3 Half-Life games, the best puzzle game ever, an awesome online shooter...only 60 bucks? This is "The Orange Box"
The Bad: Episode One is the weakest link in the package, though it is still an excellent game; load times in the Half-Life games kill the pace at times; only a couple of maps with only one game mode on each in Team Fortress 2; the original Half-Life isn't here.
Half-Life came out in 1998. It made waves across the US, going down as one of the best PC games of all time. It was only a matter of time before they released the sequel, Half-Life 2. Utilizing a special weapon known as the gravity gun, Half-Life 2 went down in history as a landmark shooter. Valve, the creators of Half-Life, have, and are still making, tons of different shooters. Though it's unorthodox to put five awesome games in one package instead of just selling all of them individually, Valve has taken the chance, and they've created one of the greatest bargains in gaming history: The Orange Box.
Let's break these games down...
Portal:
Portal is quite possibly the greatest puzzle game ever created. At the beginning, you are basically a test subject for a new gun called the Portal Gun. Using this gun, you are able to shoot two portals once you've upgraded it. The right trigger fires the blue portal, and the left trigger fires the orange portal. You can walk through one, and come out the other. Physics and momentum also come into play, creating scenarios that will make you think in ways that you've never imagined. The only problem with this game is that...it's short. Otherwise, the writing, scenarios and physics engine coupled with the Portal Gun are in perfect harmony.
Team Fortress 2:
This is the class based, online multiplayer component of the Orange Box. Once you find a match, you'll pick team, then you'll pick class. Each class is unique and has different abilities depending on your situation. For example, the Scout is faster than the other classes. He can also double jump and capture key points on the map faster than any other class. The Heavy Gunner is very slow, but has a chain gun that causes a large amount of damage. There's also a medic who can heal others with his medi-gun and can cause him and another person to become invulnerable for a short time after he heals enough people.
There are many different classes, like the Sniper, the Spy, and the Demoman, but I won't go into to much detail. There aren't a lot of game modes. It's basically just capture the flag (or intelligence...my bad) and capture the points (which involves you capturing points on the map to win). Another flaw game in the form of lag issues. If you don't have a strong connection, save yourself the frustration or get a better connection. The game just cuts you out matches, or lags horribly to the point where you'll just quit. These flaws aside, Team Fortress 2 is one of the finer online games for the 360, and those with a good connection will be hooked on it for a while.
Half-Life 2 Review
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/player_review.html?id=555702
Half-Life 2: Episode One
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2aftermath/player_review.html?id=560564
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Episode 2 follows Alyx and Gordon trying to escape the combine help get rid of a mysterious portal hovering over City 17. There aren't any new weapons, but this is still probably one of the better Half-Life's...or Lives..... Anyway, there's a ton of new scenarios and characters to meet, but what ultimately makes this different from other Half-Life's...or Lives...is that you'll be driving an old, beat up car during a majority of the game. This car quickly becomes a weapon that you have to master. Don't worry, everything from previous Half-Life games is still here as well. Altogether, Episode 2's length is around the same as Episode 1's, so it isn't horribly long, but it gets its point across.
Altogether, the Orange Box is an awesome collection of games that you simply have to try out. For only $60, bargain has a new name: The Orange Box.