bit-tech Shopping: Electronic Arts The Orange Box (PS3)

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: Five great games at a great price

Weaknesses: Little lag in online play

Summary: This game has five great games in a package priced for a single game. My favorite was portal but I am sure that everyone who has slightest interest in shooting genre will find great excitement in at least one of the included games. You have great online play in Team Fortress 2 although it may lag a little at times (My only complaint). If you are fan of Half series, you get both Half life 2 & Half life 2 episode 1. Half life 2 looks much better than the same game on original Xbox(never came out on PS2). Portal is a real innovative game although it is a little on the short side. For the bargain price that this game is available now at few places, it is a steal. Do not miss it

Rating: 10

Time with product: 60 Days

Strengths: Five terrific games in a single package makes this game a must buy for virtually every gamer. Portal by itself is good enough to make a full price game alone.

Weaknesses: Definitely a buggy game compare with the 360 version. Slow frame rate and long load time will also hurt the PS3 owner over the far superior 360 ver.

Summary: Portal is very very good game and justify the purchase of this game by its own. Regarding to Team Fortress 2, it is also a very good online only game, unfortunately EA did a very poor job in porting the game from 360, and the EA server is very buggy which will drops you very often. Overall i would recommend the 360 version over this PS3 version.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Portal

Weaknesses: Buggy without the patch

Summary: I would highly recommend this set of games since it is now a budget title. PORTAL is worth the price of admission and the other games are nice to have on a console rather than booting up the PC. It is a little buggy at times, but the patch fixes most of the problems with the PS3 version. Overall I really like all the games, but Portal is the most entertaining. It is innovative, has a fresh feel, and would be a great addition to your library.

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths: Great Value

Weaknesses: Buggy

Summary: I was so excited to finally get this game for the PS3 after reading the reviews on all the other systems. Unfortunately, as soon as I loaded up Team Fortress 2 and started a match, I had my worst yet gameplay experience on the PS3. It was extremely choppy and jittery. Very disappointing for what could have been such a fun game.The Half-Life series are highly rated games, but you really have to get into the story, because the graphics do look a bit dated. And yes, the load times are quite long.Nonetheless, where else can you get this many decent games at this price? Definitely a decent buy, but not a great one.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2 Weeks

Strengths: 5 games in one. Portal is very enjoyable.

Weaknesses: Glitchier than the PC and Xbox360 versions

Summary: For five FPS (first-person shooter) games on one disk that can be had for under $30, this is a very good purchase. The packaging cover doesn't quite do the contents justice - it downplays the Half Life 2 and HL2 Episode One. But Orange Box actually contains all five games (HL2, HL2 Episode 1, HL2 Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2) in their entireties. Most of these games have earned great reviews individually, Portal was even considered the 2007 game of the year at many places. I think the ingenious design of Portal alone justifies the price of admission - it combines puzzle game and FPS into one addictive game. The PS3 version unfortunately does not compare as well as the PC or the Xbox 360 versions. The game's creator Valve had openly exppressed their dislike for the PS3 console's structure. Most of the single-player games in Orange Box play fine on PS3, but there are occasional lags and small glitches. However, the sole online-only game, Team Fortress 2, has garnered quite a few complaints because its bugs and lack of updates when compared with PC and 360 versions. But for the same reasons, the PS3 version can be found at a slightly cheaper price than the other versions. If you are a diehard FPS fan, you probably have already played this game on PC or 360. But for those new to FPS genre who want to know what the fuss is all about, this is a great game. Especially if you don't plan to play against others online, the Hife Life 2 games and Portal will keep you busy for quite a while.