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.

Joystiq reader James has a wonderful sister Katherine who knitted him the above presents. Obvious on the left is the Weighted Companion Cube. Our friend on the right, who hasn't promised not to stab you, is the Fighter from Final Fantasy I ... wait, are those sword-chucks? That must be from 8-bit theater! Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Off the Grid: Long-distance gaming
Today's most bizarre self-grenade video: Halo 3 'epic suicide'
X3F Week in Review: December 21, 2007 - December 27, 2007

News
Sega taking Phantasy Star Online offline in Japan
Midway looks to Hollywood tie-ins in 2008
Devil May Cry 4 Xbox 360 bundle hits Japan in January
GameFly's year-end used game sale
Star Ocean IV trailer comes courtesy Star Ocean PSP disc
Amazon sold 17 Wiis a second (while in stock)

Rumors & Speculation
Nasdaq: Atari could be delisted, market value too low

Culture & Community
How-To: Build a MAME cabinet, a video in 5 parts
NPR covers 2007's games that got away
BioShock, Portal, and friends as grocery cart warnings
The best thing you'll see today: LEGO Portal
Forget Putin: Gaming icons Photoshopped as Persons of the Year

We had two people over the weekend send us pictures of real-life Portal occurrences - a blue portal and Glados, respectively. We want to remind people that the events of Portal were just dramatizations of real-life, and as such, no one should worry about anything out of the ordinary. Thank you and enjoy your cake. Check out the highlights for the weekend:

Joystiquery
Japanese hardware sales, Dec. 3 - Dec. 9: Saturday morning shame edition
Joystiq hands-on: echochrome (PSN)
Joystiq hands-on: God of War: Chains of Olympus
Joystiq hands-on: Patapon (PSP)
PS Fanboy Week in Review: 12/9 - 12/16
Metareview: Unreal Tournament III (PS3, PC)
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup gets introspective

News
Guitar Hero III gets rock 'n' roll patch
Street Fighter III: Third Strike on GameTap Dec. 20
Extended trailers for Final Fantasy XIII and XIII Versus on Japanese DVD
PS2 version of Rock Band lacks online play, world tour mode
Script for animated Castlevania film nearly complete
PSP God of War's boosted clock speed comparison
Strange Xbox 360 signal might affect wireless LANs
Sony CEO expects expansion in PS3 connectivity, PSN
Make like Pelé with Wii Fit soccer
New games this week: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams edition
Cybernator, Alien Storm, Monster Lair coming to Virtual Console today
Castle of Shikigami III shoots up Wii next spring
BBFC seeks to keep Manhunt 2 banned
Take-Two opens 2K Marin, former BioShock devs reportedly on staff
PS3 firmware 2.10 coming tomorrow, features DivX support
Crisis Core coming to the U.S. March 25
Resident Evil: Degeneration trailer
This Wednesday: Sensible World of Soccer, Tempest come to XBLA
New Bionic Commando trailer whips it, whips it good
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. creators 'seriously considering' a MMOG
Tretton: 'Not appropriate' for publishers to suggest hardware price cuts
Huxley returns from the abyss with video
Rock Band devs answer for niggling problems
Sex Worker Alliance: GTA normalizes violence against sex workers
BioShock kindly receives AP's game of the year award
Halo 3 bought by 52% of US Xbox 360 owners
Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Killzone 2 and LittleBigPlanet coming Fall 2008

Culture & Community
FSU student receives misdemeanor charges after making threats on Xbox Live
A very Jenga-esque Crysis physics demonstration
WoW Insider interviews Ed Fries on avatar figurines
Rock Band bar night in Manhattan tonight
Looking back at the PlayStation 2 in 2007
Just saw a wooden SNES

If you're in the mood for an thought-provoking read this Sunday afternoon, you should check out a recent article on Games Radar which dissects Portal's "feminist critique of the FPS genre." The essay describes how the game purposefully avoids many of the masculine trends with which shooters are often imbued -- for instance, the game's use of an anti-sensational female protagonist, or the way the game dispatches the game's cuboid male lead.

Spoiler alert: Unavoidably, the essay takes a Freudian look at the key gameplay mechanic of the game, comparing a portal to a vajayjay. If you'd like to preserve your innocent opinion of the game, you might actually want to steer clear of this particular article. Fortunately, we're firm believers in the "sometimes a banana is just a banana" school of thought, lest we be subject to disturbing imagery next time we go traipsing through the Aperture Science building.

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.

Congratulations to Valve on finally getting some cake to eat. Perhaps it had miniature figurines of the Weighted Companion Cube and Big Daddy on top (getting married - okay, we're taking it too far now). Check out the highlights for this weekend:

Joystiquery
Japanese hardware sales, Oct. 1 - Oct. 7: Best served cold edition
Joystiq hands-on: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
Joystiq hands-on: Link's Crossbow Training (Wii)
Joystiq hands-on: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii/DS)
Joystiq hands-on: Master of Illusion (DS)
Last week in Warcraft: October 6th - Oct 12th
PS Fanboy Week in Review: 10/8 - 10/14
Second Life Insider Weekly Roundup
Today's most horrific video: Final Fantasy Cosplay Lip-synching
Today's most vertigo-inducing video: Portal Lvl. 13 Time Challenge
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: Stink-O Man edition

News
New games this week: Tony Hawk's Proving Ground edition
Metal Marines, Ninja Gaiden II, Gate of Thunder on Virtual Console
Rock Band in bundle only until 2008
Wii Intercooler blows hot air
Wright rocks the Enterprise in Spore video
Xbox 360 Arcade unboxed (and still unannounced)
Lil' Reggie digs Super Mario Galaxy in new trailer
This Wednesday: E4, Speedball II, and discounted Lumines
Will Wright honored with BAFTA Fellowship
Nintendo market cap at $85bln, "almost double" Sony's
Nintendo's Kaplan says 'Gamers were bored before Wii'
PSN EULA update not affiliated with firmware upgrade
Metal Gear Solid 4 has over 200 developers
Call of Duty 4 playable at Gamestop this Wednesday
Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom dated ('08 for most)
Capcom reveals Bionic Commando for PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: 360's next big thing is Perfect Dark 2
Pachter says Xbox 360 will beat Wii in September
Another analyst: Wii will beat the other things this holiday

Culture & Community
Wii vs. Vii: Sincere flatterii
Haloid creator mashes up Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive
Sony unveils the chocolate PS3