I’m going to write this review as if I were writing a review for 5 different games. After that (here at the top) will be a summary of all 5.
The Good: All 5 games are solid and stand on their own, Portal is one of the most clever games ever made, HL2: EP2 evolves the story wonderfully, TF2 is a blast, HL2 and EP1 live up to their age, cleverly planned achievements, not having to deal with Steam
The Bad: Not enough puzzles for Portal, not enough maps for TF2, HL2 isn’t complete yet, the HL games are very short
Overall TOB is one of the best deals in video game history. With Valve’s ingenious talent backing this package, there’s no stopping it. Everyone has to pick this masterpiece up because there is something in here you’ll love.
Half-Life 2=9.0/10
The Good: One of the greatest stories and worlds ever created, great graphics and voice acting, memorable everything
The Bad: Graphics are showing it’s age, no online play, too few weapons and enemies, not for the traditional FPS fan
I bought this on my PC about 2 years ago and played it to death (including ALL the mods). Even if you’ve played it on your PC you’ll love it even more on your 360 (or PS3) due to the achievements, and for people who can’t run the game very well, can experience the game in all it’s glory. You are Gordon Freeman who has mysteriously wound up in City 17 between a civil war against Dr. Breen and the Combine thanks to Gman. You and your sexy companion, Alyx Vance, have to reach the Citadel and take down the Combine. Instead of explaining what you already know I’ll explain what’s new. Nothing really. Just the achievements involved (and they are cleverly thought out). You have all the same weapons, levels, and monsters. Just sit back and enjoy the first part of the HL2 saga and you’ll have the best 8-10 hours of your life. Back when the game was released I gave this game a 9.5, but due to its age, it drops half a point.
Half-Life 2: Episode 1=8.5/10
The Good: Evolves the story, even more, great new scenarios to play through
The Bad: Cliff hanger ending (that left us hanging for more than a year), recycled stuff from HL2, nothing new at all
The story takes off after the Citadel blew up and you now have to escape and stop the reactor before all hell breaks loose. With Alyx once again by your side, you have to push back the Combine once more. While EP1 uses the same engine as HL2 with no enhancements (literally every thing’s recycled to death) you still get a great experience. Well, there is one new thing ZOMBINES FTW!!! While the game is a bit more on-the-rails-cinematic than HL2 you get more clever puzzles this time around along with some memorable fire fights. In the end, if you’ve played EP1 on the PC there’s nothing new here either, but for first-timers, it’s a blast.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two=8.5/10
The Good: Some solid new content, great evolution of the story, more cinematic than ever before
The Bad: Still the same aging HL2 engine, another cliffhanger ending
While this is the best HL2 entry yet with more cinematic gameplay, and some NEW content you’ll love this one the most. After escaping the Citadel and City 17, you and Alyx must head through White Forest to her dad to stop the Citadel portal from letting loose monstrosities beyond our imagining. In EP2 we finally get new content such as acid ant lions, antlion larvae, Combine Hunters, a new vehicle, and an evolved story. EP2’s story is more touching than ever before and we finally get some background on Gman. EP2 is a couple of hours longer than EP1 and you’ll want to play through it more than once.
Portal=9.5/10
The Good: The most clever idea since gaming itself, great next-gen graphics, cleverly thought out level design, great story
The Bad: Short, very short, very very short, no downloadable puzzles (still), advanced challenges can be kind of impossible to solve, the cake is a lie
This is a whole new creature. Portal is the introduction of brand new technology. You are an unknown tester for Aperture Science and you are given a Portal gun which you use to solve puzzles. This is probably THE most clever puzzle game ever made…ever. You use velocity to launch yourself over obstacles, use portals to navigate through rooms and to even move objects. The game is just so clever it really works your mind but in such a way to where you won’t get frustrated. The game has a next-gen engine and looks fantastic as well. After you beat the 3-4 hour game you can go back and beat the advanced maps and challenges for more achievements. There’s nothing more than I can say than to pick TOB for just this game…it’s worth the $60. The game even sports an awesome, and memorable, story that you’ll joke about for years to come…THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!
Team Fortress 2=8.5/10
The Good: Unique graphical style, perfectly balanced characters, and maps can be really funny at times
The Bad: Not nearly enough maps (still), no new characters either (still), no offline bot fragging (sorry Silver guys)
I remember playing TFC back when I bought HL1 Anthology and it was a blast. TF2 sports a unique graphical style and wonderfully balanced characters to use. You all know what the characters are unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this whole time. You have a heavy weapons guy who is as slow as molasses in January but packs a serious punch, a spy who can disguise as the enemy, and sneak into the other side, a sniper who also sports a machete and a machine gun. This is why I love TF2 so much. Everything is perfectly balanced. Instead of being a vulnerable sniper with just a pistol you get a moderate machine gun. Instead of being a slow heavy weapons guy you get a shotgun. Instead of being a weak Pyro with a flamethrower you get a shotgun as well. If you love online gaming TF2 will keep you hooked for hours. This is just the 5th reason to buy TOB and you’re bound to be happy.
