The Orange Box

The Orange Box Cheat Codes

Half Life 2, Episode 1, 2 and Portal Console Commands

Activate developers code by going to the keyboard options and clicking advance. Then when in game press the ~ button.

Cheat	Effect
sv_cheats 1	Activates cheats
God	God mode
noclip	fly
notarget	Enemies dont target you

Map codes

Enter these with the ‘map’ code in the console. Press ~ to activate the console.

Cheat	Effect
d1_canals_01	Spawns you in the canals.
d1_town_01	Spawns you in Ravenholm
d1_trainstation_01	Spawns you in train station
d1_under_01	Spawns you in lab
d2_coast_01	Spawns you on the coast (Vehicle)
d2_prison_01	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt
d3_c17_01	Spawns you in the city 17 rebellion
d1_canals_02	Spawns you deeper in the canals.
d1_under_02	Spawns you in the lab chapter after the second load point.
d1_trainstation_05	Spawns in the train station after the third load point.
d1_trainstation_03	Spawns in the train station after the second load point.
d1_trainstation_02	Spawns you in train station after the first load point.
d1_town_05	Spawns you near the end of Ravenholm.
d1_town_04	Spawns you in Ravenholm after the third load point area.
d1_town_03	Spawns you in Ravenholm after the second load point area.
d1_town_02	Spawns you in Ravenholm after the first load point area.
d1_canals_end	Spawns you near the end of the canals.
d1_under_03	Spawns you in the lab chapter after the third load point.
d1_under_04	Spawn the lab chapter near the end.
d2_coast_02	Spawns you in the coast area after the first load point.
d2_coast_03	Spawns you in the coast area after the second load point.
d2_coast_04	Spawns you in the coast area after the third load point.
d2_coast_05	Spawns you in the coast area after the fourth load point.
d2_coast_06	Spawns you in the coast area after the fifth load point.
d2_coast_07	Spawns you in the coast area after the sixth load point.
d2_coast_08	Spawns you in the coast area near the end of it.
d2_prison_02	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt after the first load point.
d2_prison_03	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt after the second load point.
d2_prison_05	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt near the end of the level.
d2_prison_04	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt after the third load point.
d2_coast_09	Spawns you in the coast area after the eighth load point.
d2_coast_10	Spawns you in the coast area after the ninth load point.
d2_coast_11	Spawns you in the coast area after the tenth load point.
d2_coast_12	Spawns you near the end of the coast area.
d1_canals_03	Spawns in you in the canals after the second load point.
d1_canals_04	Spawns in you in the canals after the third load point.
d1_canals_05	Spawns in you in the canals after the fourth load point.
d1_canals_06	Spawns in you in the canals after the fifth load point.
d1_canals_07	Spawns in you in the canals after the sixth load point.
d1_canal_08	Spawns in you in the canals after the seventh load point.
d1_canal_09	Spawns in you in the canals after the eighth load point.
d1_canal_10	Spawns in you in the canals after the ninth load point.
d1_canals_11	Spawns in you in the canals after the tenth load point.
d1_canals_12	Spawns in you in the canals after the eleventh load point.
d1_canals_13	Spawns in you in the canals close to the end.
d3_c17_04	Spawns you in City 17 after the third load point.
d3_c17_03	Spawns you in City 17 after the second load point.
d3_c17_02	Spawns you in City 17 after the first load point.
d3_citadel_05	Spawns you at the end of the Citadel.
d3_citadel_04	Spawns you after the third load point in the Citadel.
d3_citadel_03	Spawns you after the second load point in the Citadel.
d3_citadel_02	Spawns you after the first load point in the Citadel.
d3_citadel_01	Spawns you near the beginning of the Citadel.
d2_prison_08	Spawns you near the end of Nova Prospekt.
d2_prison_07	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt after the sixth load point.
d2_prison_06	Spawns you in Nova Prospekt after the fifth load point.
d1_trainstation_06	Spawns you near the end of the train station.
d1_eli_02	Spawns you in Eli’s Lab.
d1_eli_01	Spawns you after the canal, outside of Eli’s Lab.
d3_c17_05	Spawns you in City 17 after the fourth load point.
d3_c17_06	Spawns you in City 17 after the fifth load point.
d3_c17_07	Spawns you in City 17 after the sixth load point.
d3_c17_08	Spawns you in City 17 after the seventh load point.
d3_c17_09	Spawns you in City 17 after the eighth load point.
d3_c17_10	Spawns you in City 17 after the ninth load point.
d3_c18_11	Spawns you in City 17 after the tenth load point.
credits	Starts you at the credits
intro	Starts you at the games Intro.
d1_breen_01	Spawns you at the beginning of Chapter 13.
d3_c17_13	Spawns you near the end of City 17.
d3_c17_12	Spawns you in City 17 after the eleventh load point.

