Half-Life 2: where to buy?

[Trimoor]

Does anyone know of a good place to buy HL2?
Retail is too expensive, and ebay is too risky.

I'm hoping to get it for ~$25, including the online cd-key.

Is this just wishfull thinking?

[GGKoul]

Look for some boxing day sales... Where I live, there was a few boxing day sales that was selling Half-Life2 for $19.99. 

[thrash242]

I don't know how much it is, but you can buy it directly online.  I think this is how they want you to buy it, since they don't give you much in the box other than CDs (in cheap paper sleeves).  No manual, no CD cases, etc.

You have to go through the Steam BS whether you buy online or not before you are allowed to play (even singleplayer).

[SOAPboy]

Could sell you a Steam account.. but sadly you still need disc 1 to play HL2..

[Trimoor]

Well, I don't want to download it through steam because it makes you intsall a bunch of crap on your computer.  You might as well box up your computer and hand it over to sierra.

If I can get the disks, there are patches availible so you don't have to go through steam. (Legitimate patches nonetheless.  If you bought the game, why can't you just play it?)

In fact, I might not even need the disks.  I can download it p2p, but I would still be buying a lisence (and a cd-key).

Any links to sales?

[abrannan]

Well, I don't want to download it through steam because it makes you intsall a bunch of crap on your computer.  You might as well box up your computer and hand it over to sierra.

Take off the tin-foil hat, son.  You don't install a bunch of crap on your computer.  You'll install more crap on your computer in five minutes of browsing with IE than you ever will with Steam. 

[gprime]

I may be wrong, but I thought HL2 was Steam only?

I probably am, but I thought that's what people have been saying.

I personally bought the "Silver" HL2 package. You get HL2 + every game on steam for one price. Pretty good deal (and no CDs required to play them).

[SOAPboy]

Well, I don't want to download it through steam because it makes you intsall a bunch of crap on your computer.

[Trimoor]

I may be insanely paranoid, but I heard that steam installs stuff on your computer that encrypts your game, keeps tabs on anything you do with it, and has the power to delete your game if it so chooses.

I am probably wrong, so can someone clarify what steam does?  Why would you need to install anything but the actual game?

My plans were to buy a boxed version, then crack the registration/activation to keep prying corporate eyes off me.  Would this completely prevent me from online usage?  Or is it like the old HL where you just need a cd-key to play online?

Oh, and I switched to Mozilla/Firefox years ago, if only to satisfy my compulsive hatred and paranoia of microsoft.

[RayB]

Folks, I have HL2 and once the game is installed, upgraded (cuz Valve has released several big fixes) and you authenticate it once, then you're set and you DON'T have to connect online to play, NOR do you need the CD in the drive (Valve removed that CD check due to either customer complaint, or the security was causing bugs).

And Steam is a little over-rated. In reality it's not much different than LiveUpdate, or other similar net software publishers like EA, etc install with their games (and have been doing for a few years). The only difference is that THIS one requires a user account.

[SOAPboy]

I may be insanely paranoid, but I heard that steam installs stuff on your computer that encrypts your game, keeps tabs on anything you do with it, and has the power to delete your game if it so chooses.

I am probably wrong, so can someone clarify what steam does?