"PC FPS For A New Millennium"
"The Orange Box" was a breakthrough compilation for Valve Software, and served as a great example of the quality of service the company had served throughout the 2000's and late 1990's. It combined three newly released PC FPS titles (Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2) alongside two other celebrated FPS games (Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1) in a steal of a package. Not only that, but it provided an opportunity to experience some classic (HL2E2), current (TF2), and future FPS masterpieces created by some of the best developers of the genre at the time, all for a discounted price!
Now I could go into a review of each individual game, but I will have a separate review of each one full finished soon enough so I won't bother here. Instead I will shortly discuss why I give this collection a "masterpiece" score.
This collection was sold at $50 (or $60 for consoles) upon release, which for the PC's case was a discount on all three games for buying the collection. This is impressive considering Valve chose to compile three newly released games together as a Day One purchase...with a huge discount. This pro-PC gamer mindset was a huge deal at the time, and really helped to support a platform that was not getting as much love as the console scene at the time was getting. Additionally, these games all ended up being quality titles, if not masterpieces of the genre in general. These titles perfectly supplied a mix of immersive storytelling, puzzle solving, class-based multiplayer, quality presentation, and tight game mechanics. It's simply a perfect package of style and substance for the FPS genre as a PC gamer, and this is coming from someone who was not able to experience these games in their heyday.
"The Orange Box" is just a masterclass in quality FPS game design and positive consumer behavior for the industry. It provides a great deal and a great experience with each part of its package, and solidified Valve's spot as a legendary developer (even if just for that specific time). I Recommend any and all to purchase the games in this collection despite it being discontinued as a collection currently, but the heart and soul of these games continues to live on to this day.
Final Verdict: 10/10 (Masterpiece)
"The Orange Box" was a breakthrough compilation for Valve Software, and served as a great example of the quality of service the company had served throughout the 2000's and late 1990's. It combined three newly released PC FPS titles (Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2) alongside two other celebrated FPS games (Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1) in a steal of a package. Not only that, but it provided an opportunity to experience some classic (HL2E2), current (TF2), and future FPS masterpieces created by some of the best developers of the genre at the time, all for a discounted price!
Now I could go into a review of each individual game, but I will have a separate review of each one full finished soon enough so I won't bother here. Instead I will shortly discuss why I give this collection a "masterpiece" score.
This collection was sold at $50 (or $60 for consoles) upon release, which for the PC's case was a discount on all three games for buying the collection. This is impressive considering Valve chose to compile three newly released games together as a Day One purchase...with a huge discount. This pro-PC gamer mindset was a huge deal at the time, and really helped to support a platform that was not getting as much love as the console scene at the time was getting. Additionally, these games all ended up being quality titles, if not masterpieces of the genre in general. These titles perfectly supplied a mix of immersive storytelling, puzzle solving, class-based multiplayer, quality presentation, and tight game mechanics. It's simply a perfect package of style and substance for the FPS genre as a PC gamer, and this is coming from someone who was not able to experience these games in their heyday.
"The Orange Box" is just a masterclass in quality FPS game design and positive consumer behavior for the industry. It provides a great deal and a great experience with each part of its package, and solidified Valve's spot as a legendary developer (even if just for that specific time). I Recommend any and all to purchase the games in this collection despite it being discontinued as a collection currently, but the heart and soul of these games continues to live on to this day.
Final Verdict: 10/10 (Masterpiece)