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Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (Xbox 360)
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50 Customer Reviews
RRP: £49.99
Amazon Price: £19.97
You Save: £30.02 (60%)
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
Platform: Xbox 360
Publisher: Electronic Arts
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"You simply must own The Orange Box" - 24 October 2007
The Orange Box (TOB) is the second of Valve's three episodes for the seminal half life 2, and while we may have had low expectations after the not-so-awesome episode 1, and we've had to wait a long, long time to play TOB, cast aside your worries and concerns: TOB is one of the best games of the year.
There are five games here, three of which are new. The new games are Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. The older games are Half Life 2 and Episode 1. This means you're literally buying two games you already own, but that's really not a big deal given the overall price and quality of the package, and if you're fortunate enough to not own Half Life 2, then this is astounding value.
Episode 2 is probably the weakest of the three games, but to say it's also utterly awesome perhaps puts the overall quality of this package in perspective. The story picks up exactly where episode 1 left off. You're immediately thrown into a series of long and winding tunnels, utterly linear, with some simple physics puzzles here and there. The gunplay doesn't start proper until about an hour in, when you get to a small human camp. It's a great set piece involving turrets, friendly AI and a hell of a lot of antlions.
The game goes on like this, alternating between rather mediocre linear run n gunning with occasional physics puzzles which are simple, but serve as a pleasant distraction, and then the game throws a simply wonderful set piece at you. I don't want to go into details about them, they are best experienced without prior knowledge. But suffice it to say that while episode 2 is not the greatest of games, it is a worthy addition to the Half Life universe, and a game anyone fond of HL2 should play. It clocks in at about five to six hours, making it slightly longer than episode 1.
The second game in the collection is Portal, and for those of you not familiar with what portal is: you're in for a treat. It's a first person puzzle game where you can fire portals into walls, a blue and an orange, then step through one and out of the other. It's difficult to simply do the game justice with its basic description. The puzzles begin easy, with things like firing a portal across one side of a chasm, and another on your side to easily pass through. But an hour later you'll be pushing your brain and your finger to their limits.
The whole game is only around three and a half hours long, but it's an utter pleasure to experience from start to finish, it has a wonderfully dark sense of humour (and is probably the funniest game of the year) as you're guided by an unworldly computerised voice that is... eccentric. Without spoiling anything, the game also has a simply perfect ending.
Team Fortress 2 is the final original game in the package, and for anyone who even vaguely enjoys multiplayer FPS games, it's the highlight of TOB. It is in essence an objective-based class-based team multiplayer FPS. You'll select a class (each of which has strengths and weaknesses, and has to work effectively with the other classes to function properly), choose your team and jump straight into the game.
One of the greatest strengths of TF2 is that the individual focus of the player is not merely on kills and deaths, but uses a points based system which also factors in kill assists, headshots, dominations (awarded for killing the same person several times), revenge kills (killing someone who is dominating you) and various other things. This means you won't be preoccupied with your simple ability to kill the enemy, but will be more focused on helping your team as best you can.
Visually, the game is a pleasure to experience - it looks more like a cartoon than a computer game, and does wonderful things with the source engine. Another great thing about this game is it's really not all about twitch reaction ability to score headshots at 200 yards. People who don't enjoy counter-strike and the like will definitely find something to enjoy in TF2, with its variety of classes, each of which is unique, its wonderful visual style, its focus on the team over the individual and the sheer fun of it all, TF2 is the greatest multiplayer FPS I have ever played.
Also featured in the package is Half Life 2 and episode 1, its first expansion. HL2 is one of the greatest games of all time, period. It puts the player in a variety of situations and scenarios and transcends the `run n gun' mentality most FPS games have. One moment you're speeding down a road in a mad max style buggy, the next you're in your very own version of the movie tremors, the next you're leading a team of giant insectoid monsters on a prison raid. Really, the depth of gameplay is rather limited, but the breadth is so amazing, words scarcely do it justice. If you've never played Half Life 2, start here.
Episode 1 is the weakest part of TOB, but still well worth playing. It only clocks in
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"Epic!" - 28 October 2007
I have honestly never played such an involving game as half life two. The start when you're running from the guards and escaping the city is just amazing and it's so interactive you can throw anything you can lift at the annoying city guards! Amazing.
The guy that said halo is better!? Halo doesn't feel even nearly as involving . Halo's story is fairly average and you just feel invincible constantly even on the hardest setting. Whereas the detail that's gone into this is just crazy! Your suit even tells you when you've got a facture and where; if you keep stressing the fracture (by jumping if it's in your back) then you get some serious damage. Cool!
Yeah team fortress is laggy but pretty cool! If you liked shadowrun it's not as good but similar. i was playing it today and it seems sorted (there was an update). Portal is mental! Haven't played it much - too addicted to Half life.
This is amazing!!
