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» MEDIA (3) The Orange Box Half Life 2: Episode 2 Team Fortress 2

The holiday games season is upon us and we are literally being flooded with new game releases. One of the first releases out of the gate this holiday season was the Orange Box which includes the next chapter in the Half Life saga as well as the team based multiplayer game Team Fortress 2. The box also includes Half life 2, Episode 1, and a short new game based in the Half Life universe called Portal.

Half Life 2 was critically acclaimed as one of the best modern games since the original. I personally criticized it as gimmicky with its many “too perfect” situations from the hoverboat sequence to the overuse of the gravity gun. In turn, I felt that Episode 1 was far too simplistic and didn’t include nearly enough variety or scenery to make a very convincing argument as a complete game (even if it was only a first chapter.)

Luckily, Episode 2 is quicker paced and far more interesting in all of these regards. You never feel as pigeon holed into using the gravity gun all the time or running your vehicle thru the same culverts over and over. The addition of more support characters makes the game feel a lot more complete and interactive. Couple this with the fact that the story actually makes some progress, and it’s a winning recipe.

Next, there is Portal. In Portal, you have only a single weapon throughout the course of the entire game, the portal gun. Instead of giving you an assortment of weapons and putting you in a situation where only one weapon is useful *cough* gravity gun *cough*, the game actually revolves around the use of this single weapon to progress thru. It’s rather ingenious and instead of feeling gimmicky (like the gravity gun in Half Life 2 at times) the portal gun is central to the story and puzzle solving as it is your only means of progressing. Portal proved interesting and entertaining.

Finally, the biggest addition of the orange box is the release of Team Fortress 2. Team Fortress 2 is a wonderfully diverse game presented in a stylized art deco manner. The graphics are smooth and attractive and instead of going for realism, they opted for a more cartoonish feel which will keep the game looking better, longer. Classes are diverse and everyone has a clearly defined role. Maps are beautifully constructed and provide opportunities for all classes to shine. Balance between classes is as good as it gets in a modern game (remember to try all classes before declaring one overpowered!) Best of all, playing as a team really matters in this game and if you take care of your teammates, they will return the favor.

The bottom line on the orange box is that it is an excellent value. Valve has given you the full Half Life 2 saga to date and the addition of Portal and Team Fortress 2 make the orange box a must have for this holiday games season.