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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: 4, Insightful) by shortscreen on Thursday January 23 2020, @01:27PM (4 children)
You have to hand over your computer to Valve first, and ask their permission every time you want to use it thereafter.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday January 23 2020, @04:09PM (3 children)
'eh, they do have some offline capability, but it's admittedly pretty poor. I highly recommend GOG as a great alternative to every other game platform. You get a DRM free (No DRM included) installer and can legally back that up on a DVD, if you so choose. The DRM free installer also doesn't need to phone home for you to install it thereafter. Sure, there are a couple Multiplayer experiences that do require EULAs &/or DRM, but I don't know of any game on GOG that doesn't install and just work without the DRM.
Even better, GOG includes a steam like client, so you can have the benefits of a Steam like game client and the awesome experience of not feeding the DRM troll.
GOG is what I always wanted, it's the best solution you're going to find for copyrighted content.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 23 2020, @04:28PM
Yup, my MO is if I see something on Steam that I want, I first check in GOG has it for a comparable price, before I buy on Steam.
I find the GOG interface a bit clunkier than Steam, but I am willing to deal with that for the DRM-free goodness of the games themselves.
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Friday January 24 2020, @01:57AM (1 child)
I agree that GOG is infinitely superior, I've been using it for a long time. Never tried GOG Galaxy though. A few other non-DRM sources for games are dlsite.com (a few big publishers and lots of indie/doujin, also has non-game software, audio, manga, and royalty-free art), itch.io and gamejolt.com (indie games of varying quality)
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday January 24 2020, @03:20PM
The updated GOG Galaxy client is pretty awesome. I'd still take advantage of the ability to have a backup of your install files, though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"