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| From: Electronic Arts
Category: Video Games
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $21.88
You Save: $8.11 (27%)
New (29) Used (1) from $21.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  231 reviews
Sales Rank: 506
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows Xp, Windows 2000
ESRB: Mature
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 17 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 9852
UPC: 014633098525
EAN: 0014633098525
ASIN: B000PS2XES
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: This video game is brand new, never opened and never played! Buy today to be one of millions of satisfied B-Logistics customers.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fantastic value for money. October 14, 2007
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
The Orange Box has to be the best value I have ever known in my 20+ years of playing video games on many formats. There are five games in the Orange Box all of which are brilliant in their own right. I already owned Half Life 2 and HL Episode 1 but I was still more than happy to pay the US dollar equivalent of 30 for the three games that I didn't own.
The five games that you get in this pack are:
1)Half Life 2 - Probably the best FPS ever
2)HL 2 episode 1 - A rather short expansion pack for HL 2
3)HL 2 episode 2 - The second expansion pack for HL2
4)Portal - A physics based puzzle game
5)Team Fortress 2 - An online multiplayer FPS
All three Half Life 2 games are graphically excellent with a really well told story and immersive gameplay.
In Portal you wake up in a lab and must solve increasing difficult puzzles to escape. What makes this game unique is it's use of the portal gun that enables you to open 2 portals at a time. When you go through one portal you emerge from the other. What makes it tricky is working out where and at what velocity you will emerge. For instance, if you jump from a ledge and enter a portal in the floor you might emerge from a portal in the side wall at the same fast speed. You must solve the puzzle for each level to get to the elevator. Anyway, it's tricky to describe but is indeed good fun.
My favourite though is definately Team Fortress 2. I just love this game. It's an online shooter involving two teams over six maps. You can choose from nine classes of combatant such as the engineer who can build turrets and teleport points to assist the team, the Heavy who carries a large chain gun, the spy who can camoflage himself as the opposing team, the soldier with his rocket launcher and five other distinct characters all with their own unique gameplay altering traits.
Overall the Orange Box has something for everyone and is worth every penny. I highly recommend it.
Hands down, the best video game package ever. October 13, 2007
7 out of 12 found this review helpful
Every game in this package is worth buying, playing, and playing again.
I was mostly impressed by Portal and Team Fortress 2. Both are innovative in their visual style and humor, and they both play like a dream. Portal is mind-bending, and while short, offers plenty replayability in it's bonus maps. Team Fortress 2 will keep you busy for days. There aren't a lot of maps to start with, but the multiplayer, class-based gameplay keeps things from getting old.
I can't really review Half-Life 2: Episode 2 here because I have not finished it yet. Though so far, the graphics are amazing and the pacing is spot-on.
The Orange Box is incredible, and for the price that most companies will make you pay for one game, Valve gives you 5.
 Some Good, Some Bad October 13, 2007
10 out of 22 found this review helpful
Half-Life Episode 2: Grade: C
I have just completed Half-life: Episode 2. Honestly, the story is the only reason why I finished it. The game play just felt like more of the same. No new weapons, two new enemies and an extremely short game. It took me 5 1/2 hours to complete, according to my personal game play statistics page on Steam, and I spent some of that time lolly-gagging around and exploring. If I stuck to plowing through the game, I probably could have beaten it in 3 to 4 hours. The story is Episodes 2's saving grace. Now that TF2 has finally been completed, lets hope the team can put more energy into the third episode.
Team Fortress 2: Grade: A
I started playing this during Beta testing and I've been addicted to it since. The graphics, characters and balanced game-play is a vast improvement over the first Team Fortress. The Orange Box is almost worth it just for this.
Portal: Grade: B-
Decent game with puzzling maps to exercise your mind. I finished it relatively quick. There are bonus maps that take the game-play a little further. It has an interesting story that adds to the Half-Life universe.
The Package Overall: Grade: C+
It's a good thing Episode 2 came in a package of other games. Here's hoping that Episode 3 is a stunner. TF2 is amazing fun. Portal is decent fun with quirky game play. Half-life 2 and Episode one have been out for a long time now. If you are new to the Half-life experience, then you have hours upon hours of game-play. If you are already an experienced Half-Lifer and Episode 2 was what you were waiting for, then you may be in for a disappointment.
DONT HATE October 12, 2007
6 out of 12 found this review helpful
before you read this and give me a negative review, i just want you to understand that I PERSONALLY HAVE NO PROBLEM USING STEAM. so put down the finger and complain on someone elses post. with that said, i review the games and the games alone, because i feel they are works of art and pieces of artwork that should be appreciated. because apparently a lot of you dont need to play the game in order to rate it. for the majority of people that HAVE played it, it is very fun.
