When I click on halflife 2 steam says I'm not ready to run in offline mode. I have to connected to the internet to start the game. Once started I can stop the game and disconect from the internet.
Now I can play the game without going on line, but if I shut down my comp. and start it up again I can't run half life 2 until I connect to the internet again. I don't understand why I have to be connected to the internet to start the game.
Thanks,
Richard

Well I finished it and my initial instinct was: That's it? I suppose that G-man means something to Half Life fans but it left me cold.

That Steam thing from VU has me steamed! I managed to play off line and even unplugged my DSL modem to make sure that I was off line. Those with internal modems will probably have a more difficult time.

A manual would have been nice to explain things like that amoung other things so a player wouldn't have to go to their site to answer these and other such questions.

Great, Oldman. Got another one under your belt. I agree, the Steam acrobats are a little much.

Oldman, the G man only really means anything by reference to the original game. I really enjoyed the game but agree about the ending: I understand that this was deliberate to make way for a third instalment.

Although the graphics are now a bit dated, if you enjoyed HL2 you should probably try HL1.

One of the things I liked about both games was the lack of maps: all the time you have to figure out where/what next and it is (almost) always possible to work it out from what you have on screen.

Craig, as another retarded 50+ I am interested to know what other games do it for you. Although I toyed with Doom and Quake, I have not found anything as satisfying to my tastes as Half Life and some of the Prince of Persia series.

Lex,

Coming from an adventure gamer background, I like shooters that have alternate routes/methods to a goal, some exploration and puzzle solving and not just a frag fest like Doom3 or Serious Sam. Some of my faves are No One Lives Forever, Far Cry, Splinter Cell,Deus Ex I, Thief.

I am also a big fan of WWII shooter like Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

I loved the atmosphere and adventuring of PoP Sands of Time, but the fighting sequences were extremely frustrating and the lack of saves did me in.

I entirely agree about PoP SoT, but much enjoyed PoP 3D: I now have PoP Warrior within , but have not yet progressed beyond the intro.

From your recommendation and other things I have read, I will have to give Splinter Cell and Thief a try.

Although I quite enjoyed the WW2 shooters you mention, I prefer something with more of an exotic or fantastic edge (hence HL and PoP). I am thinking of trying Chronicles of Riddick.

Thanks.