Product reviewsOrange Box Half-Life 2 (PC, 2007)

The Orange Box is worth your cash.

A great value for some great games. Portal is a quick yet fun puzzle game that plays like a first person shooter. Half Life is a great FPS with an interesting story, and you get Half Life 2, Half Life 2: Episode 1 and Episode 2 with the Orange Box. Half Life is considered one of the best FPS ever created. Then there is Team Fortress 2. The reason I bought the Orange Box. TF2 is an online FPS that is unrelentingly fun. It is class based, with 9 different classes, each completely different then the others, which creates a very balanced game. No one player can defeat the other team. It has to be done as a team effort (hence the name), with multiple classes working together.Read full review...

Orange Box is great. Steam policy not so much

I love all the games in the Orange Box. Nothing to complain about Valve. But I am disappointed with Steam. I had first bought Portal separately. I got to like it so much that I decided to buy the Orange Box. I then wanted to gift my Portal copy to a friend, but you cannot use that copy any longer, because it is forever linked to your acount, even if there is another copy of the game also linked! Basiccally I lost the first game I bought. I asked them and they said only a limited number of games can be "reused" and Portal is not one of them. I just wanted them to remove that product key from my account and let somebody else use it. I paid for both, I think I should be able to use both...Read full review...

Beware purchasing Orange Box in ebay!

First of all, these are some of the greatest games and the price is right, so what could go wrong?

EVERYTHING!!! Steam and Valve are very strangely run companies using a very non-standard way of doing business. Steam, and the games you purchase the right to use, are essentially portable applications. If you buy Orange Box from Steam, you have the right to log in on any machine, download and play the game. It belongs to your account permanently. If you visit your Uncle Charlie three states away, you can start up his computer, download Steam, log into your account, download your games and play them there. OK?

That sounds great! But there are some necessary wrinkles that affect purchasing Steam/Valve games on ebay. Because Steam is built around downloading games and the games permanently belong to the account, the boxed games you see at brick and mortar stores are not what they appear. They are only a convenience so you can install your game more quickly. They are not real computer games in the sense that you can resell them.

If you read the Steam agreement, no game is resellable. The only exception they make for an already registered game is if you bought a brand new game at a retailer and somehow it had been previously registered. You must send them the store receipt and a photocopy of your game's registration numbers.

EBAY AND ALL GAME RESELLERS ARE SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED FROM GAME TRANSFERS! This means that any money you spend purchasing a used Valve/Steam game on ebay is entirely wasted.

THERE IS NO WARNING ON THE GAME BOX SAYING THAT IT MAY NOT BE RESOLD! You are to be entirely surprised, whether you are the buyer of seller. If you purchase a useless game on ebay, don't get all mad at the seller. He most likely didn't know either.

THE STEAM/VALVE AGREEMENTS DO NOT CLEARLY STATE THAT RESELLING BOXED GAMES IS NOT PERMITTED! Until you get stung and they treat you like crap and then you read between the lines in the agreement, it is not clear. Apparently they like customers who feel like they've been cheated.

THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE BUSINESS MODEL, IT'S A PROBLEM OF LOUSY COMMUNICATIONS! I can't see how Valve could allow their boxed games to be resold without permitting outright theft of their games. After all, once you install the game you then have unlimited right to download it on any computer in the connected universe even without the original DVD. But they should have an obligation to clearly and conspicuously state in large letters on the box that their games cannot be resold. Explaining the reasoning would make it clear to the purchaser that rule is not unreasonable. Confusing? I say a confused customer is preferable to one who thinks they've been cheated. Those people write reviews like this one on ebay!Read full review...

The Orange Box (PC Games)

The Orange Box includes 5 games.
TEAM FORTRESS 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Portal

The main selling point for this game is TEAM FORTRESS 2. The "all-new version of the legendary title that spawned team based multiplayer action games" looks really great! The old maps are redone very well and new maps are being added = GREAT!!! That's the end of GREAT as far as this title goes.

Be advised, if you played TEAM FORTRESS 1, you will probably be very disappointed in how the classes have been redesigned. The Pyro has NO FIRE GRENADES and NO FIRE ROCKETS, The Recon has NO FLASH GRENADES, the Spy has NO HALLUCINATION GAS GRENADES and so on... It gets worse. There is NO CAPTURE THE FLAG!

The Orange Box also covers the previously released game of Half-Life, but most players do not need these except for perhaps Episode Two. This is just to add “fluff” to justify the high retail price.

Portal is nice, eye candy + brain teaser. It might someday be expanded to something really cool, but judging what they have done to TEAM FORTRESS 2 = don’t hold your breath.

As previously mentioned: If you do buy The Orange Box, do not buy it if it has been used. The online STEAM game site will not allow you to install any of the games if it has been previously registered. This also means you can not sell it later if you decide to do so = FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

SAVE YOUR MONEY & YOUR TIME = Pass on this title.Read full review...

Valve is a horrible greedy company

ebay sent me a email asking me to review this game so I decided to use the opportunity to go on a rant about Valve and the Steam service since I was not even able to play this game after buying it. I bought this PC game used on ebay to save money and because I have horrible internet service and can't download big game files from services like Steam. I have purchased used PC games in the past and have been able to reuse the used key code to play the game, but not this time. There should not be an issue with this. The original owner can't play the game anymore without having the game disc. Valve not only doesn't allow you to reuse a key code, but even if you go online and buy a new key code, you can't even use the physical game disc to install the game to your PC. This game forces you to install their Steam service, then proceeds to force you to download the entire game over the internet. I'm not just talking about updates to the game but the entire game. This makes no sense at all except that video game makers like Valve are so greedy that they want everyone to HAVE to purchase a brand new copy of their games. They have millions of dollars and should understand that not everyone can afford to buy brand new games and that not everyone has access to high speed internet service with unlimited data caps. What they are doing should be illegal. It's like saying I can't sell my car if I don't want it anymore. Valve sucks. I will not be buying anymore games from Valve.Read full review...

