Throughout the month that has gone, Half-Life 2 and its creator, Valve have been surrounded by intrigue, controversy and turmoil. During that month the game's distribution system, Steam, experienced severe problems, H-L 2 was delayed beyond its September 30 release date to an uncertain "holiday" date, the source code, or part of it and a beta version of the game were stolen and a new release date has failed to surface.

This sequence of events has led to an unprecedented flood of speculation, rumours and half-truths. With most of those stories coming from official lips, Vivendi, seem troubled by Valve's stance of silence and possibly concerned over the developers plans for Steam.

With the latest rumours, coming from Valve leaks, claiming the company aims to attempt to achieve a December 2003 date with April 2004, being the fallback option, we thought it was about time we shifted focus from the noise to the game.

Throughout this mess most have forgotten what Half-Life 2 really is. As most of you can understand from its title, Half-Life 2 is the sequel to the most successful game in history. In many ways the way we enjoy gaming today has been shaped by the revolutions introduced by H-L. Every aspect of gaming, from the way they look to gameplay and multiplayer aspects, has been, to some degree, influenced by Half-Life. It was only natural then that everyone who just completed the original game would begin considering what its sequel would be like. Valve waited a long time before announcing that sequel and in many ways that was their last successful PR move. They managed to raise expectations and everyone who had enjoyed the original game was now hanging from Valve lips.

The loss of that anticipation and the constant speculation are the real damage caused by the H-L 2 fiasco. Damage which has allowed gamers to forget that at the core of this story lies a game, one which could, once again, help point to the future of the industry. Whether upset by the delay or frustrated by the accusations made by the source code thief and the lack of an official reply, no one can deny that Half-Life 2 is going to be one hell of a game.