User Reviews (1 - 11 of 27)

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WARNING: DO NOT BUY THIS PACKAGE!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 18
Date: December 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay, I'm not actually a kid, just too lazy to create an account. Now, the important stuff:
Half Life is a fun game, etc, etc. However, DO NOT, under any circumstances, buy it in this package. There are several reasons for this:
a) This isn't the original. It's the Steam version. You MUST install Steam, connect to the Net, and all this other stuff just to play the games. The games are stored in some special "steam" format that has no exe files or anything. YOU CAN ONLY RUN THE GAMES THROUGH STEAM because of this. This means Steam must always be open and connected to the Net to play any of these games, even the single player, offline ones like Half Life's single player missions.
b) Steam is really bad. I bought this package, and I can't even play the games using it. Steam tries to launch any of them and then the whole computer just freezes up- and my computer is WAAAY above the system requirements for Half Life (it is rather old, after all).
Overall, Half Life is fun and enjoyable, but this package is unplayable. Try to get your hands on an older version of Half Life before it was neutered into this hideous Steam version... even if you can't get Half Life anywhere else and you're desperate to play it, don't buy this package. You'll pay for it... I sure did.

Made Me Nauseous!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 33
Date: August 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After all the hype about this game, I finally picked up a copy. I play a lot of computer games, and have played a few first person shooters, but after about 10 minutes of this game, I felt like I had to throw up. I tried again the next day and had the same reaction. Perhaps it is the realistic motion and physical effects, that everyone raves about, but playing this game actually made me feel sick! You might wanted to avoid this game (or at least keep a supply of dramamine on hand) if you are prone to motion sickness =)

STEAM MUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 24
Date: August 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I can't believe valve is doing this stupid Steam program!!! I have just spent hours trying to find my CD Key since I lost the box! I paid good money for this game and I can't even play it?! Come on!

Valve is dead to me. Concerning steam...lets not even go there.

Steam do not buy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 12
Date: June 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This version has steam, If you buy it in only a few years steam will be gone and your game is toast. SINCE it has to connect to the internet to make sure your the only copy using that code. You can only play a few offline games befour it askes you to connect. BUT it has to connect at least once to get the real cd key. The real key is stored at steam. You do not own this game when you buy it. Your just renting it. Alot of companys have done this in the past and when they go out of busniss you just have another coster. DO NOT BUY there are version of this game that have no steam! Im so stupid for buying this copy. Half life 2 is the same. Buy that on xbox and you will not have to deal with steam.

MUST HAVE INTERNET ACCESS !!!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 16
Date: February 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Ok so i bought this game because i love half life. The only problem is you must first have internet acess to even install it it's some bullshi*!! scheme that valve and steam have come up with. you have to register your product with steam and they will issue you a lisensn. like the other guy said what happens if steam goes out of business and i loose my cd key are how are they going to give me a new one just a thought avoid this product and get the orignials where you don't have to register online.

Perspective from an unbiased and casual gamer.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 19
Date: January 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

OK. I am not a computer gamer who constantly stays online playing games. Not my cup of tea. I get a few here and there to make up for slow time or when the wife is nagging me, or if no football is on.

So I have already played Half Life 2 and Episode 1 and have reviews of both. It was a fun experience minus the quirks that make the game less than 100% in my opinion.

I get this one and I do not understand what all the excitement was about. Granted it was something new and not your typical run and gun shoot em up game, rather you had to think in this one.

The puzzles were some what trying and that made the game interesting, but the HUGE downside was the Mario Brothers type gameplay. I mean, jumping onto spinning blades and then onto another spinning blade? Having to be at a particular spot to make a jump reminds me of all those silly games you had to be at a perfect spot to make the jump or no free life. It made the game frustrating and at times I had to walk away.

The graphics are ok, but were state of the art in 99 and Valve has done a good job at fixing it here and there, but those Mario Brothers parts are tedious and had me saving at jump parts not on the fight sequences. Weird huh?

Now Steam, while I get the whole fact of pirating and copying games, but Steam and Valve need to come up with something better.

I buy a game at the store and enter my key and then have to download something else which then downloads the game I have already purchased again? Call me old fashioned but if Steam goes out of business, are they refunding me my money? Are they sending me a CD? DVD? Coupon?

