If you remember the 80s, there’s a good chance you spent some quality time with Konami’s Castlevania for the NES. You probably also had a cool Sony Walkman and ate lots of spooky Ghostbusters cereal while watching He-Man cartoons on the TV in your brightly colored Jams, but that’s not the point of this article.

Thanks to modder and YouTube user, M0rtanius, you can play the classic 2D side scroller in glorious Half-Life 2 3D. Get a glimpse of the level in the video below and download the mod here if you’re interested.

Yes, this is as brilliant as is sounds. This mod, made by user “-Trase-”, does exactly as it says on the tin- replaces all the sounds (well, nearly all) with sound clips he’s recorded himself. I particularly like the machine-gun fire noises he’s made.

This is why I love modding communities so much. It’s not often you play a game where the guns literally go “pow” and the bombs literally go “ka-pow”. The mod also works in Garry’s Mod, so you can play around with the sounds all you like. You could listen to those incredibly satisfying submachine-gun or shotgun noises forever and ever.

Via RPS

To those of you who haven’t picked up The Orange Box in some form or another, shame on you. Now’s your best chance, as The Orange Box is on sale this weekend for 66% off. That’s a measly $10 for Half-Life 2, Episodes One and Two, the glorious Portal, and the love of Sam Naylor’s life, Team Fortress 2. That’s $2 a game! Hop on Steam and buy it now! If you remain unconvinced after all of my yelling, check out our review of the, in my opinion, inferior Xbox 360 port of The Orange Box.

Mod DB have announced their mods of the year today, with both editor-chosen and player-voted categories. This year’s player’s choice award has gone to Project Reality, a mod that changes Battlefield 2 into a more realistic and complete experience. Hit the just for the full list of winners.

Editor’s choice categories:

* Most Innovative Multiplayer: Celestial Impact
* Best Original Art Direction: Delta Sector
* Best Upcoming Mod: Curse
* Best Upcoming Indie Game :Zeno Clash
* Best Indie Game: Mount & Blade
* Best Singleplayer Mod: The Ball
* Best Multiplayer Mod: Project Reality

Player’s choice categories:

* Best Upcoming Mod: Dead before Dawn
* Indie Game of the Year: Mount & Blade
* Mod of the Year: Project Reality

Researchers at the University of Rochester have surveyed 2,670 frequent game players, as well and over 300 undergraduates, and found that violent content has no real effect on the appeal of a game. Using Half-Life 2 and a dev kit, the researchers made two scenarios for the participants: a “violent” one where the player had to kill things with a shotgun, and a “non-violent” on where psychic powers were used to do the same thing, although it was “more like a game of tag” than a deathmatch.

Guess what? The groups had no real difference; there’s very little to suggest that increasing violence increases enjoyment. The lead researched adds that this should be noted by game developers: making a game more violent won’t necessarily make it more fun.

Of course, violence is still fun- if, for example, Left 4 Dead’s zombies simply disappeared as opposed to tearing apart in a bloody mess, I’m sure there would be plenty of complaints. Likewise, the VATS messiness in Fallout 3 certainly adds something to the game. Still, the researchers have it on the nose- good game first, violence second.

Metronews via Kotaku.

We continue our countdown of the Top 10 Nicest Asses in Videogames today with our number 9 pick. Recognize that rear? Like all the entries in this list, please be aware that there may be some NSFW content inside.

Click images to enlarge.

#9 – Alex Vance (Half-Life 2)

Alyx Vance is your friend and guide through the story of Half-Life 2. Even though she’s a cool, down-to-earth, approachable kind of girl next door, none of that really helps her ass look any better so it doesn’t count (for this list, anyway). What does count is the sporty, spunky attitude that has her running and climbing on all sorts of things and giving those buns a nice workout.

Because of the storytelling focus and first-person shooteriness of Half-Life 2, you basically are Gordan Freeman and Alyx is talking to you. In some kind of eerie way, when she flirts with Gordan she is actually flirting with you. This is the videogame equivalent of POV porn, with the sole exception being that there’s no sex involved. I guess in that sense, Half-Life 2 is really nothing like POV porn. Hmm…

But wait a second — Half-Life 2 has an incredibly versatile modding tool available called ‘Garry’s Mod’. Not only can you use the tool to, you know, make cool shit, but you can also use it to place people in suggestive positions, make them hump each other, and even change the character models to naked versions. Thanks, Garry!

