Video game reviews: The Orange Box (PS3)

While Half-Life 2 may have already made its debut years ago, it is more alive than ever with its new set of games titled The Orange Box. Considered to be one of the greatest first-person shooters ever to be created, the Half-Life series is able to intertwine the elements of great action and a great story, while bringing to life characters that live and breath as we do.

Upon cracking open your own Orange Box, you'll find that the package comes with five games all on one disc, which is being reviewed as the greatest gaming value in history. The titles within this disc include Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Along with the two expansions to Half-Life 2, Valve manages to insert one of the most creative first-person puzzle games, Portal, along with the sequel to the online success, Team Fortress 2.

Half-Life 2 and Episode One are two titles gamers have already been able to get their hands on, so the immediate attraction, at a glance, would be the included Episode 2, which propels the story taking place between Gordon Freeman and Alex Vance. The story picks up immediately after City 17 has been decimated, and Gordon opens his eyes to see Dog, Alex's pet, opening up the train wreck in which our hero has been imprisoned. The landscape is different than any previous Half-Life game, where the two protagonists go out into the White Forest, where the survivors of the City 17 have begun making a colony.

As for the Portal game, it succeeds in creating an entirely innovative experience that would have been worth purchasing on its own. In the game, the gamer plays as a test subject who has been being used for experimentations involving a Portal Gun. This gun allows you to shoot entrance portals, and exit portals, anywhere in the room, enabling the player to come in one way, and exit out the other. This new type of game play opens up a door of vast level design possibilities, and can sometimes seem so impossible, that anyone watching will have their jaw permanently dropped.

Just when you think that Portal can't get any better, a bit of storyline begins to coerce itself into the game play, where the player must escape the testing facility, its defense systems, and find the truth about the taunting cake, supposedly waiting for him... somewhere. The game also provides an unexpected amount of laughs, always keeping the minimal amount of dialogue fresh and interesting.

Team Fortress 2 is the final component in the Orange Box, where players can log onto an online world and play with other Half-Life fans in a war-like arena with humorously exaggerated graphics. The game is played on several types of courses, all of which have different purposes, such as capture the flag and control points. Also, a clever job system sets the game apart. There are a dozen classes the player can choose to be, all of which have their own pros and cons - an example of a few being Pyro, a large man with a flamethrower, and a Spy, a lanky and swift assassin who can disguise himself.

Despite your video gaming preferences, any player can walk away from the store knowing that they've purchased the first game worthy of the 60$ price tag.

Pros:

First game worth the money

Amazing graphics and animation

Innovative weapons

Great level designs

Realistic characters

Fantastic Storyline

Online capable

Unlike any other gaming experience

Cons:

Portal could have lasted longer

Score: 9/10

What type of Video games are most popular?

aisha h asked:


Alright, I'm in a video game graphics designing coarse and we have to find out what games will sell best for our final project. I don't know what types of games are the most popular though. I know the Final Fantasy RPG's are one of the most popular, but also there are people out there who like puzzle games and stuff. How would I be able to make a popular game?

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