Half Life 2 - anyone getting this error message?

[algae]

When I try to load a game I'm getting:
"Could not acquire necessary game files because connection to Steam servers was lost".
I can however start at an insertion point and play from there but I can't load a saved game.

Any ideas? I have a legit copy and haven't changed anything on my system. I have played up to the Nova Prospekt level without this problem so far.

Thanks for any advice.

Gary

 

[BlueWeasel]

Have you tried playing in Offline mode?

 

[BespinReactorShaft]

Something to try: Go to "New Game" and start one at any level. Then Esc to the menu, and retry "Load Game" once more (or alternatively, do a Quick Load). It worked for me, but funnily the problem disappeared as I progressed further in the game.