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posted by martyb on Thursday January 23 2020, @02:27AM   Printer-friendly
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.


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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:12AM (4 children)

    by Gaaark (41) on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:12AM (#947197) Journal

    The humble bundle has Europa Universalis IV and a ton of DLC on sale for cheap too!

    Now I have to relearn how to play it! :)

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by stretch611 on Thursday January 23 2020, @08:37AM (3 children)

    by stretch611 (6199) on Thursday January 23 2020, @08:37AM (#947303)

    I noticed this...

    However, Europa Universalis IV is a paradox release.

    Despite it working on linux, it DLC's you to death. On the steam store page, (I have the base game only) it says "Add All DLC to Cart" for the low, low price of $341.73. (Seriously, WTF???)

    A crapton of over-priced is the standard method used by Paradox. And while the base game goes on sale (and sometimes for quite cheap) the DLC is usually expensive and rarely goes on sale for more the 10% off.

    The current bundle for EU IV does include a lot of DLC for the game, but it is truly just a portion of it. My (admittedly biased and cynical) guess is that the reason for the cheap package deal is to get a big cash infusion from the game and sell other DLC's not included in the bundle, all right before they announce a new sequel, Europa Universalis V.

    IMHO, you are better off spending your money with Humble Bundle's other current bundles.... The "HUMBLE AUSTRALIA FIRE RELIEF BUNDLE" -- 29 games for $25 with all the proceeds going to charity (but it ends in only 9.5 hours from the time of this post at 1pm EST) or the casual bundle of "garden games" featuring Stardew Valley. Both of which also contain many games that support linux as well.

    --
    Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:10AM (1 child)

      by Gaaark (41) on Thursday January 23 2020, @11:10AM (#947333) Journal

      The only DLC's i have are the HB ones and free ones. Paying for others seems a waste: when you can play as any nation in the world, that's a lot of game play with or without DLC's.

      I just like the strategy.....

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday January 28 2020, @01:36PM

        by stretch611 (6199) on Tuesday January 28 2020, @01:36PM (#950042)

        Well, there is a reason...

        My guess was not right, but I was right about them trying to pull as much cash out of it as possible.

        With the assumption that this article [gamingonlinux.com] is correct, Paradox wants to collect rent and start offering DLC subscriptions. Pay every month; and lose all the DLC when you stop.

        --
        Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:42PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @03:42PM (#947456)

      I agree with your sentiment, but your conclusion is wrong. The current HB has all DLCs, except the cosmetic ones (and maybe one irrelevant one) for ~17 EURO last i checked.

      So its like a 90% discount on the whole bundle. Of course paradox will continue bringing out new dlcs, but I guestimate not for more than 2 years (like ck2, the game is starting to age).

      Its a good deal to piss on their dlc policy. You can always pick up the 3-4 future dlcs on sale (which actually on steam typically goes to 50% after ~6 months).