I got mine in the early september batch, tho i can't play it, cos of my stupid f**king geforce 440mx card. I'm thinking about inporting a bfg 6800 gt oc, from the us and that download will take you ages. I think it took me about 1 week or 2.
To activate offline mode, you had to login at least once, so try and get a 1 month dialup plan (or u might be able to find like a 7 day trial) and log into steam once, after u have installed hl2. Or if ur lucky, you might not need steam to play hl2 sp.
The setence in bold fits in perfectly with the train station level. Remember the bit where Nova Prospekt is on that wall or something. Near that, there is that place where that combind guard took u to. In the area, you see this guy locked in a cell, been integregrated and you go into the next...