Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (Classics) reviews

I cannot fault The Orange Box. For $100 NZ, you get 5 games, many of which have averaged above 90% in many gaming reviewers. It combines the old: Half-Life 2, which I think does a good job of portraying an Orwellian future, while still offering plenty of good action and classic HL style puzzles, and Half-Life 2: Episode One, which, in my opinion, is the weakest link in the box, but still rates highly in my books. Next you have the new: Half-Life 2: Episode 2, which takes everything in Half-Life 2, and perfects it. The most enjoyable 6 hours of gameplay in my life. Next is Portal, which is challenging, original and genuinely funny. Its worth playing through the game just for the ending credits. Lastly, Team Fortress 2. Normally, I'm not a big fan of online shooters, but I make an exception for this. Normally devoting my time to single player games, In the short time I've had it, I've put in 10 hours of gameplay. Hilarious, new, but still familiar to Team Fortress Classic veterans, this game is an instant classic.

I do, however, have a few minor gripes with The Orange Box, which do not apply to casual gamers. A big fan of mods, I was disappointed to see that the Orange Source version is not supported by the SDK. This may seem a minor gripe, one that will likely be fixed in a patch, but it hinders mapmakers. Also, the decision to not include Half-Life 2:Deathmatch, means that The Orange Box cannot be used to play a wide spectrum of high-quality mods available.

For $100, you get about 30–40 hours of high-quality single player gameplay, and a high-quality online shooter. Games of this quality available for $20 a game? How can you not refuse that?

Half-Life 2 and its sequels – I can take or leave HL2, to be honest. HL2 is an action game where HL1 was a thriller as much as it was a shoot-em-up. I find HL2 to be more a succession of superbly crafted setpieces than a coherent thing. The story is well-told but not actually a very good story. I have mixed feelings about it, obviously. Still, it's a much-loved game.

Team Fortress 2 – I'm not really into online multiplayer (mainly because of the Greater Internet F***wad Theory; see www.penny-arcade.com/…c/2004/03/19). But if I were, this looks like the game I would want to play. Looks like it combines humour, action, and well-balanced gameplay very well.

But Portal … Portal is an instant classic. People will still be talking about Portal in hushed tones a decade from now. It is without any doubt the finest game I have played, nay, heard of, in the last few years. Portal is short, but oh my, what a gem it is. It has something for everyone. It will be appreciated by FPS-lovers, by people who regard Bejewelled as the height of computer gaming, by people with a sense of humour, and by people who want to see a game where the physics engine is actually important. It's tremendously well-designed to train the player how to play it; in its gradual revelation of the game's setting; in the subtext and “behind-the-scenes” glimpses that you get along the way; and above all in the characterisation. This is a game where you might well develop an emotional attachment to an inanimate cube. I kid you not. Pure genius from start to end.

I bought this primarily for Episode 1 and 2, but I played HL 2 again and it's even better the second time around. These are some seriously well made games. The graphics are outstanding, and they run well on my machine, which is something of a novelty for me. I'm used to having to turn down the details in order to get decent performance even though my machine exceeds the recommended specs of most games. I've played newer games who's graphics compare to HL 2 and they don't run nearly as well. Can someone explain that to me?

What's more it's perfectly stable. It never hangs. It never crashes. There don't seem to be any bugs anywhere. This proves that games can be made to a high standard, which is another novelty for me in this day of unfinished, buggy PC games, and why I'm switching to Xbox.

The games themselves are awesome. I especially liked Episode 2. Alyx tags along through most of Episode 1 and 2 but I find I quite liked that after I got used to it. There's nice little touches here and there, like the amusing quips Alyx makes, and the banter between some of the rebels and scientists. Terrific voice acting and writing throughout. And I love the art design and the cool post apocalypse look.

My only major gripe is the whole Steam business, and for some reason the games insist on refreshing at 60hz, which is intolerable. I tried adding -refresh 85 on the command line and in the launch options. I even set the refresh rate to override in my graphic card's properties, but no joy. This spoiled the games a bit for me, which is a shame because they were otherwise just a joy to play.

Roll on Episode 3.

Omigod, what a game to own, proud owner of the new orange box. I have only played episode 1 and tf2, just wanting to play it in sequence. So far i am very impressed with what i got. My graphics card didn't quite take it so i got another one quite promptly. It was worth it now i see all of half life world in all it's HD glory ;) Fantastic game, worth while purchase.

