The Orange Box. A PC gamers must-buy, and a PC gamers best-buy.
For the money spent on this package, it surely is my all time best buy, and Valve have astonished me, and no doubt the gaming industry by releasing 5 masterpieces in 1 box.
So before anything else, i'll just be reviewing the games that were new in the package, and hell, it's a great package at that. Included you get one of THE biggest and most loved games of all time - Half-Life 2, complete with Episode 1, and Episode 2. For one, I mainly bought the package for Episode 2, in which in my personal opinion is a fantastic add-on to one of my all-time favourite games.
Episode 2 takes you even further into the universe of HL2, exploring distant locations, fighting new enemies and overcoming new challenges. The story gets more intense, and extremely dramatic, leaving you wanting more. The game is roughly around 6 hours, depending on what pace suits you, but I can assure anyone its a 6 hours very well spent.
What also comes with this great pack is Portal, a standalone game which is beyond fun - it's mind-boggling - in a good way. There isn't much story to the game, but starting off you find yourself in what seems to be a laboratory. You are then given instructions by what seems to be a computer, to carry out a few active experiments with the Portal gun.
As you progress through the game you find that nothing is really what it seems. Full of dark humour, witty puzzles and mind challenging environments, I can easily say that this very game put a huge smile on my face, having laugh out loud moments, and truly reminded me about what it is to appreciate the effort and heart that games devs really do put into thier products.
And last but not least, Team Fortress 2. I have truly spent hours upon hours on this game, and not once have I shunned it. This game is online gaming at its best, opinion of course, but it has the laughs, the fantastic and humorous visuals that are so well done, and the community to keep your spirits up.
What makes this online multiplayer even better, is the fact that there are free updates, containing new packages for each class. Upon recently Valve has been releasing new class upgrades, giving players the opportunity to improve the class they play best with more powerful weapons. But of course with each weapon it isn't a total advantage, some may have shorter range, but higher damage, but its something that keeps the balance well placed.
There are tons of fantastic fan-made maps, which keep the game refreshing and interesting, and with the many multiplayer modes, this is one game that will not be getting old any time soon.
So as well as the three new games included in The Orange Box, there are Half-Life 2, and Episode 1, in which if you already have these games, i'd still tell you to get your a** down to your local game store and pick up a copy of orange.
But if you haven't already played them, then I suggest you get your a** down there on the double, because this is one epic, truly inspiring and incredible box of experiences that no gamer should miss out on. Not the best of my reviews, even I can see that, but I just hope I got the point across!
Thanks for reading,
TPJ McGinnes