Half-Life 2 (Including the Orange Box) Mystery Portal Update!

[Sir James]

What, you mean being sold seperately?

I'm sorry I didn't clarify. I meant that the retail version will be the same as the Steam version. It will be the Orange box for $49.99 USD, $59.99 USD for Xbox360 / PS3.

 

[Crimson King]

I am really contemplating just getting the Orange Box for PS3 now since at the very least it'd be 2 games I don't own for that system.

 

[Sir James]

I am really contemplating just getting the Orange Box for PS3 now since at the very least it'd be 2 games I don't own for that system.

You'll have to wait a little longer if you get the PS3 version. It was pushed back a few weeks, while the PC and 360 version is on track for an October 10th release.

 

[Crimson King]

I really have no intention of picking this game (PC or PS3) until after Christmas anyway. I am beginning to realize there is very little benefit from picking a game up on the day it comes out - Warhawk needed a TON of fixes, as did Lair. Both since have been patched and made playable and fun.

There are many exceptions I am sure, but getting it later, was never an issue.

I just don't know the best route. If I get it on PC, I get all the models for Gary's Mod. HUGE plus.

 

[Sir James]

I'm playing Team Fortress 2 right NOW and it OWNS. I'd pay 50 dollars just for Team Fortress 2! Finally, after 8 years of waiting, it's finally here! Crimson and Mic: you should get this on Steam ASAP so you can play. I highly reccomend it.

 

[i8waffles612]

Woohoo! I got Orango Box. It rocks. TF2 is SO fun!

 

[Mic_128]

After finding out it's going to cost $100 for a Hard copy of the games, I've decided to go via steam and save about $40.

TF2 is amazing, though I'm not that great at it.



Yet.

 

[KevinM]

I need a new computer to be able to run these, so it'll probably just be cheaper to pick up a 360 and snag this stuff.

 

[Sir James]

I've been playing Orange Box non-stop. It's EPIC. Portal is a complete mind **** and is a blast to play. TF2 has been going strong for many weeks and it never gets old. Episode 2 is the best Half Life episode out of the entire saga. Everyone was right: this really is the best deal in video game history. I would have easily spent 50 dollars on each game separate.

 

[TigerBlade34]

I plan on picking this up later today and I know I will like. :D

 

[Teebs]

TF2 has so many new things and new... everything from TF Classic. I am a big Pyro player in TF2, and I have noticed so many changes with the Pyro, including in the area of attacking power and speed.

 

[Crimson King]

This was the best purchase I've made since my PS3/PSP.

Team Fortress 2 - I was iffy about the artwork, but now I see it's AMAZING. There is so much depth to this game really. Everyone, add you id, so we can get that 7 friend achievement - EricJ1186.

Episode 2 - Didn't play. I wanted to rebeat Episode 1, and now I did, I got school work to catch up on.

Portal - HOLY ****! Best game out right now. Hands down. I have never had more fun in a game for such a short amount of time. It takes about 3 hours to beat without stopping, but if you do all the achievements, bonuses, etc. You have a deep game on your hands. I loved how whenever I did something, it felt like it wasn't intended at all, but it was. Great game. Three HUGE things I found:

1. Black Mesa references - Black Mesa shut-down after the incident with Freeman, and if you look carefully, Aperture wants to COMPETE with Black Mesa, meaning they are still around. Though, when GladDOS says "Things are different outside now", I think they may have referenced the combine.

2. Play the Audio commentary. Seriously, they talk about how they left the game's physics PERFECT for custom map makers. I am SO glad I got this for PC when I saw "Import Maps" on the bonus section.

3. Play Audio Commentary in Chamber 16 behind the protruding wall where you get the boxes to knock over the third set of turrets (they cross each other, one is seen behind the first glass panel. It's epic.

Also, anyone who hasn't, GET G-MOD10! Garry has stated that in the next update ALL Orange Box stuff will be in it, including Portal Gun (Portal MULTIPLAYER!) Going finish "Camera Shy"

 

[Sir James]

Also, anyone who hasn't, GET G-MOD10! Garry has stated that in the next update ALL Orange Box stuff will be in it, including Portal Gun (Portal MULTIPLAYER!) Going finish "Camera Shy"

MULTIPLAYER PORTAL?! Wow, I'm so glad I bought g-mod...I was starting to get bored of it. Can't wait for that update.

