The Orange Boxrecently marked its 15-year anniversary on October 9, with this milestone predictably leading to an uptake in discourse and nostalgia surrounding the collection of titles. Given how so many of these involved titles are regarded so highly and are still so deeply relevant to this day, many considerThe Orange Boxto be one of the best deals in the entire history of gaming.
In all,The Orange Boxconsists of five ofValve’smost popular titles, includingHalf-Life 2and its two episodic sequels,Portal, andTeam Fortress 2. When considering the sheer impact that these titles have had and the continued player base ofThe Orange Boxto this day, it becomes even clearer why the collection is so well-known for its value for money and prestige.
RELATED:Half-Life Fan Enhances the Original Game With Improved Textures and Maps
The Orange Box: Half-Life 2, Episode One, and Episode Two
TheHalf-Lifeseries of games are arguably some of the single most influential first-person shooter titles of all time. Making its debut all the way back in 1998 withthe originalHalf-Life, the series has made a point of rewriting what can be expected from a first-person single-player experience with each subsequent mainline release.
Half-Life 2released in 2004, with its scale, graphical quality, and the capabilities of its brand-new Source Engine massively impressing the gaming world. Continuingthe story of Gordon Freeman,Half-Life 2set a near unmatchable precedent for the time in which it was created, boasting a lengthy and layered story that built upon and far exceeded the quality of its predecessor.
Giving further credence to the unheard-of ambition and scale behind the title,Half-Life 2: Episode Onereleased in 2006. Providing a smaller-scale but just as narratively important expansion toHalf-Life 2’scampaign, fans were once again delighted with the physics-based puzzles and intense close-quarters combat that the series is now known for. The final installment to the franchise came withHalf-Life 2: Episode Twoin 2007, leaving fans with one of themost notorious cliffhangers in gaming history.
The Orange Boxreleased in 2007 in tandem withEpisode Two, and additionally includedHalf-Life 2andEpisode One. The fact that the collection includes this trilogy of titles alone is an impressive and commendable aspect ofThe Orange Box, but the fact that the collection released so close to the games' original releases only further serves to reinforce the sheer value of the collection at the time it released.
The Orange Box: Portal
The firstPortalgame is another of Valve’s most well-respected releases, being widely considered as one of the best first-person puzzle platformers that has ever been made.Portalis set in the same universe as theHalf-Lifetitles, telling the tale of a test subject within the Aperture Science research facility. With the facility ominously absent of any other human life, the player is at the whim of a decayingsuper-intelligent computer system known as GLaDOS, who guides the player through increasingly complex and hazardous test chambers.
Also utilizing the same aforementionedSource Engine that has become synonymous with Valve titles, the portal-based physics to the core gameplay ofPortalsaw the game become a massive hit within the puzzle community.Portalalso originally released in October 2007 alongsideThe Orange Box, meaning it was a brand-new game alongsideEpisode Twowhen the collection first came out.
The success of the firstPortalis further evidenced in the release of its high-profile and successful sequelPortal 2in 2011. Greatly expanding upon the scale and narrative of the first game while introducing well-received co-operative gameplay to thePortalfranchise, the influence and early success of the originalPortalis deeply important, as its inclusion inThe Orange Box.
RELATED:Fan-Made Isometric Half-Life Game Gets Full Valve Approval
The Orange Box: Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2is another massively important titlein the history of Valve as a developer. Being a class-based arena shooter with a highly-stylized aesthetic,TF2can be said to be one of the company’s most ambitious and successful titles to date.
Amazingly,Team Fortress 2also originally launched in October 2007, meaning three out of the five titles included inThe Orange Boxwere completely new upon the collection’s launch.TF2would go on to become one of the longest-running and successful PC shooters of all time, going free-to-play on the platform in 2011. WithTeam Fortress 2still commanding a huge PC player baseto this day despite a lack of recent updates from Valve and a potentially game-ruining bot problem, the addictive and endless fun thatTF2provides has seen the game persevere.
The Orange Boxcontains the only console port forTF2, which still has an active player base to this day across Xbox and PlayStation, despite being 15-years old and receiving no major updates since its original launch. Given the influence thatTF2has been said to have on the class-based shooter genre, more specifically withintitles such asOverwatch, it is perhaps less surprising that people still play such an outdated port of the successful release.
With hours of content concerning some of the most iconic and influential titles that gaming has seen in more recent years, it is no surprise thatThe Orange Boxis as well regarded as it is. When further considering how a majority of the content included in the collection was brand-new at the time of its original launch, the value and acclaim behind the collection truly speaks for itself.
The Orange Boxis available for PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
