My Orange Crush..... The Orange Box - 10/10
Sorry again for this late review, it took so long because the stupid pictures were playing up so I had to remove them all 
so there aren’t many.
Ever since Gordon freeman appeared in half life, we couldn’t get enough. It was really fun, adventuring around black mesa research facility. The opening of the game , the train ride was the start of something really really big. No one thought that it could ever get this big, but it did, and its insane, Valve have really done something almost impossible. Create the sequel to one of the best games. In fact, it was done so well, it was one of metacritics highest rated games. It was almost impossible to think that you could make a sequel to one of the biggest and best games. This game is so big, its one of megacritic (metascore) ‘s highest rated game (half life 2, and the orange box) at 96 out of 100.
Basically, the half life series has grown bigger and better and has attracted a much bigger fan base, which has obviously made valve more serious in their work. Well that’s what is their plan, to go bigger and better , which makes gamers happy. You want to buy a game and enjoy it, well thats what some gamers want out of 100 dollars or so. Gamers spend heaps of money every year to find a game that will last and be great.
Welcome to the real world people, you will be amazed to see what valve have done for you. Instead of just releasing half life 2 on the Playstation 3, they have taken a step further to please and most of all, make Playstation 3 owners feel happy that there is a good title coming up, after those massive delays for major titles, although Mr. freeman wasn’t ready to be released yet (EA games fault) . But, despite the annoying delays of the game, it finally was released and what we got was amazing.
The box itself is neat and tidy, even with 5 titles in the one box. You wouldn’t expect it packaged so neatly for 5 full length different tiles, but it was. The orange box isn’t just about Mr. Freeman’s adventures around city 17; in fact there are two totally different games on that blu-ray disk. Team Fortress 2 and Portal.
Well, here is me going on about it, how about this is called a review? Maybe i should start now because i may be boring you to death with this boring stuff, but anyway.... here is my review for the Orange Box!!!
The Orange Box, for those of you people who don’t go out much (or just don’t play games a lot) , the orange box is not a game. In fact its just a menu to be honest: P well sort of. When you start up the game it will come up with the valve logo, which surprisingly is a valve on the back of a bald man’s head... and the orange EA GAMES logo.
Well, moving on, you may already know that the box contains episode 1 and episode 2 to get you going. Valve didn’t want to work on a new half life, so they continued it by making episodes, and are currently working on episode 3. To begin with, ill start the review with the most enjoyable game on the disk, which is Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress 2.
Team Fortress 2 is a Team Based Multiplayer Game. You have a selection of classes to play with, and all have their up sides and down sides.
You have the choice of:
The Engineer-
The engineer is a great support player, who can assist in an ambush, or just to defend their base. The engineer is just an engineer 
. build up a sentry, or build a dispenser, or even help even further by making portal’s to help your team get to 1 place quicker than having to go through the enemies’ stronghold.
The Spy-
One of the best ways to get around without getting caught. By playing as the spy you can use your invisibility to get through the enemies hiding spot. Or just go and disguise yourself and have fun stabbing your “allies”. Once you choose a disguise your team will see you as a spy with a mask but the enemy will see you as a team mate. Want to have a laugh? Try calling out a medic and get some health if you need some.
The Pyro-
The way to get through a sticky situation. The Pyro can help your team easily kill the enemies once you set them on fire, or just kill them with the flamethrower yourself 
. The pyro is great for an offence, but if they find water your kill chance has gone. Surprisingly the pyro has an axe
The Heavy-
Want to kill-kill-kill ? then pull out the machine gun and go wild! A fun and enjoyable character who loves his machine gun can help your team out. Just start firing and you should get them down one by one.
The Medic-
Feel like listening to people’s calls for you? Then play as the medic. Go around and do what a medic does best! Heal people. But don’t get fooled by spies, they will use you and kill you.
The Scout-
The fastest character in the game, feel’s like your sprinting the whole time, is a great character who is good to use when you are playing a match where you need to take the enemy intelligence.
The Sniper-
Want to take people out, but don’t want to use too much time looking for them? Then pull out your sniper rifle, find a comfy spot and wait..... BOOM ... HEADSHOT...
The Demo Man-
Want To watch people go boom? Then throw some stickies and wait... and then detonate them and watch those people just go boom or just go around using your grenade launcher to clear the path for your team.
The Soldier-
A great way to get the job done . Just fire away and go for gold. No questions asked. Just go and run around the field blowing people up with rockets.
