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 - First-Person Gaming NirvanaJust in case you've been living in a cave for the last year, or were somehow (possibly by your own choice) unable to purchase The Orange Box by Valve, do yourself a favor and buy it. I actually planned to buy the collection of five (six - if you include Peggle from Steam) games when it first arrived last year, but was continually distracted up until two weeks ago, when I finally bought it at a local store. I say this without any pretention: It is, by far, the best gaming purchase I have made in at least 5 years. Bar-none. The original Half-Life follows the amazingly mute scientist Gordan Freeman as he basically unleashes hell on Earth. Half-Life 2 is set a good while after the initial series, and doesn't disappoint in the least. A few characters are added - old colleagues from Black Mesa, a robot DOG, and Alyx Vance (your very attractive female co-protagonist). As with the original Half-Life, the game itself is composed of basically two things: Puzzles, and Shoot 'Em Up type battles, but they're done so well that I often found myself staring in admiration after I had figured out what the heck to do or actually feeling an adrenaline rush after some of the more active battles. There are, as always, numerous guides online if you really get stuck, but I was only seriously stuck once or twice and had to consult the darn things (and was never stuck in Episode 1 or Episode 2). I won't spoil the storyline. It's good stuff, and often better, with greater depth in writing and plot, than many of the RPG's I've played in the last few years. The acting (both voice and 3D-modeling) are superb, with the tiniest nuances paid attention that I found incredibly immersive (particularly facial expressions). It doesn't take long before you really start to care for the characters involved, and at one point I found myself shouting, "Get your hands off her you damn zombie!" without realizing it was out-loud. Team Fortress 2 is easily some of the most fun I've had in a multiplayer FPS in a long while. It's very stylistic, doesn't take itself seriously, and the only flaw I can think of with it is the lack of maps currently available (but it is being remedied). The play is excellent, and each class is useful without being absolutely necessary. I have yet to play Portal, as I've been saving it for the weekend so I can get it all in one go, but it's difficult to imagine it being better than Episode 2. If it is, I may just end up mailing myself to Valve in a Cupid suit. If you're not convinced yet that buying this is a good thing (perhaps not for your health, but for your soul), I'm not sure what I could say. The Orange Box has been, by far, the most fun I've had on my PC in ages. I'm already contemplating playing through Episode 2 again, despite finishing it at 1:02 AM this morning. The only thing stopping me, is knowing that we probably won't have Episode 3 (and the final one in this story arc) until Q1 2009, and that knowledge is now palpably painful from the suspense. Enjoy! EDIT (09/13/2008): By now I've played through Portal, and (as predicted), played through HL2 again for the heck of it. Portal really is everything everyone is saying it is. It is dark humor wrapped up in a Rubix cube and I loved every second of the game. I haven't been forced to actually think during a game like in a long while. The levels were perfectly moderated on difficulty, never being exceedingly hard or impossible, but merely requiring momentary contemplation. Overall, Portal was an incredibly fun romp, whose only fault is that it is so short (~3 hours). However, there is hope: Episode 2 almost blatantly states that Episode 3 will contain Aperture (the company that creates the weapon in Portal) technology. Bring it on! Rating: - Yessss!Too much fun. As a Huge HL2 fan, I obviously loved episode 2 as it was longer than episode 1 and introduced a few new enemy's. And then there's Portal. I heard a lot of hype about this game and thought the idea looked pretty cool but was always kind of wondering "how good could it actually be"? Well, it's Spectacular. The game fully absorbed me, held my attention, and continuously suprised me until the bear end. A Must play, for sures. Team fortress? Havn't really played it but I'm also not much of a multiplayer/arena type. The graphics look pretty and cartoony though. They have that cell-animation type look. Rating:  - Excellent and challenging....Half life 2 episode 2 excels with its clean and sharp video. The storyline continues, however it seems a bit more challenging than the other versions. This should not detract from this game, as the storyline is refreshing with some active surprises around every corner. The biggest drawback, is that it is STEAM Powered. For those of us, that are just in to the single player mode and not in to Online Gaming, STEAM setup SUCKS!!! If you have a 56K connection, or a Satellite (Hughes) ISP, you are basically screwed. When the game(s) update, it can take forever and with us poor souls that have as an ONLY option the Satellite, it will trigger the FAP (Fair Access Policy), that will then reduce your internet browsing speed to below 56K for the next 24 hours! And Hughesnet really could care less, their solution from those "very caring" so called Tech Support persons, is to download between 3:00AM and 6:00AM. I am sure, that is when most of us are up and playing a game. So, as long as you have high speed, unrestricted internet, go for it. If not, stay away from STEAM Powered games. Rating: - One of the Greatest gaming deals around.I have to say that this is one of the best gaming deals that i have ever seen. Five games for 30 dollars?! Now i already had half-life 2, and episode 1, but Valve gives you the ability to gift those to a friend. Portal is really fun but a little on the short side but Tf2 is the best game out of the Orange box. Its unique looks seems like your playing a comic book and the different classes keep the game interesting. Valve continues to update the game as well releasing new weapons, achievements, game modes, and several new maps. Rating: - A Must-Have for all GamersA good deal, worth the money just for Half-Life Episodes One and Two alone. Portal is a great game as well, although it doesn't have as much excitement as Half-Life it is still quite entertaining.
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