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Maybe not the full package

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Each game in itself is worth something. As a whole, it's not. I enjoyed each game but two of them were short to me.

Half-Life 2 E2 is the major game here. Though this really adds to the story, the game was half horrible. For quite a long part of the first part of the game you're fighting antlions and that's all. After that it gets more interesting but it still feels unchanged. No new weapons or enhancements that I noticed. It just feels like an extra few levels. That certainly wasn't worth 3 years of development.

Portal is probably the most innovative game I've ever played. It completely changes what a puzzle game should be. I wanted to play Portal more than HL2. However, it's very short. First time you could probably beat it in 1-2 hours. Second time, 30 minutes. It's only 19 levels and even though the last level is a lot longer, it's still a short game.

The best value out of this whole thing is Team Fortress 2. This is the best thing to happen to multiplayer games. It's ruined by trolls who spend their lives playing FPS games and just play TF2 like it's deathmatch but if you find a good server it can actually be fun. That's becoming harder to do, with so many servers setting up teams and such, this gets way too serious and it's hard to find a server anymore that you can just play and it's not like you were recruited into the army.

My recommendation, wait till it's cheaper. None of these games are really worth their current price tag together or separate. TF2 has a lot of bugs still and server issues. Portal might not have more levels for a while and HL2 just isn't worth the price.

Citrus is AWESOME

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Buy it, it's worth far more than you'll pay for it. I love this thing. 'Nuff said

Great Deal

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

A terrific deal. I'd not played Half Life 2, so I received five new games for $40; you can't beat that (well, not new and legally).

I was especially impressed with Portal--it's one unique concept as well as a fun story. I just wish the game were twice as long. And I'd REALLY like to see a multiplayer version where the objective is to use the portals to drop people in acid or fire or whatnot, and the portal device is your only weapon (except for collision, perhaps, which could allow one to push people into portals on the ground or off cliffs).

The Half Life series is enjoyable, but it is rather linear, you can't climb up things a child could climb, foes always seem to spot you even if you're in the dark and standing still, and it's pretty much impossible to complete the missions without dying at least a few times, something I like to at least have a chance to do. The worst part, though, is that after all the time spent with that smitten Alex and we never get to get jiggy with her? Come on, the game has no problems with violence, so what's the objection to a little sex?

Don't be afraid of Steam, please!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: February 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First, I'll say that The Orange Box probably represents the best value in gaming history. C'mon, HL2, TF2 *and* Portal? Wow. All instant classics, and all massively popular. I'd like to say something about STEAM. Mainly, I don't understand people's anger toward it, and most of the negative info I've seen posted is flat out WRONG.

First of all, you *CAN* run the games offline. Sure, you'll need an internet connection during install, but after that, just double-click the game in your games list!! Of course, Team Fortress 2 is an online-only game, so you wouldn't want to play that offline anyway. Cripes!

Second, people keep calling it some Orwellian DRM scheme. Orwellian: No. DRM: definitely. So what? This isn't the same as music DRM. When you buy a song, you want to do many things with it and put it on several devices. Not the same with Steam, which simply ensures that your account is logged in at only one time. If you go an give your username and password to your friends (that's called pirating/stealing) and they all try to use the account, Steam will prevent that. And if the problem continues, Steam will eventually cancel your account -- and rightfully so. Listen, folks, as long as you're not trying to cheat the system, Steam will work just fine. And you *can* install it on multiple PCs, log in with your accout, and have your games in multiple locations -- you just can't be logged into Steam with the same account simultaneously. Try to see the bigger picture here.

If you have to re-install Steam for some reason, then do so, but don't reinstall all the apps, too! That definitely *will* take forever. In the Steam folder, delete Steam.exe and re-install Steam if you'd like. The other games will still be in their respective folders and only the Steam interface need be installed, which is quite small. Heck, when I wanted my apps on my second PC, I transferred the whole Steam folder over the network, installed Steam and was good-to-go in minutes. Simple.

I could go on, but will mention one last thing: Steam can be your friend. Do you know that each time you launch Steam, it goes out and finds any patches for your installed games and installs them for you? Not Windows componenets or anything that should cause concern, but simply keeps your Steam-based games updated. Do you know that Steam provide the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) service, to prevent cheating during your online gaming? Have you ever played in an environment where cheating wasn't controlled? Not good. And Steam also provides a community interface to find your friends online and play with them. Totally cool.

