..of purchasing this.
Like the style, feel, and story seems interesting. Initial reviews and digging on the net still leave me undecided. Bonus content, mainly soundtrack, is a nice extra. Mod tools are a good sign, will take a while for things to appear from them though. Wonder if some sort of multiplayer would be added, not sure how they would go about that.

Does anyone know if there are plans to continue expanding the game with content updates?

-http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/story.82566/

That's what Seminus (one of the game devs.) said on the official forums !

Hmm read that more as they won't be updating the main game much akin to Minecraft/Terreria and more along the lines of payed DLC/expansions and new versions within the IP.

Slight discount now, will think about it for another day and maybe more info will pop up.

Decided to go for it.
Lack of topics here has me antsy but hopefully it will be a good purchase.

Glad to hear this neat game gets another player!

It's most unfortunate that this game hasn't seen many sales - it's way back on the list of GOG games when you sort them by best sales, even compared to games that were released more recently.

I'm always willing to help out and share info about games including this one but the number of people who actually want to learn about this game seems awfully low. I wrote up an in-depth no bullshit review but I don't think anyone has read it, if you go to the store page you can see I my review got mostly downvotes (only 6 of 14 considered it helpful) and I'm not quite sure if people where too lazy to copy paste the link into a new tab and actually read the full review or if people are angry when you rate a game 5 stars that they feel doesn't "deserve" 5 stars. Feeling over thinking at work there, and you can't fight that with reason regardless of what arguments you bring to the table.
Of course everyone can have their own opinion but this is kind of a strange example, no idea why so many people disagreed even though I earnestly tried to give as much concise info as possible because the game is hardly known and out of respect to the developers who did a great job on this game.

I felt some of the other reviews (including the top rated one) were unfair to the point of inaccurate. For example, the top review said it included opinions from day 1 to the latest update, however the user in question just copy pasted his own review from Steam (written on July 27th 2014) over to GOG (posted on Oct 24th 2014) but of course people in general don't notice such things. The same user also wrote that there's "no need to get cover" in Halfway. That is pretty much 100% wrong. Cover plays an integral part of the tactical gameplay in Halfway as I detailed in my own review. But of course no one read that, because it's "not helpful"?

The problem with store reviews here is that one can't comment on them, I'd be more than willing to debate any issues or answer questions but if someone upvotes or downvotes a review, how on Earth are you supposed to know what they disagreed on and why?
I've never downvotes someone else's reviews or posts on the forum unless it was robot spam, but that's just because I deem it cowardly to not say what you think to someone in person. As much as I prefer GOG over Steam, you can leave comments on review son Steam which think is a great feature. Allows you to point out any inaccurate statements people make.
I wish people would think for themselves rather than just follow the top review and/or vote based on confirmation bias and feelings without sufficient intel. It's quite difficult to help people under these circumstances. I don't get anything out of reviewing, I see it as giving back to the community and keeping it alive. But when crap like that happens, I say to myself: "why bother?"

Anyway, here's the full review to which I linked from my short summary on the store page:
Part1: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post2005
Part 2: http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post2006

I'm sorry to hear that, I really had hoped you would like the game. :'(

As for hit percentages, it could seem aggravating at first that your squad members can't hit the broad side of a barn, even at distances where any halfway trained person would land a shot. It's not quite realistic that sniper rifles end up being the best choice virtually all the time unless you're really just 2-3 tiles away. Assault rifles are surprisingly useless here while in reality they would be much more practical at the close to medium distances in which one fights in the game most of the time.
I have to say though that hitting a target with a close quarters firearm isn't as easy as it seems, even at 30ft. At that distance, I have -shamefully- missed playing a couple shots on the target entirely at the shooting range in real life (SIG P220, not a crap piece at all). When I used a long rifle (SIG 550) to shoot, accuracy was massively better at the same distance of 30 ft, even when given only a very short time for target acquisition. So hit percentages are much better with long rifles at short distances not only in Halfway but also in reality, it is a bit unfortunate though that assault rifles have such abysmal hit rates in the game compared to sniper rifles. I pointed that out in my review but I didn't think it was bad enough to lower the rating from 5 to 4 stars. 3 stars is definitely not enough, it's entirely childish/unfair to give such a low rating to the game. 4.5 stars seems more appropriate and objectively defensible.

