The time between the episodes being released has been something of a hot topic, or it was before the world got bored and moved onto other things.
Obviously it’s the irony that releasing episodes quicker was to make the release faster that has us marvel at Valve’s situation.
And I think it’s a safe bet that Episode 3 will never be released.
Looking at it objectively, we see a game that was slow to release from the very beginning, and while it was award winning and fantastic I can’t help but wonder if Valve dragged their feet for a reason. Like a kid who just doesn’t wanna do the damn dishes(!), Valve only really wants to produce multiplayer games. They declared their intent to only produce multiplayer not long ago, whether this discluded Ep. 3 from production is something to wonder about.
Left 4 Dead and it’s very quickly released sequel were produced so fluently because though it has singleplayer, the ultimate attraction was the multiplayer. And let’s face it; had the effort that was put into Left 4 Dead 2 been put into Half Life 3 (and I mean without the episodes, the actual game as a whole) then the game would have been released LONG ago. And Left 4 Dead 2 was release ONE YEAR after it’s prequel.
Episode 3 could have been released Long ago, but it hasn’t. And there is a reason for said delay. Valve dragged their feet for too long and, just like that kid who doesn’t wanna wash up, they’re still sitting in the sink while he’s off doing something else.
Valve doesn’t feel obliged to complete their game series, they’ve moved on. And whenever they’re pressed, the questions are dodged with little effort. Just move on, next topic please.
If the gaming community were to group together and SOMEHOW get Valve to promise to finish (by finish… I mean START) Episode 3, then who would buy it? Sure there are PC gamers on steam, but it won’t be a midnight line up like mainstream games. It’ll be people buying the game as a sort of ‘what the hell, let’s see how that old series ends’.
So all together, consider the points that are holding up production of Ep. 3. Valve’s lack of enthusiasm; the time that has elapsed and the lack of a market that the game now offers.
Episode 3 won’t sell as well as it would have, especially when you consider that it’ll probably NEVER be seen on XBOX or Playstation.
Worth mentioning is that Episode 3’s plot won’t be resolved logically. Can you think of a logical way to explain the G-man’s plot that wouldn’t leave people disappointed or insulted. Telling the player that the g-man is apart of Gordon’s subconscious and not actually real, would be like ME3’s ending (and we all know how that went down).
Shall we forget about Episode 3? I think so. The sooner the better because, well… Ep. 3 just isn’t coming. Though Valve won’t admit it (because they like to keep you on the hook) Ep. 3’s production hasn’t even been started.
In closing. The momentum of the Half Life 3 series has died like a marathon runner with a broken shin. Half Life 2 Episode 3; the Never Ending Story.
