14 DAY TRIAL // Today is a very special day for Half-Life 2, the game that managed to influence an entire generation and the industry for years to come. Today, Half-Life 2 is 11 years old.
The launch of Half-Life happened so many years ago that it's possible for the younger gamers not to know what the deal with this title is. They might have seen it mentioned here and there, but for the most part, it's something that older people were playing a decade ago.
It's hard to believe that Half-Life 2 was coming out 11 years ago, and we have to take a minute to pause and consider what has happened since then.
Valve turned from a big company to a multi-billion dollar giant, and the gaming industry is rivaling and even surpassing the film industry. Half-Life 2 played a big role in this and it all has to do with Valve.
Half-Life 2 needed Steam
Half-Life 2 was the first game that needed Steam installed on the system, a move that made a lot of people unhappy. The game was so good that the critics remained silent. Steam continued to be a lumbering mess for a few years, but it got better and grew into the application that we know and love today.
Half-Life 2 was built on a new engine called Source that also revolutionized how games were made. A lot of companies bought that engine and made games with it, making Valve even richer in the process.
It's hard to imagine what the world of gaming would be like today without one of the most iconic games, but we do know a thing for sure. It would be a lot poorer. You can buy Half-Life 2 today, and it would be a blast, so with that in mind, I think I might just start that game once more, for old time’s sake.