German artist Daniel Ritthanondh is the man to thank for this Half-Life-inspired lamp, which will simultaneously light up your room and darken your dreams.

As big a Half-Life fan as I am, I could not own this. Wherever it went, I couldn't walk under it. Ever. That or I'd come home one day and creep up on it, shooting at it until it coughed up a human skull and giblets all over my living room floor. Which would just be too messy.

Teptec Studio [Professional Site]
Kilh [DeviantArt]

It's hard to put my finger on a "favorite" part, really—there are so many iconic moments that they all kind of blend together. But if I had to name one, it would be the bridge level.

You know the one I'm talking about. Near the end of "Highway 17," you'll arrive in a small villa that's located along a cliff. Up a hill is a long bridge, along which are running menacing Combine trains. To get Gordon's buggy up onto the track, you'll have to go to the other side of the bridge and unplug the combine force field that's blocking your way. And to get to the other side of the bridge… you'll have to go under it.

This is one of those make-or-break moments, when the designers at Valve grabbed their ambitions and carried them into the end zone so assuredly that it's still impressive, coming up on ten years later.

You enter the bridge support structure. And then you come out, and you're on a deck looking out onto the scaffolding underneath the bridge. It looks like you can jump down there… but can you? Is this safe?

The sound effects here are key. The wind, ripping into your ears, cutting through the air beneath this massive metal structure. It truly feels as though it could blow you off.

And so then, you jump. Everyone who has played this level has probably died at least once; slipping on a girder and tumbling, watching the ground come rushing up towards you. Just watching the video above gives me vertigo. I could play this level a hundred times and never tire of it—it is pure video game magic.

And once you're halfway across, things get even better. A train goes by above you, foreshadowing the coming race against the onrushing train that closes out this level. And once you've made it to the other side, cleared out the nest of combine soldiers and deactivated the force field… well then you have to make your way back. But why should you get to make your way back exactly the same way you came? Wouldn't it be much more interesting if a flying whale-helicopter attacked you and totally wrecked your shit?

This bravura section is my favorite single bit of Half-Life 2. The video of it is broken into three parts, with the middle section above. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube: Part one, part two, and part three.

Or, you know, you can just go play it again. You know you want to.

Thanks, Graag, for posting these videos.

Actually, calling it an action figure does it a bit of a disservice. The term "action figure" conjures all sorts of images, mostly of very small men. This custom Strider from the Half-Life universe is not very small at all.

Not only does it look awesome, but its builder, nomadamusic, says it was almost entirely made from scratch, and even includes a few points of articulation.

Who needs large toy companies when individual artists can make their own Striders? Not nomadamusic, that's for damn sure.

Half Life 2 Strider Combine Custom Action Figure [FigureRealm, via Toycutter]

Kotaku was at the New York Toy Fair this weekend in full effect, snapping photos, taking footage and just generally gawking at all the awesome new video game toys that'll be lining up for your disposable incomes in 2012.

The highlight for me? NECA's Valve gear. Including the Gordon Freeman action figure to end all Gordon Freeman action figures.

You can check out a sampling of the stuff NECA had on show in the gallery above, including Team Fortress 2 plushies, Portal guns, Left 4 Dead figures and the Freeman himself. Who is looking glorious.

If you're wondering why all their legs are missing, these are actually stills from our video footage of the event, most of which will be going live tomorrow. I just figured this stuff was too good to wait for!

If you need a Half-Life chaser after playing (or not playing) Half-Life 2 this weekend, take a look at these.

While drawn by two different artists, they both do the same thing, bringing the worlds of Half-Life and Portal a little closer than they already are.

The image up top is by Jade Law, while the image below is the work of Sergey Lesiuk.

Gordons happy life of testing [via Super Punch]
GLaDOS: wake UP mr.FrEEEEEman [DeviantArt]

Earlier this week, tens of thousands of users joined a Steam group dedicated to playing Half-Life 2 on Saturday between 2 and 2:30 p.m. EST, as a demonstration calling on Valve to get its ass in gear and release, or at least officially confirm work on Half-Life 3. How'd it turn out? It was either a great success or a disappointment, depending on your point of view.

I'll go with "success," as the game's numbers shot from 3,000 to more than 13,000 during the protest window, rocketing Half-Life 2 into the top 20 and just short of the top 10 (organizers note that it peaked at No. 11. The figures represent concurrent players.)

Now, when we first reported on this Tuesday, there were 30,000 members of the group. There are now 50,000. So less than half who originally backed this cause actually logged in to do so. And there's no assurance that Valve will acknowledge the demonstration or do anything in response to it.

Still, moaning and groaning over Half-Life 3 is something that takes place every day on gaming interest sites all over the Internet. This was actually a productive action, as it showed Valve that customers still love their games enough to play them seven years after release, rather than abuse Gabe Newell's email to demand one.

"I am personally impressed with what we've achieved today," the organizer wrote. "We're nowhere near done—in fact, we are currently in the process of planning new activities; this was only our first attempt, and, in my eyes, was a success for everyone." It's a success in my eyes, too.

A Red Letter Day: 13,216 fans play Half-Life 2 [Steam. h/t Mythos]

We've written about the very cool blog "Mapstalgia" before, where Josh Millard is collecting drwaings from users who re-create levels from their favorite video games from memory.

He's still at it, and has added a whole bunch of new maps, from Tony Hawk Pro Skater to Halo: Combat Evolved to the below map of the first eight levels of Half-Life as drawn by user Corinthian.

Man, that Corinthian fellow sure has one impressive memory! He even remembers where the enemies were. I think my own recollection of the first eight levels of Half Life would be pretty vivid up until the part where the scientist falls down the elevator shaft, then it would sort of fall apart.

Check out the full drawing below, or view the high-res version here.

They're still taking submissions, so break out your pen and paper and go send something in!

Mapstalgia [Official Site]

Or is it a protest for Half-Life 3? Whatever.

The point being, This weekend over 30,000 members of a Steam group will sit down and play Half-Life 2. Calling themselves "A Call for Communication", the group says "we have decided to gain Valve's attention by delivering a basic message: Your oldest and longest running fanbase would like better communication."

That "better communication" would come in the form of any communication as to the whereabouts of Half-Life 2: Episode 3, or as it's more commonly believed to be these days, simply Half-Life 3.

Will it work? Probably not. But hey, any excuse to play through Half-Life 2 again is a good excuse!

A Call for Communication [Steam]

Black Mesa is an independent remake of the original Half-Life that's been in development since the end of the First World War. It hasn't been seen for years. Most people now assume the remake, like Half-Life 3 itself, is an apparition. A mirage.

But...maybe not. After such a long blackout, the webmaster of the project's current site has posted a note on its forums, saying:

It was said that once the soundtrack is released, one could expect the launch of black mesa two weeks after. I can now say that a new website will be launched with the soundtrack in preparation for the mod. Fuck if we care about the current website. Just take a good look at it because it will be gone soon enough.

Could be good news, could be more teasing. The only sure thing being it's a bummer the old website is going away, which has me using the words "HOT SHIT" in the only piece of promotional quotage I've ever personally endorsed.

Hubicorn [Black Mesa]

Reader Michael has spent over 100 hours putting together this music video, in which the narration from Godspeed You! Black Emperor's The Dead Flag Blues is played over visuals from Half-Life 2.

Impressive stuff.