The Orange Box

Background

The next-gen console version comes packed with bonuses in addition to the genre-expanding original Half-Life 2 game. Half-Life 2: Episode One and Episode Two expansions are also on the disc, as are the stunningly complex puzzle game Portal and the online phenomenon Team Fortress 2.

Half-Life 2 - Once again players assume the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist destined to save the Earth from hordes of gruesome alien attackers. Half-Life 2 takes computer games to a new level of realism with incredible in-game graphics that recreate familiar-looking city streets, and blend them with strange and grotesque monsters, resulting in a believable and at times unsettling environment. Objects and characters feature accurate physics properties, behaving with the appropriate mass, density, and physical properties of their real-life counterparts. Extremely intelligent computer AI result in enemies that plan, adapt, and respond to the player's actions.

Half-Life 2: Episode 1 - The first of a series of stand-alone episodes based on HL2, the popular and acclaimed shooter epic. This episode takes place right after the events in HL2, as Gordon and Alyx flee from City 17, fighting against creatures who were previous blocked from enetering the city. The Citadel you assaulted in HL2 is tumbling into chaos, and this event will have catastrophic effects on the surrounding area, prompting your escape. Secondary characters Alyx and Dog will have a much more significant role in this follow-up.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 - The second of a series of stand-alone episodes based on HL2, the popular and acclaimed shooter epic. Armed with new weaponry and vehicles, Dr. Gordon Freeman must race through a countryside riddled with an increasingly feirce Combine threat.

Team Fortress 2 - If you're ready for the challenge of true team-based online action, you'll find it in Team Fortress 2. With TF 2, you'll go into battle as part of a cohesive squad of fellow warriors all bent on the same goal -– whether it's storming a beach, demolishing a bridge or escorting a VIP to safety. And you'll do it knowing your teammates are watching your back as carefully as you're watching theirs. Begin by assuming one of twelve roles, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a straight-up fight, you'll choose Marine or Commando. Prefer the shadows? You'll make a cunning Spy or Sniper. Medics and Engineers support their teammates through bravery and ingenuity. Focus the raw force of your team's talents through communication and strategizing.

Portal - A unique take on puzzle gameplay by the makers of Half-Life. Portal is a new type of single player game that changes how players approach, manipulate, and surmise the possibilities in a given environment in a manner similar to how the Gravity Gun changed our approach to how an object may be leveraged in any given situation.

Hardware Requirements

•Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista •Intel Pentium 4 1700MHz Processor •DirectX 8 compatible graphics card •512MB of RAM •5GB free hard disk space

International release dates:
Europe: Oct 5, 07
Australia: Oct 18, 07

Official URL

Official Site

Neoseeker Editor's Take
Countless delays, new product inclusions, old product inclusions and so much more surrounded the development of The Orange Box, one has to wonder what there really is to offer. We'll take a look inside the latest offering from Valve and see what they're packing on the PC. »Read Full Article