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"Best 360 title so far this year!" - 1 November 2007
All I can say is FANTASTIC! 5 great games for the price of one! Other publishers should take note, particulalry EA after bringing out the very good BUT SOOOO SHORT Medal of Honor Airbourne!
I hope Valve bring out another package with HALF LIFE SOURCE and maybe EPISODE 3 next year as I believe the original Half Life came out in 1998!
Halo 3 was pretty good but this just is in a different league! Only COD 4 can beat this!!
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"Very good" - 14 November 2007
I'm extremely impressed with this package.
Half life 2 is the obvious standout (still the benchmark for single-player shooters), but check Portal out too.
Great value for money and a game you'll keep coming back to.
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"Excellent" - 19 November 2007
This is game is must-buy for Xbox 360. I would say its worth buying it just for three of the exceptional games in this 5 game package.
Yes Half-Life 2 is old yadda yadda. But if you've never played it's better than alot of FPS on Xbox 360 (Halo 3 to name one). And Portal is genius; alot of fun, with plenty of replay value. I urge to you to buy.
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"Greatest Ever Game Deal!" - 29 November 2007
I've have purchased and played thousands of Video games over the years, on many different gaming consoles. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, comes close to the greatness of the gaming package u get here. Let's start at the main game: Half-Life 2. This game is quite simply the finest FPS ever created. It beats even most of the current-gen games on graphics alone, let alone the magnificent gameplay and physics engine. What makes it so good is that the makers have created a disturbing George Orwellian future world where alien machines control man in parallel to how the world is changing in our OWN lives now! It is a warning of a totalitarian existence that could so easily happen if democracy is gradually eroded. What I love about this game is that is combines challenging puzzles, never telling you how to progress to the next area or what to do with the objects in front of you. You have to actually use your brain to guide you through this amazing game. It is never boring, because the huge environments and the gameplaying style can change dramatically with no warning. The sound is also incredible, evoking a nightmare future where we have no real control of our lives. The expansion episodes are also brilliant action games, following on nicely from Half Life 2. Then, if that was not enough, you have Portal and Team Fortress. Portal is very challenging on the brain as you have to use dimensional portals to get through the levels in a specific way. Team Fortress is one of the best Mutiplayer experiences ever created, too! I won't spoil it by talking about that too much. All I can say is that if you only buy one game for your new Xbox 360, then buy this! It will entertain you for months! THE GREATEST GAMING PACKAGE IN THE HISTORY OF GAMING!
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"King Of The Shooters" - 28 January 2008
What a shame that The Orange box came out at a time when the market was saturated with first person shooters. Halo, Bio-Shock, Call Of Duty 4 and The Darkness, to name but a few. So what's the point of playing a game that was already released last year, and surrounded by these classy shooters?
Where the hell do I start? Not only do you get Half-Life 2 in it's entirety, but the two expansion packs as well! Stand alone, Half-Life 2 is one of the greatest games ever made. there are no generic levels of mindless shooting here(al-la Halo, Call Of Duty, etc;), but a thinking mans action masterpiece that grips you like a vice, and refuses to let go. When you finally take that chopper down after hours of bombarding you, you'll get the kind of endorphine rush that computer games probably shouldn't be giving you. Not only that but hours of Half-Life expansion goodness, a mind bendingly addictive puzzle game (Portal), and the classic online shooter series, Team Fortress 2.
5 games, one price, all classics. Gordon Freeman re-takes his crown as the king of 1st person shooters with style.
Master Chief? Never heard of him!
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"The full package" - 5 February 2008
I've been a fan of the Half Life series since the first game on the PC and this box set is a fantastic addition to the series. The intelligent and twisting story line creates a really engaging and enjoyable game requiring both skill and brains as the usesual Half-Life puzzles and twisted sense of humour exists in all the episodes making a what is a well round and totaly immerssive FPS that will keep you guessing.
Portal is an interesting addition to the series and is not at all what it seems. It requires at lot of brain work and is highly addictive. Portal takes the best of Half-lifes' clever puzzles w/o the shooting. I haven't been able to put this down as it is a refreshing change. The basics of Portal is a FPS style game where your character has to make her way through a series of 19 3D puzzles by creating a pair of portals to make her ways through the environment and often requires some interesting lateral thinking to solve the problems.
Team Fortress 2 is an online FPS which is provides varied game play with an assortment of maps and objectives. Interesting weapons fast and intense non stop game play which can't be taken seriously which is ideal for those whose doesn't want/like the serious game play of many online FPS.
Over all I highly recommend this box set as is provides a varied mix of FPS, intelligent game play, plenty of humour, and fantastic and immersive story line which definately makes the game one of my all time favourite FPS.