Bottom line:
* Steam does ensure you've paid for what you're playing.
* Steam can have issues like any app -- deal with it. It's extremely popular with users and is increasingly used as the distribution portal of choice for game developoers.
* The "DRM" doesn't prevent you from running your apps whenever and wherever you want. Don't draw a comparison to music DRM.
* Steam keeps you patched and compatible with everyone else, ensuring that both online and offline gaming goes smoothly.

Please don't let the Steam interface scare you away from one of the best values available in the gaming world. It is different for the uninitiated, but it's a mature product and works just fine. Remember, Steam loves you. ;)

DONT HATE

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 16
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

before you read this and give me a negative review, i just want you to understand that I PERSONALLY HAVE NO PROBLEM USING STEAM. so put down the finger and complain on someone elses post. with that said, i review the games and the games alone, because i feel they are works of art and pieces of artwork that should be appreciated. because apparently a lot of you dont need to play the game in order to rate it. for the majority of people that HAVE played it, it is very fun.

I bought the orange box the day it came out, and have been playing it ever since. for those of you who arent in the know (which i doubt is a lot of you by now), the orange box is (in my opinion) one of the greatest deals in gamer history. there are five games included. Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1 & 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. i beat portal in a few hours and just finished episode 2... then went back and beat portal again. As a gamer and half-life fan, i had to own this. if youre new to the half-life universe this would be a great introduction, and MANY hours of fun. Start with HL2 and then work your way through the episodes. even the game portal will help drive the story, YES PORTAL HAS A STORY LINE.

HALF-LIFE 2 & EPISODE 1
these two games were released years ago, but as part of the promotion to get new customers familiar with the story line, they threw these in the the package as "gifts" that you can give to friends if you already own them. just a quick summary, HL2 has been said to be "The Best Game Ever Made" and was originally released in 2004. it not only has revolutionary game play (no, im not being paid to say that), and incredible audio, but it is a better quality game than many that have been released recently (which is pretty sad). The story and voice acting is top notch, and ive played through it several times. you can also see my review of episode one in my review section.

HL EPISODE 2
Honestly, this may be one of the most beautiful games ive ever played. and for you half-life fans, you know i mean that by "beautifully scary," as in, watching disastrous events has never looked this good. episode 2 takes you into the white forest, or should i say in search of it. over-looking city 17, you see the massive spaces that this game provides. its extremely cinematic, with many many memorable moments. from the advisors messing with your vision, to the portal explosions. it all looks fantastic. a nice little tweak they made to the suit was the flashlight. in the previous games the H.E.V. suit wasted aux power by using the flashlight, quickly draining all power when sprinting in the dark. but now the flashlight is a whole separate unit, which is nice. the puzzles are... what you would expect. fairly easy, however one did make me a little frustrated as it turned out being a scavenger hunt... dang elevator. the battles are epic, especially with the devastating "Hunters," and the acid spitting ant-lions (whom are surprisingly effective at long ranges). you also get your hands on a beefy new vehicle, which is just plain fun. however, the biggest let down was i never got to use the blue laser combine sniper rifle (you get so close too). theyre probably saving that for episode 3! this game took longer to beat than episode 1, with about 5-6 hours of game play. and ultimately, was much more fun and memorable. it answers questions, but also asks many new ones. and yes, it will leave you hanging... again.

PORTAL
this first person shooter puzzle game is quite the surprise. its fairly addictive, giving you the pleasure of wielding a gun that shoots portals. what more could you ask for?! in fact the only bullets that will be fired are from stationary sentry guns, much like the ones in half-life. the first few "levels" introduce you to the portal world and teach you the basic methods of solving problems (shoot portal A into wall, shoot portal B into wall, walk into portal A and come out of portal B). a robotic voice will be your only companion (other than the companion cube lol) in the game. she will congratulate you, make witty remarks, get angry and eventually confront you. Yes, not only is it a puzzle game, but it has a spooky story behind it. a story that relates to half-life, and im sure we will hear more about in half-life 2 episode 3.

