I’ll admit it: I had a bit too much fun with the last Half Life article. In hindsight, it may have been a little mean-spirited to hardcore fans of the franchise who genuinely wanted real news. Mea Culpa. I hope this makes up for it! So, until November 18, you can get Half Life 2, Episode 1, and Episode 2 entirely for free on Steam. (A handy link for your convenience!)
Indeed, Half Life 2 is celebrating its 20th anniversary! Honestly, there are many great Half Life deals you can capitalize on. Oh, and I’ll even post the cool 20th Anniversary documentary Valve released on its official YouTube channel!
“Our HL1 25th anniversary documentary went so well that we invited Secret Tape back to make another one—this time focusing on HL2. And it’s about a lot more than just the making of a game. Running out of money. Getting hacked, and an early version being leaked online. Being sued by our publisher. Trying to build Steam. It’s all in there!” the description for the video states.
the games are over: take advantage of all these wonderful ‘half life’ deals
Truthfully, the documentary is a fascinating watch even if you aren’t a hardcore fan of the franchise! It’s always nice when a formative game is remembered so fondly and is readily available for new audiences to enjoy. It may not be a third game, but Valve is showing everyone that they still care about the series.
Oh, and you won’t be playing a “flat” version of Half Life 2, either! Basically, here’s everything Valve added to the game!
‘Half Life 2’ Updated Game Content
- Fixed pops, holes in the world, fading-out and disappearing objects across the game.
- Rebalanced the lighting across Half-Life 2 to account for playing with HDR on or off, using the original release as reference.
- Cleaner, smoother horizon lines thanks to new radial fog!
- Added higher-resolution lightmaps across the game!
- Removed green glow from the G-Man model’s eyes in the opening of the game, and restored the reflective glint as seen in the original release.
- Also, fixed missing grass sprites and blacked-out models throughout the game!
Updated Graphics Settings
- Choose either the original launch day blood and fire effects, or those created for the episodes, when playing the Half-Life 2 base game!
- Play with only the highest detail models in High-Quality mode!
- Further, get smoother lightmap shadows at Very High shader detail, thanks to new bicubic lightmap filtering!
Gamepad, Input, and Steam Deck Updates
- Gamepad controls have been updated to match the HL1 anniversary update.
- Aim Assistance has gotten an overhaul making it feel better to use, and there are more configuration options available. Additionally, Aim Assistance can be enabled separately for gamepad or mouse/keyboard input. The amount of assistance can be tuned up and down, and it’s no longer tied to a skill setting. Want to play on Hard with high aim assist, or Easy with it off? Knock yourself out.
- The Steam Deck main menu has been updated with all of today’s additions including the Episodes, Workshop, and new input configuration. Finally, the Steam Deck version of the main menu will also appear when you play HL2 on a PC running Big Picture Mode.
The post Seriously, You Can Get ‘Half Life 2’ With All the Fixings for Free appeared first on VICE.
The post Seriously, You Can Get ‘Half Life 2’ With All the Fixings for Free appeared first on VICE.
