Xbox

Description: In terms of anticipation, this graphically stunning first-person shooter is the PC equivalent of Halo 2. The game was originally supposed to launch on computers last September with an Xbox port following shortly thereafter, but numerous obstacles, including a highly publicized theft of the game’s development code (the FBI even investigated the matter), have delayed the PC release time and time again. Gabe Newell, managing director of developer Valve Software, says the

studio hopes to finish the PC version of Half-Life 2 this August.

Last Seen: Well, never really. We haven’t seen so much as a single screenshot of the Xbox port, though the PC version is reportedly in the final stages of development.

Update: The Xbox version remains in the works. “We have [Half-Life 2] running on Xbox right now,” says Newell, noting that the console version “fits into the middle of our scalability goals for the PC product.” (Translation: the Xbox port should be on par with the PC version running on today’s average-powered computers.) Still, don’t expect the first-person shooter anytime soon; Valve is notorious for delaying its games, and publisher VU Games refused to comment on the console release date.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly.