Valve is known to be one of the most respected and creative developers out there, and while they've only made 2 complete games (Half Life and Half Life 2) they still know what makes a great game. So what happens when you combine (pun intended) Half Life 2 with its two episodic sequels, Portal, and Team Fortress 2? A recipe for nearly infinite fps fun! If you haven't played Half Life 2, it's about a scientist who comes to the mysterious City 17 that is controlled by communist aliens. Your goal is to start a rebellion against them and escape from City 17. Episode 1 follows the escape from the City, and Episode 2 continues the run through some rural environments outside of the city. All three games manage to provide great fps fun with great graphics, physics, and storytelling. Portal is a completely separate game that follows a human "lab rat" that tests out a new portal gun that can shoot two separate portals that you can travel between. Portal isn't a true fps, but more of a puzzle game that almost anyone can enjoy and never gets too frustrating. Team Fortress 2 is the long-awaited follow up to a multiplayer mod for Half Life 1 that features unrealistic class-based, cartoon fun. If you like team-based multiplayer shooters, you'll definitely like Team Fortress 2. And for a (current) $30 price point, you really can't go wrong with the Orange Box. If you like any type of first person shooter, The Orange Box has something for you!
The other reader reviews are ridiculous, they're complaining about the value of this game when you get 5 excellent products. Even with the new products alone (ep2, tf2 and portal), $60 would have been about right in comp... Read Full Review
The Good: 5 amazing games for the price of one; Episode 2 is a solid entry in the series; Portal is the most unique puzzle game that you'll ever come across; a solid number of manageable achievements; characters that you... Read Full Review
