Read this if you are thinking of buying this game but hesitate because you heard people say "Orange Box sucks on PS3."
I waited for so long to buy this game because I read a ton of user reviews and official game site reviews that said "Orange Box on the console (particularly PS3) is crap."
They are retarded. Lets also get that out of the way.
I grew up on PC FPS and used to run my own CS (Counter Strike) Server. I have also always felt that "if I can't play it on a keyboard and mouse, then it's a crappy FPS experience."
Wrong.
This was the best FPS experience I have had in so long. It took me about 30 min to get used to it, and a solid day to love it.
I could see where a mouse would be much better for online play in a game like CS, especially for getting more head shots. But that is not even an issue in the orange box single player games (which is 4 / 5 games included for the 25$ I paid for this game NEW shipped from eBay).
In fact, due to the common driving sequences in HL2 I prefer the controller. I find It's annoying to drive vehicles in combat with a mouse and keyboard and there's two very lengthy instances of driving / boating and gunning.
Now onto the graphics and frame rate.
Well I've played this on a top of the line computer well rated over the RECOMMENDED PC requirements and the PS3 looks just as good. And for anyone who said the game lagged and the low FPS made it unplayable. You are either lying, your TV has a crap refresh rate and you have motion blur or your PS3 is broken.
Sorry if you have had any problems with this game but the only instance of frame rate drop I had is when an entire buildings roof fell down in the middle of a giant battle with two five-story tall striders, about 8 combine soldiers in the surrounding buildings shooting at me, the roads were on fire and I had 4 NPC team mates with me. The FPS dropped for about 2 seconds as I went into a stare case. the rest of the game was flawless.
The only advantages PC has over the console version:
-Better updates / service
-Downloadable Mods (CS, G-MOD, D.O.D etc)
-Instant loading of quick save files.
-Team fortress is apparently better (plays better, updates, more people online), but i never got into this game. it's too cartoony and goofy for me. I just like CS.
Load Time Issue:
To quick save in the PS3 you just hold start. which is easy as hell. Loading takes about 10 seconds on average. On two occasions it took 20 seconds, which is a little long. But it only happened twice.
If this is a problem for you, stop dying.
Loss of instant save and load actually made me a better HL player because I used to play so lazy. I would just constantly press F6 / F7 every 5 seconds and retry every single part.
You might as well have god mode on if you want to F6/F7 every few steps. This isn't Prince of Persia Sands of Times. Play the game. If this is too much time to load a save file, then yes by all means go play it on PC.
Final Verdict:
Best 25$ I've spent on a PS3 game. I did not buy this for Team Fortress I bought it to play HL2, HL2 EP1, EP2 and Portal. If you want to play Team Fortress, download Team Fortress for your PC.
If you are in the same boat as me and just want to play the HL2 series in pristine beautiful graphics...Go buy it now if you had any doubts. I recommend eBay for cheap new and used copies. You won't regret it!