I've just found that on a french website. And it isn't a joke. You can find HL2 in russian stores... It seems to have little bugs but it works... damn! It is not officially released!
Now I think we know where the stolen code has gone...
I can't wait to hear player reviews about the game, even if it's a leaked version. Hopefully Valve's official version will be much better than the leaked one, and players will buy the game legally.
RACC home - Bots-United: beer, babies & bots (especially the latter) "Learn to think by yourself, else others will do it for you."
I don't think it is right stealing other peoples software, but a lot of damage could of been avoided had Valve not taken such an incredibly long time. It appears these Russian crooks can code faster and better than Valve can. In any case, if I had a choice between the official version or some funny pirated version, I'd pay for the real thing. You'd have to pay me to install the pirated version on my desktop, as who knows what's inside it.
True botmeister. I do doubt if those "Russian crooks" code that much. I think once it compiles they just packaged it and made a nice installer or something.
So far what i have seen of this 'pirated version' on the web, is a screenshot of the BOX. This is easy to fake, i did not see new screenshots, things we never have seen/heard before either. I think this is just a hoax to earn money from those gamers who are to stupid to pay for pirated software.
I'd wait for the real thing too, even if it takes 2 extra years. I think it will be worth it.