The Good: All 5 games are solid and stand on their own, Portal is one of the most clever games ever made, HL2: EP2 evolves the story wonderfully, TF2 is a blast, HL2 and EP1 live up to their age, cleverly planned achievements, not having to deal with Steam
The Bad: Not enough puzzles for Portal, not enough maps for TF2, HL2 isn’t complete yet, the HL games are very short
Overall TOB is one of the best deals in video game history. With Valve’s ingenious talent backing this package, there’s no stopping it. Everyone has to pick this masterpiece up because there is something in here you’ll love.
Half-Life 2=9.0/10
The Good: One of the greatest stories and worlds ever created, great graphics and voice acting, memorable everything
The Bad: Graphics are showing it’s age, no online play, too few weapons and enemies, not for the traditional FPS fan
I bought this on my PC about 2 years ago and played it to death (including ALL the mods). Even if you’ve played it on your PC you’ll love it even more on your 360 (or PS3) due to the achievements, and for people who can’t run the game very well, can experience the game in all it’s glory. You are Gordon Freeman who has mysteriously wound up in City 17 between a civil war against Dr. Breen and the Combine thanks to Gman. You and your sexy companion, Alyx Vance, have to reach the Citadel and take down the Combine. Instead of explaining what you already know I’ll explain what’s new. Nothing really. Just the achievements involved (and they are cleverly thought out). You have all the same weapons, levels, and monsters. Just sit back and enjoy the first part of the HL2 saga and you’ll have the best 8-10 hours of your life. Back when the game was released I gave this game a 9.5, but due to its age, it drops half a point.
Half-Life 2: Episode 1=8.5/10
The Good: Evolves the story, even more, great new scenarios to play through
The Bad: Cliff hanger ending (that left us hanging for more than a year), recycled stuff from HL2, nothing new at all
The story takes off after the Citadel blew up and you now have to escape and stop the reactor before all hell breaks loose. With Alyx once again by your side, you have to push back the Combine once more. While EP1 uses the same engine as HL2 with no enhancements (literally every thing’s recycled to death) you still get a great experience. Well, there is one new thing ZOMBINES FTW!!! While the game is a bit more on-the-rails-cinematic than HL2 you get more clever puzzles this time around along with some memorable fire fights. In the end, if you’ve played EP1 on the PC there’s nothing new here either, but for first-timers, it’s a blast.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two=8.5/10
The Good: Some solid new content, great evolution of the story, more cinematic than ever before
The Bad: Still the same aging HL2 engine, another cliffhanger ending
While this is the best HL2 entry yet with more cinematic gameplay, and some NEW content you’ll love this one the most. After escaping the Citadel and City 17, you and Alyx must head through White Forest to her dad to stop the Citadel portal from letting loose monstrosities beyond our imagining. In EP2 we finally get new content such as acid ant lions, antlion larvae, Combine Hunters, a new vehicle, and an evolved story. EP2’s story is more touching than ever before and we finally get some background on Gman. EP2 is a couple of hours longer than EP1 and you’ll want to play through it more than once.
Portal=9.5/10
The Good: The most clever idea since gaming itself, great next-gen graphics, cleverly thought out level design, great story
The Bad: Short, very short, very very short, no downloadable puzzles (still), advanced challenges can be kind of impossible to solve, the cake is a lie
This is a whole new creature. Portal is the introduction of brand new technology. You are an unknown tester for Aperture Science and you are given a Portal gun which you use to solve puzzles. This is probably THE most clever puzzle game ever made…ever. You use velocity to launch yourself over obstacles, use portals to navigate through rooms and to even move objects. The game is just so clever it really works your mind but in such a way to where you won’t get frustrated. The game has a next-gen engine and looks fantastic as well. After you beat the 3-4 hour game you can go back and beat the advanced maps and challenges for more achievements. There’s nothing more than I can say than to pick TOB for just this game…it’s worth the $60. The game even sports an awesome, and memorable, story that you’ll joke about for years to come…THE CAKE IS A LIE!!!!
Team Fortress 2=8.5/10
The Good: Unique graphical style, perfectly balanced characters, and maps can be really funny at times
The Bad: Not nearly enough maps (still), no new characters either (still), no offline bot fragging (sorry Silver guys)
I remember playing TFC back when I bought HL1 Anthology and it was a blast. TF2 sports a unique graphical style and wonderfully balanced characters to use. You all know what the characters are unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this whole time. You have a heavy weapons guy who is as slow as molasses in January but packs a serious punch, a spy who can disguise as the enemy, and sneak into the other side, a sniper who also sports a machete and a machine gun. This is why I love TF2 so much. Everything is perfectly balanced. Instead of being a vulnerable sniper with just a pistol you get a moderate machine gun. Instead of being a slow heavy weapons guy you get a shotgun. Instead of being a weak Pyro with a flamethrower you get a shotgun as well. If you love online gaming TF2 will keep you hooked for hours. This is just the 5th reason to buy TOB and you’re bound to be happy.