In a collective wank heard around the world, the new look for Team Fortress 2 and a trailer for Portal were fawned upon by the gaming masses. Never mind the impending release of Half Life 2: Episode Two that they are being packaged with. The visual style of Team Fortress 2 is certainly original – nobody wants another edgy, hardcore war simulator that seems to be all the rage lately. But what continues to astonish me is how selective the memory of the gaming press is when it comes to long promised, often delayed titles. Team Fortress 2 has been in development since 1999. Meanwhile, industry whipping boys like Duke Nukem Forever are dragged out at every possible opportunity.

My initial reaction to Portal was less cynical; in fact, I remember uttering “holy living fuck” at least once during the presentation. But then I realized that Portal is just an elaborate way of telling us that “noclip” is turned on by default. Nevertheless, the “portal gun” is the new gravity gun, which will no doubt bring its own assortment of followers in the years to come.