The Orange Box

"Five games in one (kind of)"

Five mini reviews for each game, and a summary to follow:

Half-Life 2
This is THE quintessential story-driven FPS, with loads of atmosphere, and a memorable experience. If you loved Bioshock then this game is a must own for you (and vice versa.) The graphics were very good for Xbox, but now a little outdated on the 360. At least they fixed the horrible framerate problems on this re-release. This is a less tactical FPS, and more of a cinematic one. Meaning you get handed small groups of enemies at a time to easily dispatch, so you can pay more attention to the storyline and in game theatrics. You will likely not be challenged in finishing this game, the "puzzles" are easy to solve, and enemy AI is mentally handicapped. The clipping issues are still present, it is hard to maneuver through doorways at times, and it seems silly to have to jump two feet in the air just to get past an inch thick piece of wood on the ground. Teammate AI is also horrible, in the later levels they only get in your way and annoy you. Music is excellent, best in any game yet, and sound effects are fantastic as well.

Episode 1
Technically, a sequel that uses the exact same code and engine without adding anything new is really just an expoansion or add-on. But, I guess the marketing department thought "five games" sound better than "Two and a half." So, whatever. Probably the weakest "game" of the lot, and least fun. Takes place directly after HL2, and continues the story.

Episode 2
Better than Ep. 1, and at times better than HL2. The storyline starts going a new direction near the end, and definitely gives the player some awe-inspiring moments. No one is giving gamers a better story than Valve, and unlike Bungie, they are gonna milk this franchise for every ounce, for as long as they can, and be grateful for it. If you've played HL2 already then Ep. 2 is the real reason to get this game.

Portal
Definitely one of the most over-hyped mini-games ever. It's not as good as the fanboys would have you think, but it is a clever FPS puzzle game. You use teleprtation portal to reach the ends of levels. The end. More fun than it sounds, due to the humorous dialogue, yet it's really just a decent mini-game that actually drags on a bit too long.

Team Fortress 2
Since HL2 has no multiplayer, and Counterstrike can be sold seperately, Tf2 is the only source of multiplayer fun to be had on the disc. Graphics are cartoony, and gameplay is about what you would expect. Nice variety of classes, but lack of level variety hurts this game deeply. Developer commentary insists that most gamers only play one or two of the same levels over and over, so instead of giving out loads of levels to choose from, they cut the number to a third. Make sense to you? It doesn't to me. Gamers usually prefer quality levels, so instead of reducing the number of levels they should have invested in making more/better map designs. Oh well. In the end it doesn't matter, because TF2 has been plagued from day one with horrendous lag. TF2 online isn't dead yet, but Valve's poor decisions doomed it before release.

Overall, it's a great deal for your money. Yes, it's mostly re-released material from years ago, but it's still one of a kind gaming on any platform. Buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/08

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