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"its a big orange pleasure box." - 10 December 2007
Ok so I got this game a month ago and have managed to play through all 5 of the sections of this game - for those that arent aware the Orange Box also contains the 2 expansion packs for Half Life 2 which effectively double the length of the game. Ok so lets begin with the big one: Half Life 2. Having heard a lot of the hype I was very sceptical about this game, but after playing through the campaign I have come away very impressed. The game mechanics really single out HL2 from the rest of the FPS market (first person shooters) - Firstly, everything you run into can be picked up, thrown, smashed, destroyed, launched, set on fire - whatever you want. Some of the weapons are very imaginative (a gravity gun which can blast huge objects into the distance or into an enemy soldier) as well as the mandatory machine-guns, shotguns, pistols, rocket launchers and snipers. The pace of the game may be a little slow for some, the areas of intense action and shooting are broken up by simple puzzles. Usually this involved picking up some objects and using them to interact with the environment (eg making some stairs out of several crates). It sounds stupidly simple but actually works very well. The game also contains several vehichle sections which are well done and intergrated into the story although do tend to drag on for a bit longer than I would have liked. However one area in which HL2 especially succeeds is in giving the impression of an outside world continuing around you. You will drive past cities, briefly meet hideouts of rebels, see planes whizzing around the sky. Soldiers you meet will live or die depending on your actions. I especially like the later stages when huge "war of the worlds" like combine vehicles roam around. smashing through buildings whilst they chase you. What is most impressive about this game is the way it moves from one genre to the next. One level is a survival horror, zombie infested town with limited ammunition that really upps the tension. The next a squad based shooter where you order around a small group of rebel soldiers. The next may be a puzzle section, a platformer or a driving section. The entire game has been constructed so that you are always faced with a fresh challenge, never stuck with one task for too long. The load times are quick and checkpoints are frequant so should you find yourself killed you dont have to wait long before you can try again. My only criticisms would be - the soldiers you fight are of the genetic stormtrooper variety. They are all completely lifeless uniforms walking around with guns. I got bored of shooting them fairly quickly. The zombies and aliens were much more fun.
The initial HL2 will take about 12 hours and the expansions about 5 hours each so you are getting your moneys worth with that package alone. However if you arent in the mood for shooting people (yeah, because thats going to happen) then the world of Portal lies before you. When I bought the Orange Box I had no idea that the "bonus" game would be so refreshingly addictive - the puzzles are amazingly clever, mind bendigly fascinating. You can spend ages simply setting up weird loops, an endless tunnel, or chase yourself round in circles untill you throw up. The setup is simple - you are a test subject in a lab experimenting with a "portal gun" - left trigger shoots an orange portal, right trigger shoots a blue protal. Jump through one portal and you pop out the other. Its a simple concept - however once I started discovering the hidden messages of previous test subjects I was so intruiged to find out more I completed the entire game in one sitting, retiring to bed happy and satisfied at 5 in the morning. WARNING - ADDICTIVE. Since playing, this has become one of my favorite games. I know it doesnt sound like much but you simply have to give it a try.
Granted not everyone likes spending half an hour figuring out how to manipulate their own body weight in order to propel themselves over a large pit of acid. However this is not a problem. If you want to shoot REAL people (and having spent many hours on xbox live I use the term loosely) then Team Fortress is for you. An awesome multiplayer shooter, pick one of 9 classes and then participate in a attack/defend online melee with up to 15 others. There are 9 classes to chose from, each with individual skills that are all usefull in different situations meaning there is no core class that is required to win. The gameplay is amazing fun and often very amusing - both the art style and characters. Some of the characters are simply inspired - The engineer can construct sentry turrets and teleporters, the spy can briefly turn invisible or disguise himself as an enemy player, the medic can overheal and eventually turn players briefly invincible with his charged healing gun, the scout is speedy and can double jump, and then there are the more run and gun shooter classes like the rocket launcher weilding soldier, sniper, or heavy g
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"The best deal in videogame history..." - 1 November 2007
This package is well worth buying, it has something for everyone, you're guaranteed to find something you'll love here.
I was extremely impressed with the ease of choosing 1 of the 5 games that are in the Orange box and then sitting back and marvelling at the amazing visuals, sound and fun each game has to offer in their own unique ways.
Here is a small review section for each game:
Half life 2: Fantastic game, the longest of the lot, this is a great way to start your orange box experience.
Half life 2 Episode one: Continuing the amazingly compelling and gripping story of Gordon Freeman and Alyx vance as they desperately try to escape city 17.
Half life 2 Episode two: Even better than the previous 2, this episode includes intense battles and reveals more of the incredible story line of Half life.
Portal: An amazing puzzle game, unlike anything else you have ever, or will ever play. Worth the money of the orange box itself.
Team fortress 2: Amazing multiplayer fun, slick graphics and rewarding gameplay, how could you not like this?
Overall I am going to give the Orange box a 10/10. It packs a lot of fun, gameplay and replay value into one small package. You would be a fool to miss this.
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