 

[Mic_128]

1. Black Mesa references - Black Mesa shut-down after the incident with Freeman, and if you look carefully, Aperture wants to COMPETE with Black Mesa, meaning they are still around. Though, when GladDOS says "Things are different outside now", I think they may have referenced the combine.

Spoiler

I'd say they WERE trying to compete. Since the combine ravaged earth I doubt there's any businesses around, let alone ones competing for Defence fundung.

Portal truly is best game ever.

 

[Crimson King]

Spoiler

I'd say they WERE trying to compete. Since the combine ravaged earth I doubt there's any businesses around, let alone ones competing for Defence fundung.

Portal truly is best game ever.

Spoiler

THAT'S what leads me to believe this takes place during HL1 and not during HL 2. Watch the whole slide show and it speaks of Black Mesa in present tense, not past. The idea is that GladDOS refused to allow them to take the Portal Device because she became too powerful, and thus Black Mesa got the research money.

 

[Sir James]

Spoiler

THAT'S what leads me to believe this takes place during HL1 and not during HL 2. Watch the whole slide show and it speaks of Black Mesa in present tense, not past. The idea is that GladDOS refused to allow them to take the Portal Device because she became too powerful, and thus Black Mesa got the research money.

Spoiler

Go to http://www.aperturescience.com/

1. type "login"

2. user name is cjohnson, password is tier3

check out the info. Type HELP for a list of commands. Type NOTES for a timeline of events. The events end around the year 1996. The "bring your daughter to work day" I believe is the day GlaDOS goes insane and kills everyone. The Black Mesa Incident happened around the year 2000. I'm pretty sure you're correct; this all took place before the invasion of the Combine.

 

[Paranoid_Android]

According to GameSpot, it's more of the same with worse AI. I never really saw why the game was "OMFG amazing" like a ton of people do. Yeah sure it has nice physics, but what else is new?

I'm pretty sure there is a Half-Life 2 thread somewhere around here, too.

That's hilarious coming from someone who adores Halo to such heights.

Portal was (is) ****ing amazing. I don't have words to describe how awesome it is. Not only did I get a puzzle game, I got a puzzle game with a good plot, perfected physics, and with humor that few games can rival (I love knocking over the Sentries and hearing "I don't hate you", let alone GLaDOS' constant commentary). It can only get better as players learn to modify it; hopefully into multiplayer for either competitions, cooperative achievements, or just messing around.

I haven't started EP2, yet, but if it's anything like Half Life 2's previous chapters, I can already guess that it will be an epic experience. With commentary on, you can understand how the development team tweaked every aspect of the game to make the experience immersive and intuitive without removing the challenge.

TF2 is good fun. I prefer playing Sniper and Spy, but have spent a lot of time with all the classes except for the two slowest (Soldier and Heavy I've neglected). If it weren't for a couple annoying things (like Criticals, which is either a free kill or a BS death, neither of which is satisfying), the game would be deep and competitive. Now if only VALVe would re-enable 32 man servers, Friendly Fire, and make Critical hits a cvar, we'd have a perfect game.

 

[Cashed]

That's hilarious coming from someone who adores Halo to such heights.

What's really hilarious is that I said that three years ago. Nice job trying to put me down with a three year old comment.

Half-Life 2, I didn't find that awesome. It was really fun once I got the gravity gun upgrade, but I didn't like running from everything so much in the beginning of the game, the vehicle segments control terribly with a controller, but I admit, I did have fun despite complaints. Like a PC fanboy playing Halo, I couldn't help but be super critical of the game while playing it. That went away during the Episodes, though.

Episodes 1 and 2 were great. I didn't like the portion of Episode 1 where it's pitch black and all you're doing is fighting zombies, though. Didn't like the caverns in the beginning of Episode 2, either. The outdoor portions though, were awesome, as well as both endings. And holy ****ing **** at the last fight in Episode 2. That was CRAZY.

Team Fortress 2 on the 360 needs better online network code, every match I've tried to play has lagged terribly.

Portal was awesome, exactly what I expected. Short, sweet and left me wanting more. Much like a small piece of cake, you could say. And the song in the credits? Honestly my favorite portion of the Orange Box. But yeah, beat the game, then went and played through the Advanced Puzzles, some of which I don't know how I completed. The one with the shooting drones took me forever.

