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Half Life 2 Orange Box Review - Xbox 360

Introduction

Want one of the best regarded shooters of the last few years on the PC for the Xbox 360 ? Hell, may as well throw in the latest two addons while we're here. Actually, better throw in an innovative first person puzzle game we have lying around. Hmm, not sure this will keep the multiplayer fans happy. Ok, lets throw in one of the most talked about about multiplayer titles for the last couple of years. Not sure whether this will quite sell. Hmm, why not sell it for the price of a standard title. What?! Are you guys completely marble-rattling crazy? Yes, maybe they are - but who's complaining! This combination brings us one of the best collections seen in a very long time, the Half Life 2 Orange Box Collection. It combines Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Epsiode 1, the only just released (on PC) Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 - all on one disc for the Xbox 360.

While Half Life 2 was meant to be a very early 360 title (it also appeared as a cutdown Xbox 1 version), delays pushed this back further and further back in the schedule, and it almost looked like it would never appear. Now Valve has more than made up for it by giving Xbox 360 owners a quintuple whammy.

Gameplay

To begin with, the game flicks the user to the game selection menu. Here you can choose which game you wish to play by clicking on the title. After this the selected game loads just as per any other game. The effect is a little strange at first on a console, but it's not often we are presented with multiple games on the one disc.

Half Life 2

Half Life 2 is definitely the main worth in this collection, with the other two episodes being a few extra chapters and a continuation of the key storyline. When sitting down and first playing the game on the 360, it still brings across the wow-factor when first getting into the PC version many years ago.

The main episode, or just “Half Life 2” has you returning as the unlikely nerdy hero Gordon Freeman, as you return to the Black Mesa facility, where trouble is once again afoot. You're a bit of a recognised face this time, and most of the characters in the game are relying on you to help their cause against the Combine, and the hideous creatures from another dimension.

The game is really not too much different to many other first person shooters in that you run around blasting things to pieces. However, it is the small details in the way that Half Life 2 plays out, that really makes it a great experience. For one, the storyline really plays out nicely, building up at each step of the way. Characterisation is also brilliant, with animation and facial features a (continued next page)