Map codes

Enter these with the ‘map’ code in the console. Press ~ to activate the console.

Cheat	Effect
ep1_citadel_00	Starts you at the intro of the game.
ep1_citadel_01	Spawns you in the Citadel after the first load point.
ep1_citadel_02	Spawns you in the Citadel after the second load point.
ep1_citadel_02b	Spawns you in the Citadel before the lift ride.
ep1_citadel_03	Spawns you in the Citadel after the third load point.
ep1_citadel_04	Spawns you near the end of the Citadel.
ep1_c17_00	Spawns you at the beginning of Chapter 3
ep1_c17_00a	Spawns you in City 17 after the first load point.
ep1_c17_01	Spawns you at the beginning of Chapter 4
ep1_c17_02	Spawns you in Chapter 4 City 17 after the first load point.
ep1_c17_02a	Spawns you in Chapter 4 City 17 after the second load point.
ep1_c17_02b	Spawns you in Chapter 4 City 17 after the third load point.
ep1_c17_05	Spawns you in the last Chapter.
ep1_c17_06	Spawns you in the last Chapter near the end.
ep1_background01	Spawns you looking up at the citadel. (You are unable to move of do anything)
ep1_background01a	Spawns you looking in the car garage. (You are unable to move or do anything)
ep1_background02	Spawns you looking off into the damaged City 17. (You are unable to move or do anything)
credits	Starts you at the credits.

Spawning NPCs

Access the console, type in “npc_create npc_<name>” and replace the name with one of these:

Cheat	Effect
zombie	Spawns a Zombie.
zombine	Spawns a Zombine (Combine Zombie)
zombie_torso	Spawns a Zombie without legs.
fastzombie	Spawns a Fast Zombie.
crow	Spawns a Crow
cscanner	Spawns a Combine Scanner.
combine_s	Spawns a Combine Soldier.
citizen	Spawns a City 17 Citizen.
breen	Spawns Breen.
barney	Spawns Barney.
barnacle	Spawns a barnacle.
antlion	Spawns an Antlion.
alyx	Spawns Alyx.
antlionguard	Spawns an Antlion Guard.
stalker	Spawns a Stalker.
strider	Spawns a Strider.
vortigaunt	Spawns a Vortigaunt.
turret_ceiling	Spawns a Ceiling Turret.
seagull	Spawns a Seagull
pigeon	Spawns a Pigeon.
dog	Spawns Dog.
mossman	Spawns Mossman
monk	Spawns Father Gregori
poisonzombie	Spawns a Poison Zombie.
rollermine	Spawns a Rollermine.
metropolice	Spawns a Combine Metrocop
manhack	Spawns a Manhack
launcher	Spawns a Headcrab Launcher
kleiner	Spawns Kleiner
ichthyosaur	Spawns a Ichthyosaur.
headcrab_poison	Spawns a Poison Headcrab
headcrab_black	Spawns a Poison Headcrab
headcrab_fast	Spawns a Fast Headcrab
headcrab	Spawns a Headcrab.
helicopter	Spawns a Combine Helicopter
gman	Spawns Gman
eli	Spawns Eli
combinegunship	Spawns Combine Gunship
turret_floor	Spawns a Floor Turret.
combinedropship	Spawns a Combine Dropship
crabsynth	Spawns a Crab Synth
mortarsynth	Spawns a Mortar Synth

