 Million... Read more

Back in 2004, a small team began crafting a mod that would recreate Valve's first Half-Life with the latest in graphical bells and whistles. Come 2008, it's still in development, and the Black Mesa team has produced a trailer of its work.

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Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Powered by the Source Engine, and thus requiring a Source-powered game such as Half-Life 2 in order to run, the oft-anticipated mod is expected to arrive on PC in 2009.

GLaDOS Speaks is an IGN interview with Ellen McLain, who is asked about her voicework as the Overwatch in Half-Life 2, the announcer in Team Fortress 2 and GLaDOS in Portal.

There's a Q&A with Valve's Erik Wolpaw on Rock, Paper, Shotgun, asking the writer about his work at Double Fine and now Valve.

IGN has the latest Portal preview, offering impressions of the game launching next week as part of the Orange Box.

bit-tech.net has been updated with a Portal preview, going hands-on with the first person puzzler which will be included with The Orange Box.

If Action Trip's Gabe Newell interview wasn't good enough, there's also one with Valve's head honcho on Eurogamer. The interview covers Episode Two, Three, Team Fortress 2, DirectX 10, Steam use, and the current console systems.

Action Trip has been updated with a Gabe Newell Q&A which was conducted during this year's Games Convention. Topics include Steam, episodic content, the game industry and the Source Engine.

Opening The Valve: The Gabe Newell Interview is a Game Informer article asking the Valve co-founder about Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Steam and more.

Computer & Video Games has been updated with a preview of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The article offers hands-on impressions.

There's a Valve game blowout at Team Xbox, as they have previewed Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal. Also available is this Portal interview.

As noted on the Steam website, a Steam client update is now available. It offers a few miscellaneous fixes, including the ATI hardware promotion not being accepted on 64-bit versions of Windows.

New at GameSpot this evening is a Half-Life 2: The Orange Box preview. The article offers impressions of Episode Two as well as Team Fortress 2, and there are new screenshots from both.

Valve has announced that effective immediately, ATI Radeon owners can download a free copy of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch through Steam. The software will automatically confirm the presence of ATI Radeon hardware and offer access to the two games.

In related news, Steam will be included with the ATI Catalyst driver and software suit until early 2008 and ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT owners will, upon release, receive Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two through Valve's content delivery application.

IGN has been updated with a Portal preview, offering their thoughts on Valve's first person puzzle game.

IGN is the latest site with a Half-Life 2: Episode Two preview, also taking a preview build of the game for a spin. If you missed our take on the game, check out Chris Remo's impressions here.