Following this link, you’ll see that Valve Software is offering, for pre-order, Half-Life 2. Careful examination of the various digital distribution packages available — Bronze, Silver, and Gold — reveals that you get access to Counter-Strike: Source immediately and, with purchase of the Gold bundle, the chance to win a trip to visit Valve.
I’m tempted to purchase the Gold set, as the chance for a free flight down to the States to hang out with the Valve crew is, well, it’s really cool. To be specific, though, it’s the possibility of picking the brains of one Dario Casali — an employee of Valve and one-half of the team that crafted Final DOOM’s fucking brilliant The Plutonia Experiment thirty-two level episode — in person that really has my interest. Dario’s an old-schooler DOOMer who, on a handful occasions, I’ve had the privilege of swapping e-mail with. He’s one helluva guy, and bloody, bloody talented.
That, and I get Half-Life 2 out of the deal… plus a whole slew of other goodies. Hmmm.