For Half-Life 2, Episode One and Episode Two

Cheat	Effect
give weapon_alyxgun	Gives you the ‘Alyx Gun’
sk_max_alyxgun #	# is new max ammo for Alyx Gun (default 0)
sk_plr_dmg_alyxgun #	# is new damage for Alyx Gun (default 150)
sk_plr_dmg_357 #	# is new damage value for the .357 Magnum
sk_plr_dmg_crossbow #	# is new damage value for the crossbow
sk_plr_dmg_crowbar #	# is new damage value for the crowbar
sk_plr_dmg_grenade #	# is new damage value for grenades
sk_plr_dmg_pistol #	# is new damage value for the pistol
sk_plr_dmg_ar2 #	# is new damage value for the Pulse Rifle
sk_plr_dmg_rpg_round #	# is new damage value for the RPG
sk_plr_dmg_buckshot #	# is new damage value for the shotgun
sk_plr_dmg_smg1_grenade #	# is new damage value for the SMG’s grenades
sk_plr_dmg_smg1 #	# is new damage value for the SMG
sk_max_357 #	# is new max ammo for the .357 Magnum
sk_max_crossbow #	# is new max ammo for the crossbow
sk_max_grenade #	# is new max ammo for grenades
sk_max_pistol #	# is new max ammo for the pistol
sk_max_ar2 #	# is new max ammo for the Pulse Rifle
sk_max_ar2_altfire #	# is new max ammo for the Pulse Rifle’s energy orbs
sk_max_rpg_round #	# is new max ammo for the RPG
sk_max_buckshot #	# is new max ammo for the Shotgun
ai_disable	Turns Non-Player Characters off. Type again to resume.
sv_cheats 1	Turns cheats on. Type 0 to turn them off. Doing this will turn off achievements, though.
npc_create	This creates Non-Player Characters. Guide to these characters are a bit below.
give item_healthkit	Gives you 25+ healthkit
give item_battery	Gives you 15+ battery
kill	Kills yourself (I hardly see use for this)
sk_max_smg1_grenade #	# is new max ammo for SMG grenades
sk_max_smg1 #	# is new max ammo for submachine gun
weapon_357	Gives you the .357 Magnum.
weapon_shotgun	Gives you the shotgun
weapon_pistol	Gives you the pistol
net_graph 1	a more thorough fps display
viewmodel_fov #	Adjusts size of the weapon you’re carrying (54 = default)
impulse 101	Gives you all weapons
mat_yuv 1	Turn on Black and White mode
mat_yuv 0	Turn off Black and White mode
cl_showpos 1	Brings up position display in top right of screen (0 removes it)
getpos	can be used to get current coords for use with setpos
skill #	change skill level (# = 1, 2, or 3)
air_density #	Change the density of air. (Add number in place of #)
physcannon_maxforce #	Changes how hard you propel objects with the Gravity Gun
physcannon_maxmass #	Changes how large pulled objects can be
physcannon_pullforce #	Changes how quickly objects are pulled
physcannon_tracelength #	Changes the length that objects can be pulled from
physcannon_cone #	Changes the radius of the cone used to pick up objects
host_timescale #	Changes the speed of the game (for slow-mo/fast-mo) (# < 1 = slower, # > 1 = faster)
shake	Creates an earthquake.
npc_create_aimed	Creates an NPC (Aiming away from player)
weapon_crossbow	Gives you the crossbow
weapon_crowbar	Gives you the crowbar
Hurtme #	Damages player by whatever variable you input as #
crosshair 0	Disables Crosshair
crosshair 1	Enables Crosshair
maps	Displays map listing
mat_yuv 0	Enables Color Mode
mat_yuv 1	Disables Color Mode
+mlook	Enables mouse look
cl_ragdoll_collide 1	Enables ragdolls that don’t clip through each other, but stack realistically on one another.
exec #	Execute a script file (Input filename in place of #)
firstperson	First Person View
weapon_frag	Gives you a frag grenade
sv_infinite_aux_power 1	Gives infinite power for sprinting, breating underwater, etc.
sv_infinite_aux_power 0	Takes away infinite power for sprinting, breating underwater, etc.
r_screenoverlay effects/combine_binocoverlay.vmt	Gives you Combine vision during gameplay.
give weapon_annabelle	Gives you Father Gregori’s modified shotgun
give weapon_physcannon	Gives you the Gravity Gun
give item_suit	Gives you the HEV suit
item_healthkit	Gives you the large health kit (25HP)
give item_healthvial	Gives you the small health vial (10HP)
r_screenoverlay effects/tp_eyefx/tp_eyefx.vmt	Gives you weird vision during gameplay.
impulse 76	Creates a human grunt.
buddha	Health never goes below 1
sk_plr_num_shotgun_pellets #	Increases pellets fired from each shotgun shell. 100 works well. 1000+ and it lags.
give item_battery	Increases suit charge by 15 points.
mat_numtextureunits #	Limit the number of texture units. (Add number in place of #) (0=Default)
ch_createjeep	Spawn a Jeep
ch_createairboat	Spawn an airbot
physcannon_megacannon 1	Makes your Gravity Gun a Super Gravity Gun
setpos	Move player to specified origin
sk_npc_dmg_shotgun #	NPC’s do # damage with shotgun
sk_npc_dmg_ar2 #	NPC’s do # damage with the pulse rifle
sk_npc_dmg_smg1 #	NPC’s do # damage with the smg
weapon_ar2	Gives you the Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle
weapon_bugbait	Spawns a Pherapods.
mat_fullbright 1	removes all shadows (a 0 restores them)
impulse 203	Removes the item or NPC you are pointed at
help $	replace $ with a command to get a brief description of it
weapon_rpg	Gives you the RPG
mat_depthbias_normal 1	See through walls
sv_gravity #	Set Gravity (Add number in place of #)dsp_explosion_effect_duration #
dsp_explosion_effect_duration #	Set length of confusion/ear-ringing effect(Add number in place of #)
give item_rpg_round	Spawns grenades for the RPG
give item_ml_grenade	Spawns grenades for the RPG
sv_stopspeed #	Set Minimum Stopping Speed on ground (Add number in place of #)
sv_waterdist #	Set Vertical View when eyes are near water plane.
sv_friction #	Set World Friction (Add number in place of #)
sv_bounce #	Sets bounce multiplier for physically simulated object collisions
Developer 0	Sets developer mode to off
Developer 1	Sets developer mdoe to on
Developer 2	Sets developer mode to verbose
sv_maxvelocity #	Sets Maximum Velocity of any moving object (Add number in place of #)
cl_showfps 1	Show FPS rate
status	shows some game info, incl. current map
setang	Snap players eyes to a specified pitch yaw
impulse 82	Spawns a Jeep
impulse 83	Spawns an Airboat
give item_ammo_357	Spawns ammo for the .357 magnum
give item_box_srounds	Spawns ammo for the Pistol
give item_ammo_crossbow	Spawns ammo for the Crossbow
give item_ammo_ar2_altfire	Spawns energy grenades for the Overwatch Pulse Rifle
stop	Stops recording the current demo.
play demo_name	Plays demo.(change demo_name to the demo you want to be played)
record demo_name	Records a demo of all the user’s actions within the game until the “stop” command is issued.
sv_unlockedchapters #	Unlocks Chapters 1 through #
cl_drawhud 0	Turns off your HUD
cl_enablehud 0	Turns off your HUD
sv_soundemitter_filecheck	Toggle reporting missing .wav files for sounds
cl_enablehud 1	Turns on your HUD
cl_drawhud 1	Turns on your HUD
prop_debug	Toggle bounding-boxes debug mode on/off red – ignore damage, white – respond to damage, green – health)
thirdperson	Third Person View
weapon_smg1	Gives you the SMG
give item_box_buckshot	Spawns shells for the 12-gauge shotgun
give item_box_mrounds	Spawns primary fire ammo for the SMG
give item_ammo_ar2	Spawns primary fire ammo for the Overwatch Pulse Rifle
give item_ar2_grenade	Spawns grenades for the SMG (strangely enough)

