"Why is the first minute of Tuesday, November 16th so newsworthy? This is the moment that game fans around the world have been waiting for! Vivendi Universal Games is pleased to announce that Half-Life 2, one of the most highly anticipated PC action games of 2004, will be available in retail stores across North America starting Tuesday, November 16, 2004 at 12:01am." - Voodoo Extreme.
"Yes, we'd barely believe it either if we hadn't seen it ourselves: Half-Life 2 is here. More than six years in development, more than a year dramatically in the public eye, weathering delays and code theft and controversy, the sequel to one of the highest-rated PC games ever is now officially available." - pc.ign.com
"After over half a decade of development, stolen source code debacle, a promised deadline that was missed by a year, and a feud between the developer and the publisher that is still in court, Half-Life 2 has finally started to activate for those who have purchased online via Steam online or who grabbed the boxed version at the retailers that let it slip early. Go play!" - Slashdot.