TEAM FORTRESS 2
for the person that loves online FPS's, this is for you. team fortress is an online shooter that pits two teams against one another. the appeal of the game is the 9 classes. each class has its own strength as well as weakness. its up to you and the people you play with to focus on teamwork and capitalize off of each others abilities. the game looks wonderful, with a clean cartoony finish. but dont let that fool you, for blood and body parts ensue. its like watching a pixar movie directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Over all, this is a great deal, 5 complete games for the price of one new release. although some people do hate STEAM's service, it really has never bothered me. it will work really easily with a fast online connection. but yes, it is a bummer when you dont have access to the internet, because steam wont let you play any games (unless you change the settings to let you play without an online connection, which you need to do online), but many people seem to rate valve products by steam and not the game. dont judge a book by its cover, dont judge a book by its movie, and dont judge a game by its service provider.

SO GO AND PICK UP THE CROWBAR!

---UPDATE---

ive beat episode 2 several times now because i feel that i didnt truly appreciate how great it looks. the AI is better, the Hunters will flank you and earn their name. also watching the poison head crabs scurry for cover is a nice touch. also, portal gets easier and easier to beat, but its still a ton of fun. ive been showing it off to all of my friends, leaving their mouths open. and it does have some bonus maps if you cant get enough of the puzzles. theyre basically the same test maps but made more difficult. and ive been playing team fortress 2 more, and it really is astonishing. it looks like no other online fps on the market, and i really took notice to how nice the sound is. plus the animation is superb. it was frustrating at first, but after learning how to actually use every players "effects" its a lot more fun.

In my opinion, Title for the $$ this year. Easy to pickup and play.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: October 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is the best value out there in gaming today. Everything in this title is easy to pickup and play anytime. They are fun and not the life debilitating jobs that some internet games turn out to be.

It comes with a top notch single player FPS Action/Adventure game. Quirky and funny first person puzzle game. And the best team based online FPS game I've played in years, Team Fortress 2.

Focusing a bit on Team Fortress 2... It takes a step back from all the realistic Team based shooters on the market today. It puts you into a stylized world that will remind many people of the Incredibles. The visual style combined with the well bananced gameplay make it a joy to play.

Good package of games, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Played about half way through Episode 2, nothing new here. Same ole gravity gun, same ole puzzles. Got bored and tried some of the other games. Portal is not easy to figure out or understand. My little one wanted to blast away at something, not possible on this. Heck, even I couldnt figure out what to do in that game. The box comes with no instructions for what to do, only what the keyboard buttons do in each game...thats it. Rather lame.
Now, Team Fortress 2 is a fun game to play. I play online everyday with it, its very fun and I enjoy it. So, do you get alot of games for your money? Depends on if you've already bought Episode 1 and 2 like I did. Otherwise, I still say its a worthy investment.

Very satisfid

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The buzz calling the Orange Box the Deal of the Century is well deserved. Any game on the list is well worth the $45 you pay for all five games. Half-Life 2 is without a doubt in my mind the greatest story ever told in a shooter. Portal has had nothing like it and kept me glued to my mouse. Team Fortress 2 filled a big gap in the multiplayer shooter market that's been left open by lackluster EA shooters.

I already had Half Life 2 and HL2: Episode 1, and have zero regrets in buying the Orange Box.

Most excellent

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

What a great value! You get Half-life 2, Episode-2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress is excellent fun and well done. The Half-life episode is nice but a bit short. Portal is cool, different and good for some short play sessions when you don't have time for a full game, just do a puzzle or two. I'd give this 6 stars if I could!

terribly fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: November 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The orange box is definately worth the money.
at the very least you get Portal, witch... while short, is probably the most fun I've had in a good long while. Portal alone is worth a good 20-30$
Not much really needs to be said about Halflife2, ep1, and ep2 those easily fill in the rest of this bundles pricetag and thensome.

Team fortress 2... seems like it might be fun, but so far I've only ended up playing with idiots... I think I'd enjoy it more if I were playing with friends, but then again it's not really my style of game to begin with..

so there you go 4 out of 5 are awesome, and the last one is great if you consider it a 'free bonus that came with your other 4 games'

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