The Orange Box

"What's inside the Orange Box?"

There are five games in this package, I will try to review as fairly as possible on all fronts. The Orange Box contains Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2 in that series, the brand new Portal, and smash hit multiplayer sequel, Team Fortress 2. Let's dive in, shall we?

Graphics - 10 Nothing here to complain about! Half-Life 2 is an older title, but it has been slightly revamped here and looks great. Easily on par with new shooters. Same goes for it's episodes that follow. Portal is stark, simple, yet sleek and shiny. Just as it should be to fit the story. Team Fortress 2 is very cartoony and has a style all it's own. Fire, explosions, water, etc. all looks good. The characters fit the level style, and are alot of fun also. In fact, in all the games, the shooting, explosions, portals, liquids, characters and environments are all top notch! And there is alot of detail to be found in the three Half-Life titles.

Sound - 10 Voice, combat, special effects. It's all perfect. It really is just that simple. Whether a series vet or a newcomer, you will instantly love the sounds found here, and they will always be familliar to you from here on. Even if you don't love it, you certainly won't be annoyed or put off at all. Some NPCs do repeat themselves, but it's not that bad. That taunts on TF2 are brilliant, and the voice of the main character in Portal is exellent (the only voice we hear, that is). Let's put it this way, the dialouge for ALL five games is awesome. It will drive the stories, make you laugh, cringe, or get ready for war. The effects will help move everything along, and none of it should annoy or repulse.

Gameplay - 10 If I could score over a ten here, I would. Half-Life is a series that started many trends in the First Person Shooter genre. The shooting is solid and always will be. The NPC interaction is deeper than most you find in this genre. There are several areas where you *must* use your brain, rather than just trigger finger. Puzzles, hidden perks, funny situations and lines of dialouge and much more can be found and solved through almost countless interaction styles. Physics come into play heavily, especially when you find the gravity gun in each of the three HL games here. There's real heart and a fun story to be found in this series as well. The weapons are almost all common, but again, solid. And there are some unique ways to use the gravity gun as well. There's TONS of environment interaction to be found here. The HL2 game itself is VERY long for a shooter. The single player lasts easily 12 hours on Normal or Hard modes. The two episodes last five or so hours a piece (with the second Ep taking longer depending on how you play it), and are very good additions to this already awesome series. The achievements for these three titles are VERY good. Many are incredibly unique and require more plays or deep knowledge of your levels. And there are TONS of them to find.

Portal is a very unique FPS experience. You will eventually access two portals. You must clear "puzzle rooms" of varying sizes and shapes. There is a great story here, alot of humor to be found, and truly amazing physical effects. There is just NOTHING out there like it. The campaign itself is short here (around two to four hours depending on how fast you solve things), but it's so worth playing through over and over. You will also find challenge modes and really fun objectives after you beat it. The achievements here are mostly pretty self explanatory (beat game, beat 2 challenges, beat 4, beat all, etc.), but are still great fun to strive for some day. The best way to learn about this game is to view someone playing it, or watch a few videos of it online.

Team Fortress 2 is a really good TEAM based multiplayer game. There are nine classes to choose from, ranging from Soldier, Scout, Pyro, Engineer, Demoman, Spy, Medic, Sniper, and of course the Heavy Weapons guy. All of them are awesome on their own in their own ways, but as a team you will discover so much more depth and enjoyment. And largely, the community on the 360 is pretty friendly and helpful for this title. You will find the game breaks them into three catergories per three classes, for offense, defense, and support. You will either venture into huge, constantly shifting modes of Capture Point (much like Star Wars battlefront, your team must stand in a designated area to take it from your foes, while they defend and vice versa). Or, you can go into smaller, quicker matches where everyone basically needs to capture the flag (intelligence briefcase) from the other team and return to their own base with it.

---- Let's look at a scenario, so that perhaps you can better judge whether this title is for you. Let's say you have all nine classes on a team. The scout can run 2x speed, so he can run ahead to find areas ripe for the attack, and/or capture points twice as fast WHEN you are ready. In the mean time, your engineer could be either fortifying your base with turrents and weapon/health dispensors, OR setting up a forward command base nearer your goals. He can also set up teleporters for your team, for whenever you need to withdraw, or attack! The Pyro and Demoman could be setting up a solid defense ambush nearby, with remote explosives and suprise flame bursts from around corners that would destory anyone that comes near them. All the while, your sniper could be watching the scouts' back from a high vantage point, and gaining more intel on the lay of the land for your teammates for when they move out. When the fight starts, the sniper can do what he does best, as well, of course. From here, you can wait to start the fight and send out a Spy. He can go invisible for limited bursts, sabotage enemy defenses with a Sapper, and all the while look like one of the opposing team so long as he doesn't attack anyone. Naturally, the spy can give you lot's of insider intel details, like turret spots, how many heavy weapon enemies there are, or where their medics may be. Lastly, he can sneak up on their engineers, snipers, or medics and kill them with one hit from the back just as you begin your attack. Once the intel comes to you (assuming everyone in real life has a head set to chat with) all, you can get your medic to buff up your front liner's health, and even (when he reaches a certain mark on his gauge) make one lucky fighter invincible for a short period! From here he can stay behind to fortify your defenders, or he can rush to the front lines to keep everyone alive (so long as everyone ELSE keeps him alive, of course!). With the fight on, your Heavy Weapons guy and Soldier can move in quick with that first Scout I talked about, and try to overtake whatever your mission goal is. With the Spy inside, the Sniper watching, and the Medic prepped, it's hard to lose!! ----

Of course, that was one very basic rundown of what all can be done with the character classes, and how to do it. You will find many unique ways to play the game, whether on a team or as a lone wolf (only recommended for snipers, engineers, and spies really). And the beauty is, you can learn alot by talking to your teammates and seeing what they have to offer. Play to one another's strengths, cover each other's weaknesses, and just have fun! The achievements found in this game are fun to get, but mostly pretty standard multiplayer fare.

Overview - All in all, how is this Box? Considering the price for new or used right now, the content you'll find, the almost certain downloadable content coming soon, three deep single play experiences, one mind expanding single play game, and the fact that one of the games is a deep online shooter as well, and I'd say it's MORE than worth a purchase. If you insist on a rent, prepare to fall in love and want to buy anyway, I'd say to 85% of you. In all seriousness, if you plan to rent, I hope you can invest alot of time for the single player modes alone. They will easily consume a five day rental period from stores.

This is one of the best deals for the money we've seen on the 360 yet, and I couldn't be happier!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/07

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