Actually, we've just had our second viewing of "The Combine Interview," which re-imagines Cruise's Scientology diatribe as a scary statement of purpose from an anonymous member of the Combine. And now, we think it puts the Combine in a new light, as the one force on earth capable of taming Maverick himself (Kelly McGillis notwithstanding).

Rather than crank out another Tom Cruise gag (we've got plenty of them, we assure you) we'll opt to mention how well-made and creepy the short film actually is, and how Valve should really already have Tom Hall on the payroll. Take a look after the jump and see if you don't agree.

[Via Digg]

Part of this year's Into the Pixel collection is a sketch from "Half Life EP3" (wonder what that could be), coming to Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3. We're not exactly surprised to learn there's concept art for Episode 3, but it's still nice to a glimpse. We're still not betting on a surprise E3 performance. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
BigDownload plays conference-wide PC bingo
DS Fanboy Lite: July 5 - July 11
Joystiq Podcast 057 - Girls or vacations edition
Nintendo E3 2008 press conference: Let's play bingo
This Week in Review is preparing for the storm
WRUP: One million polygons per second edition

News
Mainstream jumps on Xbox 360 price cut bandwagon
505 Games sinks its teeth into new DS Buffy game
Major features cut from Warhammer Online
Sega announces console-specific RTS in Stormrise
Midway launches online arcade, digital storefront
Don't be sad, but a Far Cry 2 demo isn't happening
Variety: Microsoft to show 'singing game' at E3 (read: Lips)
We just noticed: Rhythm Tengoku Gold coming to Japan July 31
Sony CFO: PS3 'plan is to not reduce the price'
Flagship Studios confirms layoffs, extent unknown
Ion reveals $299.99 price for premium Rock Band drums
MTV Games finds Konami's Rock Band lawsuit 'surprising'

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Motus Games' Darwin is Xbox 360's motion controller
Rumor: Animal Crossing, Punch-Out!! Wii being revealed at E3
Rumor: Xbox 360's 'Lips' microphone, box art leaked

Culture & Community
Bethesda to host post-apocalyptic film festival in August

Did you hear Alan Wake was confirmed to be shown at E3? How about Kid Icarus Wii? Half-Life 2 Episode 3? Doom 4? All these games have been listed on E3.net under the E3 Games tab. There's just one problem ... E3.net isn't the official E3 page. (If you're curious, here's the official site.)

Take note of the top banner, the bottom collection of links and all the latest news posts: yep, it's an UGO site. We've put in a call to their PR to see if there's any affiliation with the media summit, but that said, we doubt Microsoft, Nintendo, Valve or id Software would ever let these high-profile games be revealed so unceremoniously. Chalk this up as wishful thinking in the meantime.

We're making a note here: huge disappointment -- since Kim Swift's February interview with X-Play, where she mentioned the existence of a Portal 2 project, we've been salivating at the thought of the continued adventures of Chell, GlaDOS, WC³, and the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Unfortunately, it seems we'll be wearing our spit guards for quite some time -- according to a recent Eurogamer interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi, any sort of continuation of the beloved franchise will not be hitting store shelves this year.

Lombardi expressed Valve's desire to create an equally "revolutionary" successor to the lightning-in-a-bottle first person puzzler, rather than cash in on the franchise at the height of its popularity with a quick and dirty sequel. Oh, Lomby, can't we have both? We're all about instant gratification -- especially gratification involving cake, and a particular silent, springheeled heroine.

Yeah, it's old. But it's also Game of the Year, so we figure it's probably worth noting when the incredible, delectable Portal finally moves out of her parents' house and into an adorable studio apartment of her own. It's a good week for PCs all around actually, with the excellent Assassin's Creed arriving in a "director's cut" form.

Oh, and this week's "Game That Sounds Like it Was Named by Us As 8-Year-Olds and Then Sent Through Time Into the Future Award" goes to Mini Copter Adventure Flight. We would have traded our Chris Sabo rookie card and a half-empty packet of Lik-M-Aid for a game with a name like that in a heartbeat. There's a full list after the break.

Perhaps you've been burnt by digital distribution in the past, and now refuse to even touch the likes of Steam. Perhaps you found one or more of the games in Valve's critically acclaimed Orange Box to be lacking in a peel. Perhaps you'd like us to stop with the excruciating puns you jerks and report the news already geez.

So, have at it: Valve has confirmed to Joystiq that the individually boxed Orange Box PC games are due to hit physical shelves on April 9th. The separate SKUs, which will be available worldwide, consist of first-person puzzler Portal, caricatured multiplayer romp Team Fortress 2, and a crowbar double-whammy in the form of Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two. Valve has yet to officially announce pricing details, but retailers currently list Portal at $19.99 and the other two packages at $29.99 each. Expect more details soon.

Having already upped the ante in Portal challenges with Ren_Test2 in November, Bethesda's Daryl Brigner has returned with a new custom-made map aptly titled Ren_Test3. The download, available at TWHL, also includes Ren_Test 1 and 2 as well as Step, Time and Portal challenges for the maps.
We haven't had a chance to play it yet (such is the crazy, fast-paced life of a blogger), so tell us what you think in the comments below. Let's hope Valve finds a way to pool some of the best custom maps for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners, too.

