If you're currently imagining a dystopic future in which we all nervously salute guards clad in Combine outfits while texting on our Steam-powered phones and breathing the Steam-branded air, calm down. Gabe Newell has no aspirations of heading up his own ill-gotten evil empire. In truth, he'd prefer that Valve forever avoids getting its hands dirty with the greasy innards of some proprietary piece of hardware. However, if it's the “only” way to keep innovation's gears churning, then he won't hesitate to bite that particular bullet.

“Well, if we have to sell hardware we will,” he told Penny Arcade. “We have no reason to believe we’re any good at it, it’s more we think that we need to continue to have innovation and if the only way to get these kind of projects started is by us going and developing and selling the hardware directly then that’s what we’ll do. 

“It’s definitely not the first thought that crosses our mind; we’d rather hardware people that are good at manufacturing and distributing hardware do that. We think it’s important enough that if that’s what we end up having to do then that’s what we end up having to do.”

The newly bearded Newell also noted the Valve hivemind has been abuzz about wearable computers and biofeedback as of late, so – on the off-chance something like this occurred – it probably wouldn't be another cookie-cutter console war competitor. 

For now, though, Valve's figurative Swiss army knife that might very well include a Swiss army as one of its many features is but a pipe dream. Instead, Steam and an ever-expanding suite of games are the orders of the day. So then, is Half-Life 2: Episode 3 among them? 

“We’re trying to be careful not to get people too excited and then have to go and disappoint them,” he replied when asked about “Episode 3 or Left 4 Dead 3.” “So we’re sort of reacting in the other direction and saying 'okay, well let’s have things a little more baked before we start getting people all excited about it.'”  

Firaxis may have forced the world to do a collective spit-take when it took up the reins on a new strategy-focused XCOM, but that doesn't mean Civilization's been overrun by aliens – figuratively speaking. (That is, however, precisely what it means in the literal sense.) The god king of historical turn-based tactics recently announced Civilization V: Gods and Kings, which will focus on religion and espionage, as well as a smattering of other goodies. 

Foremost among the new features is “fully customizable” religion, which uses a “Faith” resource en route to world domination – or, if you're us, making people kneel before the holy trifecta that is Count Chocula, Franken Berry, and Boo Berry. Also on the docket: upgraded combat, religious and mercanitle city-states, and three new scenarios, one of which will take place in “a Victorian science-fiction setting.” Steampunk Civ? And here we thought Firaxis would never reply to our politely worded ransom letters. 

New spy units, meanwhile, will be capable of “establishing embassies with your rival civilizations, surveying foreign cities, stealing advanced techs, and garnering influence with city-states,” among other things – which presumably include dressing snazzily and having a plan to either kill or sleep with everyone in a room.

It all totals out to 27 new units, 13 new buildings, 9 new wonders, and 9 new civilizations, with a release right around the chronological corner in “late spring.”

Can you tell we're pumped about Minecraft-themed Legos? We've been anxiously following their development, breathlessly reporting when the petition to create the set passed the needed 10,000 signature mark -- and when the project got the official green light. Lego and Mojang must be pumped about the Minecraft Micro World, too; in less than a month, the set has flown through the design process and is headed to the production line. In fact, Lego started selling preorders for the set yesterday.

Just because you're able to preorder the set through Jinx today won't mean Minecraft Micro World will show up on your doorstep tomorrow, though; the $35, 480-piece kit isn't due to ship until the nebulous "summer 2012." How about a description from the product page?

Help Steve survive his first night in a strange new world. Avoid the creeper and start mining for resources that will help you survive and thrive. Configure your four micro-scale LEGO Minecraft modules any way you like. Build your own mines and hills, and expand your world with multiple sets. Includes four LEGO Minecraft modules, hidden resources, extra pieces for wood, dirt, and stone, two "Micro Mobs;" Steve and a creeper.

"The surface of the modules comes off to reveal mines and hidden resources beneath," the Lego CUUSOO team said on its blog. Check out the blog post for more details about the design process, or just drool over the picture above like we did.

Oh man, is it March 6th yet? BioWare teased us with a taste of old friends on Valentine's Day -- Krogans and Turians and Reapers, oh my! -- but the official launch of Mass Effect 3 is still weeks away. At least we'll have some cool ME3 peripherals to gaze at between now and then, thanks to the newly unveiled Mass Effect 3 gear lineup by the folks over at Razer. They do more than just look pretty, too: Razer promises each piece of hardware will unlock an "exclusive in-game bonus."

The only bonus mentioned in Razer's announcement is a Collector assault rifle, but the company doesn't say which specific peripheral will be bundled with it. All types of peripherals are available with a fresh coat of ME3 paint, too, including an Imperator mouse, a BlackWidow Ultimate keyboard, a sleek-looking Onza Tournament Edition gamepad, and a Chimaera 5.1 headset. A few non-electrical accessories are available too: a ME3-branded Vespula mouse pad, a protective case for the iPhone 4, and a messenger bag sporting the N7 logo.

Check them out or preorder the gear over at Razer's Mass Effect 3 page. No news on the shipping date, although it would almost assuredly have to be before March 6. Now, pardon us while we replay the Suicide Run on the Collector ship with our cut-throat female biotic.