W
Wraith
Guest
by now everyone has seen this:
i am going to break down the pros and cons of each and every package, and tell you which one i personally believe to be the best value. here goes:
============================================
Retail Boxes
Standard Edition — includes HL2 and CS:Source. Ships on six CDs, in one of three box-art packages (Gordon, Alyx or the G-Man)
ok, you get the game and CSS, that is nice but 6 cds? thats a pain in the ass. and the box art really doesnt matter at all (unless you are a super fan-boy with a lot of money to buy the game 3 times just for box art)
Collector's Edition — includes Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source, a Half-Life 2 T-shirtand a Prima book sampler. Ships on a single DVD.
ok here we go! this is worth it just for the damn DVD, you get CSS like everyone else and you get half life 1 source which is nice, but really, you are paying an extra 30 dollars or so for a t shirt which ultimately doesnt matter at all, and the strat guide (not the nice coffee table book "half life 2: raising the bar" )
so if you are going with the retail packages, the regular one is cheaper and doesnt come with hl:s (i personally plan on beating hl:s before i even play hl2, but some others probably dont care) and also is a pain in the ass with 6 cds, the CE is 30 bucks more and you dont really get anything extra for that.
now on to the steam packs:
Steam Packages
Bronze — HL2* and CS:Source.
ah, the poor man's hl2. if you are just getting this as a game and not a change to your lifestyle (i consider this game a change in my life, how sad
) this is the one for you. youll probably play the game for a week and not even beat it, trying to rush through it without taking your time and letting the sweetness of it linger on your tongue. cheap, but really lacking in longevity.
Silver — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam.
hmm, this one pretty much has it all. you can play hl:s through and revel in the nostalgia of it all, then play half life 2 slowly and deliberately, making sure to stare at the pretty walls and lighting effects for at least 20 minutes, beat that game a few times, play CS:S and DOD:S online, and any other mods that have come out as of yet. this is the package to get if you plan to play this game for at least the next 10 years (i sure am!)
Gold — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam, Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games, 3 different Half-Life 2 posters, Half-Life 2 hat, Half-Life 2 postcard, Half-Life 2 stickers, Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD, Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased).
one look at this and you say "I WANT IT!!!" but calm down a second and look closely. what exactly are you getting in addition to the silver package?
1. Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games
this book is really pointless, god invented google.com so that you wouldnt have to buy books like this. plus, you should play the game yourself, the fun is in figuring the stuff out on your own. (now if this were the raising the bar book, i would say hell yeah)
2. 3 different Half-Life 2 posters
come on, you most likely have one already, and who really needs them? its just more crap.
3. Half-Life 2 hat
i don't wear hats. maybe if it's a nice leather baseball cap. i doubt that though.
4. Half-Life 2 postcard
i have never bought a postcard before and im not going to start now.
5. Half-Life 2 stickers
this is starting to get a bit ridiculous. stickers? come on man.
6. Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD
that's kinda cool but i seem to recall quite a few of you bitching about how shitty the music is compared to HL1.
7. Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased)
even if you DO win, the game will be released by then, so you won't really get anything out of going there, other than seeing the golden crowbar for yourself. plus there will be tons of people buying this, so you will probably go with like 200 other people, and come low-end valve lackey will lead you around for an hour and you wont meet gabe.
so in summation, the retail packages are complete shit unless you are some dude thats in the mall and picks it up and says "oh half life 2? that sounds sorta cool"
and unless the gold package costs less than 20 dollars more than the silver package, im going with the silver pack, ill get everything you gold guys will get, except i wont have posters and hats and stickers and junk like that.
i am going to break down the pros and cons of each and every package, and tell you which one i personally believe to be the best value. here goes:
============================================
Retail Boxes
Standard Edition — includes HL2 and CS:Source. Ships on six CDs, in one of three box-art packages (Gordon, Alyx or the G-Man)
ok, you get the game and CSS, that is nice but 6 cds? thats a pain in the ass. and the box art really doesnt matter at all (unless you are a super fan-boy with a lot of money to buy the game 3 times just for box art)
Collector's Edition — includes Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source, a Half-Life 2 T-shirtand a Prima book sampler. Ships on a single DVD.
ok here we go! this is worth it just for the damn DVD, you get CSS like everyone else and you get half life 1 source which is nice, but really, you are paying an extra 30 dollars or so for a t shirt which ultimately doesnt matter at all, and the strat guide (not the nice coffee table book "half life 2: raising the bar" )
so if you are going with the retail packages, the regular one is cheaper and doesnt come with hl:s (i personally plan on beating hl:s before i even play hl2, but some others probably dont care) and also is a pain in the ass with 6 cds, the CE is 30 bucks more and you dont really get anything extra for that.
now on to the steam packs:
Steam Packages
Bronze — HL2* and CS:Source.
ah, the poor man's hl2. if you are just getting this as a game and not a change to your lifestyle (i consider this game a change in my life, how sad
) this is the one for you. youll probably play the game for a week and not even beat it, trying to rush through it without taking your time and letting the sweetness of it linger on your tongue. cheap, but really lacking in longevity.Silver — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam.
hmm, this one pretty much has it all. you can play hl:s through and revel in the nostalgia of it all, then play half life 2 slowly and deliberately, making sure to stare at the pretty walls and lighting effects for at least 20 minutes, beat that game a few times, play CS:S and DOD:S online, and any other mods that have come out as of yet. this is the package to get if you plan to play this game for at least the next 10 years (i sure am!)
Gold — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam, Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games, 3 different Half-Life 2 posters, Half-Life 2 hat, Half-Life 2 postcard, Half-Life 2 stickers, Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD, Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased).
one look at this and you say "I WANT IT!!!" but calm down a second and look closely. what exactly are you getting in addition to the silver package?
1. Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games
this book is really pointless, god invented google.com so that you wouldnt have to buy books like this. plus, you should play the game yourself, the fun is in figuring the stuff out on your own. (now if this were the raising the bar book, i would say hell yeah)
2. 3 different Half-Life 2 posters
come on, you most likely have one already, and who really needs them? its just more crap.
3. Half-Life 2 hat
i don't wear hats. maybe if it's a nice leather baseball cap. i doubt that though.
4. Half-Life 2 postcard
i have never bought a postcard before and im not going to start now.
5. Half-Life 2 stickers
this is starting to get a bit ridiculous. stickers? come on man.
6. Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD
that's kinda cool but i seem to recall quite a few of you bitching about how shitty the music is compared to HL1.
7. Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased)
even if you DO win, the game will be released by then, so you won't really get anything out of going there, other than seeing the golden crowbar for yourself. plus there will be tons of people buying this, so you will probably go with like 200 other people, and come low-end valve lackey will lead you around for an hour and you wont meet gabe.
so in summation, the retail packages are complete shit unless you are some dude thats in the mall and picks it up and says "oh half life 2? that sounds sorta cool"
and unless the gold package costs less than 20 dollars more than the silver package, im going with the silver pack, ill get everything you gold guys will get, except i wont have posters and hats and stickers and junk like that.
