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Nothing rhymes with Orange...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 26
Date: October 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

They say nothing rhymes with Orange... but what about PWNage!? I guess that doesn't either. But it should! This game rocks!

Team Fortress 2 is worth the price of admission for this instant classic collection. The team play is deep and instant. You really find people pairing up as medic and heavy to mow down a field of scouts and engineer turrets. Or people switching classes to fill in a defensive gap. THe healer class is greta fun as is the support engineer. They game is very well balanced with each class able to counter another.

The voice acting is hilarious and the charater models are gorgeous. This game will be played years to come, as the graphics are so highly stylized they will age with grace. The depth of each player class and the differing play modes make for a truly engrossing experience. Mix in some achievements, point capturing, Steam's new robust online community, in-game VOIP and you have a stellar game experience worth $50 alone. But wait theres more!

The price is simply amazing. Easily the best deal in gaming available out there! Half Life 2 was great and episode 1 continued that excitement. Portal proves to be great and a fresh take on puzzles, this time in 3D. Episode 2 will be great as well.

I am happy i purchased this game and have been able to play Team Fortress 2 for the Steam beta period. I will not stop playing for a long long time! Great work Valve!

A Pack of New Titles Brings Old and New Players to New Classics

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 18
Date: October 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For the price of a single A List game title (For instance, Bioshock) you get five here in the Orange Box. The price is undeniable for anyone that enjoys Puzzles, Shooters, Multiplayer or just games in general.

Half Life 2 and it's Episodes, One and Two, are all included in the Orange Box. A physics based shooter/puzzler that is usually referred to as the very plateau upon which the greatest games of all time sit. Half Life 2 grants more then 20 hours of gameplay if one were to take their time, and both of the episodes grant about 5-10 hours each. A plus is that if you already own Half Life 2, or Episode One, you can give them to a friend through Valve's Steam platform free of charge.

Team Fortress 2 has been a long time coming. After Team Fortress in around 1995 and Team Fortress Classic nearly 10 years ago, the only whispers from Team Fortress were cancelled, but brought back in 2006 with a cartoony Pixar like style that really lends a lot to the experience. It's basically 100% multiplayer all out action in which you pick a class with specific over the top skills. (The soldier can use his rocket launcher to launch himself high into the air, the spy can disguise as an enemy team member, etc.) It's pure fun, well worth at least 40 of the 50 dollars for the package.

Portal is a mind blowing experience that can be hard to describe. A specialized tool carried by the player opens portals on flat surfaces to completely unconnected parts of the map. There is no shooting of weapons done by the player while navigating through 20+ puzzles that require use of the "portal gun" to finish. The game itself is far too short for such an interesting and gripping idea, able to be completed in under two hours, but more time can be squeezed out of it with medals completed in least footsteps taken, fewest portals shot, etc, along with an easy method for adding community made maps.

Alltogether, bought seperately, these games would cost 100+ dollars, but they only ask half of that. An undeniable deal for anyone that enjoys shooters, multiplayer, puzzles, or teamplay, the Orange Box has something inside for everyone.

THIS IS THE REVIEW Valve DOES NOT WANT YOU TO SEE

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 209 / 294
Date: October 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

HL2 was one of THE BEST games ever created - and I am not an easy customer (feel free to browse through my other reviews, including the one on HL2, you will see what I mean).
Nevertheless, the whole STEAM disaster taught me the lesson TO NEVER, EVER again get suckered by a game whose publisher:
(a) considers me a criminal - although has pocketed my $50,
(b) wants me to ask for permission EVERY BLOODY time I want to play even a single player game,
(c) installs an auto-updating, commercial-reporting and in-contact-with-the-mothership utility that retains backdoor access to my computer,
(d) lets greed dissolve any shred of shame and envision a world where gamers will be charged by the hour to play games they have already bought, and
(e) does not concede to the proven fact every "security system" eventually gets cracked and every "OnLine activation requirement" eventually gets bypassed. So, utilizing an overly inconvenient security scheme only serves in penalizing the people who actually paid good money for their product - and manage to shoot their sales in the foot at the same time.

It may seem unbelievable, yet it is True: "STEAM-secured" HL2 barely sold HALF the units that unprotected HL1 did! (Source: The Washington Post - link provided in comments).
You would think some bright MBA (who could not tell the difference between a FPS game and an RPG) was sent home with no bonus? Guess again. Here come the Episodes!

After underselling HL2, VALVE then tried to catch up with short Episodes sold as...expansions. Well, a couple of hours of gameplay and some polished surfaces an expansion do not make. So, when Episode1 sales missed their projections by far, the geniuses accountants jettisoned the BLACK BOX release (which were to contain just the NEW games) and came up with this...ORANGE BOX idea.

This release contains, of course, Episode2 and - in order to sweeten the deal - the original HL2, Episode1 as well as a short maze game and a multiplayer platform (all based on the HL2 engine). I do remember Episode1 being so short that, even back then, I was sure it was only PART of the expansion under developement: these parts were eventually to be sold as separate...Episodes 1 & 2 (& maybe 3).
Now, let's see how good a deal the ORANGE BOX actually is. This is what it contains: HL2 (an excellent 2004 game not really showing its age), Episode1 (a very short expansion), Episode2 (the rest of the expansion, also short), PORTAL (a 2-hour FP maze runner) and the multiplayer game TEAM FORTRESS 2.
So, are the accountants actually doing us a favor when pricing all these games for 50$? Not unless this is your first experience with HL2.
If you do NOT own either HL2 or Episode1, then, yes, this is a GOOD DEAL. If, however, you already own HL2 and Episode1, I would suggest waiting for the individually sold components. When was the last time we paid 50$ for another short expansion?

Now, since I do have to connect to a server in order to play a multiplayer game, it makes no difference to me whether that be STEAM or any other server. Validate away my genuine copy to your hearts content!
However, I REFUSE to ask permission every time I wish to play a Single Player or LAN game FOR A TITLE I HAVE ALREADY PAID AND BOUGHT!
I REFUSE to ever again submit to the whims of STEAM - only to fall victim to busy, unstable and fickle servers!

VALVE has to learn eventually that respect is a two-way street. The intrusiveness and inconvenience of STEAM created a huge debt with its original HL2 customers - and, since the market correction of the affect of STEAM failed to sink in, the ORANGE BOX will now inevitably pay that debt - with interest.
Episode2 may be a fine expansion and TEAM FORTRESS the new CS. Nevertheless, they are still STEAMed up by accountants posing as game designers. They fooled my once...

I am NOT going through that again!

PS:
WESTWOOD was once a mighty company riding the cutting edge of creativity (the COMMAND & CONQUER series was their innovative idea, starting with the classic DUNE that introduced the RTS genre). In 1997 they released an online RTS game named COMMAND & CONQUER: SOLE SURVIVOR. In 2003 (just 6 years later) WESTWOOD was bought by EA GAMES which (true to its mega-corporation mentality) pulled the plug on the existing servers. Whoever had bought SOLE SURVIVOR now had a piece of worthless reflective plastic.

Now, what makes you think this cannot happen to VALVE?
(and what will the value of all these STEAMed games be then?)

The best graphics, plus extras!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: October 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is a stellar package. First, the Episode 2 is GORGEOUS if you have the hardware. It is very hardware-dependent, so if you have an older graphics card or little memory, you might get chop-city when you play. But it's great on mine. The story of Ep 2 integrates well with Episode 1, which is the usual for Valve. The first part of the story is a bit shocking, so be prepared. Portal is a BLAST, though I must say, I find myself stuck pretty frequently... Need to work on those 3-dimensional skills. Never played Team Fortress, but the graphics look cartoonish in a really good way.