My Review:

It’s hard to talk about what Valve’s The Orange Box offers without immediately falling into an impression of some sort of late-night pitchman for fantasy knives and alternative cleaning products. That’s partially because the name “The Orange Box” sounds more like some kind of citrus-scented bathroom cleanser than a video game, and partially because this five-games-in-one package is the kind of crazy deal that almost forces you to shout “Now how much would you pay?” With three amazing new games and two classics all in one package, it’s impossible to go wrong with The Orange Box.

You’ll need both Alyx and the gravity gun if you want to survive.

With your purchase of The Orange Box, you’ll get Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal. They’re all based on the same graphics engine, but they’re all incredibly different games, which ensures that there’s something for everyone. You’ll also get 2004’s Half-Life 2 and 2006’s Half-Life 2: Episode One, which is handy if you aren’t up to speed with what Gordon Freeman’s been doing over the past few years. On the PC, you’ll launch each game separately. On the Xbox 360, the game boots up to a menu where you can easily select any of the five games, and quitting out of a game brings you back to the selection menu.

Let’s start with new stuff. Episode Two is the continuation of the Half-Life 2 story. It picks up right where Episode One leaves off, with Alyx helping Gordon out of the rubble of a train crash. You’ve escaped from City 17, which now looks more like a smoking crater in the ground with a huge, swirling portal floating over it. But you aren’t safe just yet. You’ve escaped with information that the Combine very much wants to get back from you, so the chase is on again. Fortunately, you’ll do much more than just run in Episode Two. The biggest difference here is that Alyx doesn’t directly accompany you through the entire game. You’ll split up much more frequently, so, for example, you’ll find yourself working your way through antlion nests and crushing antlion grubs all by your lonesome. You’ll also negotiate a mine with the help of a vortigaunt who happens to serve as a subtle form of comic relief. It spouts dialogue that plays off of the serious, spiritual tone that most of these aliens take, only applying it to things such as crates full of supplies that just flew down a broken mineshaft and out of reach. These bits alone give Episode Two a much different tone than the previous games, but there are also significant gameplay alterations.

Episode Two marks the return of the lengthy vehicle sequences seen in Half-Life 2. There’s a large block of action that takes place with you moving from spot to spot in what appears to be a stripped-down Dodge Charger. There are also a couple of big set pieces, such as one sequence where you have to defend the center of a mine from relentless antlion attacks. Likewise, the game’s final sequence takes place in a wide-open area and, without getting too specific, feels very different from anything Half-Life 2 has done so far. Although you won’t encounter any new weapons in Episode Two, the developers have at least broken the flashlight power meter out from the same auxiliary power that you use to sprint. This is a smart change that doesn’t make much sense in terms of continuity between episodes, but it’s handy and the sort of thing you wish they’d roll back into the much darker, much more flashlight-oriented action of Episode One. At about four or five hours, Episode Two is also longer than Episode One.

With all that Half-Life, you’d think that the other two parts of this package would be minor additions thrown in to make the deal sound more attractive. But Portal is probably the greatest thing about The Orange Box. It’s a clever mix that combines first-person action with very focused puzzle-solving. It’s also completely hilarious. The premise is simple. You’re a woman who wakes up in a tiny box inside some lab facility run by a mysterious company called Aperture Science. You’re presented with a portal that lets you walk out of the room and into another. From there, the game gradually introduces you to portals and eventually gives you a gun that you can use to fire portals onto walls, ceilings, and floors. Your primary and alternate fire buttons are used to create blue and orange portals, respectively, and walking, jumping, or falling into one portal sends you out of the other one. You can also pick up objects, such as large boxes, which often must be placed on large buttons to open doors so you can proceed through a variety of test chambers.

Portal can be a real mindbender, so stop and think about what you’re doing before you do it.

Along the way, a computerized female voice guides you…and misguides you. The dialogue from the computer supervising your test gets more and more overtly funny as you play and leads to a very satisfying conclusion, including what might be the best end-credit song ever written. Later puzzles force you to pull off some tricky portal maneuvers and require you to consider how much momentum you have when you enter a portal, given that the same momentum is carried with you when you come out the other side. So if you jump down into a floor portal and have the exit portal set on a side wall, you’ll rocket out of that portal with the velocity you had when falling into the hole on the floor.

Upon finishing Portal, which may take you three hours or so if you’re able to quickly grasp the concepts that are presented, you’ll unlock a series of advanced challenges. These include six harder versions of puzzles from the main game, and challenges that ask you to finish levels under certain limits, such as the time it takes you to complete the level, the number of portals you use, or the number of steps you take. The advanced puzzles are tough, but not impossible. However, the challenges are much rougher. There are bronze, silver, and gold medals awarded for each of the three challenge types across six levels. Even after you’ve figured out the puzzles, Portal remains fun and is worth coming back to again and again, just to listen to the dialogue and spend a few fleeting moments with the weighted companion cube. It’s a shame that it had to end this way.

