Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
Offline
Now that I have a freebie of Portal from Steam, the Orange Box is no longer an issue. I want Half-Life 2 but am confused about the expansions and various editions available. I've seen the GOTY Edition, and Half-Life 2 Complete with Half-Life 2, HL2: Episode 1, HL2 Ep. 2, and HL2: Deathmatch.
I've also seen:
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, but it doesn't appear to be included in any of the bundles. (Probably on Steam, but I'm too tired to look just now.)
SO confusing. What I think I want, especially since most of these can be had for a song, is all the HL2 there is to have. I'm guessin' I'm gonna like it, so why not?
So what bundle should I be looking for, and is used OK, which is to say will I be able to install a used copy without worrying about keys and such? I will buy hard copies where I can, and download what I can't get on disc.
Lead me to water and I will drink - tomorrow. Now I sleep (now that I've spent hours reading about games instead of playing them).
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
It is confusing, Spike, a friend of mine just went through the same thing. What's in the GOTY edition? All you need is Half-Life 2 (that's the first one), and the episodes.
Lost Coast is a – I think free – tech demo that was released several years ago. It takes about 10 minutes to play and expands a little on one of the regions of HL2, but isn't necessary. It was released to demonstrate how High Dynamic Range Lighting worked.
If you're new to Half Life, you might want to peep my the short (what's the strikethrough code again?) recap of the Story So Far in my Episode 2 review over in the archives to give you a little background on what happened in the first game. You don't need to know, but it helps. Start at the section labeled "Skip this Section."
Enjoy!
Life is the misery we endure between disappointments.
Offline
Steerpike is right. All you need is Half-Life 2 and the episodes. I got mine as Half-Life 2 and then bought Episode 1 & 2 together. Also bought Portal, but you are lucky to get it free. Check to see what is the best deal, but I wouldn't buy them used. They are associated with the owner's Stream account and you have to have it to play them.
Offline
One last question: on Amazon (looking at new as per Pokey's advice) I found versions of Half-Life 2 From both EA (2006) and Vivendi Universal (Editions for both 2004 and 2006). All for PC. All new. So I'm wondering if the newest version will be less buggy than the earlier version, and can I (please) have the Viven./Univ. version and bypass EA????? I'm not committed to buying from Amazon. I will look for the best price on new, but Amazon is always a good place to start because of the huge number of items on offer.
The pack with both Eps. 1 & 2 is a good deal at $9.99. No confusion there.
I started to read Steerpike's review but decided that I didn't want to know so much of the story beforehand.
Thanks to the both of you.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
Done and dusted. After looking at several retailers I bought the Orange Box containing...well, you all know what it contains. It was the least expensive way to get base game + episodes. $29.95 and free shipping. I might have saved a few $$ if I'd kept looking, but I hate shopping.
Thanks, Pokey and Steerpike, for helping me figure out just what I need.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
Ahh.. I arrived too late to this thread. I could have given you a free copy, Spike. [Image Can Not Be Found]
I owned the original 6 CD version of the game but one day decided it would be nice to have a copy on 1 DVD for future installations. The day after (I'm serious- one day!) I bought that second copy, The Orange Box was announced.
I have never used the DVD copy to this day. So, hey, if anyone else doesn't have Half-Life 2, I'll send you mine for free. [Image Can Not Be Found]
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
Offline
Thanks so much for the thought xtal. The Orange Box is on its way as we speak. Look at it this way: by buying a copy I help keep a retailer in business for .000000001 second longer! I'm doin' my bit for the economy.
Oi! Those days of multiple CDs. What a pain. I so love DVDs.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
It's true. It was so utterly insane... the best multiple disc/disk endeavors I can remember off the top of my head:
King's Quest VI -- 9 floppy disks
Wing Commander IV -- 6 CDs
Deadly Tide -- 5 CDs
and of course as mentioned above, Half-Life 2 -- 6 CDs
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
Offline
Oi! Those days of multiple floppies. What a pain. I so loved CD's. [Image Can Not Be Found] System Shock 1 was 10 floppies. My 10th floppy was toast and I exchanged for the cd version. It was like a special version with a built in patch and voice. That was the last game I bought on floppy.
My Dark Souls single player sensibilities are protected by a +10 GfWL Firewall of Ineptitude
Offline
I don't know what to call this Half-Life 2 "commercial":
Perhaps "cheeky" is the right word. That and "clever." I wonder if the May 26 release is coincidence as Apple's 1984 commercial was 26 years ago.....
