Either through pure genius or stupidity, the masterminds at the Valve Corporation have created the best bundle deal in video game history. This bundle, dubbed “The Orange Box,” contains “Half-Life 2,” “Half-Life 2: Episode One” and the newly released “Half-Life 2: Episode Two,” as well as two of Valve’s previous games, “Portal” and “Team Fortress 2.” The PC version runs between $40 and $50, depending on where you buy it, and the Xbox and PS3 version is $60. Even at $60, the five-game bundle is a steal.
The Half-Life series puts the player in the boots of Gordon Freeman, an ex-scientist gone world-saver, who works to save the world from the evil Combine. The game takes place in a dystopian future, years after the events of the first game led to the enslavement of Earth.
After “Half-Life 2” — arguably one of the best games made in the last 10 years — the notoriously meticulous and release target-blowing Valve announced its plans to release several sequels to the game in short “episodes” that would comprise only three or four hours of game-time, but be available for $20. “Episode One,” released for PC a year ago, continues the story of “Half-Life 2,” with Freeman’s escape from City 17 with his foxy companion Alyx. Equally as great in craft, but burdened with a rushed, shortened feel, the first installment ultimately feels like an extended transition to its successor.
“Episode Two” takes Freeman and Alyx out of City 17 and on the road to the wilderness rebel outpost in the White Forest. Although neither of the two episodes bring significant upgrades in weapons or gameplay, the plot and character development are bar none the most complete in any first-person shooter. Freeman never speaks a line in all three games, yet the time taken by Valve in facial modeling, voice acting and scripting makes it a triumph of storytelling. “Episode Two” takes the non-stop action of “Half-Life 2” and combines it with the storytelling of the first episode to create a sequel significantly better than the original. Valve found a good length for their new episode format keeping the game at about four or five hours. “Episode Two” takes you from careening through infested caverns to barreling through tight forest roads in a dilapidated sports car, ending with the most intense, fulfilling final battle I have ever played.
The interface of the game has progressed throughout the threeinstallments, seeing the largest number of improvements in “Episode Two.” Graphical touches like white flashes while taking damage and an improved AI are evident in the latest installment.
I would happily pay $60 for these three games, but “The Orange Box” still has more goodies hidden away on its packed DVD. Included is the revolutionary puzzle game “Portal.” Taking its inventiveness from the Myst series of the ’90s, “Portal” puts you in the body of a test subject in the ominous Aperture Company where you are guided by a hilariously deceptive computerized voice through various tests and stages. You are given a gun that creates two portals, an orange and blue, on certain walls, and it is your job to get from one side of the room to the other by positioning the portals correctly and walking through them. The game is truly revolutionary in that it takes into account all three dimensions along with the velocity with which you enter a portal. Jump into a portal on the ground, and you’ll go careening through your other portal at the same speed. The game is only about two hours long, but every minute is pure gold. If Valve doesn’t make a full-length version of the game, this writer may have to give up on life.
If that wasn’t enough, “The Orange Box” is finished off by the inclusion of “Team Fortress 2,” a multiplayer class-based shoot ’em up. Being almost 10 years in the making, the game play is unique and varied and provides hours of fun with a few friends or an Internet connection. The cell-shaded cartoon style of the game is testament to the flexibility of the Source Engine, but nothing in the game is something that hasn’t been done before and makes it the weakest of the five games in the package.
“The Orange Box” may be the best thing to come in, well, a box. In the end, you get arguably the best first-person shooter of the last decade, its two expansions, a truly revolutionary puzzle game and a strong online gaming title. Valve listened to what gamers want and delivered. If you pick up this title, hope your midterms are over, because you will cease to have a life for at least two weeks.
5 stars out of 5
