The Orange Box Emerges

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Rich Tate

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jun 9, 2005
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We’ve heard a ton of good things about Halo, but there’s another game in town that should be on your shortlist of hot titles, go grab The Orange Box because you will not be disappointed.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Life!) - What do you get when you throw together a 3-year-old video game, two sequels, a multiplayer variant a decade in the making and a quirky concept game involving a gun that shoots teleportation holes?
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If you don't already have HL and episode 1 it is also one hell of deal.

Its was even a good deal just for Portal,TF2, and Episode 2 considering I got it for 37.99.

Though portal is short, it is one of the most fun/interesting games I have ever played.

Normally I hate multiplayer games where each person has a certain "role" they play on the team.
TF2 is the exception to that rule. Though I will probably never take it seriously like I do CS or games like that, this game is super fun.
 
Definatly game(s) of the year for all systems. I don't see UT3 or Crysis beating it.
 
The article says its becoming a "Sleeper hit." Has it really been a sleeper game? I been following it since the beginning and I think alot of people have been to.
 
I was waiting for Episode 2 before I even knew there was an orange box.

Then I saw that video for Portal and knew it was also going to be sick...

Would love to see a full game(like HL) built around the portal device...with storyline and everything.
 
yes i cant wait to get it, waiting on amazon.

halo sucks ass BTW
 
Picked it up today for £32.99, just installed it and had a quick go there.

Excellent and one helluva deal, as I've only played/completed the original Half-Life on PS2 before.

And Halo? Pfffffffffttt Half-Life is the game halo aspires to be.
 
Lazy_Moron said:
The article says its becoming a "Sleeper hit." Has it really been a sleeper game? I been following it since the beginning and I think alot of people have been to.
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I think for the majority of the console players, this is a sleeper. Everyone has heard about halo, even people who have never played it. But half-life has roots in the expensive-to-get-into PC gaming market. So the console junkies probably werent as excited about TF2 or ep2, since the prequels were PC only. Just my opinion.
 
simpsond said:
I think for the majority of the console players, this is a sleeper. Everyone has heard about halo, even people who have never played it. But half-life has roots in the expensive-to-get-into PC gaming market. So the console junkies probably werent as excited about TF2 or ep2, since the prequels were PC only. Just my opinion.
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I agree and I think you have to look at the hype around Halo. TV, radio, net ads. Then you have TF, which granted to us is huge, but garnered not a bit of mainstream advertisements.

I walked into Target to return the brand new iBrick that my dad bought for me. As I was walking by to get a working iPod, there was a huge standy for The Orange Box. 3 copies max left on it, and this is a small town.
 
Rich Tate said:
I agree and I think you have to look at the hype around Halo. TV, radio, net ads. Then you have TF, which granted to us is huge, but garnered not a bit of mainstream advertisements.

I walked into Target to return the brand new iBrick that my dad bought for me. As I was walking by to get a working iPod, there was a huge standy for The Orange Box. 3 copies max left on it, and this is a small town.
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Yip, here in the UK even the tabloid newspapers have been carrying "OMG Orange Box HI2U" stories for the 360 version.

We have teletext on TV's here, I dunno if you know what is in the US? Its like a magazine carried on your TV set you press a button and you can read news, sports, music and even "video game" reviews.

The best one over here is called Gamecentral, I've picked up many fine console games due to their recommendations, anyway I'm digressing slightly, Gamecentral gave the Orange Box 10/10, only the 2nd game set ever to get that IIRC.

The tabloid newspapers are giving it 5/5 or 5 stars, not uncommon but guaranteed to get the very casual gamers interest.

Watch out halo, the best kept secret in (mainstream/casual) gaming is gonna own your ass! :D
 
apparently this game was a sleeper, i guess it must be since nobody noticed counter strike as the number online fps.
 
HL2/Ep. 1 : Lets you gift 'em :D

Ep. 2 : Only played the first 2 lvls but I'm excited about the rest. Good stuff so far.

TF2 : Worth the wait. That should be enough said right there.

Portal : Genre defining game. You could go so many ways with this. Really, really fun.

Peggle Extreme : More Peggle = Good

At $49.95 that's a bargain.... if you're into that sort of stuff.

Halo is to HL as Store Brand sweet puffs are to Sugar Smacks.

TF2 roxors my soxors.

/ramble off
 
"a ton of good things about Halo"? That's more than a little biased, eh? I tried Halo and thought it was ugly, aliased, and low-res. Not really sure how the game play is, because it sucks to use a game pad for a FPS, but I think maybe it's pretty good game play wise, have to try it with proper FPS controls (mouse + keyboard) to properly judge it. But, can I get it for PC? No ~ now that is super lame.

Portal is neat, something I'd be glad to let my kids play too. I'll try the new HL tonight or tomorrow. I liked the last one fairly well, but got sick of the invisible walls, which, to me are simply a shortcut indicating poor design. I'm hoping that Assassin's Creed doesn't have any. I spent a 1/2 hour stacking up boxes just right, in HL2 so I could go up to an interesting looking spot only to find some invisible wall blocking me, I haven't played since then, it was too disappointing.
 
Played and beat Portal twice now, going through the commentaries now. Definitely a very cool game.
 
I don't buy games very often as they soon become coasters. I would've paid $50 for TF2 but with the addition of the others it is truly an amazing box set!
 
TheCAD said:
I was waiting for Episode 2 before I even knew there was an orange box.

Then I saw that video for Portal and knew it was also going to be sick...

