Valve developer Doug Lombardi recently promised gamers everywhere something that is sure to be appreciated: "more Portal". What exactly consists of "more" is still in the works, but Lombardi promised something else while we wait: brand new download-able Team Fortress 2 Maps, which will arrive for all platforms, for absolutely no charge. Valve has not said anything about possible release dates, but they have unveiled a "juicy" little tidbit about Episode 3:

In Episode One I think we left people with some big questions. After Episode Two people saw it was going somewhere. 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. Exact details on what's next for Gordon are a way off; probably months not weeks.

We'll keep you posted as this shapes up.

The most recent Steam Hardware Survey shows more Steam gamers play on NVIDIA GeForce hardware than any other graphics platform. In an effort to further support this popular PC gaming configuration - Steam games plus NVIDIA hardware - Valve and NVIDIA have entered into an agreement to collaborate on development, distribution, events, and more. Effective immediately, all NVIDIA gamers may receive a free copy of Portal: First Slice, a special version of the award-winning new game from Valve, by visiting www.steamgames.com/nvidia1 and "Taking the test." Steam will then auto-detect the presence of NVIDIA hardware and make Portal: First Slice available immediately, free of charge. To make it easy for all NVIDIA customers to redeem this offer, a link to the Steam offer will also be included in all NVIDIA drivers.

Bethesda Softworks, the company that developed games such as Morrowind and Oblivion, has made its own map for Valve's hugely innovative Portal after being so infatuated with the title. Bethesda's level designer Daryl Brigner was responsible for creating the map, which is currently up to version 1.2 after a few tweaks have been made.

The map is available for the PC version of Portal only and can be downloaded at TWHL.

Those who pre-purchased Valve's first person brain twister Portal through Steam, either in the $44.99 ultra compilation The Orange Box or by its $19.99 separate listing, can now begin downloading the game's assets. Commonly referred to as pre-loading, the idea is to let gamers gradually download a game in advance so they only need to download a small enabling file on the day of its release, preventing owners from being held back by slow download speeds and clogged servers. With The Orange Box gone gold and confirmed to release on October 10th for PC and Xbox 360, the pre-load for Half-Life 2: Episode Two is also expected to begin shortly.