Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #294 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2007-12-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Customer Reviews

well thought out and atmospheric shooter
In response to the two critisisms made against this game.

1. Graphics. Half Life two looks dated compared to COD4 etc. Personally I enjoyed the older look of half life two and the interesting level design more than made up for this. Any frame rate issues were minimal and again outweighed by the superb gameplay. episode one and two have improved graphics.

2. Empty levels. The main game does have one or two levels where there is a feeling of a large space travelled between objectives, but this provides a sense of scale and atmosphere and personally I like a variety in the intensity of action. Episodes one and two are more concentrated which in a way is a shame.

I have been playing Orange box for weeks now and love it. It has maintaned my interest and I have a sense of having been on a journey. The sound is excellent, and the puzzels add interest and challenge. I temporarily got stuck in one or two areas , but solving these problems was a case of using my brain and being inventive rather than frustrating multiple attempts at shooting things. This game makes a refreshing change from mindless first person shooters and awful film tie ins that seem to flood the market. This is class. The only critisism is that the non player characters sometimes get in the way. very minor gripe.

Amazing!
If you want an FPS with a story (and one that's revealed in-game, rather than using cut-scenes), totally immersive levels, incredible variety and one of the best 'weapons' ever, then you need The Orange Box.
So far as the PS3 version is concerned, there was a recent patch (which will be downloaded if you're online when you load the disc) that may have addressed most of the frame-rate issues. In HL2 at least (I've yet to play the other parts), it only stutters a bit occasionally when there is a lot going on. I have HL2 on my PC, and the graphics, if anything, are a bit better on the PS3.
The PS3 version also has a quick save feature, just like the PC version, which is great! Unfortunately, it takes about 30 seconds to reload when you die, which may not sound much but if you keep dying at a difficult point in the game it gets very frustrating! Not sure why this happens, but it seems to be reloading the whole level again (I don't know if the 360 version is the same, if not then maybe it's because Valve didn't convert it to the PS3 themselves?).
Still, this should not be enough to put you off - HL2 is one of the finest games ever created!

Unrivalled
I have seen some reviewers on here slating the game because it doesnt look as pretty as COD4 or some other game, or that its just a port of a three year old PC game. People like this are the problem with gaming nowadays, why we get tripe like Turok or Assassins Creed that looks amazing but fails to hold the attention for long over the initial wow factor. When did modern gamers forget that what made all great games great, was the way they played and their longevity. Half Life 2 may not look as good as COD4, but it still looks damn good, has far more variety and is gripping throughout, with an amazing story. I feel that console owners have been moaning for years about not getting the quality of FPS shooter that the PC gets, then they get the Daddy of them all and they moan cause they want the pretty, but dull games back instead. Get a grip people, realise how blessed you are to play this masterpiece of a Game, and get stuck into it, then you will understand. And as for multiplayer, stop complaining about the cartoony graphics and realise that team fortress practically invented the modern online game and is unbeatable in every way. Throw in the extra episodes and the brilliant Portal as well, and frankly, your an idiot if you dont own this game.