Characters - Advanced facial animation system delivers the most sophisticated in-game characters ever seen. With 40 distinct facial muscles, human characters convey the full array of human emotion, and respond to the player with fluidity and intelligence
Physics - From pebbles to water to 2-ton trucks respond as expected, as they obey the laws of mass, friction, gravity, and buoyancy
Graphics - Source's shader-based renderer, like the one used at Pixar to create movies such as Toy Story and Monster's, Inc., creates the most beautiful and realistic environments ever seen in a video game.
AI - Neither friends nor enemies charge blindly into the fray. They can assess threats, navigate tricky terrain, and fashion weapons from whatever is at hand
Editorial Review:
With part 3 of the Half-Life saga in the horizon, this collection brings you from the start so you're ready to take on the third episode of this exciting trilogy. Half Life earns its popularity and reputation at being the first First Person Shooter game to use aq lifelike, realtime plot that pits you in the action as well as behind the trigger. Created by Valve Software, each episode employs advanced technologies for better, more realistic play. In Half-Life, you assume the role of Dr. Gordon Freeman, a recently graduated theoretical physicist who must fight his way out of an underground research facility whose teleportation experimentations have gone awry. The second part of the trilogy of episodic expansions for Half-Life 2, Episode Two picks up where Episode One left off?with Gordon and Alyx traveling out of City 17 and into a vast new environment. The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people people he cares about are counting on him. Intense, real-time gameplay of Half-Life 2 is made possible only by Source, Valve's new proprietary engine technology
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
ONE OF THE BEST PC GAMING DEALS!!:
I was amazed at this deal when Valve released it. I had the Half-Life 2 trilogy and love this series. Was waiting for Episode 2 and decided to give this bundle a try. Need I say, Valve is a amazing company that knows how to make the best FPS out there for PC. First game I played through in the Orange Box is Half-Life 2: Episode 2. After the first 20 mins into it I felt like I was in one of the best Sci-Fi action movies made. It just kept getting better and better further into the game. If you are a fan of... more info
The Orange Box:
I am not a serious gamer, but had been looking for something that offered some fun and entertainment, as well as a bit of variety. The Orange Box is a great bargain. It offers Half-Life2, HL2: Episode One, and Two; Team Fortress 2; and Portal. Some of these games have been out for awhile, but not being a gamer they were new to me. So far I have played Half-Life2 and HL2: Episode One, and I have to say I have never had so much fun. I have lost track of the hours being so engrossed in what it takes to "play"... more info
Pretty Good entertainment:
The Orange Box offers quite a bit of game in a nice small package and right now its at a great price compared to some other offerings. The game(s) have a lot of action and require some ingenuity in problem solving to complete multiple tasks. At some point fairly early in the game series though, the puzzles nearly all have the same solution(s). I think there's a great opportunity to add some of the features of "Portal" to the Half-Life games. There are a few scenes/levels where you are required to... more info
Half Life 2 is a Bore:
Half Life 2 is probably the most boring game I have ever played. Team Fortress 2 is kind of fun, but I don't really play it either. Portal is the only game in this collection worth buying (it's fantastic!), and you can get it for about half the price of the Orange Box. I wouldn't have bought the Orange Box if I hadn't thought Half Life 2 was a game I wanted to play...