I bought the orange box the day it came out, and have been playing it ever since. for those of you who arent in the know (which i doubt is a lot of you by now), the orange box is (in my opinion) one of the greatest deals in gamer history. there are five games included. Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1 & 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. i beat portal in a few hours and just finished episode 2... then went back and beat portal again. As a gamer and half-life fan, i had to own this. if youre new to the half-life universe this would be a great introduction, and MANY hours of fun. Start with HL2 and then work your way through the episodes. even the game portal will help drive the story, YES PORTAL HAS A STORY LINE.
HALF-LIFE 2 & EPISODE 1
these two games were released years ago, but as part of the promotion to get new customers familiar with the story line, they threw these in the the package as "gifts" that you can give to friends if you already own them. just a quick summary, HL2 has been said to be "The Best Game Ever Made" and was originally released in 2004. it not only has revolutionary game play (no, im not being paid to say that), and incredible audio, but it is a better quality game than many that have been released recently (which is pretty sad). The story and voice acting is top notch, and ive played through it several times. you can also see my review of episode one in my review section.
HL EPISODE 2
Honestly, this may be one of the most beautiful games ive ever played. and for you half-life fans, you know i mean that by "beautifully scary," as in, watching disastrous events has never looked this good. episode 2 takes you into the white forest, or should i say in search of it. over-looking city 17, you see the massive spaces that this game provides. its extremely cinematic, with many many memorable moments. from the advisors messing with your vision, to the portal explosions. it all looks fantastic. a nice little tweak they made to the suit was the flashlight. in the previous games the H.E.V. suit wasted aux power by using the flashlight, quickly draining all power when sprinting in the dark. but now the flashlight is a whole separate unit, which is nice. the puzzles are... what you would expect. fairly easy, however one did make me a little frustrated as it turned out being a scavenger hunt... dang elevator. the battles are epic, especially with the devastating "Hunters," and the acid spitting ant-lions (whom are surprisingly effective at long ranges). you also get your hands on a beefy new vehicle, which is just plain fun. however, the biggest let down was i never got to use the blue laser combine sniper rifle (you get so close too). theyre probably saving that for episode 3! this game took longer to beat than episode 1, with about 5-6 hours of game play. and ultimately, was much more fun and memorable. it answers questions, but also asks many new ones. and yes, it will leave you hanging... again.
PORTAL
this first person shooter puzzle game is quite the surprise. its fairly addictive, giving you the pleasure of wielding a gun that shoots portals. what more could you ask for?! in fact the only bullets that will be fired are from stationary sentry guns, much like the ones in half-life. the first few "levels" introduce you to the portal world and teach you the basic methods of solving problems (shoot portal A into wall, shoot portal B into wall, walk into portal A and come out of portal B). a robotic voice will be your only companion (other than the companion cube lol) in the game. she will congratulate you, make witty remarks, get angry and eventually confront you. Yes, not only is it a puzzle game, but it has a spooky story behind it. a story that relates to half-life, and im sure we will hear more about in half-life 2 episode 3.
TEAM FORTRESS 2
for the person that loves online FPS's, this is for you. team fortress is an online shooter that pits two teams against one another. the appeal of the game is the 9 classes. each class has its own strength as well as weakness. its up to you and the people you play with to focus on teamwork and capitalize off of each others abilities. the game looks wonderful, with a clean cartoony finish. but dont let that fool you, for blood and body parts ensue. its like watching a pixar movie directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Over all, this is a great deal, 5 complete games for the price of one new release. although some people do hate STEAM's service, it really has never bothered me. it will work really easily with a fast online connection. but yes, it is a bummer when you dont have access to the internet, because steam wont let you play any games (unless you change the settings to let you play without an online connection, which you need to do online), but many people seem to rate valve products by steam and not the game. dont judge a book by its cover, dont judge a book by its movie, and dont judge a game by its service provider.
SO GO AND PICK UP THE CROWBAR!
---UPDATE---
ive beat episode 2 several times now because i feel that i didnt truly appreciate how great it looks. the AI is better, the Hunters will flank you and earn their name. also watching the poison head crabs scurry for cover is a nice touch. also, portal gets easier and easier to beat, but its still a ton of fun. ive been showing it off to all of my friends, leaving their mouths open. and it does have some bonus maps if you cant get enough of the puzzles. theyre basically the same test maps but made more difficult. and ive been playing team fortress 2 more, and it really is astonishing. it looks like no other online fps on the market, and i really took notice to how nice the sound is. plus the animation is superb. it was frustrating at first, but after learning how to actually use every players "effects" its a lot more fun.
 Great game ruined by DRM. October 12, 2007
58 out of 101 found this review helpful
I am in college right now, and am often very busy. I do most of my gaming when I return to my mom's house for winter break and summer break. My mom's house has no internet connection. This game cannot be played without an internet connection, due to draconian DRM policies.
Remember: When you buy a game with DRM, you're not buying a game, you're buying...well, nothing at all really.
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