bit-tech Shopping: Electronic Arts Half-Life 2: The Orange Box (PC)

Rating: 8

Time with product:

Strengths: Great Value, comes with 5 games in one box. Half-Life 2 is one of the best shooting games of all time.

Weaknesses: Lot of fair use issues for me.Must create a steam account to play the game.Must install steam software.Must login to steam account to be able to play the game.Takes up 15 GB of space.

Summary: The Orange Box is essentially five separate games: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, the puzzle game Portal, and the multiplayer action game Team Fortress 2. Of these I have played Half-Life and its one of the best shooter games I have played. Paid $25 for this so I got an incredible deal for the five games. The only disappointing thing for me is the fair use i listed in weaknesses. I bought the game legally, yet I am forced to install steam, sign up for an account, and have it running everytime i want to play the game. If it weren't for this I would have give five stars.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Good value - especially at sale prices; great graphics; low system requirements compared to some other recent games

Weaknesses: Steam (the activation/update software) takes a bit of tweaking; some games require moderately large updates before they can be played

Summary: A great value for the number of games you're getting here (and for the quality of the games as well. There's a reason that Half-Life 2 and Portal have topped many "best game of the year" lists!)Portal is a truly unique, think-outside-the-box experience, and almost worth the price alone. Plus, the end theme is possibly the best song ever written for a game.The real reward from this box, however, is Half-Life 2. A first-person shooter on the surface, it actually contains a lot of variety due to the richness of its environment.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 2

Strengths: several games included in box, great graphics, good storyline

Weaknesses: connection to internet required

Summary: Wow! Had heard good things about Valve's games, but never thought that it would be so enjoyable to get five games bundled in a box. There is one game I liked the best, called Portal. Won't ruin it for you, so all I can say is that although a short game you will find solving each puzzle a real challenge.Graphics are nothing short of amazing. Computing requirements won't stress your PC and you will get beautiful images. Even the characters show facial expressions. Simply an eye treat.About the only gripe I have with these games is that they will try to authenticate you by connecting to their server. When doing so it will do automatic download to update your games. You cannot control when the updates are done. So if you want to play a quick game, you will have to wait until the update is done. Small gripe for a great game.

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: *5 great games for around $50!*Long-lasting multiplayer matches*Continuation of the Half-Life legacy*Strong modding community

Weaknesses: None

Summary: This package is easily worth $50, though I was able to obtain a copy at Best Buy for $25 during Black Friday 2007, but sales like that are uncommon. Occasionally, other retailers like Circuit City, Best Buy or Target might offer the title for $40. An excellent purchase and a steal at any price below $50. Spanning 5 complete games - Half Life 2; Episodes 1 & 2; Portal; and Team Fortress 2; this package will keep you hooked to your PC. The minimum system requirements are lower than other newer games, as Half Life 2 is a few years old - that means PCs circa 2004 should be able to play a game that's still played heavily online and has a strong third-party modification ("modding") community. Highly recommended - get it!

Rating: 10

Time with product:

Strengths: great game play lots of game play time

Weaknesses: none I can find

Summary: Love the games on the DVD's.. Highly recommend, great bargain!!!! will keep me entertained for some time. Hope other game developers follow Valve's lead and put package deals