Steam is, *ahem* a steaming piece of crap (ahahaha...ok, sorry), and I would prefer not to use it. Unfortunately, Valve insists that I do (and I'm not sure if their games are even worth the hassle...but back on topic).
The long and the short of it is, I would like to know if there is a legit way of running my games -- which I bought hard, retail copies of from Amazon (i.e. I didn't buy them off Steam) -- when I am disconnected from the internet. Because lately, my DSL connection has been finicky as hell, and it has been cutting out. And then I cannot play Half Life Source or HL2.
Again, I'm not looking for key cracks or any crap like that. I own the real versions of these. But this is bullshit that I have to be online to play a single player game, and I'd like to have a backup plan available in case of future outtages.