Alyx also fills the multi-ethnic desires of a lot of dudes. She is so exotic, in fact, that she has no choice but to make out with herself, and she has no problem getting dirty. Completely understandable. Using Garry’s Mod and some downloadable skins, you can actually do some very naughty things with Alyx (and that link is so NSFW it’s ridiculous).

Now I found a nice little video of Alyx’s booty shaking, which was actually a lot more difficult than you might think. There are tons of videos to sort through, most of them being junk, but occasionally you may find what you are looking for. This video is terrible in so many ways — I don’t know why the guy decided to put such a retarded expression on Alyx’s face (or why he showed anyone else in the video, for that matter), but you can get some nice views of her backside and that’s the whole point.

Might want to skip the first 45 seconds or so unless you’re a Sir Mix-a-lot fan.

I think our point has been made again, and I don’t think anyone can deny that Alyx deserves a spot on this list.  While she may not be all sci-fi swimsuit like Cortana, she has the slight advantage of being real… at least in the context of the games.

Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for the next hottest heinie on Ripten’s Top 10 Nicest Asses in Videogames.

All the Asses: 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Special Mentions | 1

Two weeks time, nearly 50 hours of labor intensive paper crafting precision, and what do you get? A 12-inch high papercraft replica of Half Life 2’s D0g. The work is that of 4chan.org user, chamoo232.

Great work, but I really want to see a full size, ten foot version, strong enough to pick up large objects like cars, dumpsters, and Dennis Dyack’s ego. I kid, I kid.

Have something you think we should show on Geeked-Out? Email it to us.

Source: 4chan.org (via: qj.net)

A couple days ago, we reported that Valve would be showing the next Half-Life installment at this year’s E3. It wasn’t just us, either. The internet was abuzz with the story. Well, now it looks like that isn’t true.

According to Doug Lombardi, Valve’s marketing director, the news is simply a “misprint” and Half-Life 2: Episode Three will not be making an appearance at this year’s E3. Instead, the developer will be focusing heavily on Left 4 Dead, including a playable build in a Valve-hosted suite.

Source: Next Gen

Nvidia and Valve have joined forces and to kick it off they’re handing out exclusive games to Nvidia users.

If you use Nvidia, you can download Portal: First Slice, a Peggle Extreme demo, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, and Half Life 2: Lost Coast for free via Valve’s distribution service, steam.

In a statement from Valve’s VP of marketing, Doug Lombardi said:

“More Steam gamers, including myself, play on NVIDIA hardware than any other GPU. That’s a testament to the company’s long history of innovation and quality. By working together with NVIDIA to expand our development, distribution, and marketing efforts, we’re increasing our ability to serve the millions of NVIDIA customers logging onto Steam and help us prepare for our next generation of content.”

Roy Taylor, Nvidia’s VP of content relations, gave a nice little “right back ‘atcha” with:

“Valve’s endorsement of our technology and tools is yet another example of how the world’s leading gaming companies are working with NVIDIA. Portal is the hottest new, award-winning title from Valve, and we’re delighted that Valve will offer First Slice exclusively to GeForce customers.”

For those of you who have already beaten Portal, Portal: First Slice is simply a demo of the game which encompasses the first ten levels. The Peggle Extreme demo is a lot of fun, even if you’ve already played Peggle, due to its hilarious “twist” using Valve properties. Half-Life 2 Deathmatch is arguably the sweetest offering, given that it’s a $10 value. Finally, Lost Coast is a fun – albeit short – little ride, but it’s already free to those who own Half Life 2.

All in all, it’s nothing mind-blowing, but free is free. Go here to claim your games.

Via GameIndustry

A demo of Half Life 2: Episode 2 has hit the Xbox Live Marketplace. There’s no excuse for not trying out this beauty now, and maybe just maybe the demo will tempt you into buying The Orange Box this weekend. Details about the demo after the link.

Demo: The Orange Box: HL2 Episode Two
Content: The Orange Box: HL2 Episode Two Demo
Price: Free
Availability: Not available in Germany, India or Japan
Dash Text: [ESRB: M (Mature) ALCOHOL REFERENCE] Download the demo.
Size: 723.93 MB