Half-Life is ten, buy it cheap

By Oli Welsh Published 20 November, 2008

I'd buy that for a dollar. Or 98 cents.

Valve's classic first-person shooter Half-Life is ten years old. To celebrate its birthday yesterday, the developer has made it available to buy for 98 of your American cents.

You can get it at that bargain price from Valve's download service, Steam. If you don't have a copy, you really should. We're going to. Right now.

Half-Life redefined storytelling and artificial intelligence in shooters when it was released on PC on 19th November 1998, and it's still tremendous fun to play.

If memory serves, this means it should also be the tenth birthday of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time around now... tomorrow, in fact. We doubt Nintendo will be offering that masterpiece for such a bargain sum, however.

November 1998, we salute you. Officially a good month in games.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • oxymoron #1 3 years ago

    a true milestone in videogaming history!

    huzzah!

  • LHH #2 3 years ago

    Put up on Live for the equivilent in MS points!

  • space_ace #3 3 years ago

    great game!

    didn't grim fandango come out the same month?!

  • GamesConnoisseur #4 3 years ago

    So its 65 pee in the real money!

  • Pirotic #5 3 years ago

    10 years already? jesus that makes me feel old.

  • Toothball #6 3 years ago

    I bought it despite having a real copy. Seemed foolish not to.

  • systems #7 3 years ago

    I can remember when I bought HL on release day. I'd never heard of it until the day before when a mate mentioned it, saying it would be the big game for years to come. He's not often wrong so I handed over the readies and asked him to get me a copy while he was out.

    And he was right. Apart from the ending, it was a favourite for years and probably the first game which scared me (A3D sound support really made it).

  • ZuluHero #8 3 years ago

    ohh i remember having this for christmas 10 years ago... Seems fitting to get this to recapture the magic of one of the fond times in my youth...

    Dark room, with only the christmas tree lights for illumination while exploring black mesa :)

    funny EG should mention Zelda, as that shares the same experience :p

  • Les #9 3 years ago

    Played it recently, still an awesome game. Level design is stunning. Might play it again once the Black Mesa mod is released.

  • rudedudejude #10 3 years ago

    haha, Holy shit.

    I remember seeing this for the first time on a mate's pc and wetting my pants. Coloured lighting! Soft edges! I was watching the monorail scene and though it was a movie cutscene, then he moved around and you could move! hahaha ahh those were the days when groundbreaking games made you pause and go WOW.

  • Eraysor #11 3 years ago

    Sold/10!

  • Canyarion #12 3 years ago

    Hm I might get it. Wait, I think I have it somewhere, but I lost the CD. :( I once bought the edition with the first 2 expansion packs. Never played those...

  • Pastici #13 3 years ago

    Robocop \o/

  • penguin_overlord #14 3 years ago

    I still remember the day I played this ten years ago. That journey on the train into the complex and the whole build up to the accident was just great. Truly an amazing game! The way the story twisted and turned really set it apart from other games at the time. Half Life 2 and its two episodes continue the tradition.

  • IronCladChicken #15 3 years ago

    I thought this was already free on Steam?
    (or was it just given away to early adopters?)

  • Phily50 #16 3 years ago

    November 2008- also a truly brilliant era for gamers

  • skillian #17 3 years ago

    I also remember being completely floored while watching a friend play it.

    It was the game that really got me into PC gaming (also Quake 3), and it still stands as probably the highlight of all the games I've played. Right up there with Monkey Island and slightly above Goldeneye.

    Better games have been released since (though not many), but nothing has given me the feeling quite like playing Half-Life for the first time.

  • TheMoonRat #18 3 years ago

    Early adopters to steam got their half life games transferred across .... but then I have blue shift and opposing forces on my steam and I never bought or had either of those.

    And it's funny someone should mention Grim Fandango... just installed it at work today to play! It was released For Haloween 2008, so October 30th; very nearly November tho. Very good month for games!

  • robson_wii #19 3 years ago

    98 for Halflife is a bargain since I've lost my CD. Would be funny to see how it looks 10 years on.
    Ocarina of Time and Master quest came free with the Wind Waker package (also a bargain!)
    Never finished Grim Fandango but what I remember it was quirky and funny but not quite Monkey Island

  • matrim83 #20 3 years ago

    (Dont) Forget about Freeman.

    Yay for Half life.

  • Vivid #21 3 years ago

    The Dreamcast is also ten years old this month, I think that officially makes November 1998 the best month for videogamery ever!

  • shotgun44 #22 3 years ago

    Greatest game of all time

  • bodypopper #23 3 years ago

    Recently remade as Resistance 2 of course

    ...just kidding ;-)

    Awesome game.

    Now I feel old :-(
    Edited by 1 at 20/11/08 @ 15:25

  • sneetch #24 3 years ago

    I remember the joy of coming across the "Yore dead Freeman" graffiti. Well, after killing a few hundred of those soldier goons I'm not surprised it got personal.

    Ahhh Zelda: TOOT. Awesome.

    It was a good month alright.

  • drewster #25 3 years ago

    i got this on day one, and told a friend who wasn't a massive PC gamer, how awesome it was. He duly went and got it the next day, i then went round to see him to see how he was getting on, and oh how i laughed when i saw he was playing it with a big analogue joystick, and still do almost every time I see him. He's since converted to WASD / mouse, much to my disappointment, lol.