Team Fortress 2 is the multiplayer component to The Orange Box, and it’s been a long time coming. Almost a decade, in fact. But we’ll leave out the history lesson and get right down to business. Like its predecessor, Team Fortress 2 is a class-based multiplayer shooter in which the red team dukes it out with the blue team. There are six maps in the game, each with its own set of objectives. So 2fort is your basic “capture the flag” type of game, wherein each team tries to get into the basement, collect the enemy’s intelligence (a briefcase), and return it home. The rest of the maps deal with the capture and defense of control points in different ways. For example, some maps put both teams on a course to capture the enemy’s base, but require you to control the other points on the map to get a shot at the final objective. Hydro is an interesting map because it takes the control-point concept a little further by breaking each point up into its own specific area of the map. After each capture, the game is reset; a different part of the level is used for the next conflict, which makes it feel like multiple maps in one level. That’s a good thing, too, because the downside of TF2 is that there are only six maps to choose from, and 2fort is the only capture-the-flag map.

Capturing control points is much easier if you work as a team.

Choosing your character class is a vitally important decision. The right answer is a mixture of personal preference and your current situation, because each class has unique weapon loadouts and abilities. The scout can’t take as much damage as other classes, but he’s faster, can double jump, and captures control points twice as quickly as other classes, which makes him a vital but fragile man on the battlefield. The soldier is your standard no-frills class, but his default weapon is a rocket launcher, which is handy. The pyro packs a flamethrower, which is fun to use. Then there’s the demo man as well as the heavy, both of whom are slower-moving, tougher targets that bring heavy firepower along with them. The engineer’s main weapon is a shotgun, but he can also build things such as turrets and teleporters, which can have a huge impact on the game. The medic can heal other players and let out an ubercharge that can turn players invincible for brief periods of time. Teaming up a medic with a heavy can be an incredibly devastating combo. There’s a sniper class for those who like to shoot people in the face from long distances. Finally, there’s the spy class, which you can use to disguise yourself as a member of the opposite team, turn invisible, and place sappers that eliminate pesky engineer turrets. The classes feel as if they’ve been balanced out fairly well, and for each action there’s an appropriate counter. But none of that sounds particularly special, does it?

The thing that makes Team Fortress 2 so special is its graphical style. Rather than going with the ultrarealistic military look that’s still all the rage these days with the kids, TF2 has an over-the-top, cartoonish design to it that starts with the great-looking characters. They’re really well animated, and each class just has a ton of personality. The level design holds up its end of the bargain, with a visual style that occasionally reminds you of old Road Runner cartoons with their rocky, Southwestern styles.

The good doctor’s waiting patiently for your arrival.

In case you haven’t played the two already-released games in the Half-Life 2 saga, they tell the story of Gordon Freeman, your silent protagonist. At the end of the original Half-Life, the scientist was placed into stasis by a mysterious, nameless figure known outside of the HL universe as the G-Man. This governmental-looking guy pops up right at the beginning of HL2 to awaken Gordon and, apparently, place him on a train headed into City 17. This is a very different world than the one Gordon left behind. Time has passed, though it’s unclear how much. The alien invasion from the first Half-Life has resulted in the Seven Hour War, at the end of which humanity surrendered to a force now known as the Combine. But even with the human race under complete lockdown, there’s still a group of rebels out there fighting for freedom. Some of these rebels are scientists that come directly from the Black Mesa facility where the original Half-Life took place. You quickly hook up with the rebels and the “good” aliens, the vortigaunts, all of whom speak of you in hushed tones, as though you were a legendary hero. Half-Life 2 is a very lengthy adventure with somewhat odd pacing. The game contains two very long vehicle sequences that perhaps go on a bit too long, but let’s let sleeping dogs lie. This 2004 game is an absolute classic that should be played and enjoyed by almost anyone that comes into contact with it.

