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Details on Half-Life 2 - Orange and Black Editions

Posted by Zonk on from the colors-are-easy-to-understand dept.

A post at Game|Life lays out details on the upcoming Half-Life 2 releases. Instead of an unwieldy name (Half-Life 2 : Episode Two and a bunch of other stuff) they've given the PC and console releases color-coded names. The PC release, containing Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 will be available as Half-Life 2: Orange. Half-Life 2: Black will be the 360/PS3 release, and will contain all of the above plus Episode One and the original campaign. Both boxes are expected in 'late summer' of this year.

3 of 73 comments (clear)

  1. Games without freedom zero == no sale for me by Aim+Here · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And of course the Steam EULA will force you to bend over and be raped by Valve Software. You don't even have the right to run the game you pay for.

    I wonder how long before their source engine games are subjected to the same bait and switch tactics that they used with HL:Counterstrike, where they now inflict advertisements on the players, supposedly to pay for the Steam servers that they forced everyone to "upgrade" to.

    When you buy a Valve game, what you're paying for, with real money, is the right to *request* that you be allowed to use some nonspecific software, which they can revoke at any time they want to, and where you'll be subjected to forcible upgrades. It's not up to you to decide whether you're happy with version 1.1 and want to stick with it; if version 1.2 comes out, full of billboards and with a subliminal voice whispering 'Please buy Brand X fizzy pop', that's the version you play, or not at all.

    With my Digital Rights being Managed like this, I'll stick to nethack, thanks...

    1. Re:Games without freedom zero == no sale for me by bigbigbison · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Steam may be highly problematic, but at least with it I can at least play the games I have bought. I've ran into copy protections on at least 3 other games that prevented me from even installing the games legally. I tried them on 3 different drives on two machines and you know how I finally ended up getting the games to work? bittorrent. It seems that the cracking community has no problems with eliminating the copy protection, only the people who actually pay for the games.
      I'll take Steam over that kind of copy protection any day of the week.

      --
      http://www.popularculturegaming.com -- my blog about the culture of videogame players
  2. I looked through my classic game collection by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Last night I fired up Red Alert after looking through a big collection of classic games from long gone companies.

    The on line game mode no longer works. Westwood on line no longer is it seems.

    If a once-great gaming giant can cut off service... why does anyone think that Valve won't in the future? Except that then instead of not being able to play on line you won't be able to play at all.

    It's hard to tell people that they should say no to Steam now when they won't feel the effects for another 10-15 years. Heck, even then it won't feel like a disaster... but it's pretty sad to lose a part of the past when there is no good *technical* reason, just a business one.

    --
    Beep beep.