Orange Box Impressions

[Rand{CLR}]

So, what do you all think? I haven't played portal yet, because Ep2 sucked me in. Continues the success of the HL series with a great story and good action so far, so another excellent game. It's not quite Bioshock level, but it's better than nearly everything else released this year.

Half of us are already addicted to Peggle, and most of us have played TF2. How are the rest of you taking to the games?

-Rand

[Sirex]

Portal must have one of the LONGEST tutorial sessions ever...
spent 1.3hrs doing 18 tutorial maps
but its fun thou.

Ep2 is def good

[Duke{CLR}]

I can't wait to play EP2. I would be interested in know how many hours does it take to complete it?

[WalkinTarget]

Sad as it is to say, I am anal to the point where I have to do things 'IN ORDER', so rather than jump ahead to Ep2, I STILL need to finish HL2 !!! I was on the last level and some other game came along, then my HD crapped out, so I started over from the beginning and made it 3/4 of the way through.
That's where it stands now, so I would have to:

1) Finish HL2
2) Play and finish Ep1
3) Play and finish Ep2

Woe is me ... I have never, EVER had a glut of PC games to play, but now all at one time. I sure hope UT3 is delayed yet again !!

:P

[Sirex]

I would be interested in know how many hours does it take to complete it?

Keep an eye on my profile i got a knack for hammering thru HL games with ease while doing all the extras too lmao

So I like my HL to be fast paced and thick with content!
lol its how it should be!

[Thrashdragon]

Portal is fun, I imagine it's probably a one shot deal though once you finish it. Can't really see playing it more than once unless they release new rooms for it. Hopefully they will.

I'm going to replay HL2 from the beginning since I don't remember much of it, then the two episodes.

TF2, of course, roxxors my boxxors.

[Tails_Kitsune]

Have only touched TF2 and Portal briefly tonight...

TF2 was lots of fun! My only real complaint so far is the seemingly over-complicated voice commands. And that's why we all just use the mic! Very diverse classes.

Portal...not even through the tutorials yet (played 17 or so before getting on TF2) but enjoyed it very much. I've never really liked puzzle games, but Portal is nice. After the first 3-4 rooms, it gets fun. Plus, the announcer lady is hilarious!

HL2 looks interesting, but it'll probably have to wait until Portal is done.

[Rand{CLR}]

I can't wait to play EP2. I would be interested in know how many hours does it take to complete it?

6.2 Hours. I'm missing three achievements; without being too spoilerish, 1 creature is too dangerous to approach close enough to use it against itself, one little traveller is hard to find, and 11 of 333 certain somethings were missed someplace.

I REALLY want to play Episode 3 now.

-Rand

P.S. I played HL2 this past week to get up to speed. I remembered quite a lot of it, enough to be able to think "Damnit! I hate the fight that's about to happen!" Ep 2 had some flashbacks of Ep 1. I seem to remember NOTHING of Ep 1. I wish I would have have time to play that one again too.

[Gremlin_flg]

How do you get past room 9 :P

[Duke{CLR}]

I have played through HL2 lost coast (Or is it Forgotten coast ) and EP1 twice. I was disappointed with how quick I finished EP. I was also left wanting more HL2 it sounds like I wont be disappointed with EP2 and I will keep wanting more HL2.

[Kenshin Himura]

Just beat Portal... And I loved it! Especially the end, but I won't ruin anything. It was a little on the short side, but was great.

TF2 is amazing, but I still haven't managed to get in a game that has more than about 3 players on each side. Hopefully, that'll change either tonight or this weekend.

[Grisu]

Won't spend 50 Bucks on that as I already own HL2+Ep1.

I think it's extremely lame from Valve selling this package at full price.

Call it booster pack. No more no less.

[CarbonFire]

TF2 is amazing, but I still haven't managed to get in a game that has more than about 3 players on each side. Hopefully, that'll change either tonight or this weekend.

You gotta get in a full server mate....this game is crazy amounts of fun with a complete team on both sides (even better with 32 players....if they'd give it back to us )

Here's my little review of the two other major draws to the Orange Box:

HL2:EP2
EP1 was a pretty good romp, if a little on the "too short" side. EP2, while its not much longer than EP1, seems packed with much more action, emotion and beautiful set-pieces than the previous title.

The one thing I really enjoy about EP2 is the difficulty. This game isn't afraid to throw everything and the kitchen sink at you, and on hard, it actually starts being a bit of a challenge. Now I enjoy a good challenge, and for me, most fps games really aren't that hard (Bioshock was slightly hard once or twice, and Stalker had a few hard parts, for me at least). Like the (in)famous elevator level in EP1, this one has its share of difficult levels, and that couldn't make me happier

The story is also a bit more well sorted out in this one vs EP1. Still a ton of questions left to answer, but EP2 does a better job advancing the story than EP1 ever did. Overall the only downsides for EP2 are that its still a bit linear, and of course the fun is over way too quick for my liking
Which is ok, because I'll probably go back and play it again, just for the Hunter fights (best new HL enemy in a long time)

Portal
Firstly, it IS short. Very short. Not even trying to rush, I finished it in around 2 hours. But the portal gun opens up a whole new style of gameplay, and with the added addition of bonus maps (mostly harder versions of previous maps), gameplay is well extended beyond those initial couple of hours. I'll bet plenty of custom maps get made for this as well, as the design of each level is simple except for the layout of each puzzle.

Portal also has plenty of humor, with several LOL moments throughout. Overall, its a fun diversion, and theres plenty of groundwork here to build into a new franchise for Valve. The ending of Portal is pure awesome.....one of the best I can remember.

And of course, TF2.....is awesome. Worth the price of admission alone (minus the small number of maps and the current broo-haha over 32 player servers).

If I were to give the package as a whole a rating, I guess it'd be 8.5/10 or 9/10. 1 point off for having to pay for HL2 and EP1 again and 1/2 point for Valve being overly facist over the TF2 server population issue.

[MajorDeath]

I agree with Portal. It was a blast and will bring really cool things if they build on that concept. It made feel so special when I beat the harder levels! Give the bonus maps a shot!! Some of them are next to impossible and really make you think.

MD

[Runaway_Jim]

Portal is a blast. I finished it tonight and the ending... well... I'll just say it was the best ending credits I've ever experienced.

I already miss my companion cube.


Getting sucked in to EP:2 now... must resist.