In order to hit anything reliably in the game, it's best to use up both action points for the shot and only fire if you have at least a 70% chance or more. There's no real shortage of ammo (you can always buy more, only necessary later in the game though not to a serious degree) so one doesn't need to be stingy as in Gorky 17 where one definitely can't waste anything.
Rather than giving all your Halfway squad members sniper rifles in hopes that they can all hit stuff, I only let people with good aim shoot at longer distances. Less than 8 aim and you're better off just tossing grenades or being a crate runner or bullet sponge.

Actually... havn't played it yet. Was intending to make a video going in blind, procrastinated on that too much and have been playing GW2/Minecraft/AvP/etc with friends.

Multiplayer seems to trump single player game a lot as of late :/

You can always play it later, luckily there is no expiration date on digital games. I sometimes procrastinate on games for many months after getting them until I play them. Guess we all do that to some degree :)

I feel with you. Although I am still playing, I will probably never see the end credits, since the game continues to punish me.

Which is really sad, because Halfway achieved something so far no other game could achieve, namely making me forget how much I don't like the currently so favoured retro look and actually enjoy this graphic style. Originally I was so enthusiastic that I gave a 5 star rating, but soon I fell back to 4 stars. Now I am actually thinking about reducing the rating to 3 stars and removing the game from my Gog Mix.

The problem is not only that team mates constantly keep missing shots with 70% probability to hit and higher (often way more than 3 out of 10 shots will not hit). I soon began to feel annoyed by the games habit to constantly string together fight after fight, thus often forcing you to resort to desperade melee attacks, because you run out of ammo. IF you are able to catch your enemies, that is, since they have the nasty habit to run away and hide within firing range of some turrets.

And right now I am at a mission where you have to fight a couple of enemies in a long hallway with no real cover. When this fight ends, you are already beaten up quite good, but then the game magically beams hordes of enemies all over the place, many of them right at your side, without even given you the opportunity to heal or to reload your weapons.

Add to this that some missions force you to play with subpar characters, that enemies (especially turrets) are bullet sponges, that enemies constantly run away and that you need to sacrifice your action points to make sure to hit anything at all or that most weapons are completely useless... and you have a game that could have been great ruined by spoiled game mechanics and a really stupid mission design.

Right now I am not sure if I want to continue the game at all.

More along the lines of paying full price compared to a discount later on ^.^

It was kind of similar for me, initial impression was 5 stars which sunk to 3,5 stars mid-game when things started to feel repetitive and lacking in challenge. But as I continued, the game picked up considerably and missions started to become more challenging in the last third of the game. Only one mission felt a bit unfair, the one with the prison cells. But it's entirely doable, even if it takes 3-4 failed attempts. With missions being so short, it's not a big loss of gaming time. I've experienced far worse in other games.

I think giving 3 stars to this game is very clearly not enough. Subjectively, you can of course do that but objectively rated (based on logic and facts) that is unfair and unreasonable. Many times have I loudly cursed at games out of frustration but I would never take it out on the game if it's a matter of my skills failing rather than the game itself failing. There are instances where games are in fact broken, Crimsonland Remastered is such an example. I wrote a long review for that game explaining how the game is more luck than skill based. Even so, I didn't post the review to the store pages as my review included a lot of subjective anger and ranting as well as objective info.

The monsters hit shots as well, don't be y crybaby :P
Yes, it can be annoying but in this game position is key. Don't try to shoot at anything from too far away if a character doesn't have enough aim. 70% is good enough of a chance in situation where multiple characters can shoot but if you're in a hairy situation with only 2 characters one of which has sucky aim, then 70% chance to hit might be too low and you'd better look for a better position and only shoot over super far distances once Morten's steady aim becomes available.
I've never run out of ammo in this game, most of the time I carried way too much and on several occasions had to drop ammo because I found some valuable loot and had no inventory space. Despite bringing Sam along on every single mission where it was possible. I really like the extra space in his inventory, very useful. Still had to play inventory tetris between the crew members and that is annoying but at the end of the game I had over 5000 energy credits left so clearly I was a paranoid hoarder. Bringing 2-3 extra ammo boxes per person is usually more than enough unless you're using a gun with only 5 or less shots in which case you might run out. I didn't use such low capacity weapons a lot. Only the "Old Rifle" which iirc has about 4 shots but is still a very powerful sniper rifle. For the most part, I used sniper rifles with around 6 shots or more (later in the game). I only ever had to buy ammo in some of the later missions. For the finale, I didn't even bring much as I didn't know it was the last mission consisting of several parts so I only carried 2 ammo per person. But there is plenty of stuff in crates and I managed well enough. So ammo shortage isn't really a problem if you use position wisely and choose weapons with medium capacity (5-6+ shots) rather than low capacity (3-4 shots)

