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Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PC DVD) | 
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| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: £34.99
Buy New: £21.17
You Save: £13.82 (39%)
New (25) Used (1) from £19.00
Rating:  57 reviews
Platform: Windows Xp
Genre: sci-fi-action-games
Media: Video Game
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
EAN: 5030930058937
ASIN: B000RO0OKU
Release Date: October 19, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW **OFFICIAL** SEALED EA GAME. Shipped from the *UK* by Royal Mail insured delivery, ProMerchant Seller packaged in sturdy Packaging. #ds(min=$16.56) #ds(low=$0.00)
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| Customer Reviews:
 THIS IS THE REVIEW Valve DOES NOT WANT YOU TO SEE October 11, 2007
NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in Orbit)
67 out of 169 found this review helpful
HL2 was one of the best games ever created - and I am not an easy customer (check out 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 25,
(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).
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 just part of the expansion developed: 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 25? 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 25 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.
What makes you think this cannot happen to VALVE?
(and what will the value of all these STEAMed games be then?)
 Read the rest for how good the game is but read mine and be warned! October 28, 2007
A. Steele (England)
61 out of 73 found this review helpful
This is an excellent game and I would highly recommend it. I would like to add a word of warning about this though.
The game installs through the steam network, for those of you that don''t know what this is it is an online system that means that you need to be connected to the internet to install the game, from all the reviews I have seen if this is mentioned then it is not made clearly enough for people, which is why I am giving the warning now.
Once the games have installed and you have waited for all five games to install to 100% then you don't for normal gameplay need to be logged onto the internet.
Once the games have installed then you can play as normal, I thought I would mention this though as if you haven't got an internet connection then unfortunately this game would be useless to you. It does mention this on the back of the box but in all honesty how many people scrutinise this before they buy a game.
Read the other reviews though for how good the actual games are.
 Shaping up to be absolutely awesome! September 2, 2007
Mr. R. Eden (London UK)
51 out of 70 found this review helpful
This package contains:
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 Episode 1
Half-Life 2 Episode 2
Team Fortress 2
Portal
Half Life 2
Anyone who has played and enjoyed first-person shooters on the PC platform knows, and reveres, Half-Life 2. The (at the time) revolutionary physics and graphics set a knew standard that still looks great three years later (and can now be enjoyed by most PC owners on its highest and most impressive detail settings). Fantastic lighting, texture and character design combine with brilliant and varied maps to create a flawless gameworld.
Equally impressive, however, was the story and its implementation - carrying on from the events of Half-Life 1, an alien race known as the Combine have enslaved humanity, and you are Gordon Freeman; hero of the resistance. The major breakthrough for storytelling made by this game was that rather than lose control of your character during scripted or prerendered cutscenes, or mindlessly bashing the 'talk' button to interact with NPCs, the dialogue is all seamlessly and spontaneously interspersed with the action. Enter a friendly area and the other resistance fighters tell you a little more about the events going on around you, re-arm and heal you; then send you on your way, for you are a man on a mission, the Freeman.
HL2 Eps 1+2
Continue the story of Gordon Freeman and Alyx in two new episodes of the story complete with new enemies, vehicles and updated graphics.
Team Fortress 2
A tongue in cheek, team-based, online shooting game with larger than life characters and fast, class based combat with a multitude of strategies available to different team configurations. Very cheeky cartoon-like graphics and general humorous bent throughout.
Portal
Long awaited 3d physics puzzler, where ones only method of negotiating a series of increasingly hostile environments is by means of a gun that fires a pair of "portals", one an entrance, one an exit, that are interconnected and provide the players means of crossing, for example, pits of spikes, acid lakes, and, apparently, far more devilish imaginings as the games progresses. The portals also change the "direction" of gravity (ie which way is "down") for the player, so one imagines the later levels being pretty fiendish. Imagine a strictly puzzle-based Prey and you get the idea.
Conclusion
Any one of the games in the orange box is worth 25 pounds, even (perhaps especially) the three year old Half-Life 2. Getting all 5 of these titles, three of which are being released for the first time, for the equivalent of just over 5 is a bargain that is simply too good to be missed. Buy it now, before Valve realise their mistake and double the price!
Fantastic value - a great package (Revised 7th November) October 13, 2007
Axeman5000 (U.K)
48 out of 63 found this review helpful
OK, this review is based on Half Life 2 Episode 2 and Portal. There's already a couple of reviews here about Team Fortress 2 and loads of reviews elsewhere for Half Life 2 and subsequent Episode 1. Chances are, if you're interested in The Orange Box you're already a Half Life fan.
