Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #378 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2007-10-19
• Platform: Windows XP
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Customer Reviews

Superb Value, Great Games
First of all, don't listen to the people moaning about Steam. It's easy to use and as long as you've got better than dial-up internet you've got nothing to worry about.

OK, onto the games. You get the original Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2. 5 games for around £25! Bargain!

Half Life 2 is still, in my opinion, a great looking game and the good thing is you don't need a particularly high spec PC to play it. When I first played this I was blown away by the AI. Throwing bottles at security guards is particularly entertaining. The story is interesting and the main characters are surprisingly engaging; I actually cared what happened to them.

Episode 1 picks up right where Half Life 2 left off, and although quite short, is full of action and will keep you playing.

Episode 2 is relatively short too, but equally as fun. The forest environment is stunning and the action sequences are fantastic.

Portal is a quirky, original puzzle game, which although quite short is very re-playable.

Finally you have Team Fortress 2, a class-based multiplayer game. To be honest, I haven't really got into this. After reading a load of hype about it I thought I'd try it but I have to say it was quite dissapointing for me. Probably more suitable for online multiplayer fans.

Overall, The Orange Box is a must have for any gamer, and at such a cheap price, you can't go wrong.

Read the rest for how good the game is but read mine and be warned!
This is an excellent game and I would highly recommend it. I would like to add a word of warning about this though.
The game installs through the steam network, for those of you that don''t know what this is it is an online system that means that you need to be connected to the internet to install the game, from all the reviews I have seen if this is mentioned then it is not made clearly enough for people, which is why I am giving the warning now.
Once the games have installed and you have waited for all five games to install to 100% then you don't for normal gameplay need to be logged onto the internet.
Once the games have installed then you can play as normal, I thought I would mention this though as if you haven't got an internet connection then unfortunately this game would be useless to you. It does mention this on the back of the box but in all honesty how many people scrutinise this before they buy a game.
Read the other reviews though for how good the actual games are.

OK the real deal - what you really get and what you really need
As per previous reviews you need internet connectivity to activate your steam account - this was done with the minimal of fuss after installing the actual software - be prepared to leave steam running for a while after installing as it automatically updates all the components with the latest patches/fixes.

What you get isn't actually 5 games but 7 . . . .
1) HL 2
2) HL 2 Episode 1
3) HL 3 Episode 2
4) Portal
5) Team Fortress 2 (Multiplayer only)
6) HL 2 Lost Coast (auto:downloaded from Steam)
7) Peggle Extreme (auto:downloaded from Steam)

I somehow got this for £17.99 new just before xmas - possibly a mistake on Amazons part but would happily pay £26.

Recommend getting yourself a decent system before playing - this Enchances game unbeliavably as the story and interactions hold your undivided attention.

The orange box is without a doubt the best gaming investment I have ever made/enjoyed (as was the original Half-Life series - which even though now dated, is still an enjoyable retro game). This game package is without a doubt second to none. I can't recommend it enough without sounding like someone from Valve is crossing my palm with silver.