Electronic Arts, often criticized for using Xbox Live micro transactions to raid gamers' wallets, teamed with developer Valve to deliver value to the masses with Half-Life 2: The Orange Box. This Xbox 360 mega compilation, which will retail for $59.99, includes the following five games: Half-Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode One and Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. This just might be the best compilation in video game history.
Seeing 2004's PC smash hit Half-Life 2 on Xbox 360 will hopefully erase the bad memories left by the 2005 Xbox port, which suffers from a stuttering frame rate. We expect Valve will clean up the game, using the 360's strengths to deliver an enhanced version of the original game. Including Episode One and Two will give console fanatics an easy way to catch up on Gordon Freeman's exploits and the Combine's schemes. (PC gamers still have something to brag about, though. EA has yet to announce Half-Life 2 Episode 3 for 360.)
As in the original Half-Life 2, players explore a rich and vibrant 3-D world from a first-person perspective, interacting with lifelike characters and a host of interesting weapons that blast aliens and manipulate environments. In particular, the Gravity Gun shows off the game's physics, allowing people to pick up and throw various objects that behave as they would in real life. The game moves quickly and features a gripping story that complements the action, a concoction of elements that earned Half-Life 2 many 'game of the year' nods.
The accompanying Portal should stray from the violence by requiring players to use weapons to solve mind-bending puzzles. Armed with a special gun that fires portals (one entrance portal and one exit portal), players strategically place them around the environment to move on to the next challenge. The portals only work when fired at non-metallic surfaces, so gamers must first locate these areas and then figure out where to shoot. It might sound tedious, but manipulating the environments and making it to the other side can be a rewarding experience.
The final game in the compilation, Team Fortress 2, promises to be one of the hottest Xbox Live games. The sequel to one of the most popular PC shooters of all time provides an explosive experience in which red and blue teams frag one another for online supremacy. Nine classes (Sniper, Heavy, Pyro, Scout, Engineer, Medic, Soldier, Spy and Demoman) allow gamers to experiment with various character types and signature weapons. Despite the game's colorful cartoon appearance, there's nothing kid-friendly about this frantic shoot-em-up. Cel-shaded characters rack up major body counts using machine guns, rocket launchers, shotguns and flame throwers. Whether it'll allow for customization or mods (found in the PC version) remains to be seen.
With video games growing pricier every generation, it's good to see Electronic Arts publishing this value-packed compilation. Now we sit and wait for the final release date. Rumors point to a fall debut, others say it won't hit until then end of the year. Considering all of the fantastic games in this package, we say Half-Life 2: The Orange Box should hit stores ASAP.
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