So I was reading my new Game Informer magazine today, and it had a little article about HL2's port to Xbox.

Because of the Xbox's memory restrictions, it seems that Valve reworked Source to have a heavy duty bit of streaming so that the levels were seamless, even with such tight memory constraints. Seeing how the Xbox isn't much different than a PC, I wonder if Valve will be adding this streaming capability to the general Source SDK?

I'd love nothing more than having huge, seamless maps that don't pause right when things are getting good (the scene where you're fleeing from the combine to the roof being a good example).

There was also a bit more information about Half-Life 2: Aftermath (the first of what sounds like many expansions to come, for those that don't know). What I read was not to my liking. According to the article, Aftermath will have about 4 hours of gameplay, but at the same time will only be around $8.

This is more like a teaser. Aftermath is supposed to take place right after you destroy the Citadel, where you'll get more exposure to the creatures and weapons from near the end of HL2. Alyx will apparently have more of a role, as will Dog. This episodic way of telling a story doesn't appeal to me. Granted, i'll probably take the bait and buy the expansions to get more HL2 world and story, but I won't be happy about it!

I know some might disagree, but the HL2 world made me want to stay there and explore every bit of it. The expansions give you this chance, though only a little at a time. I hope Valve changes their mind and puts more content in the expansions rather than dangling this perpetual carrot in front of us.

In other news, tomorrow night is the release of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and I for one will be standing in line at midnight to get a copy. My time will be torn between reading and perhaps trying to create an entity for HL2. We'll see how it goes [wink].