Did you survive your time over at Aperture Science Labs? Well, if you’re reading then of course you have. You’re still alive. (rimshot)  If the Portal ARG or the extended ending to Portal wasn’t enough of a sign that a sequel is on the horizon, Steam has posted official news that it is coming.  (OH JOY!)

Game Informer’s upcoming magazine cover has 2 official screenshots and will have more once the issue hits the newsstands. By the look of it, maybe GlaDOS is also, still alive.

On GameStop’s product description of the game, the wrote:

The game’s two-player cooperative mode features its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters. This new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals. Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively.

Oh man.  Working cooperatively with fast paced puzzles? Lets just hope that this doesn’t start any more frustrations between Jessica and I.  The New Super Mario Bros. Wii already has done enough.

[via Steam]

If you haven’t already played Batman: Arkham Asylum, the deal Games for Windows Live is offering is worth your attention. Some other games to check out this weekend include Mount and Blade, Tropico Reloaded, and The Best of Indie Bundle Vol.3.

Steam:

• King Arthure Pack – $28.80 (33% Off)
• SpellForce Platinum – $3.74 (75% Off)
• SpellForce 2: Gold Edition – $7.50 (75% Off)
• SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm Exp. – $4.99 (75% Off)
• SpellForce 2: Shadows Wars Exp. – $4.99 (75% Off)

Direct2Drive:

• The Best of Indie Bundle Vol. 3 – $29.95 (75% Off)

GamersGate:

• 8 Wheels of Steel: American Long Haul – $8.49 (50% Off)
• Aztaka – $12.49 (50% Off)

Impulse:

• Battlefield 2 Complete – $22.49 (25% Off)
• Evochron Legends – $18.70 (20% Off)
• Eufloria – $13.99 (30% Off)
• Mount & Blade – $5 (80% Off)
• Project Aftermath – $4.99 (50% Off)
• Space Rangers – $6.99 (65% Off)
• THQ Ultimate Bundle – $99.99 (Usually $344.83)
• Tropico Reloaded – $4.99 (50% Off)

Games for Windows Live:

• Batman: Arkham Asylum – $12.50 (75% Off)
  *Requires Games for Windows Live client – Deal ends Monday, March 1*

[via Shacknews]

Big font sizes? Check. Using WebKit instead of Internet Explorer? Check. Awesome and easy to understand UI? Check-ity-check. Yup. So, not only does Steam have some of the best deals for computer games, but now also a great UI to back it up.  Besides all that, what is the one best part of the new UI facelift?

Pressing SHIFT+TAB for a clock.

Now you can keep track of time and maybe stop gaming until 3am. On a work/school night.

[image via Reddit]
[via Steam]

I love video games and I love Steam.  If you’ve been planning to make any purchases during the Steam Holiday Sale time is running out.  Take a moment and play a video game on Steam.  You can join our group and play some games with Nelson.  Enjoy the last day of the specials.

• Torchlight – $19.99 $4.99
• Left 4 Dead 2 – $49.99 $33.49
• BioShock – $19.99 $4.99
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl – $19.99 $2.00
• Defense Grid: The Awakening – $9.99 $2.49
• Killing Floor – $19.99 $4.99
• Grand Theft Auto IV – $29.99 $7.49

From today until January 3rd, Steam will have a lot of games on sale.  Some of the sales are up to 75% off! What’s so devilish about awesome holiday deals on Steam? Maybe the fact they have 666 games for sale. Don’t believe me? Check out the spreadsheet a redditor made to help you look up whats on sale.

[via Steampowered]

Straight from the Steam Storefront page:

R.U.S.E™ is a one-of-a-kind real-time strategy game that allows players to bluff their enemies to lead their nation to victory, controlling the action using views that range seamlessly from the heart of the battlefield to the full theatre of war. Players will be plunged into the action thanks to the exclusive IRISZOOM® engine which offers an intuitive interface that allows for smooth, rapid transitions from a birds-eye view of the entire conflict, down into the heat of the battle and vice versa.

In R.U.S.E, your brain is your ultimate weapon as you fight a war of perception, where your ability to deceive and mislead your enemy determines success. A first in a strategy game, R.U.S.E reinvigorates the genre by using deception to give new-found depth to the gameplay.

This game is supposed to come out in early 2010, but you can get in on it now by participating in the beta. All you need is a computer that can run it, Steam, and a Fileplanet account (all except the computer are free).

All you have to do is click here, login and enter the Captcha for your code, then go to Ubisoft’s site, redeem it, and wait for your Steam key. It’ll allow you to play until December 23. I’ve got the game and I’m desperately looking for people to have unranked matches against for practice, so go ahead and add Defender0fHyrule to your friends if you’ve got the game, so we can play together. Below is an awesome trailer for the game. It’s free for the beta, so you can only lose time by trying it. DO IT! :P

Not sure if you have noticed the Steam Keys we give away but we felt the need to create a Steam Group for our awesome site.  If you are on Steam please take the time to join our group and remember we can even chat it up.

[Join our Steam Group]

Steam has a “Treat” of a sale.  After I post this, you will have only 1 hour and 30 minutes to get your hands on one of the most hilarious fps games out there.  Team fortress 2 is on sale right now for a measly $2.49.  The sale will close at 1pm PDT. If you don’t have this game yet, GO GET IT NOW!

http://store.steampowered.com/app/440/??

Looks like the first “pitch” has been thrown for Left 4 Dead 2. Check out the 1st TV ad for the popular game. Also, if you haven’t pre-ordered the game yet on Steam or at your local gamestore, do it now so you can “go up to bat.”

Will this game be a homerun?

(ok, ok. I’m done with the puns.)

Modern Warfare 2 (already up for pre-order) is going to be using Steamworks and Steam Cloud to provide anti-cheat technology, auto-updating, achievements and the ability, using Steam Cloud, to use your multiplayer profile wherever you go without fear of losing it. In the announcement Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling said:

Steamworks will make it possible for us to have a closer connection to our fans, and enable us to support our community much more than ever before,. Steam is the hands down leader in offering a community focused experience on PC and the inclusion of Steamworks has allowed us to deliver the most feature-rich PC version to ever come from Infinity Ward, which at the end of the day will mean the most to our fans.”

Gabe Newell had this to say:

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may be one of the biggest releases in video game history. Having a game as significant as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 using the suite of back-end services in Steamworks is a signal to us that we’re making the right kinds of choices for triple-A developers like Infinity Ward.”

It will be interesting to see how the game will utilise Steamworks along with Infinity Ward’s custom matchmaking tools and how the lack of dedicated servers will impact on how the game performs. You can pre-order now ahead of its launch in the week commencing 8th November.