If you're a Half-Life (or Left 4 Dead) fan, and you haven't yet seen the recently released fan-made short film, Beyond Black Mesa, do yourself a favor.

We reached out to get some more information about how the project came together from Brian Curtin, who directed, produced, wrote, edited, acted, and art-directed the film, among other things. Making a high-quality fan-film on a shoestring budget (while working full-time) isn't an easy task, but Curtin and his cabal of film and Half-Life enthusiasts persevered to pull off one of the better bits of cinematic fan-fiction based on video games that we've seen to date. Read more »

I have it on good authority that a certain well-known developer is going to announce something related to a popular franchise at E3. I don't, you must understand, but when one inevitably does I'll look like an ace industry insider. Even if nothing is announced and E3 is all original properties, I have already whipped excitable readers into a frenzy, speculating wildly and imagining its the sequel they've already dreamed off--yes, James Pond is being rebooted in the God of War mould--and they'll be telling all their friends how brilliant I am. After E3, I can pretend it never happened or play for keeps and say that the announcement is being saved for a later date, extending my amazingness.

By now you have deduced that I dislike the tedious torrent of rumours flooding the Shacknews Newsdesk. Yes, some are no doubt from actual leaked insider info but the deluge of pointlessness renders those essentially worthless until they're announced. Read more »