First up, Gameplanet gives quick and reliable service. As of today for me GP have replaced the bricks n mortar stores, which usually overprice by $10–20.

Secondly, the Orange box is probably the only essential purchase of this year. There is a huge amount of content in this volume. I hope other publishers notice that gamers enjoy variety, imagination, and like anyone more product per $/kg. While TF2 has received the hype, it was Portal that first grabbed me becasue of its puzzle-box aspect. Both TF2 and Portal will have long lives as users develop maps and mods. I can also report that online play of TF2 is lagless, which is a relief after playing BF2 on Vista64.

What can i say… Valve are the leaders. This pack has hours of rich entertainment. Team fortress 2 is brilliant, made in the comic styling of ‘the Incredibles’ it's team play at it's best. What's more it's not so damn serious like the other team FPS. Portal is pure genius… you'll find yourself trying to complete it in one sitting, very addictive. Thumbs up! O for Awesome (thanks David) and money well spent.

The Orange Box is fantastic for someone like me who didn't already own any of the HL2 saga…

HL2 and EP1/EP2 are all fun, solid shooters (though not quite the second coming that some people make out) and well worth the price.

Tack the two best games of 2007 on it, and it's an incredible deal.

Portal is amazing, from start to finish (even though that's only a few hours at most), with cleverly designed puzzles and a great streak of black humour – here's hoping the portal gun makes an appearance in EP3!

TF2 is the best class-based, team-based, cartoon style multiplayer shooter, like, ever. Best competitive multiplayer game around even. Still play it a lot, love its sense of humour and backstabbing heavies! Add into the mix the fact that Valve is STILL releasing updates – new maps, new class packs with new weapons and achievements) and you have a clear winner.

Valve (especially with their recently released, and also excellent) L4D have to be the best developer around.

Worth every cent.

As usual, superb games, follow-up storyline and achievement badges add new amusement. Portal is very entertaining and the latest instalment of Half Life is excellent. There is nothing else worth buying!

Great games. Just received mine today, and know I'll have fun completing Portal, having played the nvidia preview version. TF2 should be a blast as well as get me back into online gaming :-) HL Episodes are also something I haven't played so this should be a good month :-)

I do however feel let down by a “Box” that isn't a box. It's a single DVD case with two discs in it – one of which is in a sleeve. They could have at least put it into a double DVD case!

This game is a good game and I am happy that I got it from here at Mighty Ape at a good price

The orange box was released back in 2007. It contained all the Half Life 2 episodes plus Portal and Team Fortress 2. Valve has an excellent reputation as a game developer that can think creatively and originally, and the orange box does an excellent job of demonstrating that to the average gamer.

To begin Half Life 2 is perhaps one of the all time great PC games. The game still holds up well despite being nearly six years old. You assume the role of Gordon Freeman, a silent protagonist on a mission to save the world from the evil inter-dimensional alien Combine. The game combines ye good ole first person action with many puzzle elements and fantastic story telling. The game sucks you in to the story by telling it entirely from the first person perspective of Dr. Freeman. The characters are actually believable and the facial expressions of the characters are still better than many of the more modern games I have seen. Perhaps the biggest gripe with this game people may have is the somewhat dated graphics…this should not bother a real Pc gamer…after all beauty is only skin deep.

Portal is a real gem…the puzzle action is fresh and original. You can only traverse levels with an entrance an exit portal fired from a gun. Valve has made a game that has really made me think…Seriously think!! The humour is dark and hilarious, GlAdos being both a source or brilliant humour and ultimate barrier to your escape from the Apature Science Research Facility. The game is too short however…3hrs at most…bring on Portal 2 in 2011.

Team fortress 2 cannot be commented on…in order to play you need to download 4.5gb of updates…be warned. From what I have heard it is a riot of a multiplayer game to play.

The biggest gripe with the package is the forced use of steam. Steam forces you to download at least 1gb of data before you can play all the single player games. This may not be a problem in the good ole US of A but in New Zealand (as you are all aware) it is a real pain in the Donkey.

If you are looking for a great collection of timeless classic games or have a huge Data cap then the orange box is for you.

Highly Recommended.

If you are a Sci-Fic Shooter gamer or Half Life Series Fan, this game could be your best choice for purchase, or if you are a low budget enthusiastic gamer this also could be your best value game, because in this Orange Box, it's bringing 5-in-1 games which is Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode One, Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2.

