I've read that they're going to be splitting this box for PC, but for the XBOX360 this game is awesome. All I play really is TF2 and it's a blast! I wish they would release more maps for TF2, as there's only one CTF map. I would even consider paying 10-20 bucks for an expansion pack or xbox live update mappack for this game. Lots of fun. Graphics look like it was something taken out of a Pixar movie!

• from

I bought this game used in late 2008. If you enjoy moaning bloody zombies and spiders that try to jump on your face in a game that looks and plays like its from 1998, then this is your game.

Portal was pretty cool though not worth the price of the game alone.

• from

Heh. I love this game. It's 5 games on one disc with a cool selection screen. I mean if I'm playing Half Life 2 and I beat, typically I'd have to go out and buy the sequal, but nope. With the OB I can just go back and start playing Episode 1, Portal, or TF2. The controls are very fluid with few glitches and fits very well from the PC versions. However there were a few issues where I got stuck between a wall but that's pretty much all. The only other thing I have against it is no splitcreen on TF2 and it has to be played online and that's all.

• from

I've loved Valve games ever since the very first Half-Life. This is the same thing but with much better graphics, longer story (Ep.1, Ep.2) and more interaction. Portal is loads of fun, and Team Fortress 2 is not bad although I prefer to play it on PC.

• from

The Orange Box has won a lot of praise from all over. For the most part I agree but I think it needs to be quantified. Is there any part of TOB that's going to blow you away? No. Everyone's played HL2 before so it's nothing too new. Mind you, it was cool on the PC when it came out a few years ago but it's the still the same on the 360. The other games are fun too but by themselves they aren't anything tremendous. The graphics aren't exactly knocking the walls down either. But don't that that turn you off. What it does have is a hugh amount of good solid content all rolled together. You just can beat the value TOB offers of the serios or casual gamer. There really something for everyone. I would give this a solid buy recommendation to just about anyone with an XBox 360.

• from

If you loved Half Life and Especially Half-Life 2 for XBOX this game lets you play HL2 on the 360 PLUS gives you two new "episodes" following-on immediately after HL2. I was stoked to replay HL2 and the new episodes are very satisfying (again, from the POV of n HL2 lover).

Have not Portal'd or the other dealio yet, as am still enjoying "Episode 2" But if you liked HL2 on the original XBOX, you will want to get this game.

• from

Color me crazy but I just don't "get" Half-Life 2. The original that is, I just was never a big fan of it yet everyone who talks about great single-player experiences always references the game and yet for me personally I could just never really get into it. So why am I checking out the Orange Box, which collects that, plus its episodes as well as Portal and Team Fortress 2? Well, can't beat that price since I've seen fully brand-new copies at 20$ plus it has 5 games in it so based on that, you'd think the Orange Box is one of the best things ever to get and it is, since a lot of people enjoy Half-Life 2 and its episodes, many LOVE Portal as well as the goofiness and zany qualities of Team Fortress 2 so I'd definately recommend the Orange Box since it's got Portal on it. Sure it's short but I don't care.

Half-Life 2: The game centers on the important-yet-mute Gordon Freeman, a scientist last seen in the mishaps at Black Mesa (the first Half-Life) and is now entering City 17 which is being overrun by the Combine. With Alyx Vance, her dad Eli, Alyx's pet robot DOG as well as your trusty Gravity Gun, "The Freeman" (as called by the vortigaunts) must escape the Combine and hopefully figure out what the Combine are up to.

For starters, Half-Life 2's design is just plain odd to me. Many times I'll be on the run, being chased yet I gotta spend a few minutes putting bricks on a seesaw or getting out of my buggy every 3 minutes to turn off a force field. At least Bungie makes vehicle sections short but awesome, Valve seem to make their vehicle sections long for the sake of being long and it's my one gripe about the game. But the best part is using the Gravity Gun since it can become a formidable weapon as well as a puzzle solver. Grabbing saw blades to cut zombies in two? Awesome. Grabbing energy balls and vaporizing the Combine? Sweet. And unlike other FPS games, all items you find you keep and sure it doesn't make sense how Gordon has the pockets for a shotgun, assault rifle, rocket launcher, 2 handguns, a bowgun, a crowbar, a pulse rifle AND the gravity gun, being able to switch on the fly helps keeps combat fresh. I'd say of the 5 games here, this one's my least favorite.

Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two: After the end of the last game, Gordon and Alyx are on the run from the Combine after they've stolen something of incredible worth. There's not much to Episode One other than sewers, puzzles and helping to evacuate City 17 but it's short and sweet so it's not too bad. Episode Two however is awesome with 2 major events happening to Alyx, another glimpse and slightly more insight into the "G-Man" as well as epic encounters between DOG and a Strider and a 13 Strider attack (the achievement for this is a *****!") It looks the best though it's got its share of dull sections but the better of it as a whole.

Portal: You play as Chell, a test subject at Aperture Science where you go through 19 testchambers involving puzzles and physics, your portal gun, your Weighted Companion Cube and gLaDoS, the Computer AI overseeing your tests. This game is short and I can probably knock it off in about an hour now but there's no funnier or awesome experience than Portal. The lines, the Cube, that SONG! The puzzles are braintesting (at first) but its still one of the top games I've played and definately my favorite from Valve.

Team Fortress 2: Like Killzone 2, TF2 relies on various classes for this multiplayer-only game. Unlike Gears of War or Halo 3 where weapons have to be found or Call of Duty where you can have a specific weapon loudout, you instead choose classes that will act differently on the battlefield. Some can set up defensive turrets, some heal others with their medic gun while you got the heavy, a mini-gun toting big dude (the guy on the right on the box). Then you got favorites like the flamethrower Pyro or the Spy who like to cloak themselves and disguise themselves as enemy players. It's a frantic and fun multiplayer however since this is the Xbox 360 version, it doesn't have the frequent updates, patches and whatnot that the PC version gets and this game still has exploits and cheats so if you want the achievements, I'd say boost this one but for the definitive Team Fortress 2 experience, get the PC version.

The Orange Box is a strange game collection to be sure. The best game on it as it at best 2-3 hours long, the multiplayer-only one is better on the PC but if you don't own a quality gaming PC rig, there's not a lot better than the Orange Box....aside from TF2 updates. Come on Valve!

• from

Overall I think this is a great game. Five games for the price of one all in one nice package. On the off hand I really believe the people who ported this game to the consoles really screwed up. Team Fortress 2 is basically useless without splitscreen. Why would you have a console game without splitscreen. Thats like saying oh you can play halo with 2+ players but only over xbox live. Too bad. hahha.

• from

I would just like to point out a few things that should be known about this game, in particular the possible issues concerning multi-player with the different versions.

Firstly, I want to agree with what most of the reviews seem to say, which is that this was a great collection for $50, and now that it's dropped in price it's an excellent deal. The Half-Life 2 game and Episodes 1 and 2 are great, with a great story and gameplay, some great visuals and so on. Portal is amazing, it's combination of semi-dark humor and fantastic gameplay amount to a game which is worth the price of the entire Orange Box. Team Fortress 2 is a well balanced multi-player game, with a class system that makes things interesting and keeps things mostly on an even playing-field.

Unfortunately, it is this last game that brings me to my second point. Team Fortress 2 contains the entirety of the Orange Box's multi-player gameplay, and the Xbox 360 version seems to have less people online at any given time, making it take longer to find a game and giving the player less choice as to what gamemodes or maps to play, since looking for a specific gametype will result in a longer wait. I haven't played the PS3 version, so I'm not certain if it suffers from the same problems, but I think it might because it shares the same additional drawbacks of getting the Xbox 360 version, which are:

-Lack of add-ons. Though Valve, the company that makes The Orange Box, discussed the issue with Xbox 360's creators Microsoft, none of the updates already released for the PC version have made it to the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions. The add-ons are due to be released for the Xbox 360, for a price, and grouped together to account for the cost. Valve attempted make them available for free, since the add-ons have already been released for the PC version for free, but Microsoft wouldn't allow it. No mention has been made of releasing the add-ons for PS3.

-No custom maps. Though a multi-player console game may arguably have the advantage in other areas, it is lacking (in most cases) in the areas of customization. Custom maps and gamemodes have been made for PC games for quite some time, and buying the PC version gives you access to those. You may run the risk of them crashing your PC in some cases, but overall custom maps add variety and entertainment value to the game, the trade-off being that you have to download it first, either on the internet or off the server before you join. The original Team Fortress started as a custom mod for another PC game, and the sequel has only three maps (though more official maps were added to the PC version), and more variety in maps is a welcome addition.

-Lack of split-screen support. For a game that has the word "Team" in it's name, the inability to play it side-by-side with your friends in the same room is a terrible exclusion from the game's features. I've never tried to system link to more than one other Xbox and don't know how many can be linked together. I almost bought this for Xbox in order to play the game against a member of my family. Having rented the game for Xbox previously, I realized that with only 2 people playing and no player bots to speak of (there are some in the Commentary, but they don't play in the game), the potential for fun would be short-lived. If it were possible to have 4 people each on 2 linked Xboxes the experience would still be lacking in comparison to that of having to full teams. Now having played the PC version for a while, I can tell that the game is a little tedious with 4 or less people on each team, with maps designed to hold many more players, it can mean a long walk back to where you last died, depending on how the game is going. The game is really enjoyable with at least 7 people on each team, where there are enough players to give both sufficient backup and more variety and strategy. With split-screen and system link, 4 Xboxes linked with 4 people on them could deliver a better experience. As it is now, it would be much more cost effective to buy the PC version, and as mentioned before, I don't know how many Xboxes can be linked together, so linking 14-16 systems together may not even be possible.

If you are just looking for achievements, only want the single-player experience, or aren't concerned with any of the above, then it's merely a matter of preference. Otherwise, I would suggest you purchase the PC version.

• from

Fun puzzle game. Purchased because it had a variety of games on it and it was something different to play.

• from

I was going to buy this game based on all the good reviews it's received. Fortunately, I rented it and was thoroughly unimpressed after about 4 hrs of play. Maybe I didn't give it a chance. I didn't play Half Life before so maybe that had something to do with it. The graphics are definitely dated. Portal was fun but I don't know why anyone would replay it. COD4 set the bar for FPS's so any shooter I play now is just so so.

• from

i'm a mature gamer who bought a dozen videogames with an xbox to see how the technology has evolved. i played the half life and portal games on a 42" lcd screen and had great fun with them. the visual design is beautiful and the landscapes are interesting to explore. the action sequences involve the first person annihilation of some fairly rudimentary skull suckers, soldiers and zombielike critters with various firearms, and using a gravity gun to hurl and smash anything else. there is always enough health and ammo to keep you going, and a few puzzle tasks here and there to change the tempo. my main complaint is the plotting: your avatar, dr. freeman, is continually pushed into one plot exigency or another by the whims and decisions of his female companion, alex vance, who is certainly sexy in her low riders and tight jacket but is highhanded and in the end annoying. i was sorry my gravity gun did not enable me to give her a good spanking. but off i went, here and there, at her bidding, and once i forgot it was her idea in the first place the missions were compelling to complete: the whole dystopian world of aliens and biomorphs is spectacularly detailed. i encountered none of the bugs or glitches reported by other reviewers, but it's a shame that the engine must stop the action to load from disk as often as it does.

• from

I am going to be completely honest with you, I am not a huge fan of the Half-Life series. But, i do enjoy playing the game from time to time. Portal... is a perfect 10. It is immaculate. The puzzles are tricky, the physics are insane, the game it self is funny (the copmuter that "helps" you through the game is hilarious. --- Team Fortress 2. This game gets a 15 out of 10 in my book. One of the most strategic multiplayer(only) first person shooters i have ever played. If you get a good team of intelligent partners, you will enjoy yourself quite a bit. this game HAS to be played with the headset though, if youre not open to sugguestions, or criticism from strangers then its not for you. Everyone supports eachother through out each match, and the classes are extremely well balanced. this is not a game for Halo 3 or Call of Duty "Jocks" (run and gun, shoot-em-up players)--- and lastly, Half-Life 2 is Half-Life 2. one of the most revolutionary FPS' ever. I would pay $100 for this package. twice. that is how good it is.

• from

This is hands down the best video game deal of all time. Basically a $250 value, for $18. These games are some of the best I've ever played, excluding team fortress which I haven't played yet. You should seriously check this out if you haven't played them, or even if you have and want to re-play.

• from

I've heard for years now how Half Life 2 was/is the best fps ever so I thought I'd give it a try when I saw The Orange Box in a bargain bin.

I enjoyed the story the most mainly because I tend to like dystopian themed material. I had never played through the first Half Life so I was pretty lost at the start of the game as far as plot and characters go but got immersed into the storyline soon afterward. The physics engine was pretty cool to me and using the gravity gun was a unique experience. The main problem I had was when I would smash a box and try to pick up the contents only to pick up every shard from the box time and time again. The graphics were on par with many other games out there. All the "zombies" did look the same but were still very creepy. The action was pretty much nonstop but my man qualm with the Half Life 2 portion of the game was the loading screens... Nothing kills momentum and mood like seeing your screen freeze and a "loading..." bar appear. This was horribly done on some levels and the worst was the boat level which was a little too long in my opinion. Sometimes your AI partners would get in your way but it was only a minor annoyance. All in all Half Life 2 and the following episodes were good but I do not consider them groundbreaking and do not consider the experience as the best fps ever. But this is 6 years after its initial release so I might have felt differently in 2004.

Portal was a fun puzzle game but I couldn't really get into it that much

I don't play online so I cannot comment on Team Fortress.

• from