'Official' Half-Life 2 Thread. Do Not Create New Threads (NO SPOILERS)

[Luci]

oohhhhhhhh why did you say that man?now i'm sad cause i have to wait for another 3 weeks...

[Asimov]

So many great games coming soon. I must admit that Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is at the top of my list just above HL2.

I can hardly contain my anticipation.

[Grumpy]

Only 11 sleeps to go!!!

[krondike]

I hope Half Life 2 is protected with the latest Starforce protection. Then we got a pain in the ass. . 10000 people are gonna beg for crack and crackers etc etc.. bla bla bla.
Lucky for us (not for the company) that Doom3 was only protected with SafeDisc 3.2........

[freeman002]

the next big game should be the one im playing right now FLAT OUT

NOW THIS IS HOW IT SHOULD OF BEEN MADE IN THE FIRST PLACE

[Luciel]

the only thing thats missing from flatout that i liked from destruction derby games, is that, the wheels cant come off, and that no matter how much u bash the car it still goes on, whilst on the others u could tip an enemy car over or smash right into it and kill it, that was real fun

[Grumpy]

Heard from my local game shop today, where I have my order in for Halflife 2, that I will have to now wait till the 17th! Is that the same in other countries?
So thats another sleep added!

[t.foster73]

I take it you've all heard about HL2, and how it requires online activation in order to run. Does this mean the disks will not have any copy protection? Most of the core code is already available for download via STEAM, but I really don't like relying on a third party in order to run software. What if you want to play in a few years, and the website no longer exists? Is this just the activation of a unique serial code, or is crucial core data downloaded to the target machine? If it's hardware based, then does that mean you can't set up a LAN at home without buying 2 or more copies? And what about buying a seconhand copy (from GAMESTATION say)? Also GAME (UK) told me today that I've as much chance of getting a copy on the 16th as hell has of freezing over. I REALLY hope someone cracks this online activation fiasco quickly, as I don't fancy the idea of 'leasing' a game from Valve, although I understand that in law, you are only purchasing the 'right to play' for any game you buy. I bet I (and many) spend more time whining on this site next week than we actually spend playing the game.