The Maps that you can play in are:
2Fort –
2Fort is one of the most popular maps in Team Fortress 2, and to win the round you have to capture the enemies’ intelligence 3 times. There are shortcuts that can get you around easily, like jumping in the water and going through the tunnels.
DustBowl-
Dustbowl is a Control Point Map, where one team will have to defend all of the control points, and the other team will be looking to take control of the points. If the other team captures all of the control points then they win the round.
Granary-
Granary is another control point map, where one team should defend their bases instead of going for the offense.
Gravel Pit-
Yet another control point map, players on the offensive team should make an effort to go out and capture all control points
Hydro-
Hydro is a territorial control map. Players must control the territories to win the game.
Well-
Well is a control point map.
Team Fortress 2 can be very addictive, and with its range of characters to play with this game won’t become boring easily. With some humour and cartoon graphics you won’t want to miss out on this slice of the orange box.
Here is the lowdown for Team Fortress 2.
The Graphics-
Well, you can’t say that it’s for kids just because of the animated cartoon style graphics, it’s great. The visual combined with the source engine makes everything look neat and tidy, how it should be. Firing weapons looks great, and blowing people up to bits is quite, how can I say, disgusting for some.
The Sound-
The Sound of team fortress 2 is great, and can’t complain. It does what is expected of it without a doubt. With some funny lines the audio is great. Hear bullets go by, or hear your comrades cry out for a medic. Its great.
The Controls-
The game does not use the normal FPS layout. The layout is sort of reversed, with R2 being the primary fire button and the top L1 and R1 are change weapons.
The Multiplayer-
Mayhem as it is, the fun never stops. There is something for everyone here. Play with some mates or just play solo against people from around the world. You choose. The multiplayer is great, with only 1 slight problem. The lag. If you enter some servers you may experience a slight lag that can last for the whole round if its pretty bad. But besides that it’s great 
The Replay Value-
One that will last for a long time, Team Fortress 2 is a great game to replay, mainly because there is nothing else to do! Similar to warhawk, there is no single player modes available.
The Verdict-
Graphics- 9.0/10
Sound – 8.0/10
Controls-8.0/10
Gameplay-8.0/10
Replay Value-10/10
Overall- 9.0/10
<div class="show"><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9gv3XmD7-rk"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9gv3XmD7-rk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></div>
Portal.
Portal is a puzzling, yet adventures First Person Shooter, which can amaze many with its mind tricks. Portal is a single player game, and has succeeded well. In Portal, you wield the portal gun , and make portals! But don’t be fooled, it isn’t that easy. But there are ways around it, as if you are really clever you would be able to get to another part of the map if you knew how to.
There isn’t much to say, but if you want to get your brain working then play portal. It can get quite repetitive if you can’t pass a stage, but think before you go blasting away with your portal gun. Try to do your best, and you will accomplish what you have to.
You will hear this pretty weird or annoying voice, glaDOS. The voice that will talk to you, and tell you things.
There is no multiplayer and the levels do make you feel like you are always playing in a box, and besides all of that its great .
The controls are similar to the layout of team fortress 2.
The verdict for portal-
Graphics-
The graphics are great, running on the source engine. Although there isn’t much to see (like scenery) it still has that nice feel to it.
The Sound-
The stupid , funny and irritating voice is weird. But the sound is good.
The Gameplay-
The gameplay is quite good, puzzling and fun all at the same time. Although there could have been a bit more levels.
Replay Value-
Portal can be fun, the 2nd or 3rd time. Play it over and over again. It just is plain fun. That’s all.
Verdict/ Rating -
Graphics- 9.0/10
Sound – 8.0/10
Gameplay-9.0/10
Replay Value-9.0/10
Overall- 9.0/10
Now , moving on to one of the greatest games of all time. The sequel to one of the best, and now is even better than its little brother. It’s been a while for the release on Playstation 3, but here is the final product. And on top of that, it has been slightly remastered so you can enjoy it all over again and notice the difference that the characters appearances may look even better than what they did on the original pc release of half life 2.
Half Life 2-
FPS has never been the same... 35 GOTY awards.... 96 out of 100 in meta score... Mr Freeman. Well now he is back and better than ever. Re live the game.
