Phillip is back with another one of his HL2: EP2 mapping competitions, but this one is sounding better than all of his previous ones!

Valve announced that they would be releasing Dota 2 in the fall of 2011 back in October of last year. The announcement was quite controversial, and came as a huge surprise to both Valve fans and Dota fans alike. Valve fans were wondering what Valve is doing developing a fantasy, action RTS title that first came about as a Warcraft 3 mod. Dota fans were wondering what the hell IceFrog is doing working with Valve.

Almost one year on, many of these original impressions live on. Valve has not had the opportunity to show the game off as of yet. It would seem as if Gamescom is going to be Dota 2’s lucky day, but what exactly is Valve going to do? Through whispers and rumors, we know a bit about that. But not quite as much as we’d all like to know!

Human Error is an episodic series of mods taking place in the HL2 universe, as part of the greater “Half-Life 2: Short Stories” series. Episode One was released in February of 2010, and it is by far one of the best HL2 mods we’ve ever played. It represents a return to the days when Half-Life mods were refreshing, innovative, amazingly detailed and just all around excellent. Episode Two, or Human Error 2, if you prefer, is on a sort of hiatus, as the HL2:SS team is currently busy with their new project: Water.

Ever since its announcement on the 13th of October, we’ve heard next to nothing about Dota 2. We’ve seen some character art… and that’s about it. There’s a closed beta going on, with no information getting out, and rumors of a world debut in the form of a live invitational tournament that will be held at Gamescom in a few weeks. Our very own Flamov has just written about these rumblings.

But more unofficial information has recently surfaced, and the hype train is showing no signs of stopping.