While many publishers these days have no compunction about charging $60 for what amounts to a 10 hour experience with limited replayability, Orange Box developer Valve bucks that trend by offering gamers 35 hours of single player gaming and an outstanding multiplayer component that goes far above and beyond what gamers have come to expect for their gaming dollar. What’s more, each and every one of the five games that comprise The Orange Box is extraordinary, making it one of the best overall deals in the history of video games.
Half Life 2
Although it’s no spring chicken, the 2004 sequel to the seminal FPS title Half Life remains one of the best FPS games ever made. It has an engrossing narrative, well written and characters, amazing tech, and is well paced despite being rather lengthy (coming in just under 20 hours.) Half Life 2 tells the story of Gordon Freeman who has returned to Earth after several years in stasis only to learn that the Combine aliens he released in the first game have now taken over the earth. Gordon meets up with some familiar faces who have now formed a resistance against their evil opressors, and the plot centers around their attempts to destroy the Citadel, the Combine’s base of operations on Earth.
The facial animations are incredibly life-like, adding a depth to the frequent interactions with NPCs. The lighting is hauntingly realistic and the physics system robust enough to provide the basis for the game’s numerous clever puzzles. Audio also impresses with heart felt voice acting and extraordinarily realistic sound effects. About a third of the way through the game, players are given the gravity gun, a physics-based weapon that allows players to fling various objects around the world with lethal abandon, creating a unique twist on standard FPS conventions. The gravity gun is the heart and soul of Half Life 2, and actually manages to make smashing crates fun, which is no mean feat. You can use it throughout the game to hurl objects at enemies in lieu of shooting them if you wish, and it’s just a great way to toy around with the SOURCE engine’s rich physics environment.
Thanks to your botched teleportation experiments in Half Life, the Combine have now taken over the earth. Way to doom humanity, buddy.
However, as it is a port of a 3 year old game, Half Life 2 does contain some chinks in its armor. The textures don’t look nearly as impressive as they once did, and the fairly regular load times compromise the player’s extension of disbelief. Nevertheless, visual quality is nearly as good if not better than most of Half Life 2’s current competition on the Xbox 360, a testament to Valve’s expertise in the field of game design. Anyone who missed out on this title when it was released on PC and the Xbox owes it to themselves to experience one of the most solidly constructed shooters ever made.*
Half Life 2: Episode One
Picking up right at the cliffhanger ending of Half Life 2, Episode One takes the Gameplay into new directions by pairing the player with sidekick Alyx Vance. Aside from her companionship Alyx will offer help in fights, provide hints and point out areas of interest for the player to explore. Alyx’s constant vigil doesn’t really change much in the way of game play, but her AI is generally impressive and it’s nice not to be alone as you were for the majority of Half Life 2.
Alyx will be your constant companion in Episode One, and thanks to the SOURCE engine’s robust AI she can really hold her own in combat.
Episode One features some improvements that go above and beyond Half Life 2 from a technical perspective, although it does generally re-use assets from the original title. Enhanced enemy AI and a few new challenging enemy types help keep the tension up while players struggle harder than ever before to stay alive. The game piles more enemies on you than in Half Life 2, but thankfully Alyx really carries her own weight and kills many of the baddies without the player’s assistance. Episode One’s inclusion of High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting, (which simulates the player’s pupil dilation when moving from dark to light areas) adds eerie realism to an already convincing presentation, and environments look slightly better than they did in Half Life 2.
Although it’s a short four to five hour campaign, Episode One does a good job of addressing the loose ends from Half Life 2 while giving players more time to enjoy the wonderful NPC interaction from the previous title. It’s not long enough to feel like a game unto itself, and it has players covering ground they’ve already become familiar with in Half Life 2, but it still comes across as a high quality expansion pack.
Half Life 2: Episode Two
Easily the most exciting entry so far in the Half Life saga, Episode Two takes the series in some exciting new directions that involve lengthy and satisfying vehicle segments and some brilliant puzzles sure to please fans. Without spoiling the plot, Episode Two is a heart-wrenching continuation of the story that has Gordon and Alyx spending a little quality time with the Vortagaunts, the now-friendly aliens that assist humanity in their efforts to thwart the Combine. On several occasions, elaborate and lengthy battles ensue in which the Vortagaunts must unleash their super-powerful energy attacks as they fight by your side, adding depth to the previously downplayed creatures. The story will pull at player’s heartstrings more than the previous chapters in the series, and provides great incentive to keep on going just to see what will happen next.
Episode Two takes full advantage of the SOURCE engine’s wonderful physics.
The action is intense and unrelenting, and its clear Valve created tons of new content for Epside Two rather than just rehashing old textures and set pieces from the previous outings as was the case with Episode One. Although there are numerous new enemies and challenges in the game, the frightening new Hunters are really stand out from the pack. Think of Hunters as little mini-Striders capable of shooting explosives and knocking back players with powerful bull-like ram attack and you’ll understand why these bad boys are some of the toughest opponents Gordon Freeman has ever faced. Although it only takes around six or seven hours to beat, every minute of Episode Two a white knuckled thrill ride that never lets up and should have players chomping at the bit to complete the trilogy when Episode Three sees release in a few years.
*If you really want to experience Half Life 2 in the correct context, I recommend checking out the original Half Life: Source, available to download for $10 through STEAM. While its graphics are dated by modern standards, this critically acclaimed classic features enhanced physics and textures, making it a wonderful history lesson for FPS enthusiasts. Thanks to its strong game play, Half Life is one tile that’s actually still fun to play despite its age.
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