Australian Gamer Review :: The Orange Box

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The Orange Box

Reviewed on: Xbox 360
Available on: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360

Yug takes apart the latest compilation from Valve to see if the package is worth the sum of it's parts. Short answer - hell yes.

Players: 1 - 16 Players
Genre:
Release: 2007-10-25

Developer: Valve
Distributor: Electronic Arts

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I know most people expect a summary of a game to appear at the end of a review, but I feel like mixing things up a bit here. The Orange Box represents the best value for your hard earned cash this year. Simply put, your next game purchase should be the Orange Box, regardless of your other (no doubt countless) gaming choices leading up to Christmas.

For the uninitiated, the Orange Box is a 5-in-1 package � you get the already released Half Life 2 and its expansion/continuation Half Life 2: Episode 1, as well as the new Episode 2, Team Fortress, and Portal. So it�s like 3 new games and 2 old games, including 1 new sequel to 1 of the older games which is a sequel to the oldest game, while at the same time another of the new games subtly blends itself into the universe of the new and old games. It�s as confusing as Christianity, but unlike the bible I assure you it will all make sense by the end.

If you have never played a Half Life game before (I�m looking directly at you Matt), feel free to read my previous reviews or Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode 1. You may notice a slightly repetitive theme throughout both those articles; in particular I think that the games are a little bit awesome.

As previously mentioned, the Orange Box includes 3 new games, and it�s probably best I tackle them one at a time for your reading pleasure:

Was it just me, or do the Vortigaunts all sound like Donald Sutherland doing a Yoda impersonation?

Half Life 2: Episode 2

Valve really have gotten right what so many other gaming studios can�t seem to grasp � story and characters. True, they�ve had two games now to create this particular universe, but the subtle nuances make all the difference. This particular episode ends straight after the last one, and at the risk of spoiling the game if you haven�t played it before, you have to journey across the outskirts of city 17, through the wilderness to deliver the information you have in your possession to the resistance base called White Forest.

If you enjoyed the previous Half Life games, you�ll love this one just as much. It brings back all previous gameplay elements including the gravity gun and vehicles, while at the same time providing some new environments and situations, as you slowly make your way further and further from the industrial European city environments and start to encounter wide open spaces, lush forests and underground caverns. The feeling of urgency while you progress through the levels is heavily enforced, and you constantly feel like you�re only a slight step ahead of the combine and other nasties at any given point. Sometimes even a step behind ...

The Source engine is what powers the Half Life universe, and although revolutionary in 2004, it is beginning to show it�s age despite many particle and light effect upgrades. It�s not bad, it�s just not BioShock. However, the artistic direction and detail make up for any graphical shortcomings, and the character animations and movements are still just as refined as ever.

I do have some complaints about this particular episode, more so than I would have thought, but nothing to truly put me off the game itself. The fact that it�s short is not one of them by the way � I�m really not that bothered by how long a game is these days, if you can give me a game with 6 hours of super awesomeness, I�ll take that any day over 30 hours of mediocre same ol same ol.

However, that leads into my main problem with Episode 2, and that is that it doesn�t feel like you actually achieve all that much during the game. Sure, there are some fantastic set pieces � such as running around underground tunnels while chased by huge ant lions, sniping zombies in abandoned warehouses, massive fire-fights against the combine, and a grand finale where you must take down an invasion of Striders, the massive War of the World type alien machines. When all is said and done though, from a plot progression point of view, all you really did was deliver a package of information and set up the scene for Episode 3.

It wouldn�t be such a bother if it wasn�t for the fact that a lot of the actual gameplay elements are repeated from the previous instalments. I enjoy the combat in the Half Life games as much as anyone, but it�s actually not the games strongest point, so if the incentive to proceed further with some sort of interesting conspiracy based plot progression isn�t imminent, it can become slightly irritating.

Ultimately though, any sequel set in a trilogy is going to suffer slightly from having no real beginning or ending, so perhaps that�s not really the games fault. It�s a testament to the game that my biggest frustration was that I wanted to keep playing and progress the story further.

The Incredibles sequel?

Team Fortress 2

As far removed from the Half Life games as you can get, Team Fortress 2 is a multiplayer team-based first person shooter. The original Team Fortress was a modification for Quake, but was eventually picked up and ported to Valves Half Life engine and rebranded as Team Fortress classic. That was release in 1999, so it�s no wonder the majority of gamers had lumped Team Fortress 2 alongside the likes of Duke Nukem Forever and Jazz Jackrabbit 3.

Of course here we are now with Team Fortress 2, and it�s got so much polish you can practically see your reflection in it. The game is built around two opposing teams competing for an objective, whether that be capturing the flag, securing particular points on a map, or progressively capturing control points so that one team may attack the others main base. There are 6 different maps to choose from, although no doubt more will become available over time.