Half Life 2 Half Life 2 is Metacritic's hig­hest rated PC game of all time and has earn more than 40 Game Of The Year (GOTY) Awards.

Half Life 2: Episode One Half Life 2: Episode One, the first trilogy of new episodes for Half Life 2 was named Action Game Of The Year by most leading publications such as IGN and Gamespot. In half Life 2: Episode One is about the escape from City 17. Though the quisling Dr. Breen was defeated in Half-Life 2, the Combine remain on Earth, cut off from their alien dimension. Now, with the Citadel reactor on overload, it's a battle to escape the ruins of the gutted Citadel and the city itself. Of course, that's easier said than done, and you'll once again be plunged along a tightly controlled and highly scripted ride filled with a fair share of ups and downs.

Half Life 2: Episode Two Half-Life 2: Episode Two intensifies the episodic trilogy, revealing an expansive wilderness environment beyond City 17 teeming with newly-spawned creatures, engaging physics-based challenges, and technical advances based on Source engine enhancements.

Portal The portals can be shot across a distance but only on certain surfaces, which creates the puzzle atmosphere which is on the other hand we call it a Puzzle. You'll have to figure out how to get across chasms, up and over obstacles, and around automated turrets. The trick is that you can only have one entrance and one exit meaning sometimes you'll encounter several kinds of brain teasers on how to use the portals correctly, and in some cases, quickly and often. It'll make you think about which portal you're placing, the exact location of where it needs to go, and the timing of when portals need to be switched.

Team Fortress 2 Team Fortress 2 is a multiplayer base game. As a purely multiplayer game, Team Fortress 2 has no need for a storyline. Instead, it has characters. Each class is a uniquely styled character with his own amusing personality. These classes come equipped with three weapons, generally classifiable as a primary gun, a secondary weapon, and a melee weapon. For example, the soldier class comes armed with a rocket launcher, a shotgun secondary weapon, and a shovel for close quarters combat. Classes are grouped into offense, defense, and support, though their actual roles in combat are far more fluid. And the most important thing that make Team Fortress 2 the funniest multiplayer game is its distinctive visual style, which a cartoon base style with funny taunts when a player kill another player or when they were hit or killed.

As far as I suggest and review, I would strongly recommend for purchase this game, because since I start and know how to play computer game, this was the first best game of all time, and the best thing is it's contain five games in one DVD, and plus it has a mix genre of games for example like Team Fortress 2 is a cartoon-base and fun online multiplayer game, the Half Life 2 Series is an Action genre, and Portal is a Mind Blowing and Puzzle game.

Half-Life is a great game, however this orange box wouldn't work on my system. My machine is not ancient, suggest you try a demo if thinking of purchasing.

When you get bored you usually play 1 game…But now you can play 5 :o who wouldn't want that!

This is tuuely a wonderful games but its is made by valve not EA

This game has aged very well. Playing it nearly 10 years later and it still looks good, and has great game play. All 3 eps of half life 2 and portal are good fun. Haven't played TF2

5 games in one for a bargain price,say no more!

Great games, I love pertal, and the 2 new episodes for halflife. Awesome to get 4 games in one shot.

The Half life 2 games as always, are amazing. I was never really a fan of Portal, but enjoyed it nonetheless. A little dissapointing that TF2 is free now via Steam.

3 best sellers in one box with very attractive price. Games still looks cool. Great graphics, interesting plot, intuitive control. there is only one problem – you'll need heaps of free time to enjoy of them:)

The half life 2 series is an amazing game. Pretty long and complete with story and a lot of action and puzzles which allows a different battle every time you play. I can't believe how many levels you get for such little money – Fantastic!

I love all the games in the box. Endless days of fun for me.

All 5 of these games are sweet Only con is that you will need to activate it online and you have to download big patches before being able to play them

Now that TF2 is free on steam all you are buying is HL2 and Portal which costs half as much as the Orange box.

Fast delivery and great service

I'd never even played the original Half-Life before purchasing this compilation with HL2, I originally bought it to play Portal and it blew my brains into mush, what an incredibly exciting new style of puzzle meets action gameplay, then I moved onto Half-Life 2 and once again, VERY COOL! So immersive, so intense, and really thrilling at times, you couldn't beat this experience unless you play a sequel to it :D

The Orange Box compiles three amazing games into one box.