Take this into account they have no online customer service other than a email system that has transformed buying into something of a russian roulette nightmare. Whatever happened to customer service and supporting products?

If you are a serious gamer and play on a regular basis, this is the game for you, if you are like me and only play on occasion, I would avoid this game, $10 is not worth the aggravation and the insanity that is steam.

Hopelessly out of date

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 35
Date: June 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After playing the excellent Half Life 2 and it's sequel Episode One. I decided to blindly purchase this earlier Anthalogy. What a mistake. This game feels like it belongs on an Atari 2600 as the graphics and sound are an embarrassment to behold. Either remake this game or send it out to pasture. What a relic.

A scrutiny of Half-Life

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 10
Date: September 05, 2007
Author: Amazon User

First, to give credit where credit is due, Half-Life, being one of the originals to start the trend in Alien shooters, had an excellent plot by comparison to some of the other popular shooters. Likewise, it was an innovater of the true first-person shooter concept, there were literally no cutscenes where you the player were somehow capable of traveling outside your own body to look at stuff from different perspectives. Overall, the idea being, that such third-person cut-scenes detract from a little concept called role-playing. Not only was the plot interesting, but the very concept was fascinating to me as I'm something of a Sci-Fi fanatic. Yet, I can say honestly, that I would have been happier if the alien presence in the game simply hadn't been there and it was really all about trying to survive your own government, during a scientific disaster. What I can and will knock this game for is what I knock most PC original titles for. The programmers were lazy & cheap enough, not to include gamepad support. And frankly, this concept being thought of as acceptable or 'okay' by PC elitests is a testiment to the fact that they've lost touch with the very purpose of the PC itself: being a useful tool, which can make life easier. I firmly believe, the play control issues that result in all games that are for the PC and stick with the keyboard and mouse routine, would benefit greatly in terms of simplicity and enjoyability if the program and design section that supplies the PC with games, could be bothered, to allow for a more proper, and more efficent interface tool to be used. Further, I attribute this very issue, almost solitarily as the reason why behind the stats that proove, even though a PC is technically more graphics capable and can provide better sound quality, more people are willing to drop 600 dollars on a PSIII or other console rather than even bother with PC gaming - at all. And sadly, the PC-elitest snobbery that 'game-pad' is a bad word is to blame - as it simply enables the very platform they support, supposedly, to get pwnd in the market. Because while more capability should be a selling point of the PC, it's definitely not in this case, due directly to a lack of pride amongst it's game developers.

Good Game, Bad Package

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 36 / 36
Date: November 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Half Life was an amazing game wtih great AI, a story that had you glued to your PC and good graphics. That was 1998. Today it's still a classic that any true gamer should play. But this package "Half Life 1 Anthology" is not the way to get it. This package contains:

Half-Life
Half Life: Blue Shift
Half Life: Opposing Force
Team Fortress Classic

It does not contain Counter-Strike. For a better value, I would get "Half Life Platinum Collection Second Edition". it contains:

Half Life
Half Life: Blue Shift
Half Life: Opposing Force
Half Life: Counter-Strike
Team Fortress Classic

Although only Counter-Strike seems like the only difference, having a real Half Life CD-Key is a big plus. Mods work, you get more extras and generally a better experience/ deal than a crippled package.

To Parents: This is a violent game. It fully deserves a M rating with lots of blood, dismemberment, realistic combat and gore. But there is absolutely nothing past that.

This box isn't that bad.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 21, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I just bought this game yesterday, and when I got online and looked at some of the reviews I was a little worried about how well it would play, due to the Steam game engine. The fact that it only comes with one cd-rom disc for 4 games also had me a little concerned.

However, once everything was installed, there's been no problems. Despite what some reviews might say, you CAN PLAY THIS GAME OFFLINE.
Once you've installed the game, and set up your Steam account, put in the cd key, etc. you can simply click the game icon and the steam account will try to start up, but once it realises you're not online it'll give you the option of playing in offline mode.
My computer didn't suffer any lags or gameplay problems, so aside from the fact that setting up the Steam account and downloading the updates will take almost 3 hours on a 56k.
For the price, it's a good deal. just don't be surprised when you can't play it right out of the box.

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