Though we'd be GlaDOS can be to have another slice of Portal's topsy-turvy displacement gameplay, we'd almost certainly be unsatisfied with a quick 'n dirty content boost to our 2007 game of the year. Thankfully, Valve's Doug Lombardi has told Eurogamer that the developer isn't looking to simply throw a handful of new puzzles at us. "There'll be more Portal, for sure," he said. "But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."

Also being worked out at Valve headquarters are the continuing adventures of crowbar-wielding physicist, Gordon Freeman, who's due to appear in Half-Life 2: Episode Three. "With Episode Three we want to live up to the promise of where we are taking things to; there's a lot of work being done to make sure we deliver on that promise." If you're dying to learn more about where said things are being taken to, you're going to have wait a bit, "probably months not weeks." And don't even get us started on how long you might have to wait for the actual game.

At least you'll have some upcoming Team Fortress 2 content to keep you busy which, as per Valve's desire for all its additional content, will be free.

A theoretical physicist named "Gordon" called up the conspiracy wonks at Coast to Coast AM to tell 'em all about a mysterious government agent – a "G-Man" if you will – that he keeps seeing around. We don't want to spoil too much so hit up the audio embedded after the break and kids, take notes. This is how you do a crank call. Now if only "Alyx" would call Dr. Cooper Lawrence's show and ask what's up with that strong but silent boy she knows.

[Thanks, Colin]

New changes are coming to Team Fortress 2. Speaking to Shack News, Valve's Robin Walker reconfirmed that two new maps will be coming in the next two months for the PC version, including a remake of the TF Classic map Badlands. Walker couldn't confirm if those maps would arrive on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

Walker also said that modifications to the medic class are coming soon, possibly before the maps. Although unspecified, Walker said, "It's a large scale modification to the core of the game. It'll debut in a limited fashion through the Medic first, but it'll be affecting all classes eventually." Our guess? They're taking away the Medic's ability to heal - boy, would that change the game! But seriously, they'll probably just put a floating sign over medics that reads "shoot me first."

[Image from BioWare's Halloween]

Have any NVIDIA hardware installed on your machine? If so, you're entitled to a free extended demo of Portal, the best game of 2007. Entitled Portal: First Slice, the demo features more content than the normal demo, and is available free to all NVIDIA customers through a new partnership between Valve and the hardware manufacturer.

The offer is accessible through Steam, which will scan your computer to confirm the presence of NVIDIA hardware before making the offer available (creepy). Game|Life also reports that in addition to the Portal: First Slice, demo, NVIDIA customers can also download Peggle Extreme, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, and Half-Life 2: The Lost Coast for free through the same offer. Not too shabby.

Valve's Steam service is having a last-minute holiday sale from today until January 1, with everything on the online store reportedly 10% to 50% off. While all they have to do is make one game 50% and the rest 10% to make that statement valid, there are some good deals going on. Highlights include:

• Orange Box - $37.45 (25% off)
• BioShock - $37.45 (25% off)
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - $22.45 (25% off)
• id Software Super Pack - $52.45 (25% off)
• Psychonauts - $9.95 (50% off)

There are very few hours until Christmas. On this coast, most stores are closing down. Wouldn't be great if you could find the perfect gift for the ones you love? How about a downloadable copy of Psychonauts (no, we don't shut up about this game) for only $10? And while we're at it, you can afford to purchase Rag Doll Kung Fu ($13.45) and Bookworm Adventures ($17.95).

In perhaps an over-exaggeration of the term "world exclusive", StuffWeLike.com has revealed that Valve intends on continuing the Half-Life series after Half-Life 2: Episode Three. Big news, we know.

When Stuff We Like asked Valve's Doug Lombardi about the possibility of a Half-Life 3, he responded that nothing has been announced, but that Half-Life "won't end at Episode Three." Originally, Stuff We Like reported this news as "OMG WORLD EXCLUSIVE HALF-LIFE 3 CONFIRMED" (we're paraphrasing, of course), but has since recanted, admitting that all this means is that the series will not conclude with the third piece of episodic content.

We're curious to see whether Valve intends on continuing to release episodes connected to Half-Life 2, or whether they will in fact move forward with a third title in the series (episodic or otherwise). No release date has yet been confirmed for Episode Three.

Curious how the two Orange Box versions stack up? GameVideos have put the PS3 and Xbox 360 next to each other side-by-side - literally, it's a pretty impressive split-screen effort - of Portal and Half-Life 2. In fact, the visuals look very similar.

The major difference, where one might consider the PS3 version "downright unplayable," is the load times. For video HL2, the loading difference shown is not as great, but Portal's comparative load time shown is rather drastic. See for yourself after the break.

December is looking to be a most excellent month for PlayStation 3 owners keen on shooting things from a first-person perspective, with both Unreal Tournament III (shipping December 10th) and The Orange Box stepping onto the platform, albeit a bit later than expected. An EA press release politely reminds us that the latter will be released on December 11th in both the US and Europe, with French and German versions following in 2008.

In the unlikely case that you've not been exposed to Valve's Orange Box and currently envision it as a crate full of citrus fruit, allow us to point out that it contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal... too. One can only hope the tech people at EA used their 11th hour to rid the port of its alleged framerate issues.