by: Chris Vavra

October 18, 2007

October 18. 2007

Compilation titles are often silly and worthless. Every now and then, you’ll get a title like Super Mario All-Stars, but these are few and far between. Last year, Konami released Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PS2. The package included an improved single-player, multiplayer, and the first two Metal Gear titles in their original forms (with a few cosmetic changes thrown in).

Now, the boys at Valve have brought together the previously released Half-Life 2 and Episode One (a follow-up to the events of the former) with Episode Two, a puzzle game called Portal, and Team Fortress 2 to create The Orange Box. The result is nothing short of brilliant and is about as good and deep a package as you’re going to find in 2007. Many gamers who pick this title up (and everyone should) are probably familiar with the story of the Half-Life franchise and probably own Half-Life 2 for their PC.

For those of you unfamiliar with the game or the franchise, I strongly recommend playing the original Half-Life for the PC. The original is close to nine years old so it should work on just about any computer by now unless you’re using something from the 80’s made by Apple. The basic story elements revolve around a scientist named Gordon Freeman, an employee at the Black Mesa Research Facility. He is in the middle of an experiment involving a portal rift that allows aliens from another dimension to enter the facility. In short order, they wreak havoc. Gordon miraculously survives and is now in a race to save himself and the few surviving scientists from the aliens and a U.S. Special Forces team assigned to clear up any evidence of the incident.

If you fall into this very small minority, stop reading and get a copy of Half-Life before tackling the rest of this because a lot of the story elements won’t make much sense to you. As for everyone else, this is a quick run-down of the five games available. All of them range from above-average to superior in quality. The new material doesn’t disappoint and will be the reason many fans will pick up this set. Episode Two is the best of the lot, but the innovative Portal and engaging Team Fortress 2 do not disappoint, but the real star of the show remains Half-Life 2.