WARNING. THERE ARE NO GAMES ON THE ORANGE BOX 2 DVD SET.

Very misleading product.

I have 56K dial up internet service, and bought the game “Portal” the “Orange Box PC edition” specifically so that I would not have to spend an egregiously impractical amount of time downloading the files from the manufacturer’s (Steam) server.

Only to realize to my horror that the 2 DVD set included in this box DOES NOT CONTAIN THE GAME or any of the other 2 titles listed on the box cover.

After spending almost 2 days just setting up an account, I was informed that I would still have to download THE ENTIRE GAME anyway.

That’s a 3 day download.

That’s a $200 phone call.

That’s 100 times more than the cost of the game itself.

When I attempted to contact Tech Support, I received a message “Send us an email”.

Their idea of customer service is “Send us an email”???

I sent them 3 emails, and never got a response to any of them.

You are basically paying $20 dollars for a piece of paper with a serial number on it.

I still cannot play this game.

Not even sure what the 2 DVDs are for since even the most superfluous over-bloated installer program in the world does not require 2 DVD’s worth of data.

In fact, the setup routine never even asked to insert the second DVD?

They must include it as “stuffing”.

I regard this product as a borderline criminal “Bait and Switch” scheme.

WARNING. THERE ARE NO GAMES ON THE ORANGE BOX 2 DVD SET.

Would not buy another Steam product ever again, even if it were free.Read full review...

Bought a glorified coaster

The product was pre-opened and had no code. So in other words, can't play any of the games. Just a, although very cool, plastic case.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: torquesmackee

Buyers Beware: STEAM

This game is great, and I would recomend buying it, but only if it is NOT used.

DO NOT BUY USED.

These games use STEAM client, and products need to have the CD key activated to a specific STEAM account. If you buy, make sure it is new, not even "like-new." If the key has been activted, it cannot be transfered to a differenet account. Even if it advertises that the cd key is included, it could still have already been used.

Do not buy, under any circumstance, unless you are sure these keys have not been activated. This goes for any game that uses STEAM as part of its activation process.

Other than that, All of these are great games.Read full review...

5 Games in 1!

VISIT http://blog.graduategames.com FOR MORE GREAT REVIEWS or to
see Videos and Pictures to go along with this Review.

Let's sum this review up:
5 Games in 1! Ok 3 are very similar. 3 UNIQUE Games in 1!
Half Life 2 is a classic at this point and won tons of awards. Even if you've beaten it like I have, there's still new content with the new episodes and even incentive to experience the main quest again to unlock achievements. Portal is one of the most unique game experiences I've had recently and Team Fortress 2 is a very balanced and fun multiplayer experience.

Gameplay: 10/10
Pros: With 5 games there has to be one that you find yourself drawn to the most. For me, that's Portal and Team Fortress 2, but you may be a more story driven Half-Life 2 person. The controls are solid (and pretty similar) across all the games and the gameplay is extraordinary. In fact, my only complaint with the whole package is that there's plenty of Half-Life 2 action and not nearly enough Portal and Team Fortress. Portal is over way too fast and Team Fortress could use some more maps, but is wanting more really a fault?

Graphics: 9/10
Pros: Team Fortress 2 looks so sick! I love the cell-shaded/cartoon/looney tunes look. The animation is also absolutely top-notch. Team Fortress really steals the show in the graphics dept. Portal is truly an impressive technical feat and I still can't entirely fathom how it all works...incredible. The Half Life 2 series still has fantastic facial animations.
Cons: Half Life 2 is showing its age somewhat but it is a 3 year old game.

Sound/Music: 8/10
Pros: Fantastic voicework throughout all the games with good sound effects and the classic Half Life mood music.
Cons: There is not nearly enough music and much of the time it feels vacant. While this is probably on purpose, it accentuates sound effects which can be annoying and loud.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10
Pros: 99 Achievements, 5 different games, 9 classes in multiplayer to master and hours upon hours of gameplay.
Cons: People may get bored with the Half-Life story/gameplay before finishing out everything. Only 6 maps in multiplayer.

Average: 92.50%
Tilt: +0.50%

Ultimately, you can't really NOT recommend this game. It is after all only $60 for 5 games. So maybe all 5 games aren't full fledged $60 titles, but they are all pretty substantial and Half-Life 2 for Xbox was $50 only a few years ago. It's a phenomenal deal and as long as you don't hate games from the First Person Perspective, you'll find something to love in the Orange Box. The Orange Box is certainly one of the best game compilations ever.

Verdict: 93%Read full review...

Warning: Don't buy this game used!

I gave this game an Average rating simply because I had to give it a rating. So simply ignore the rating and read my warning!

*** Warning! ***

I've heard and read so many great things about these games.

So, I decided to buy it. Trying to be frugal, I figured I should go on ebay to look for this game.

Big mistake! Do not buy this game if someone has already used it. To install the game, you have to register the game online. There is no bypassing this, unless the previous owner gives you their login and password.

Luckily, I was able to get my money back, but buyer beware!Read full review...