The Orange Box

"The Orange Box is the most valuable game for the 360."

The Orange Box is a package by Valve featuring 5 incredible games all in one package. These games are Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. All of these games alone could be worth a buy, but all in one makes this one of the most valuable games for the Xbox 360.

Now, it's really hard to write this review with general synopses, so I'm gonna write a mini-review for every game!

HALF LIFE 2 (One of the best games ever)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half Life 2 is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time on the PC. It's been heralded for its outstanding graphics, physics, voice acting, story, and gameplay. Well, the Orange Box hasn't lost a step translating it from the PC to the Xbox 360, because this version has everything great about the PC version. It's graphics are amazing, and with the 360's power, they are amplified. The physics engine that was so astounding in the PC version has also returned. Literally, almost everything in this game can be moved by your titular character, Gordon Freeman. And also, most everything can be altered by his weapon of choice, the Gravity Gun. This ties into the gameplay nicely, because this weapon is the most fun I've ever had with a FPS. You can mess up stuff and hurt your enemies at the same time! Also, in this game there are amazing vehicle sequences. You can drive your vehicles (usually Jeep Buggies) through these different beautiful areas and face off against this incredible enemies. The story to this game is also amazing. You star as Gordon Freeman, a scientist from the Mesa Corporation, who's been thrown into the middle of some alien experiments gone bad. In HL 2, he's come to a mysterious place called City 17, where he meets some human rebels taking on some evil oppressors. It may seem simple, but this game is played out ENTIRELY in the first person perspective. That just adds this touch that makes this game so eerily real that it's astounding. Easily, Half Life 2 was called one of the best games for a reason!
SCORE: 10/10

HALF LIFE EPISODES 1 & 2 (Somewhat worthy successors)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half Life Episodes 1 & 2 are the subsequent sequels to Half Life 2, and really, not much changes other than the story in the sequels. Don't get me wrong, they're both very fun, but they don't quite match the greatness of Half Life 2. Both still keep the same great graphics, the incredible physics, the great voice acting, and everything else that made Half Life 2 great. The story does kinda get confusing sometimes, and the only real other pet peeve of mine in these games is that one of the support characters, Alyx Vance, sometimes states the obvious, and it gets annoying here. But, I can't get too annoyed here, because these are both still great games!
SCORE: 9/10 & 9/10

TEAM FORTRESS 2 (SHOOT! KILL!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We go from the "medium" of the genres of this box to the multiplayer and shooting heavy Team Fortress 2. This game is dead-on guns blazing shooting action at its finest. The coolest thing about this game is that while its graphics have kind of a cel-shaded feel to them, they still keep up with the physics engine of Half Life excellently. Another great thing about this is that there are also some smart elements to this game. Each kind of character you can pick has different skills to them. For example, a scout is quick and can double jump, but can't take much damage. Whereas a demo guy can carry bigger guns and take more damage, they are MUCH slower. Its this kind of differentiating that makes shooters stand out. The online play with this game is near flawless. It encounters the fracks that any online game can encounter, but this game is very good with have very little fracks in it. If I had to pick apart anything about this game that's wrong, it's that the game play can get pretty repetitive quick. It's still one of the most fun multiplayer experiences I've played (don't worry Gears, you'll always be my favorite!)
SCORE: 9/10

PORTAL (I'm confused, how do I fire my gun again?)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now we head from one extreme (mindless shooting) to the other (intelligent puzzles)! Portal once again uses the graphics and physics engine of Half Life 2, but this time, the physics are used more than EVER before. Now you have to contend with physics sometimes as your enemy! Portal is a game where you try to solve these puzzles and escape through these hallways to get out of a giant tech building where you're being held. You have some help along the way in the form of a mysterious woman talking through a robot, although in the later levels, you end up getting annoyed by her sarcasm more than helped! The main challenge of this game is finding the way for you to get to these escape doors. You find your way using a portal gun to shift yourself or certain objects to the other part of the room. It starts out easy and then gets dang difficult quick. These kinds of games are some of my favorites, because its problem solving purity! The physics like I said contends in this game because when transporting objects, you have to be careful of where they're popping up at. You can use this to your advantage, like using a box to knock over an annoying turret (YES there are turrets to kill you here), but sometimes you can get killed by a random box flying through a portal above your head! Also, the physics makes it so that if you go through a portal, you go out with the same momentum coming in. So if you fall from a tall height through a portal on the ground, you will literally FLY out the other end. It makes you be careful about your portaling. This is one of the best puzzle games I've ever played hands down and a worthy addition to the Orange Box.
SCORE: 10/10

Now, the real kicker to all of these is that you get all of these for the low price of (DUN DUN DUN DUUUNN!) $60!!!! That's a hell of a deal right there, because you get 3 complete games and 2 sequels in one low-price package. This is one value that even a Wal-Mart shopper can spot (sorry, I had to knock them eventually!). If you own a 360, get this NOW!
OVERALL: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/12/07

Game Release: The Orange Box (US, 10/10/07)