Q: How many CDs or DVDs will the game be (and if possible, the Collector's Edition)?
A: Doug Lombardi told me that Half-Life 2 will most likely be 4 CDs and 1 DVD. The Collector's Edition might be the only one in DVD format, however.
Q: How long is the game, and how linear is it?
A: The game itself is roughly around 25 hours of game play. As far as how linear the game is, it sort of depends on the user playing. VALVe had many play testers say the game did not feel linear at all. One thing is certain: it's much less linear than the original.
Q: Does the game start off the same way as Half-Life 1?
A: The game starts off similarly as Half-Life 1: you are on a train headed for City 17 and you have no weapons. You step out of the train and notice a giant screen with some crazy guy with a beard talking about something. You start to walk and something flies up to you and takes your picture. "Wonder what that was?" As you continue on, you see a combine shove another guy into a luggage cart, knocking over some of the bags. If you try and interfere or throw something at the combine, he beats you with a stick. On the other side of the area is a combine solider ordering around what looks like an Alien Slave from the first game. I didn't get a close-up look so I can't be sure. That's as much as I'm going to spoil