5 Discs of Goodness? HALFLIFE 2!

With a Small Slam on Valve

Since Valve, and Vivendi have finally figured out who gets what money from on-line only sales of Valves newest game, they graciously allowed us to purchase HalfLife 2 at a local retailer or on-line through Valves on-line system; STEAM.

Now for the past few years those folks who love the game of Counterstrike have used Valve as a way to update content and find servers, etc. The complaint was always, "Steam Sucks!" And to be truthful, it really did at times, especially when it came to detecting and banning cheaters. But I digress. To use this new game you must have an internet connection and a Steam account to register your copy of the game. This will allow legitimate users to update, content, download patches with little or no effort, while reducing piracy. Fine, BUT HOW ABOUT HAVING MORE VERIFICATION SERVERS ON-LINE!????!!!
We knew this game was going to be huge, since the CS community is still the largest on-line, (When I last looked.) And this is with a ancient game. The delays while developing their new video engine has taken quite a while and I would guess that everyone who played Half Life will want this game. They knew that, but failed to prepare for a huge launch. Since I already have a Steam account I figured that I would get in and start playing.... But after waiting for verification; 1 Shower and a change of clothes, a cigarette and half of a Dr. Pepper later; I get the message that they cannot verify at this time, but out of the kindness of their little hearts, I can Play anyway... Of course then i had to wait for the Authorization from Steam to Decrypt the filles on my hard drive. one or two cigs later, this was completed and I fired the game up and then.........
Holy Crap this game is gorgeous!
The load times are a bit long but the detail and facial expressions are amazing. As you run through the halls of the tenements in City 17 you can see where the plaster has cracked and read a large number of the flyers posted on walls. Amazing ambient sounds, background music, and the fact that the wind from a helicopter can push you off of a roof is pretty amazing. This is only a preliminary review but other than the hassles of registration due to poor preparation. I Can only say WOW! I give this one 5 Metamucil Tabs!

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