Portal – Although Valve intended this to be only a " bite size game", It is defiantly one of the most interesting games in terms of the puzzle genre. The complex puzzles thrown at the player forces them to use wit, intelligence and skills. The manipulation of space using portals is an interesting and new experience. An excellent game for those who like Puzzles

Team Fortress 2 – One of the most amazing multiplayer games is this game. Team Fortress 2 strives away from the generic “Realistic FPS Shoot-em-up” such as the Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and Battlefield series. Team Fortress 2 has 9 individual classes which all have different weapons and different playstyles. The Pyro can burn people with his flamethrower and the Heavy can mow people down with his minigun. I have racked up 1600+ hours in this game and I still find it incredibly fun. A must buy for anyone who is interested in multiplayer and likes different classes.

Half Life 2 ( Plus expansions ) – Half Life 2 is one of the defining FPS's of the century. You can jump into playing HL2 without having to have played the previous game and be filled in on what happens as you play. Its an amazing experience to be an everyday man who rises up to fight the oppressive enemy. How the story is told is amazingly done and allows the user to be “sucked” into the world, wanting to complete the next bit to see how it pans out.

Episode 1 and 2 aren't as long, around 4–7 hours worth each, however they still pack that amazing punch that Half Life 2 has. The action packed series that is Half Life 2 definitely deserves its fame and glory it has accumulated over the years.

Overall – A must have for any gamer, three amazing games well worth the price

I found Half-Life 2 and Portal to have some of the most satisfying gameplay ever made. The storyline in half-life 2 is really engaging and the animations look more real and natural than some newer games.

Portal has the same gameplay and control as halflife 2 and it is a really enjoyable treat with this package. If only it was longer!

Team fortress 2 is a real lark for anyone who likes a bit of easy-going PvP. The amusing character animations and setup of the game seem to make it less hardcore, which is good for some.

It's like IGN.com says on the back cover. “The best deal in videogame history”. With such a good price I'd tend to agree with that.

Abolutely enjoying the game, and was sent within days of ordering it. Will order from Mighty Ape again. Cheers

I two reasons for purchasing this 1. There's too much data amongst all the games in this compilation to have to download through Steam. It was better to install most of it from hard copy and let Steam update the rest. 2. There are many free mods on Steam that require the engines from these games, however, sadly most of those mods are multiplayer only and noone plays them.

The games themselves are good, I know Portal and Team Fortress have had a good reception and I'm currently playing through Half-Life 2 which is FAR more interesting than the first Half-Life.

Ultimately, if you can find this hard copy for under $50, with a chance to return if things go wrong, it's a much better offer than the digi distrib package as some people (not me) have experienced random crashes with these particular Source games.

Each game alone is brilliant, but together they make a box of awesomesauces.

Half-Life 2 is already a critically acclaimed game, and Episode 1 and 2 add on to the brilliance that is Half-Life 2. As always, Valve deliver brilliant writing in Half-Life 2 and the gameplay is pretty decent too, even if it's still just a generic shooter (vehicles + the gravity gun are wicked additions, however).

Team Fortress 2 is a solid rehash of the original Team Fortress. The best part about the multiplayer shooter is that it gets content updates fairly regularly and these are all free – buy it once, get a ton of updates… For free! The only downside with TF2 would probably be class balance and the learning curve if you're not used to class-based shooters like Battlefield.

Portal is the odd one out in The Orange Box package. It's the only game that was not released previously, it's debut release was with The Orange Box and it is a damn good game, probably the best in the pack. There's really nothing bad to say about it – it's a puzzle game, involving a portal gun and you making loads of portals to solve the puzzles, and it has a sadistic robot trying to kill you! What's not to love?

I haven't played any of the Half Life 2 Series, only played Portal and Team Fortress 2 but those 2 are worth the price of the collection. Team Fortress 2 is simple yet has a element of complexity which makes every game against others challenging, with most servers I've played on based in Australia and barely any lag at all. Always a full game running it seems, even though TF2 is a couple years old now. Portal is quite a short game yet quite challenging as a puzzle game as you have to think with portals to solve the levels although you can finish the game within a day easily.

I purchased The Orange Box just for Team Fortress 2 and that is definatly worth it on its own, so if you play all of them its really good value for money.

I brought this solely for TF2 but have to say I'm very pleased with the other games in this pack! Half Life 2 has always been said to be a classic and I agree :)

Portal is a great game too, challenging and interesting, good fun!

I recommend this pack to anyone, countless hours of entertainment!

If you want to go back to the ol arcade game days with pretty average graphics Half-Life 2 is a perfect choice for you. Personally i love this game. I bought it after I had already been playing Half-Life 2 Death-match for about 3 years. This just makes it even better playing the actual game which makes each and every stage clearer on the story. For all of you people who are just playing the online version and love it, shame on you. Buy this and live the life of your player. Great action, great guns and hours of endless play. Graphics not so great but the game makes up for it! 5/5

Even at full price, five games in one isn't anything to sneeze at. Individually, each game is a gem!

The three Half-Life 2 games still stand the test of time, they have characters that you get to care for, and an epic storyline to boot. Can't wait for Episode 3!

Portal is a hoot to play, no straightforward shoot-em-up, its puzzles makes you think outside the box.

Team Fortess 2 is a blast too. Still finding my way around but I'm having fun while learning.

And it doesn't end there – with the Source development kit, there's heaps of mods available online to extend your gameplay, and you can make your own mods too!

You get Half-Life 2 plus its expansions, portal and team Fortress 2.

Half-life 2 is a entertaining FPS, addictive and fast paced, however some of that pace is a the cost of the plot, the game fails to include the backstory so if you are hazy on the original or haven't played it, you really have no idea of what is going on. Dont get me wrong, you know what your objective is at everystage, it just doesnt make sense. Regardless it'll have you hooked.

Portal is a innovative puzzle game, that challenges the mind. With use of the portals, players make there way through a system of tests. The optional achievements set addition challenges to overcome a level, extending the playability past the first time through.

Team Fortress 2 is perhaps the most addictive of the lot, it is a multiplayer online FPS, with all the usual options, kill of the hill, capture the flag, control point or the classic deathmatch. The game is focussed on fun, not realism, for instance the scout class can doublejump, pyro can repel grenades with an airblast from the flamethrower. If you are killed it shows the person who killed you meaning you know exactly where snipers are, meaning you dont die seamingly randomly and you know how to get the sniper back after respawn.

The game is fun-focused but still offers a challenge as you are playing real people, easy to learn, hard to master style of play.

Just one of these games is reason enough to buy the orange box but you get all of them, and if one isnt your thing you still have two excellent games.

with “The Orange Box” you can get a mod called “GMOD” a.k.a Garry's mod. the good thing is that you can download add ons with good reasons not to some gmod releases are only downloadable when purchased. But, gmod 9 is free and gmod 10 is only $10 USD. anyway the good thing is people are using this as a piece of machinima (see “http://www.machi­nima.com”) and also you can build your own custom buildings and other stuff its the funniest funnest conversion of sandbox software there is and also it comes as a treat for people who like halo, who can enjoy all the weapons of halo 1, 2 , 3 etc. and maps and other stuff that you would love to have and if you want addons goto www.garrysmod.org and get downloading your dream.

This is instant value for money as each of the games included are usually sold for $50! The other great thing about this collection is that after your many hours of game play clocking Half life 2, the episodes and portal there is still huge amounts of delightful game play to be had with Team Fortress 2. =)

Half life 2 Episode 2 is a great addition to the Half life 2 story and contains great gameplay and is heaps of fun

Team fortress 2 is one of the best multiplayer experiences around is worth full price on its own. It contains great teamwork and some very interesting updates.

Portal is a great puzzle game that forces you to think by making you use portals to get to certain points.

Lots of value in this box and really enjoyed playing half life 2 again and then the rest of the episodes. Episode 2 was good but seems to end without really finishing off the story maybe this is because there is another Episode to follow. On a whole it is very good value. But because of steam environment expect and fairly large down before you can even play it on vista but at least it is kept up to date and when finally ready ran perfectly. Well worth the purchase

Team Fortress 2 is very addictive and normally goes for $45 So this you pay the 45 and you get the others in a neat little package for a extra $35.

If you want the disks and case here is the box, which comes with 2 DVD disks and Valve's shortest manual card. The full manual is on Steam.

Since this is a Steam game, even if you lose the disks, you can still download the game from Steam provided you have kept your Steam account.

A few bugs with Vista 64 bit as it doesn't launch the Half Life 2 games. Portal and Team Fortress 2 works.

If you can't be bothered to use credit card via Steam or have a terrible internet, this is what you need. If your going for Garry's Mod, you have to have this.

Not only the best value for money it has some of the best games developed by Valve since Half Life.

Portal is a must for any gamer and will give hours of unadulterated fun with some of the best Valve humour I have ever heard.

Nothing but praise for this collection of games.