Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
October 16,2007 - When Valve released Half-Life in 1998 heads were turned and people bowed down as one of the greatest achievements in gaming had been released. It was original and very inventive, and best of all, it brought forth a new era in shooters that would forever be copied. In 2004, Valve finally released the sequel to this masterpiece, and to many people’s surprise it was as good, if not better than the original. Valve recently just put out The Orange Box, after a long, long time and with the tremendous value and excellent production of all five components, it easily ranks as not just one of the best this year, but given the quality of each part, as one of the best games around.

The meat of The Orange Box is Half-Life 2 along with Episodes One and Two, but it also comes bundled with the long awaited Team Fortress 2 and a new game called Portal. Strangely enough, there really isn’t any component of The Orange Box that is less valued than the other, as each game is excellent in its own right and would be wholly worth purchasing for full retail price on its own. Well, except maybe Portal since it’s only two hours long, but really, it’s worth it anyway.

If you’ve played Half-Life 2 before, whether it be on the original Xbox or the PC, then you know what to expect. You play as Gordon Freeman who has recently been summoned by the mysterious G-man to save mankind and overthrow the Combine from their oppressive regime of keeping us locked up like cattle in City 17. Though Half-Life’s story doesn’t fold out in cutscenes or even really in any standard fashion, it’s very heavy on the plot through what is called a scripted event. In these events you’ll have various things happen, like for example, a heart-pounding chase with you driving a gunship being tailed by a helicopter shooting desperately at you.

There are a lot of great characters in Half-Life 2, some that are right from the original. The most notable are Alyx Vance and her father, from the first Half-Life. Barney makes a return, and so do a few of the main scientists. The coolest new character, though, is DOG, the robot that acts as basically the mascot for the good guys. When he gets down to business you do not want to be in his path because he will destroy you.

Episode One picks up right where Half-Life 2 finishes off. You really can’t get into the story too much without spoiling what happens in Half-Life 2. The game does still take place in City 17 where you and Alyx, and occasionally a few others, are still trying to escape. Episode One, by comparison to the other two parts, is probably the weakest link but even on its own is quite terrific by general standards. The real fun picks up when you finally get out of City 17 and get to explore the outskirts of the city with Alyx in Episode Two.

Episode Two really is the star of the show in The Orange Box; at least of the newer content. It’s every bit as epic and enjoyable as the first segment in Half-Life 2, maybe even more. The game is filled with so many heart-pounding events that will just make you sit back in awe when they finish up. It’s one of the most exciting games to come out in years, or at least since Half-Life 2 in 2004. A good portion of the game will be spent driving around the countryside in a buggy type car. If you liked the highway level in Half-Life 2 you’ll love this as it’s even more intense and action packed. Each scenario and scripted event in Episode Two seems to consistently outdo the one before it. It’s so epic and ends itself very well. The story in Episode Two is heavier than in the other two parts of the series. That’s probably what gives it the edge. You’ll start seeing some major plot points developing that were only alluded to before. It’s gearing up for what hopefully will be a stunning finale in Episode Three—whenever that comes out.

All of the things you’ve come to know and love in the series are very much in tact for Episode Two. Awesome stalker fights, the combine, zombies, headcrabs, antlions, and even a new enemy called a hunter. A hunter is like a smaller, more mobile version of a stalker which is about as difficult as an antlion guardian and acts a lot like them too. They’re pretty tricky, and there are several times in the game that you’ll find yourself fighting a few of them at the same time and sometimes even in buildings.

The weapons and effects in the game are largely untouched from the original game. You’ll have all of the same stuff you did before. The gravity gun will be equipped the majority of the game and you’ll pick up the rest of the weaponry as the story leads you around. It’s only about five hours or so, maybe six if you push it, but that’s at least two hours longer than Episode One was. The graphics in Episode Two are a considerable jump above Half-Life 2’s. The lighting effects are a huge improvement and so are the environments. Getting out of City 17 has worked wonders on the look and feel of the game. The lush countryside and beautiful water effects are absolutely gorgeous. It may not be the best looking game on the market technically, but really, it gets close just on artistic merit. That’s not even mentioning the ridiculously proficient character models and superb physics engine; even after three years it is still amazing.

Games, News, Reviews, Media and More