So, what was that countdown on Friday? Prospero? Episode Three? No, it was an early Portal 2 release. Quite strange – all that fanfare for something impressive, but not too special. Except it’s the way the game will be released early that’s special here. Simply put, the more you play any game in the Potato Sack, the sooner Portal 2 will be released. Gamers are currently focusing on the easiest games, the ones with the least players. Current focus appears to be spread out over the remaining uncomputed games: Killing Floor, Amnesia, The Ball, Defense Grid, Super Meat Boy and Audiosurf.

Potatoes gathered from the games are being used as multipliers, and word has it they are already being engaged. The time to get potatoes is almost done (though you can still join the NELIPOT group for an easy potato, if you own any one of the games in the Potato sack), as they are now being used as an overclock! Get in game and start playing while it lasts! Perhaps we might see Portal 2 today.

The 9 infected ARG participants who vanished last week are now at Valve, it would seem! They are playing Portal 2 as we speak, and they are purportedly swimming in swag and Razer merchandise! These 9 people might also receive a Valve Complete Pack.

Dougley, one of the most well-known infected participants, was in fact, a faker, and has not been invited to Valve HQ. All of his Borealis/Hyperborea references are also, by extension, utterly fake.

Golden Potato owners have also got their hands on a Valve Complete Pack. Problem is, most of us have it already, and it’s non-giftable. So, it’s a non-prize of sorts.

Go to GLaDOS@Home and the Valve ARG Wiki to find all the info you could possibly need.

Valve has also shed some details on Steamworks for the PS3, which will be coming with Portal 2’s release.

Valve, creator of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today disclosed details regarding the Steam experience designed for the PlayStation®3, which is set to debut next week with the release of Portal 2.

 The first title to support Steam on a console, Portal 2 offers cross-platform matchmaking, gameplay, friends, chat, and achievements, all powered by Steam. Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation®3.

The Steam overlay for PS3 provides access to both PSN and Steam friends, displaying their in-game or online status and providing a quick pathway to text chats, player profiles, friend requests, and game invites. Steam Achievements are earned in lockstep with PSN Trophies and are also accessible within the Steam overlay.

Steam on the PS3 provides access to all of these features once the player has linked their PlayStation® Network account with a Steam account, which is done right within the game. A Steam user can login to an existing account, and anyone new to Steam can create an account with the click of a button.

In the spirit of Steam Play, linked players of the PS3 version of Portal 2 can also access and play their copy of Portal 2 on any PC or Mac by redeeming an in-box access code on their computer. The Steam client verifies the linked customer and then lists Portal 2 among their library of Steam games for PC and Mac.

For more information regarding Steam on the PS3, visit the Steam Support knowledge base. For more information regarding Portal 2, visit www.thinkwithportals.com.

Lovely! Thank you, Valve, for bringing such a great system to the PS3.

And it’s time for our final previews. Thanks for sticking to us, we are so close to release!

IGN took a look at some of the Gels we’ve been seeing in-game. A new gel is revealed here! Some minor spoilers, so watch out!

PC Gamer also took a look at the “games that made Portal 2 possible”. Interesting read. No spoilers, of course. Check it out here. Turns out they also reviewed Portal 2, giving it a 94 and an Editor’s Choice Award. The review itself is not on the PC Gamer site, but you can find a bit of info here.

Moving on to a touch of community media, artist Miles Donovan has created a poster featuring the insides of the Portal Device. You can order it, and it’ll cost you, but it’s great to take a look at nonetheless. Here it is.

In their aptly named “Final interview”, 1UP reflected with Erik Wolpaw and Doug Lombardi on Portal 2 and its development. We don’t see any spoilers, so we recommend it. Great read. Here you go.

And as our final gift before Portal 2’s release… look what we dug up!

Yes, Dom, one of our founders and webmasters went to PAX East for Portal 2. As you can see, he managed to film a short Q&A with Chet Faliszek, and the Portal 2 demo. If you’ve seen previous PAX East demo footage, or if you fear the spoiler, then you should avoid this. But if you want to see the Chet Q&A, or just want to take a look at that great footage again, check it out.

Well, that’s that! Thanks for reading! This might just be our final pre-Portal 2 article. We’re stepping into a whole new world, and stuff. Once again, thanks for sticking with us, and stay tuned to LambdaGeneration for all your Valve-related news.