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
Offline
I'd go with clever as that's very much Apple's commercial from days gone by. I liked it! 😀
Powered by PMS ™
Offline
Arrgghh. The Orange Box arrived 5 days ago and today I read that Steam is most likely bringing HL2 to Mac today. I WILL NOT buy a second "copy" of this game eventhough I'd rather play on Mac. Damned if I didn't open that hard copy as soon as it arrived, so no return possible.
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
Yep, the whole Half-Life 2 universe was just released for Mac. I could have saved $10 on the Orange Box and played on Mac if only I'd waited for a week. But since I cannot predict the future....
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
If it makes you feel any better, Spike, HL2 has a very efficient engine. You could probably play it on almost any half way modern computer and not notice the difference.
Offline
Agreed. It's very efficient, using about 50% of my 5 year old processor.
My Dark Souls single player sensibilities are protected by a +10 GfWL Firewall of Ineptitude
Offline
xtal said:
I owned the original 6 CD version of the game but one day decided it would be nice to have a copy on 1 DVD for future installations. The day after (I'm serious- one day!) I bought that second copy, The Orange Box was announced.
Happens to all of us, Spike. [Image Can Not Be Found]
You might categorize that as "buyer's remorse." It's unavoidable in this age of exponential growth.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
Offline
Helmut said:
Oi! Those days of multiple floppies. What a pain. I so loved CD's. [Image Can Not Be Found] System Shock 1 was 10 floppies. My 10th floppy was toast and I exchanged for the cd version. It was like a special version with a built in patch and voice. That was the last game I bought on floppy.
I think Beneath a Steel Sky was 15 floppies on the Amiga. 15?!! Monkey Island 2 had 11 as well. I prayed for an additional external drive but eventually got the humble CD. I think Discworld was the last floppy disk game I bought and I took it back and got the CD version because I wanted the talkie version with Eric Idle, Jon Pertwee, Rob Brydon, Tony Robinson and Kate Robbins. It was well worth it.
Offline
I hate steam. But a nice thing about HL2 is that if you have multiple copies you can give one to a friend who's never played it via steam.
I'm not exaggerating at all to say that HL2 is one of the greatest gaming experiences ever. And I mean back to the days of Trek on the computer printouts.
Offline
I should be starting Half-Life 2 soon. I'm trying to clean some other games off my Windows partition on my Mac. I only have 2, count 'em, 2 GB of free space. That's 'cause I downloaded all of Oblivion after nudging from some here, and that was right after I downloaded Force Majeure II: The Zone. I need to get rid of a couple of games I have no hard copies for before I start on HL2. And I really don't want to uninstall F3 because I hope to get around to some mods at some point. When I bought this computer 2.5 years ago I thought that an 80GB Windows partition would be more than adequate for games. Ha!
"…you just keep on trying 'til you run out of cake."
Offline
Spike, if you can consider yourself an "FPS trooper" I encourage you to play through Half-Life 2 on the hard difficulty. It makes an already intense game... intenser? Wow, the forums don't seem to think that's a typo. Huh!
I'm on an FPS kick right now, half out of desire, half out of the need to say I've played a bunch of games I own. I think at the end of it all I will play Half-Life 2 once more so that I may look back on these newer games I play and laugh at them.
If being wrong's a crime I'm serving forever
Most Users Ever Online: 252
Currently Online:
3 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Spike: 1187
Pokey: 894
Jarrod: 607
Finkbug: 468
Armand: 318
kaythomas: 307
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 9
Members: 15030
Moderators: 18
Admins: 6
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 4
Topics: 816
Posts: 18549
Newest Members:
HoustonPulge, DayanaNow, Janehoats, Robertanage, Brianexarf, XXXIsrModerators: Jen: 631, Orb: 0, Scout: 1205, Toger: 1488, Yapette: 836, Dobralov: 17, xtal: 1685, Meho: 82, Tap-Repeatedly: 0, geggis: 1435, Lewis B: 214, Mat: 245, AJLange: 200, Dix: 483, Cheeta: 0, LewisB: 0, Amy Louise: 12, l0vetemper: 3
Administrators: admin: 2, MrLipid: 31, Steerpike: 3310, Helmut: 795, Synonamess Botch: 1127, heddhunter: 27