Half life 2 is a FPS with a bit of puzzles. The game has no map and does not tell you where to go. You have to get their without help. Something that not many games have. You do not get told what to do, you just do it. You find your own way. If not you will end up getting lost and possibly become aggravated as some spots are hard to get to without using your brain.
The Crowbar is back again
. go around hacking things, or just use the gravity gun. Pick an object up and throw it. Or destroy it. The gameplay style has been kept the same as half life 1, just the HUD is different.
The game isn’t short, so don’t bother hiring it out if it’s a 1 nighter. One thing that the game is great at is the open fields. The game has no cut scenes and has the way to go and the way that won’t lead you anywhere, but you will find an ammo crate or some health.
Some parts of the game will challenge you. Choppers following you. Zombies by the pack. Mayhem.
The game makes you explore more, with a lot more places to go and things to shoot at. You will find yourself in places that you wouldn’t expect. Water. Canals. A zombie infested town, and more.
You feel at one point you are playing an action FPS, then a puzzle FPS, then a horror FPS. There is some graphic things in the game (violence side) when you reach ravenhole.
The Gameplay-
As good as it gets. Not negotiable. Get back into the game, after we last played as Gordon freeman in half life 1, at the Black Mesa research facility. Now our favourite friend is back to take on the world. 1 step at a time. The game has a great length and will not be so easy to finish. You have to get to point a to b without the assistance of a map or compass. Or even objective list. Its just like a continuous game that doesn’t stop. It just loads when it has to and no cut scenes played throughout the whole game, the same as half life 1. You will never hear Gordon Freeman say anything. Un yet, when you start playing Half Life 2 the main characters just talk and talk to you. Everyone missed you Mr Freeman
The game doesn’t get boring unless you get stuck. That’s one good thing that makes the Half Life franchise unique. The visuals and all of the characters and scenery are all top notch. Cant complain.
(I want those cookies)
The Sound-
The greatest sound effects are right here. Hear all of the different sound combinations, hear people talk to you or hear the choppers swoop the area. Pure greatness . All of the sound effects . Nothing wrong here
The Controls-
The controls for Half life 2 are similar to Team Fortress 2, Portal. R2 is the fire button, while the weapon list is the D-Pad. controls are easy. Nothing wrong here.
The Replay Value-
With so much to do there is always room for another go around the whole game again
its just fun fun fun. Yet again, nothing wrong here
The Lowdown-
Graphics- 10/10
Sound -10/10
Gameplay-10/10
Replay Value-10/10
Controls -10/10
Overall- 10/10
[youtube]esfLCVLoeE0">
I know up to here my review may have bored you, but don’t fear, i didn’t have enough time to review the next two games, so i did them in the time i had.
Half life 2 Episode 1-
Half Life 2 Episode 1 continues Gordon Freeman’s journeys. Instead of Valve making half life 3, which would take a long time, they made “episodes” which continue the story.
Exactly the same as Half life 2, but not the exact same. The graphics, sound are the same, but the story line is continued in episode 1.
Verdict-
Graphics- 9.0
Sound- 9.0/10
Gameplay-9.0/10
Replay Value-8.0/10
Controls-10/10
Overall-9/10
Episode one is a great way to carry on the Half Life franchise. But to take things to the next level, episode 2 was released.
Half Life 2 episode 2-
The last and final game on the orange box, and one of the newest to join team fortress 2 and portal. You play as Gordon freeman and continue the epic journey.
You get to drive around this time with a tuned dodge charger.
(ps3 gameplay)
Graphics- 9.0/10
Sound- 9.0/10
Gameplay-9.0/10
Replay Value- 8.0/10
Controls- 9.0/10
Overall- 9.0/10
The Orange Box-
The Orange box, in conclusion is one of the best ways to spend 100 dollars and get your value. You aren’t just paying for 1 game, you are paying for 5. 5 full length games on 1 blu ray disk. Its great to sum it up and i hope you liked my review guys and girls
Submitted by skua
12/02/2008
42
18
Join MyPS3 to vote for your favourite story!
More Info:
MyPS3 Miscellaneous
Other Reviews:
Related Videos:
-
Max Payne The Movie - trailer
-
![Kingdom Hearts 3 full extended trailer [High Quality]](img/video/2H77NMCB.jpg)
Kingdom Hearts 3 full extended trailer [High Quality]
-
Why the PS3 is worth the money
-
Pivots of the Carribean Collab entry
-
dora the explorer is evil
-
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom Warrior Gameplay
Related Guides: