Well, Half Life 2 is going to be available for retail purchase tomorrow, and at midnight tonight they will be unlocking the authentication servers. I'm all for technology and all, but it sucks to have bought a game that you can't play, you know? This is one of the reasons why I haven't bought into steam, which is Valves content delivery system.. though someone on /. called it more of a content restriction system instead. I understand why they need this, but on the other hand, if I own the game why can't I play it, and more pointedly, after I unlock the game to play (assuming that unlocking is needed for the single player retail purchase), do I need the auth servers to be up to play in the future, say in 5 years (Half Life 1 is about that old right?).
Anyway, can't wait for tomorrow!