 

[Paranoid_Android]

Ah, sorry. I'm not used to threads being so old. Usually someone starts a new one and everyone neglects to mention one has already been created.

 

[shadydentist]

Finished up portal. As a game experience, it was probably the most fun I've had playing a game in a long time. It was short, but I think this might have actually worked in its favor, because the whole thing is easily digestible like a movie or a short story.

Valve is, without a doubt, the most consistently excellent software developer in the market.

 

[Mic_128]

Spoiler

THAT'S what leads me to believe this takes place during HL1 and not during HL 2. Watch the whole slide show and it speaks of Black Mesa in present tense, not past. The idea is that GladDOS refused to allow them to take the Portal Device because she became too powerful, and thus Black Mesa got the research money.

I partly disagree.

Spoiler

I think what we see behind the scenes might have happened around the time of HL1, but I think that what happens during Portal is happening during the HL2 timezone. And I don't know if anyone noticed, in one of the comentary parts they said "for the first portal game <blah blah blah>" Wether it means Portal 2, or just more maps or whatever, I dunno.

All I know is I want to get inside that ship!

 

[Sir James]

Spoiler

All I know is I want to get inside that ship!

Spoiler

We won't see the inside of the Borealis until Summer 2009 , even though it's been worked on for almost as long as Episode 2. Episode 3 is going to be so **** epic.

 

[Crimson King]

Episode 2 may have a better story than Portal and the presentation is SO amazing. I am decently far so I will make some guesses for Episode 3 further down.

One point: I LOVE that the flashlight and oxygen/sprint are now separate power sources. ****ing finally!

Spoiler

Episode 3 will involve some type of visitation of Black Mesa again. Also, I am pretty confident the portal gun will appeal. Anyone else thought that whole G-Man soloquy was pretty amazing. Also, did anyone else catch him at the bridge? It was REALLY obvious but so ominous.

 

[Mic_128]

What?

Spoiler

Which bridge? I must play that section again, whichever part, so I can see him!

Thanks for the heads up!

Also, about the Flashlight/run combo....

http://hlcomic.com/comics/concerned020.jpg

The whole brilliant story of Gordon Frohman can be found here, if you want more.

www.hlcomic.com

 

[Sir James]

LOL that is an awesome comic.

Spoiler

Episode 3 will involve some type of visitation of Black Mesa again. Also, I am pretty confident the portal gun will appeal. Anyone else thought that whole G-Man soloquy was pretty amazing. Also, did anyone else catch him at the bridge? It was REALLY obvious but so ominous.

Spoiler

We can't return to Black Mesa because it is now a crater in the ground. The G-Man blew it up with a thermonuclear device in Opposing Force.

And as for the G-Man sighting:

Spoiler

You can spot him on the bridge when Alyx says "look over there!" when you see the new car on the bridge. Look to the left and you'll see the G-Man. It's that same bridge that involved a physics puzzle (you have to move all of the cars off of the bridge so it can level off to allow you to drive off).

There was also another G-Man sighting I noticed. Remember when Alyx said "Prepapre for Unforseen Consequences" to her father? The G-Man shows up on the monitor behind her right before she says those words.

 

[Crimson King]

LOL that is an awesome comic.

Spoiler

We can't return to Black Mesa because it is now a crater in the ground. The G-Man blew it up with a thermonuclear device in Opposing Force.

]

Spoiler

Craters can still be explored. Plus, the G-Man can deceive us, it wouldn't be outside of his powers to do this.

Also, achievements make this game so much better. I am already needing a second play through to get all the grubs (like 15 more!), the web caches (1 more! ****IT), and to defeat the chopper without getting hurt.

 

[Cashed]

And people didn't understand the hype behind the 360 achievement system all this time. Glad Orange Box finally gives PC gamers, and will likely give PS3 gamers a taste of achievements.

Valve is working on a patch for the net coding for the 360 version of Team Fortress 2, so once they get that out I'll have to rent the game again or just get it around Christmas time.

 

[Crimson King]

Ps3 has games with Achievements, most notably Resistance.

 

[Mic_128]

It's the first game I've played that has them, and I like em. Just have to make sure not to check them before finishing a single player game for any spoilers. "Oh man, I have to

Spoiler

fight a helicopter!

