Episode One:Unlike Half Life 2, the downloadable content has never been available on any gaming console other than the PC so this will be an entirely new experience in terms of control and console play. The storyline of Episode One follows along from the moment Half Life 2 ended; I am not going to talk about it because it would totally spoil the ending of HL2, if you have not beaten HL2 you will be lost in the storyline of Episode One. The relationships that were built in the original are flushed out and detailed upon in EP1, which is a great thing to witness. If the updated graphics of HL2 were cool the graphical prowess of Episode One is freaking awesome. More updated textures, lighting effects, and especially character models bring the episodic sequel closer to next-gen standards. Unfortunately the pacing of Episode One is much slower than Half Life 2 and does not include any new gameplay content, other than one enemy. That’s right; no new weapons, and you will be traversing through mainly environments you have already seen. Episode One was Valve’s first attempt at episodic content and while it didn’t blow us away, it ties the story between HL2 and Episode Two so it’s needed. At the same time it is thrown into The Orange Box for free so I’m not going to complain too much, just play through it to get to the next episodic release in the Half Life series.
Episode 2:
There are some similarities between Episode One and Episode Two, actually only a few but they are the negatives. In EP2 there is only one new weapon and one new enemy, while each is badass it still leaves gamers questioning where all the new content is. Luckily all of the environments are new, Dr. Freeman will travel through some very lush, and beautiful, levels that make Half Life 2 look like a Nintendo 64 game. The entire Source engine has been updated in this game and it shows from the very beginning. Everything looks brighter and prettier which just makes playing the game an overall more enjoyable experience. As with Episode One, many more of the story elements are explained but many more questions are also posed. Episode Two has a perfect balance between fast-paced action and slow-paced story elements. The final battle left me wishing that Episode Three were already available for download as I probably would have paid any price to continue the story that is Half Life 2. Overall this episode is easily the best total package game of all five on The Orange Box disc so make sure you take your time in playing through it.
Portal:
Having never been a huge fan of puzzle games I cannot say I was overjoyed when Valve first announced they would include a game made by graduate students that involved portals and buttons. Sure it doesn’t sound exciting but from the moment I started my first game of Portal, I was hooked. Basically the game takes place inside of a lab experiment and you are given control of a portal, orange on one side and blue on the other. There is no storyline exactly but there is a very sarcastic/funny narrator and the whole thing does tie into the Half Life universe in ways I will not spoil for those that haven’t played it. How it works is just shoot the orange at the wall next to you then the blue at the wall across the lava pit and simply walk through to the other side, safe and sound. This does not sound very complicated but the amount of attention that went into Portal makes for some brain teasing levels. I consider myself a pretty smart person but time and time again I found myself stuck trying to figure out what to do next. Even though it was tough it was still never impossible, as I always seemed to figure out where to place my portal or how to solve a specific puzzle. After spending one day, and about five hours, beating Portal I was sad it was over; I wanted more. My wife even got in on the action telling me what to do and coming up with ideas while playing. The only word I could think of to describe Portal is genius, the entire thing is genius and I can only beg Valve to do a follow up game. Personally I would have paid $60 for Portal alone so to think I got four other games for that price is astounding.
Team Fortress 2:
Probably the most anticipated multiplayer game, other that World of Warcraft 2, has been a sequel to the wildly successful Team Fortress Classic. Finally Valve has answered all of those wishes and provided gamers with the final game on The Orange Box, Team Fortress 2. TF2 is a multiplayer-only, team-based, shooter that is both addicting and annoying at the same time. It may be a personal preference thing but I found that if you’re not good at TF2 it’s not any fun. Maybe I took too long to finally play it (spending all my time with HL2 and Portal) but by the time I logged onto Xbox Live I was getting my ass kicked left and right. There are nine different roles to play in TF2: soldier, demo man, engineer, medic, spy, etc. Each of the different classes is so different in style that it is literally like playing a different game each time you start up a new map.
