Why should Valve even try and create a Half-life multiplayer if they know that Counterstrike is availiable anyway?
Stores opening at Midnight for Halo 2? Steam is gonna be runnin overtime when Half-life 2 is availiable!
Graphic worries? That's the genius of it all, the incredibly innovative thing that Valve did with the game's engine is make it Direct-x reliant, so it will automatically configure itself to be playable on any standard respectable Computer and not just the Top-range machines!
One of the reasons Edge gave it a 10 apparently, revolutionary thinking
Halo 2 is going to be good,
damn good, but Half-life 2's the daddy!