 

[Crimson King]

It's the first game I've played that has them, and I like em. Just have to make sure not to check them before finishing a single player game for any spoilers. "Oh man, I have to

Spoiler

fight a helicopter!

If you played the other games, you know this would happen.

My friend made a VERY valid point about why the Orange Box sucks (though I love it, I actually agree with him). Valve said ALL episodic games would cost $20, not 50. He didn't want TF 2, he didn't want Portal, and he didn't want Half Life 2 and Epi1 again. He just wanted to pay $20 for Episode 2 and they wouldn't let him do that at first.

Spoiler

Wow! Portal's integration into the H2 universe is even more concrete with Episode 2 and the Borealis. Pretty amazing. G-MAN TOO!

Also, during the scene described above - look at the picture on the wall of the staff RIGHT in front of Gordan. WOW! And MUCH MUCH MORE REVELATIONS!! I need to stop typing or I will spoil it all.

 

[Mic_128]

If you played the other games, you know this would happen.

Well I noticed with Team Fortress, but was refering to them all as a whole.

My friend made a VERY valid point about why the Orange Box sucks (though I love it, I actually agree with him). Valve said ALL episodic games would cost $20, not 50. He didn't want TF 2, he didn't want Portal, and he didn't want Half Life 2 and Epi1 again. He just wanted to pay $20 for Episode 2 and they wouldn't let him do that at first.

Totally agree. Dunno what they were thinking there

Also, during the scene described above - look at the picture on the wall of the staff RIGHT in front of Gordan. WOW! And MUCH MUCH MORE REVELATIONS!! I need to stop typing or I will spoil it all.

I really need to reply episode 2.

 

[Crimson King]

Mic, I meant the part where:

Spoiler

Eli says they have a "mutual friend" after Alyx says the "unforeseen consequences" line. Eli claims that the G-man told him this before delivery the crystal that caused the cascade disruption. Then if you look at the picture of the scientist on the wall next to the monitor's here, you can see the G-man IN A LAB COAT in front of Gordon. It's REALLY interesting.

Once I get my ram upgrade in the mail Wednesday; I'm upgrading and going through my second and third run-through.

 

[Mic_128]

I know, I figured you meant something like that. Still gonna replay it to see that part

 

[Sir James]

Mic, I meant the part where:

Spoiler

Eli says they have a "mutual friend" after Alyx says the "unforeseen consequences" line. Eli claims that the G-man told him this before delivery the crystal that caused the cascade disruption. Then if you look at the picture of the scientist on the wall next to the monitor's here, you can see the G-man IN A LAB COAT in front of Gordon. It's REALLY interesting.

Once I get my ram upgrade in the mail Wednesday; I'm upgrading and going through my second and third run-through.

That's a scientist from HL1. That is not the G-Man. That same picture was in Eli's lab (Black Mesa East) in Half Life 2 as well.

Look at the scientist on the far left. That's the same scientist in the group photo of the Black Mesa staff picture. I thought it was the G-Man as well until someone pointed that out to me.

Spoiler

What still bothers me though is the fact that the G-Man brought in the sample for the Resonance Cascade. Why did he do it? How did he get the sample? That yellow sample is supposed to be from Nihilanth's head. Valve didn't have enough time to make a reference to it in Half Life 1.

Source: Marc Laidlaw quote. It can be found here:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=114535

 

[Bahamut]

I've been playing Team Fortress 2 like crazy the last couple weeks.

Hit me up, my Steam ID is Bahamut3585. (I'm on PC, and I feel sorry for you Xbox 360 lagging peeps).

 

[Crimson King]

Proof reviewers can't play games:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/review/R119072.html

Quotes of interest:

Graphics 4/10

When I bought The Orange Box I was expecting it to have graphics that are comparable to recent games, but instead I got a bunch of games that looked like they came out in 2004. I don't know what explanation there is for that, but I doubt it's a very good one. I guess Valve just wanted to save money. Portal was the worst. I don't understand why every room had to have those boring grey walls. Why couldn't the game take place in a more exciting area, like a rainforest, or a spaceship or something? I don't know. I guess it was easier to make that way.

Right off the bat he ignores the story. A rain forest would be **** impossible to start you off when you have never played a game like this before. Where could you put a portal? Where can't you put one? How do they even work? None of that would be explained in his game.

