SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the how-many-half-lifes-does-it-take-to-get-a-full-life? dept.
Every Classic Half-Life Game is now Free on Steam:
As Valve gears up for the launch of its first official Half-Life game in 13 years, the developer has given fans a big freebie to tide them over while they wait for March 2020: every previous official Half-Life game for free.
On Tuesday, Valve announced that both Half-Life and Half-Life 2, and each expansion pack and episode published directly by the game maker, would be free for all Steam users for a limited time.
As of press time, this offer appears to be a temporary unlock of the games until the VR-only adventure game Half-Life Alyx launches in roughly two months; the games' free availability will likely expire after HL:A launches.
[...] Since the games, and their connected expansions, have been available for so long, this promotion may be moot for many Steam users. Valve has frequently discounted the ever-living dickens out of its most classic series, with each of the series' disparate releases plummeting to $1 each during various sales.
[...] This giveaway is also a reminder that Valve can't claim to be the most generous game-download marketplace of the past year. The rise of Epic Games Store as a launcher and marketplace throughout 2019 hinged in no small part on Epic's weekly giveaways of free, well-reviewed video games.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 23 2020, @02:42AM (5 children)
A quick search shows that I first played Half-Life in 1998, which can't be right at all.
Feels like 10 years ago.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday January 23 2020, @02:46AM
Doom was the first game that forced a PC upgrade, Half Life was the second.
There was a mission in HL where you were going hand over hand under a bridge. I was just hanging there, looking around, amazed at the graphics. Wife stuck her head in, said something, and completely pulled me out of it.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @02:49AM (1 child)
Holy fuck... you are right... 20 years ago I was workin' down at Black Mesa when all hell broke loose.. does feel like only 10 years go..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:10AM
Naaah... 'twas only 6 years ago that Buckfeta hit.
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Thursday January 23 2020, @02:15PM (1 child)
I can believe it, because the first time I played it, my PC was a 486 (Am5x86). Installation took a while, and it stuttered endlessly through the opening introduction. At the end I found the introduction was an in-level intro, as opposed to a separate video, and quickly realised the game was unplayable on my machine...
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 23 2020, @07:14PM
Mine may have been a Pentium II. I don't remember that clearly, but maybe 233 MHZ with 64 MB of RAM.