My boiling point was almost reached. After purchasing Half-Life 2’s retail package, I spent one hour and fourty-one minutes waiting to create a "Steam" account, unlock content and register my key. Finally after almost falling over the edge of reason, Half-Life 2 loaded up for the first time.
Now, after 3 hours of single player gameplay, I will only be able to recall the initial difficulties with the Steam network because of this text. Half-Life 2’s graphics and gameplay totally wiped all Rants from my memory and I have had a smile on my face since selecting "New Game."
The game is awesome. Valve out did themslelves yet again.
If you have not purchased a copy and enjoy the FPS style of play, do so. If you already have the CD/DVD version installed, but still experiencing problems, try again in a few minutes. It is well worth the wait.
Too much time already spent on typing this text… must… get back to… Half-Life 2…