Episode One picks up right after the events of Half-Life 2 and serves as a sort of epilogue to the Half-Life 2 story. Without going too deep into the plot events, City 17 is about to blow up and you are way too close to it to survive the blast. Joining you is Alyx Vance, a girl that pops up to fight alongside you at various points in Half-Life 2. Here, she’s with you for most of the game, for better and for worse. On the one hand, she’s a great computer-controlled gunner who feels almost indestructible, which means that you can sit back and let her do most of the fighting if you feel like it. On the other hand, her excitable nature can be a little grating, and it feels as if she’s along for the ride just to point out stuff that the developers wanted you to see. Most of her speech seems to follow the formula of “Hey, Gordon, look at this [key item you need to interact with to proceed]” or “Whoa, look at this [scripted sequence of things falling down or exploding]!”

The story is probably the weakest point about Episode One, considering that nothing really happens. You start playing, and your goal is to delay the blast; you do that, and then escape. Along the way, though, you’ll experience some neat gameplay, much of which is built around the use of the gravity gun. Compared to the huge adventure in Half-Life 2, Episode One was a weird way to continue the adventure. Now that you can play it as a three- or four-hour chunk of a larger package, it works much better.

Each Team Fortress 2 map has a little intro movie to show you the ropes.

By comparison, the graphics in the Half-Life games and in Portal are vastly different, even though all of these games are running on variations of the same engine. The Half-Life 2 games do a great job of showing you torn-apart human cities and postapocalyptic landscapes, and they still have some of the best facial animation you’ll see in a video game. Portal has a pristine laboratory look to most of its levels that really fits with the game’s premise, and the effects for the portals themselves are pretty cool. TF2’s unique visual style sets it apart from the cookie-cutter military shooters out there and injects some humor into the proceedings at the same time.

The package also has wonderful sound across all of its games. Half-Life 2 and its additional episodes probably have the best (and most) music of the bunch, and the soundtrack in the Half-Life games is really great. Portal and TF2 definitely have some good music, as well. Likewise, there’s a healthy amount of voice acting across the five games, and most of it is quite good. The Team Fortress 2 classes all have specific voice taunts that add to their personalities. Portal’s computer voices are outstanding, and the different characters in Half-Life 2 turn in terrific and believable performances.

With The Orange Box out on both the PC and the Xbox 360, it’s worth noting that there are a handful of differences between them, but it’s hard to go wrong with either version. For starters, the PC version is $10 cheaper and, provided that you have modern hardware, it also looks better than the Xbox 360 version. The 360 version doesn’t run as smoothly, though its frame rate is hardly a problem, either. Furthermore, the textures used throughout Half-Life 2 simply don’t look as good in 2007 as they did in 2004. Consequently, viewing them on a large HDTV doesn’t really do them any favors, though the 360 version utilizes high dynamic range lighting that gives you more realistic-looking effects than Half-Life 2 had on the PC at its time of release.

Of course, the 360 version has achievement points. In fact, it has 99 separate achievements, more than any other game to date, though they still total up to 1,000 points overall. Spreading the 1,000 across five games means that no single achievement is worth very much, even though some of them ask you to do some out-of-the-ordinary things, such as playing through the entire Ravenholm chapter using only the gravity gun, or finishing Episode One and firing exactly one bullet over the course of the entire game. Each game has an achievement browser that shows you the achievements that relate to that specific game, though some of the achievements for the Half-Life 2 games cross over from one game to another.

An achievement browser shows you the tasks that apply to each specific game.

The achievement browser that Valve has built also shows your progress in some cases. For example, there’s an achievement for smashing every single antlion grub in Episode Two. The catch is that there are 333 grubs in all. It’s nice to know how many you have left. On the PC, Valve has rolled an achievement system into Steam, its digital content delivery system. The community side of Steam now lets you look at how long players spend playing each game, and the same achievements used in Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Episode Two are also present in your Steam profile. The difference is that they don’t tie back into your Microsoft-branded gamertag, and there’s no point count associated with each achievement on the PC, either. It’s an interesting addition to the service, which is becoming quite a service these days, though we’re still patiently waiting for a fully digital burrito-delivery system to be implemented.

But that’s beside the point. You don’t need burritos, sealed dealer cases of baseball cards, or fully integrated fitness systems thrown in at no additional charge to make The Orange Box a great deal. It’s practically guaranteed that if you enjoy video games, you’ll find at least one thing to like in this collection, though there’s also a very good chance that you’ll really enjoy all of it.

Origanal post by:Gamespot.com