What makes the game interesting are the nine playable classes you can choose from, all extremely different from each other. You have, in no particular order:

The Scout: Lightly armoured, the fastest class in the game, able to double jump, generally designed for getting into and out of areas quickly.
The Soldier: Slow moving class with heavy firepower, able to take and dish out large amounts of damage
Pyro: Branding a flamethrower and wearing a fire retardant suit, the flamethrower is one of the most powerful short range weapons in the game
Demoman: Defensive class, able to remotely detonate sticky bombs and use their equipment for setting traps.
Engineer: Support class, able to build and upgrade mechanical equipment such as sentry guns, health and ammo dispenses, and teleporters.
Medic: Regenerate�s the health of teammates, and also has the ability to make them invulnerable for a short period of time.
Sniper: If you don�t know this class, you won�t care about Team Fortress 2 � skip ahead to Portal.
Spy: Able to disguise themselves as characters from the opposing team, they can infiltrate and kill enemy players with their knife, or sabotage enemy structures.

I have to be honest with you all though; I never actually played the original Team Fortress. And to be even more brutally honest, I didn�t even play much of Team Fortress 2. Oh sure, it looks like an absolute blast for all you trigger happy twitching online FPS players, but I just don�t have the caffeine tolerance to keep up with any of you anymore. I just couldn�t really get into it as much because I found myself either having to deal with 2 to 3 second lag, or being abused by 12 year olds. At least it�s not as bad as Counterstrike .................... yet.

I still had fun with the game though, most probably in part to how seriously it doesn�t take itself seriously. The major classes are all over the top stereotypes, the sound effects are wacky and zany, and the most brilliant part is the graphics look like a Pixar movie come to life. It�s hard to get humour right in a game, but Valve managed to, and in an online FPS game no less.

Again, if this kind of genre is your cup of tea, then you�ll find it to be some of the most delicious tea you�ve ever tasted, with scones on the side.

Aperture Science: We do what we must, because we can.

Portal

I�ve saved the best until last. Anyone who had seen video footage of this game realised it was clever and innovative, but I don�t think anyone expected anything more than a glorified puzzle game. What we have here though is without a doubt a contender for �Game of the Year�, regardless of the fact it is part of a compilation.

Portal uses the same gameplay elements as the Half Life games, where you can still pick up any object and fling it into a wall to see how it realistically reacts (something which is surprisingly fun for an unusually long time). However, you only get one gun � the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. Resembling the Gravity Gun in so much that it allows you to pickup objects, its main feature is the ability to shoot a blue and orange portal at any flat surface. You can then, in effect, walk through one portal and come out the other, and vice versa.

Confusing at first, once you get the hang of it you find this simple concept opens the game up to an incredible amount of gameplay options. Getting around chasms, over walls, surprising enemies or even escaping a plummeting death are all possible, and encouraged over the games 18 puzzle based levels. Simply put, this is as close as you�ll get to pure unblemished innovative gameplay bliss this year.

The �enemies� to speak of consist of small automated robots and an Orwellian A.I. that overseas your progress through the puzzle based levels. It only starts to dawn on you after a few levels that the game has a fantastic sense of black humour running through it, evidenced by the A.I. that monitors and directs you. Right from the beginning, when you wake up in a glass chamber and the computerised voice says: �We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one�, to when I initially did my first double take as the voice explained: �Remember, the Aperture Science �Bring Your Daughter to Work Day� is the perfect time to have her tested.�

I can�t stress enough how clever the humour is, from the level where you are given a �weighted companion cube� that you have to ultimately decide whether to sacrifice or not, to the running gag about how there will be �cake� served for you at the end of the test.

The sterile testing environments eventually lead to the real story behind the game, and I�m definitely not going to spoil any of the surprise, except to say it�s not what you expect. A nice development however is links between Half Life 2: Episode 2 and Portal, inexplicably linking the two games together, a development which looks to be more fleshed out in the no doubt eventual release of Episode 3.

Ultimately the only real disappointment with Portals is it is too short, with the extra difficulties and trials unlocked upon completing the game not feeling very substantial. The Portal gun is just begging to be used in a more action orientated game, and one can only cross their fingers it will be used in future valve games.

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Final Verdict

There is something for everyone in this game, whether you're an existing Half Life 2 fan or not. Simply put - you will be doing yourself a disservice as a gamer if you do not pick this one up, with Portals in particular being a defining gaming experience.

Pros
5 excellent games in one package, same excellent physics engine, Team Fortress 2 provides genuinely satisfying team based multiplayer combat, Episode 2 features large battles and set pieces and leaves you wanting more, Portals is innovative and surprisingly funny.
Cons
At least 3 of these games are relatively short, Source engine is starting to look a bit dated, If you don't like online FPS games you probably still won't get into Team Fortress 2, Episode 2 suffers from middle child syndrome and occasionally lacks direction.