So what a treat you are in for with Episode 2. Quite simply, the finest chapter of the Half Life saga to date. OK, so it's still not very long, but it's a lot longer than Ep1, and it really feels bigger in every sense. The environments are new, the storyline seems richer and the scale of it is just in a different league to what has gone before. Just for starters, try the new Hunter enemies. The single nastiest thing in Half Life 2 so far. They chase you into buildings, upstairs, into rooms and can take FOUR double-shotgun blasts at close range. Very tough, very scary.
The voice acting is superb. By this point you really do feel like a Half Life game is like catching up with old friends, who you've not seen in a year or so. The characters are genuine, warm and at times very, very funny, such is the strength of the scripting. At certain moments, you could even find yourself yelling "NO!!!!!!" at the screen and wiping tears from your eyes. I have honestly never played any game that has made me feel so emotionally involved with its situations and inhabitants.
My only regret is that I've finished it now. It'll never be able to take me on that journey again. Oh how I envy you, who've not yet played it...
Don't get me wrong - there's lots of replay value here and I'm looking forward to the developer commentary, which worked really well on the last game.
God, I'd love to tell you more, but it just wouldn't be fair. Just give us Episode Three quickly, please Valve. Don't leave us hanging like that!
Some would criticise the Half Life series for being linear, but that misses the point. Half Life 2 has a story to tell, and Episode 2 is a very compelling continuation of that story. It wants you to see certain things, and to have certain experiences. The story and game would likely suffer if it had a non-linear path, which would mean that you stood a good chance of missing key things.
Portal. This game is MAD. Crackers even. Without a doubt this is the funniest game I've ever played. And it just makes no sense at all. it's basically a first-person perspective logic puzzle that cannot be solved using logic. Sound strange? Well, it is. It's a kind of lonely experience though - there is only you, your portal gun, the walls and, of course, an increasingly insane computer voice.
The computer voice is by far the highlight of the game. Imagine "Mother" from the first Alien movie, add in a bit of HAL 9000 and then add in a huge heap of Marvin the Paranoid Android. It's difficult to even get started on some of the rooms because you're just laughing so hard.
I've now finished Portal (admittedly it's pretty short), and I can readily state you're in for a treat when you get to the end. The final boss battle is, at times, almost chronically difficult to concentrate on for the simple reason that the computer's insults are the funniest thing you'll have ever heard in a game. You will honestly double up in laughter at some of the things she accuses you of in these final moments. Once she's dead, you're then treated to the best, catchiest song ever composed for a videogame. So good, in fact, that I downloaded it and my wife is going to use it in a presentation at work.
I know I said I'd not review Team Fortress 2, but it certainly deserves a mention. I've never been a huge fan of online shooters, but this is something else. It's a simple game for newbies to get into, but it hides a remarkable depth as each character class is very reliant on the others. Team really means something here. And it's very funny, when you die (amost instantly, but it doesn't matter) and the screen jubilantly shows you your liver/lungs or whatever with a huge arrow pointing to it.
In Short, if you are even remotely interested in gaming, you simply must buy the Orange Box. This is by far the neraest thing I have ever seen to a vital purchase. No gamer should be without it and there's really something for everyone. Boxed up, dowloaded or whatever, it really is very good value for money. Especially if you felt a bit stiffed when Episode 1 came out. When you consider you can buy all these games seperately which would cost you about 20 per game, you just can't argue with value on this scale.
Oh, and just one final thing - let's leave Steam alone now. We know it was awful at first and it's a system hog, but today it's a very good distribution and update system. Sometimes you might even be thankful for it.
Team Fortress 2 Multiplayer gaming madness September 21, 2007
Oy and Anne smell (UK)
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
I am reviewing TF2 and HL2 only in this review.
First, Half Life 2 is one of the best single player FPS ever. Not the best in my opinion but worth the 25 price tag alone compared to some of the rubbish out there.
Team Fortress 2. I am playing the beta at the moment and I tell you this game alone is worth the 5 stars regardless of whatever else comes with the box. I have been multiplayer gaming for many years now and this is without doubt the finest team based multiplayer FPS to grace our monitors! This game is a game pure and simple. You will have so much fun playing this and if you can manage to get together with some of your online buddies and organise yourselves into some sort of coherent team you will get the most out of this. I have been on this for far too many hours over the last few days I get the feeling my wife hates me now. But that doesn't matter I've hated her for years!
Sum up: TF2 is worth more than the 25 price tag on its own!!!
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