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Xbox 360 Xmas Showcase

Author	Hugo Jobling
Published	23rd Sep 2007

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Half Life 2: The Orange Box

Having just finished playing Halo 3 and Assassins Creed, I didn't think my jaw could drop any further, but when I caught out of the corner of my eye the now-iconic gravity gun swaying gently to and fro on one of the many TV screens littering the room I was in, I swear time slowed for just a moment and, to the best of my memory, I executed a perfect somersault managing to grab the controller from the chair upon which it sat, before landing in a perfect gaming position, palpably quivering with excitement.

I have no reservations about declaring that of all the games I saw, this is the one that has the biggest expectations to live up to,this is the game which has captivated my mind for the last three years and this is the game which should finally show that that anything the PC can do, the 360 can do just as well. Sure, Half Life 2 on the original Xbox was disappointing, but I was willing to forgive those sins, wipe the slate and enjoy.

Calling The Orange Box 'a game' is doing it a disservice, because for the standard £50 MRP which we see on all the consoles now, you'll be getting five. 'Surely you jest' I hear you cry, but no, the package contains, Half Life 2, Episode One, Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress Two. It is the flexibility of the source engine which makes this possible, as most of the individual games use the same core files and Valve are to be congratulated for offering so much content for such a reasonable price. In the companies own words, this is quite literally the 'deal of the century'.

The games are all launched from a main menu which lets you enter the specific menu for each game. As a nice touch, there is an animated background image showing in-game play footage for which ever title you currently have selected.

Of course the temptation to fire up the as-yet unreleased HL2:Ep2 was overwhelming, so I had to have a quick look, however there is nothing I can say that wont utterly ruin the game for anyone hoping to play it, so I shall simply content myself with reservedly suggesting that you're going to like it. Half Life 2 and Ep1 are also admirable ports and thankfully the controls are amazingly intuitive, translating well from keyboard and mouse to the gamepad.

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