I'm not sure which mission you're referring to, perhaps you can check out Youtube for strategy guides? I'm sure there are several walkthroughs available by now if you just want to get past the mission and don't enjoy the challenge.

The mission design is repetitive but it's not stupid or "imba broken". There's always a way and often multiple ways to solve any situation. If you can bring Josh along , his shield removing ability is very useful. Followed up by a steady shot from Morten, that's a good combo. Sam's headshot as well, if you can bring him along. Don't get too pissed about Schaffer, I didn't even bother to stimpack that guy into anything particular, you could turn him into a sniper but imho that's a waste. I just used his reveal enemies skill (super useful in tight quarters) and gave him grenades & a good shield and used him as a crate runner and general mule, he can take a decent amount of damage due to his increased shield passive skill. Once he has 8 aim you can give him a railgun (more accurate then sniper for low aim people) but it's kind of a waste of ammo even then. He is mandatory on many missions and I never liked him much but my other characters were always skilled enough to deal with enemies even without Schaffer doing much violent stuff himself.

EDIT: retreat to a better position instead of shooting from too far. That's a good general recipe, works almost anytime. Don't give up too easily, everyone gets frustrated in certain spots!

I agree with many of the criticisms here (repetitive, no mid-level saves, inconsistent difficulty, limited weapon varity, failing good hit percentage shots) but have been trudging along. It helps me to take breaks when I get stuck. I don't know how much longer the game has but I'm approaching the bridge and committed to finish this sucker one way or another. A few well placed grenades can shred the enemy, especially since they similarly have no cover and are clustered together. Also, keep an eye on weapon stats - it's good to have at least one solid melee tank (like thirteen) in levels like this. Given how sparse ammo can be in some spots melee can definitely turn the tide (contrary to awalterj I've run out of ammo, probably mismanaged inventory to be simpack heavy). Old rifle is such an epic weapon. Jenna is tearing up enemies with it and seems to have great melee damage to counter the bullet hog it is.

Thanks for the long and detailed answer. You gave some really useful tips here that I surely will try out!

And so far my 4 point rating stands, but I think it is a daring thing to say that an objective rating would never give only 3 out of 5 Stars, because "(based on logic and facts) that is unfair and unreasonable". I mean, is it? How would one achieve a perfectly logic and fact based review and rating for a game? Just take the Modern Warfare games. Based on logic and facts, for me those games are simply crap, while press and gamers seem to love them. And this is coming from someone who loves first person shooters. 3 out of 5 is still a pretty solid rating in my book. And when I point things out, because I see them as flaws in an otherwise great game, then this is fact based, at least to me.

Moments like the one in the prison cells, with 2 of 4 team members with minimal health and with empty guns and then hoards of enemies beaming in right behing me, are not good mission design. When I have to waste my first action point in this battle to heal and reload, then this is simply not fair, especially when the enemies are bullet sponges and when I need to chase them through half of the map. Because this has nothing to do with preparation, it is one of those unfair moments when a game sneaks up from behind and beats you with a baseball bat. :)

Thank you for your tips! I admit, I find grenades useful, but I usually do not carry too many of them with me. Maybe I should change that. I will also bring 13 along, I was not aware that he was designed as tank.

I might edit my review if it picks up but I gave Halfway a 3 out of 5. It's a fair game strategy or scifi fans will get the most out of but has some problems. I usually wait till completing games to review but was struggling with some aspects kid-game that I thought represented the experience well enough to perspective buyers.