For years now, there have been rumors and reports of a now-cancelled Half-Life 2 episode called Half-Life 2: Return to Ravenholm. The project, an overview of which can be found at the Combine Overwiki, was to be a collaboration between Valve and Dishonored-makers Arkane, and would, presumably, take players back to the creepy, zombie-infested village of Ravenholm. The existence and cancellation of Return to Ravenholm was confirmed by Valve's Marc Laidlaw in January of last year.

The folks at ValveTime have posted what they claim to be some new unearthed prototype screenshots from the long-cancelled project. They've compiled them into the video above, as well. For clarity's sake: These screens are old, and no one has any reason to think the project has been un-cancelled or anything like that.

Seeing as how the images come from an unconfirmed (by us) source and the game apparently never got very far into development, I'd suggest taking them with a grain of salt. I've reached out to both Arkane and Valve to ask about their authenticity, and will update if I hear back. Still... absorption? Interesting.

It wouldn't be an article about Half-Life unless I closed with some sort of Half-Life 3 joke, so… no, you know what? This one time I'm not gonna do it.

New Images of Half-life 2: Episode 4 / Return to Ravenholm [ValveTime, thanks Glenn]

3D printers are not machines. They are portals to a realm of dark magic, where you can conjure anything you want, in return for a plastic sacrifice.

Take this, for example: this is not an expensive, professional action figure (though you'll soon be able to get one of those). It's something made by a human being—albeit a very talented one—and a 3D printer.

That human being is Psychobob, a user whose work we've featured here before. Actually, we've featured this Portal figure before as well, before it was finished, but now that it's done, complete with lighting effects and base, it's worth another look.

3D Print: Atlas (Portal) Part2 [PsychoBob, via MAKE]

The cinematic adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's beloved graphic novel series Y: The Last Man will be helmed by Dan Trachtenberg, director of the excellent 2011 Portal fan-film No Escape, Vulture reports.

It'll be Trachtenberg's first time as a feature-film director, which... could go either way. Given how strong No Escape was, I could see him doing something interesting with Vaughn's story. Then again, given the source material, he'll certainly have his work cut out for him.

Here's Trachtenberg's No Escape.

Y: The Last Man Director Is Named [Vulture]

When Pacific Rim's latest trailer (above) went out last month, a lot of people thought, "Wait! I know that voice!" And indeed, it sounds like Jax Teller reading from "The Life and Death of Sam Crow" as an enormous sea monster destroys a bridge. Oh yeah, GLaDOS from the Portal series can be heard as well.

That was deliberate, director Guillermo del Toro told the Toronto Sun. While GLaDOS actor Ellen McLain will supply an AI voice in Pacific Rim, she will sound different from the trailer. For that, Del Toro said he specifically wanted GLaDOS' voice running down a power-up checklist before the mechas go out to confront the monsters. He even sought (and received) Valve's permission.

"I wanted very much to have her, because I'm a big Portal fan," he said. In the film, however, "The filter we're using is slightly less GLaDOS. Slightly. The one in the trailer I wanted to be full-on GlaDOS."

Guillermo del Toro says 'Pacific Rim' A.I. an homage to 'Portal's GlaDOS [Toronto Sun via Game Informer.]

They're from ThreeA, so your loved ones will need the time to save up, but look at them. They'll be worth it.

We've seen these before in their unpainted prototype state, but these painted models are just to die for.

Still no word on a release date or price.

ThreeA x VALVe Portal [ThreeA]

Actually r4di0fly3r's motion-tracking turret probably won't keep intruders out. But it will startle them. And it will probably keep cats and dogs out from sheer terror of "OH GOD WHAT IS THAT."

You can download the software for your PC or Mac, or just run it off of the deviantART page since that didn't seem to work for me.

Interactive Portal Turret [deviantART via Reddit]

Murraythis breaks out the Source Filmmaker to bring the internet a very Team Fortress Christmas.

Such great animation, and the Scout was the perfect choice to play the Christmas Eve sneak. He's such a dick.

Night Before Christmas... [YouTube]

Let's say you're a Valve super-fan. I know I'm reaching somebody out there with that label. And you want to buy yourself something nice. Something Valve-related that nobody else has.

Forget lithographs or coffee mugs. You need to get this. It's a replica Portal Gun signed by the development team. All proceeds go to charity (Child's Play). And at time of posting, it's on eBay for a surprisingly reasonable price of $760.

Considering the worth of something like that to super-fans, and the place your money is ending up, that's a steal.

Portal gun replica, signed by Valve for GAAM & Child's Play Charity [eBay, via Gamefreaks]

Team Fortress 2 just got itself a big Christmas update. I'm so far past playing this game that the significance is lost on me, but hey, that giant Godzilla poster is awesome.

Mecha Update [Team Fortress 2]

Sadly, it won't make the holiday shopping season, but toy company NECA's replica Half-Life 2 gravity gun will be available for purchase next Spring.

It's 1:1 scale, and as you can see from the prototype below, lights up as well. Since this is the same company behind the replica Portal guns, you could probably expect some sound effects as well.

1:1 Half-Life Gravity Gun Coming From NECA In 2013 [TNI]