I love Steam. I purchase once, and I can play games wherever I go. If I get on a new machine, I log in, and Steam downloads what I need to play, including the ENTIRE game. This is FAR AND AWAY better than ANY other software design, and I dare anyone else to compare the typical licensing process to Steam's design. IE: If you've tried to install a game on machine 2 and the corporate license lackeys knows you installed it on machine 1 and stops you from installing it or playing it, you know what I mean.

I was unsure I'd like buying all these games I already own (HL2 and Ep 1), but I love how Steam gives you three license numbers, one for HL2, one for Ep 1, and one for the brand new stuff. I plan on giving the older numbers to a relative, and keep the new games for myself. Others could probably sell numbers to their friends. Again, bravo Valve, but you lose a star for not selling the "Black box" with just the new stuff, especially when you can buy the older stuff at significant discount.

Despite Steam, a phenomenal game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 10
Date: October 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This package is worth it for Team Fortress 2 alone, but getting Half Life 2 and both it's episodes is a wicked sweet bonus! I have NEVER had more fun playing a FPS than with TF2. The Pixar style designs work perfectly, and help maximize the "fun factor". If you love team/role-based FPS, then this is the grandaddy of them all. :)

Buy it. 'Nuff said.

Great game ruined by DRM.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 51 / 93
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I am in college right now, and am often very busy. I do most of my gaming when I return to my mom's house for winter break and summer break. My mom's house has no internet connection. This game cannot be played without an internet connection, due to draconian DRM policies.

Remember: When you buy a game with DRM, you're not buying a game, you're buying...well, nothing at all really.

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.

BEST...(freak'n) Game...EVER!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: October 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I loved HL1, and couldnt wait for HL2.Then I thought there was HL3 Next, but I like the "Episode" style. Portal is the most uique games I have ever played. It also has a GREAT story. Team Fortress was great, but TF2, Now, THAT is SUPER!!! Episode 2 is also SUPER.

Overall, this game is ONE OF THE BEST PACKS...EVER!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Good, Some Bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 23
Date: October 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Half-Life Episode 2: Grade: C
I have just completed Half-life: Episode 2. Honestly, the story is the only reason why I finished it. The game play just felt like more of the same. No new weapons, two new enemies and an extremely short game. It took me 5 1/2 hours to complete, according to my personal game play statistics page on Steam, and I spent some of that time lolly-gagging around and exploring. If I stuck to plowing through the game, I probably could have beaten it in 3 to 4 hours. The story is Episodes 2's saving grace. Now that TF2 has finally been completed, lets hope the team can put more energy into the third episode.

Team Fortress 2: Grade: A
I started playing this during Beta testing and I've been addicted to it since. The graphics, characters and balanced game-play is a vast improvement over the first Team Fortress. The Orange Box is almost worth it just for this.

Portal: Grade: B-
Decent game with puzzling maps to exercise your mind. I finished it relatively quick. There are bonus maps that take the game-play a little further. It has an interesting story that adds to the Half-Life universe.

The Package Overall: Grade: C+
It's a good thing Episode 2 came in a package of other games. Here's hoping that Episode 3 is a stunner. TF2 is amazing fun. Portal is decent fun with quirky game play. Half-life 2 and Episode one have been out for a long time now. If you are new to the Half-life experience, then you have hours upon hours of game-play. If you are already an experienced Half-Lifer and Episode 2 was what you were waiting for, then you may be in for a disappointment.

Hands down, the best video game package ever.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: October 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Every game in this package is worth buying, playing, and playing again.
I was mostly impressed by Portal and Team Fortress 2. Both are innovative in their visual style and humor, and they both play like a dream. Portal is mind-bending, and while short, offers plenty replayability in it's bonus maps. Team Fortress 2 will keep you busy for days. There aren't a lot of maps to start with, but the multiplayer, class-based gameplay keeps things from getting old.
I can't really review Half-Life 2: Episode 2 here because I have not finished it yet. Though so far, the graphics are amazing and the pacing is spot-on.
The Orange Box is incredible, and for the price that most companies will make you pay for one game, Valve gives you 5.

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