Gameplay 3/10

The gameplay of this game scores higher than it's graphics, but only slightly. First of all I don't understand why any FPS like Portal would only have one gun in it. Second, you never really get to shoot any enemies. You always had to use these weird portals things to kill you enemies. That is, when there were enemies to kill. Most of the game just had you running around doing what this annoying robot voice said. The controls were pretty bad too. I hate pressing the E button to lift boxes. Most of the game consisted of solving these puzzles that the robot told you to solve. They were really hard, and often were frustrating to try to solve. I often had to resort to shooting my gun all over the place until I fell through a hole in the ceiling and found the exit. The worst part about the gameplay of this game is that it is a very short game. It took me only 8 hours to beat the entire game, and that's even with getting stuck on some puzzles for a very long time.

Wow. The game is in a laboratory experiment, why would you have a gun? On top of the fact that he wanted to kill constantly, it took him 8 hours to beat it. Holy ****! It took me 6 with exploring around!

Story 2/10

The story is the most important component in any FPS game, but Valve really blew it on this one too. There is hardly a story in this game, and you know when the game is going to end because as you play through it, there are signs on the wall telling you which of the 19 puzzles you are at, and at the end of the 19th puzzle, the game is over. It was a really bad ending too. You just run through the robot's training exercise, and that's it, the game is done, and nothing is ever explained.

Best line in the article. He died on the 19th chamber and thought that was the end.

Sound 2/10

The sound in this game was just terrible. That robot had the most annoying voice I have ever heard, and its pretty much the only thing that you heard throughout the whole 8-10 hours that the game lasts. There was no music in the game, except this radio that played in the beginning, and it just played this annoying song that served no real purpose to the gameplay or the story. Also some levels had these enemies called turrets that tried to shoot at you. They were almost impossible to kill, the only way to kill them was to run at them really fast and try to knock them over but bumping into them. You couldn't even shoot them with your gun, because it did absolutely nothing to them. But the worst part about these turrets was they talked in this annoying voice all the time that was supposed to sound cute or something. I thought it was strange that they would use a voice like that for the most difficult enemies in the game.

Again, way to miss the point of this. The game is a puzzle game with first person perspective. Moron.

Replayability 1/10

This game isn't very replayable at all. After I beat it I remember the solutions to almost all of the puzzles, so I was able to beat the game a second time in under 6 hours. And it was even less fun than the first time I played it, and it's hard to get any more less fun than that.

Second play through took me under 4 hours WITH developer commentary. Third Play through I did in 3 looking for cameras. This guy is just plan horrible if he can't do it faster than that.

Overall 3/10

Portal is definately not be the worst game in The Orange Box, but it is still terrible. I recommend staying away from this one at all costs.

Dumbest thing he said in the whole review. The Orange Box was gaming perfection. 3 amazing games for $45. Each one well worth 50 on it's own. Further proof that game reviewers don't know ****.

 

[Sensai]

Sorry for creating the Steam topic...didn't see this. Although I still think it'd be a good idea to have a topic specifically for Steam (or if the Smashboards Connected topic was updated to include it).

Anyways, Steam ID: Sensai. Been playing TF2.....a lot.

 

[Gonzales]

Been playing TF2.....a lot.

Same here. 29.2 hours in the last 2 weeks. <.< It's just too much fun. What're your favorite classes? I've logged the most time as Soldier, but I think that Demo and Spy are my favorites. The Demo seems to be the most versatile class. He can take out sentries, defend control points, attack control points, and he's reasonably good at close combat if you know what you're doing. As for the spy, a picture's worth a thousand words.

Edit: Also, has anybody seen this video? Poor medic...

 

[shadydentist]

Heh, someone should create a swf clan using the new steam community options. How many of us are here playing tf2?

 

[Tryptomine]

I've also been addicted to TF2 lately. It's quite entertaining. I usually play Pyro, but have an almost equal amount of time on Medic and Engineer. I just love setting people on fire, it's so very satisfying. Though the extreme weakness against Soldiers gets very irritating at times. Critical rockets (or even just crit shots in general) has got to be one of the worst ideas Valve has ever had.

Of course, then ther are the times when the server I'm playing on suddenly agrees to go all melee weapons for a bit. Being able to run around and jam an axe into people's backs is some of the most fun I've ever had in any game.