Valve's Orange Box compilation burst its way onto Steam yesterday, the reviews have begun to go live, and early indications show its average review score of 98 (so far) is going to beat both Bioshock and Halo 3.
Retail versions have to be released over here but if you're a subscriber to Steam, then you've probably already finished Valve's opus of games.
You can read our review of Half-Life: Episode 2 here, Team Fortress 2 here and Portal on 360 here.
It's early days yet though as there are a few paper magazines that are still sitting on a boat somewhere, slowly making their way to the newsstand. We'll keep an eye on it though.
Could this be the highest scoring game of the year?
Could this be the highest scoring game of the year?
I'd be shocked if it was. If an aged game like HL 2 is getting such high reviews at present day then what does that say about the progression the industry made over the last 3 years?
Half Life 2 alone has so much more brilliance than Bioshock and Halo 3. As much as I like those two they still dont compare to HL2 and bundling Ep1,2 TF2 and Portal in there makes it the best gaming package ever. Valve deserve applauds for this when it could have sold well even if it was all released seperatley on 360.
The X360/PS3 versions of the Orange box are certainly an essential package for those who never got to play the original Half-Life 2, and in that case it surely deserves to take it's place among the highest rated games for the consoles. w00t!
On the other hand, for the PC crowd, 98% for an over-priced glorified compilation/expansion pack that only offers more of the same, a remake of a free game that we all already own, and the absolutely-amazing-but-only-two-hours-long Portal? Pah!
HL2 is the only PC game I own (bought it to play on the Mrs' Vaio when she got it thanks to all the PC elite harping on about it all the time) and as much as I enjoyed it I don't think it's the shining beacon of gaming greatness that PC snobs try and have you belive. It's good, and I'll be buying Orange Box for my 360 next week as it's a great price for all that content, but I don't think it's as perfect as it's made out to be.
yeah i couldnt see how anyone could give a bad review, simply because of the content, let alone how good the games are. it wont win GOTY, cause technically it isnt a game...but as a package it deserves all the praise it gets.
Its still too early to be saying its top of metacritic though.
CVG did this with Halo 3 beating Bioshock ratings to which I said wait until the same numbers of reviews are done as Bioshocks & what do you know it dropped below Bioshocks when all the reviews were done.
The same can happen to this its alreday dropped to 9.7 inline with Bioshock so whos to say it wont drop anymore?
as much as I enjoyed it I don't think it's the shining beacon of gaming greatness that PC snobs try and have you belive.
Thats pretty much my opinion as well. The graphics were good for the day, it introduced new gaming elements using physics but it was hampered by a s**te story line and constant loading times that were so bad I dropped the game after about 2 hours of play. I will however be picking the Orange Box up for 360 as its great value and will be a nice change from Halo 3.
What I want to know is, how many 'Ginger rose petals' jokes have been made about it, and how many man-hours have been lost due to aforementioned 'hilarity'. After all, PCG was delayed by over a week due to 'the orange box'.
I started playing Portal last night and couldn't stop until I finished it. The script is truly fantastic with several laugh-out-loud moments! I can recommend the game to anyone and quite frankly it alone makes the Orange Box a worthwhile investment.
it was hampered by a s**te story line and constant loading times that were so bad I dropped the game after about 2 hours of play.
How can you exactly comment on a story after 2 hours, you barely got through the begiining of the story not to mention the middle and the end. As for the loading times, they were frequent but they lasted only a few seconds so it was no real problem.
This bundle is brilliant value and I'm glad that more people (i.e. console gamers) will get to play HL2 aswell as Team Fortress2 and portal.
it was hampered by a s**te story line and constant loading times that were so bad I dropped the game after about 2 hours of play.
How can you exactly comment on a story after 2 hours, you barely got through the begiining of the story not to mention the middle and the end. As for the loading times, they were frequent but they lasted only a few seconds so it was no real problem.
This bundle is brilliant value and I'm glad that more people (i.e. console gamers) will get to play HL2 aswell as Team Fortress2 and portal.
When you're over 2 hours into a game you can expect to have some idea of a story... As for the loading times, they happened right when you're all pumped up and moving into a new area. It was a terrible design choice and really hammpers any enjoyment of the game you may be having at the time.
But still.. I pay no attention to these meta critic things these days because it seems many XBox mags seem to use /10. Where 100% is far easier to attain that using percentages.
This had 'winner' stamped all over it from the get go! Played HL2 on the Xbox, but will be happy to do it all over again on the 360. And I'm pleased to see that Halo 3 isn't untouchable. The Orange Box deserves every high score that it gets.
When you're over 2 hours into a game you can expect to have some idea of a story... As for the loading times, they happened right when you're all pumped up and moving into a new area. It was a terrible design choice and really hammpers any enjoyment of the game you may be having at the time.
I would advise to give it another go on the xbox, there may be less loading. If not, you should try ignore the loading because the latter part of the game is excellent. The story gets alot better, the start is quite slow paced in terms of story a bit like the first HL.
I haven't got this yet but I hope it does get the praise it deserves. Lets face it Halflife 1 and 2 helped shape the games we play today. As for all of you banging on about long load times on the PC and how much better it loaded and played on the Xbox ......then I have 1 thing to say...buy a better PC.
Consoles are great and many hardcore gamers have them, but if you want to compare current gen consoles with a PC then you have to bring the PC into the current gen as well. No point in comparing a 4 year old PC with the Xbox 360 or Playstation3 as they are years apart, although I would imagine the PC will still give them a run for their money.
When you talk money we have the 360 and PS3 for under Ł500, but a current gen PC will set you back somewhere between Ł2000 - Ł3000. So put away those word processing machines and go buy a power house monster of a PC then come back and tell us that Halflife 2 isn't worth it.
good bloody halo 3 and its s**t story. bring on hl2!
Halo 3 (Or just Halo in general) has a great story you bufoon! I walked away after playing Half Life 2 without the story making any impact on me at all.
But beyond that- Mr 'Ginger rose petals' never says a bloody word. I really hate that in games... same goes to you Link... you voiceless... git.
Halo 3 (Or just Halo in general) has a great story
Hahahahahahahahahhahahahahhaa!
Seriously, I was this close to believing you meant that. Priceless!
Portal = pure brilliance. If there's any justice it should be game of the year in every poll etc there is: it's miles and miles better than anything else released this year. It's short, but perfectly formed.
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......then I have 1 thing to say...buy a better PC.