Would love to see a full game(like HL) built around the portal device...with storyline and everything.
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thats what i said to dale over at valve!

email him your comments

[email protected]
 
gibber said:
"a ton of good things about Halo"? That's more than a little biased, eh? I tried Halo and thought it was ugly, aliased, and low-res. Not really sure how the game play is, because it sucks to use a game pad for a FPS, but I think maybe it's pretty good game play wise, have to try it with proper FPS controls (mouse + keyboard) to properly judge it. But, can I get it for PC? No ~ now that is super lame.
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Um no...that's not biased at all. Read any review site, I've not read a bad one yet. Sorry that you didn't like it, but the vast majority of gamers did. I think the sales figures denote that.

Also, your thinly veiled console shooter remarks hold no water with me. If you prefer a PC game that is fine, but don't crap on a console game just because you personally do not like the setup.
 
Portals is the only reason to buy the orange box.... I wish they would release a Quicktime Voice for the Portals narrator. It's awesome.
 
Nothing special, only portal is great but no for long, so...
QuakeWars, COD4, UT3 and GOW are way better than this (for me).
 
as a long time gamer of console and pc... I fail to see how u can say halo wasnt good based on controls ths preference whats that have to do with the story line? and graphics what are you playing it on a old crt? have you set it up on a lcd panel? it looked ok to me :eek:

I do not think you can compare UT3 to HL2 very different games, I look forward to getting UT3!

Crysis new release I seen compared to HL2/ep2 how can you even compare that to games that are not even out but if UT3 is as good as ut04 was hands down ut3 will out sell HL2/ep2 imo

btw I like all the games listed ;p HL2-ep2/TFC2/Halo3 and look to get UT3 and Crysis :D
 
Just got my copy yesterday. Gave me a reason to replay the original HL2 on my 8800GTX (1920 x 1200 Resolution and 16AA and 16AF) Hot dam i loved the game the first time though....... its even more outstanding at those settings. Looking back now, i cant believe how high the production value of the original HL2 was. I played it when it was released over three years ago......... looks like it was just released. I have yet to play the other games in the package as I am on a HL2 marathon gaming session. I wanted to refresh my memory before moving on to EP1 and 2.

(oh played TeamFortress for a bit...... its pretty sweet i must say... )
 
<3 Orange box, every bit of it is worth buying it.. ep2 was "ok" and just more of the same old same old gameplay, only worthiness it had to me was for it's story element, but tf2 and portal are worth their weight in gold..
 
lordurza said:
as a long time gamer of console and pc... I fail to see how u can say halo wasnt good based on controls ths preference whats that have to do with the story line? and graphics what are you playing it on a old crt? have you set it up on a lcd panel? it looked ok to me :eek:

I do not think you can compare UT3 to HL2 very different games, I look forward to getting UT3!

Crysis new release I seen compared to HL2/ep2 how can you even compare that to games that are not even out but if UT3 is as good as ut04 was hands down ut3 will out sell HL2/ep2 imo

btw I like all the games listed ;p HL2-ep2/TFC2/Halo3 and look to get UT3 and Crysis :D
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I played Halo 3 on the large LCD monitor they have setup at Micro Center. I had to ask the clerk what game it was because (to me) it looked too low-res and jaggy to be a new top tier game for a latest gen console. It does look cool, detailed, neat maps and items/creatures, etc, but the resolution and lack of AA make an otherwise nice looking game look dated.

Is it really just a matter of preference? I swear, a gamepad just isn't as good, or as effective, as a mouse, for aiming in a FPS game - I really don't think that's just my personal opinion. You can use an X-box controller on a PC, so, show me a prof. gamer at a contest winning w/a gamepad vs other players using a mouse, I think then you could call me out on that issue, but I don't see that happening, do you?

I didn't see an option in Portal to lock to VSYNC, the tearing was a little distracting.

I tried HL2E2, was fun for a while, just a little too much like a rat in a maze though, and it's f'd up that when you shoot at one of your friendly NPCs it does absolutely nothing to them, no damage at all.

Quake Wars looks very impressive, but I couldn't quite get the hang of it during the 45 minutes or so that I tried it ~ the sniper scope needs more zoom, and it was a little hard to tell which guys are enemies until it's too late.

Unreal 3 is fun, glad they put out a free demo, and supt. linux. Crysis might be the one I'm most looking forward too (other than Assasin's Creed), but that's just a wild guess.

So far I haven't found any new games to be truly superior to Quake 3 mods game play wise. Every time I try one of these new games I play for about 1/2 an hour, think: that's neat, sure glad I didn't waste $50 on it (or, damn, it sure sucks I spent $50 just to try this game for 1/2 an hour) and go back to something like Urban Terror 4.0.

One game I WOULD want to try a gamepad with: Prince Of Persia (one of the latest 3D ones) - and I have played console games for ages, used to play several hours a day almost every day of the year, as a matter of fact, back on the Sega Genesis, and then later the Playstation. So I have a lot of experience using game pads, I just don't think they're well suited for FPS games.
 
I'm getting a kick outta TF2. I've played it everyday since I got it and that's alot more than
I played Quake 4 which cost alot more.
 
TF2 is great and funny

but sadly I see friends in Hong Kong get their copies for less than US$30 (and I pay $45 for pre-release)
 
I can agree with the lack of AA making it not look as good as it could look and the fact that a gamepad isnt as precise as keyboard+mouse but that doesnt make it a bad game nor does that make console gaming not as good.. some people do prefere a gamepad to a keyboard+mouse

Qwars is sorry its like a BF2142 rip off imo and it fails at even that it is down right sorry in comparison to me
 
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