The Orange Box

"Guns. Lots of guns."

Many companies know how to milk a cash-cow, but very few can do right - Valve is one of them. The Orange Box sounds like the name of a dodgy low-budget film, but it is in fact a compilation of 5 excellent first-person shooters, all utilising the powerful assets offered by Valve's proprietary "Source" engine: incredibly realistic graphics and remarkably accurate physics.

The story began with Half-Life 2: the sequel to the highly acclaimed Half-Life that put Valve on the map. Gordon Freeman is a survivor of the Black Mesa incident and as such, has the most experience when it comes to dealing with the Combine: a somewhat cliched, invading alien race. City 17 and its surrounding districts and wastelands are vivid recreations of their real-world analogues, filled with jaw-dropping real-time lighting effects and meticulous attention to detail - you can practically feel the grime as you trudge through it. The modified Havok physics engine allows for some real life problem solving; it is no longer a matter of pushing a red switch to activate a red door, but finding ways to progress by using the materials strewn around you. The gravity gun is an innovative firearm that can be used to attract any decent-sized object to you, after which you can set it down beside you or send it hurtling through the air at light speed, perhaps chopping up a few Combine along the way. It was a peerless FPS at the time of its release, and despite the influx of upgraded shooters, Half-Life 2 still holds up as an FPS worth playing, much like its prequel.

But just like in the original Half-Life, the end of Half-Life 2 left much to be desired. Enter Episode One and Episode Two: the continuation of the events encircling Dr Freeman and Alyx Vance, his sassy female companion. Episode One focuses more on co-operative scenarios with his supporting partner, offering more of what makes Half-Life 2 good, but never really picking up the pace anywhere. One new enemy type is introduced and many of the settings and shoot-outs have an air of familiarity that just isn't as impressive the second time around.

Following on from yet another cliff-hanger is Episode Two which puts you smack-bang in the middle of a forest base situated on the outskirts of City 17. It offers more sprawling outdoor environments that are freer in their design, in contrast to the linearity of the previous instalments. There are more action-packed scenarios with a relentlessly stalking, Nemesis-like enemy in the form of the Hunter. The pace is a considerable improvement over Episode One, but there are still times when it is quite repetitive (and boring) - like the initial antlion breach in the caverns - but it only gets better as you go on, building to a great climax whose sole downside is the fact that you will need to wait for (or purchase separately) Episode Three which is not included in what would otherwise be a decisive box when in comes to the Half-Life 2 saga.

The Half-Life series was never strong for its multiplayer (excluding the Counter Strike mod), but its derivatives, such as Day of Defeat and Team Fortress took what foundations the story-driven FPS built and reinforced it with exciting, tactical-based shoot-ups. Team Fortress 2 is your multiplayer in The Orange Box and it follows on the previous successful formula with a light-hearted, cartoon-like visual style boasting 9 distinct classes that make for highly strategic and flexible gameplay that's fiendishly addictive and a time-sink if you are passionate about multiplayer FPS's.

Rounding off the already bursting package is the much talked about, (not-so) innovative portal-based puzzle game aptly titled Portal. The key draw is the handling of the portal gun, which can be used to open an inter-dimensional rift which allows you instantaneously transport from one location to another. The concept is surprisingly simple to grasp, but some of the puzzles are truly out of this world involving real-life physics applied in ways that you could have never fathomed back in high school - or university. It isn't very long and there isn't much action to be had (it's a puzzle game versus a proper FPS), but it only sweetens the great deal you have got here in The Orange Box.

(I've already gone more into depth with Portal if you want to know more.)

The Xbox 360 edition of The Orange Box is a tremendously good purchase, especially if you haven't already played most of the games featured here -- Half-Life 2 is a near PC-perfect port - redemption for inferior Xbox conversion - and Episode One has already been out for quite some time; Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal are all brand-new. The pad isn't as responsive as the mouse-and-keyboard set-up offered by PCs, but by and large the game looks just as impressive as it would be if it were running on a high-end desktop. You've got some great 360 Achievements here, too: survive the dark unnerving streets of Ravenholm with just the gravity gun, anyone? You can really bump up your Gamerscore and call yourself a FPS pro if you manage to finish everything there is to finish.

The phrase "more bang for your buck" couldn't have been more perfect when describing what The Orange Box offers to fans of the FPS genre in general. Half-Life 2 and its two following episode are a great yarn with plenty of strategic shoot-outs in a variety of true-to-life environments. Team Fortress 2 expands the Source engine to take on board several unique character classes going guns ablazing with unlimited multiplayer potential. And then you have Portal which is a tasty slice of cake which offers some fresh puzzle-based gameplay backed by a hilarious on-going monologue from a faceless computer system that is supposedly looking out for your best interests. There's a lot of game here and every penny you spend offers you several hours of enjoyment; there's also plenty of spectacular shoot-outs to indulge in - hence the "BANG for your BUCK". None of the games here may be of impeccable quality, but the sum of parts is collectively strong.

VERDICT - 8.5/10 Good quality all across the board; naff controls, though.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/05/07

Game Release: The Orange Box (AU, 10/25/07)