Valve's keenly anticipated first-person shooter Half-Life 2 seems to be experiencing something of a curse.
Originally scheduled for release on September 30 last year, the game received its first setback when unfinished code was leaked and appeared on the internet. The game did manage an unofficial release at the start of this year when pirated copies of the unfinished, but playable, code turned up in the Russian city of Novosibirsk, having been apparently tidied up by enthusiastic hackers.
Later in January news arrived that the FBI had been enlisted to hunt for the missing code. The bureau raided the home of a San Francisco computer programmer, Chris Toshok, and seized software and hardware. Toshok gave his own account of the dawn raid via his weblog and posted scans of the FBI search warrant.
Half-Life 2 is now scheduled for a summer release, assuming the code doesn't get abducted by aliens in the meantime.
Equally irritating for gamers is the slippage of the action-shooter Halo 2, which many fans were expecting to see in April. They will now have to wait until the autumn for this much-hyped sequel.
In the meantime gamers have the promise of a new handheld console to look forward to. Nintendo has ambitiously scheduled the launch of its newly-announced Dual Screen for the end of 2004.
The DS will feature two 3-inch TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD monitors, which is reminiscent of the old Nintendo Game & Watch systems. They will be powered by separate processors, allowing players to enjoy different visual perspectives without interrupting play.
For example, Nintendo says it will be possible to move from a wide shot to a close-up, or alternate between a character's ongoing battle and a map of the environment.
"Nintendo DS makes it possible to perform the tasks in real time by simply glancing from one screen to the other," the firm's press statement boasts.
Until more details are revealed, the DS feels rather like a gimmicky concept and a knee-jerk reaction to Sony's upcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP). But if Nintendo's previous success with the Gameboy Advance is anything to go by, its potential should not be underestimated.
Meanwhile at Microsoft, there are rumours that the Xbox 2 currently in development may be released without a built-in hard drive. If true, this would mean extra expense for users obliged to shell out for a separate hard drive. At Sony developers are lining up to produce games for the PSP.
One of the most surprising of the console stories dominating the news has been about an unlikely candidate, Infinium Labs' Phantom. The console, once dismissed as at best vapourware and at worst a hoax, is envisaged as working more like DirecTV, delivering selected game content direct to users via broadband.
Much of the renewed interest surrounding the Phantom centres on the appointment of Kevin Bachus as president of Infinium Labs. Bachus, a key figure behind the original Microsoft Xbox, certainly adds credibility to the project, but the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May will prove once and for all whether this ghost has substance.
CHARTS - FULL PRICE SOFTWARE
Official UK Leisure Software Charts (c) ELSPA compiled by Chart-Track
1) Need for Speed Underground (PS2, Xbox, GC) Electronic Arts - £39.99
2) Norton Internet Security 2004 (PC) Symantec - £29.99
3) FIFA 2004 (PS2, Xbox, PC, PL) Electronic Arts - £34.99
4) The Simpsons: Hit & Run (PS2, Xbox, GC) VU Games - £37.99
5) LOTR: Return of the King (PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA) Electronic Arts - £34.99
6) Eyetoy: Play (PS2) Sony - £24.99
7) Mafia (PS2) Take 2 - £39.99
8) The Sims: Bustin' Out (Ps2, Xbox, GC, GBA) Electronic Arts - £37.99
9) Grand Theft Auto III: Double Pack (XB, PS2) Take 2 - £39.99
10) Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (PS2, Xbox, GC) Electronic Arts - £37.99
