The Orange Box (PC/PS3/360)

[Jebus]

Picking this up later on today - i cant wait based on the comments on here.

What really excites me is that i've only ever played half life 1, so im going in fresh - i cant wait! Half life virgin FTW!

I actually envy you. You are going to be blown away by this package.

[spagmasterswift]

Played the first 5 minutes of the original ages ago, but have been looking forward to HL2 since seeing a vid of the

->Open Spoiler<-

train station with the guards taking you into that room

.

Do I need to have played HL to enjoy HL2?

[merf]

never played any of these games but this thread and the almost universal love for this package has me heading off to hmv at lunchtime.

[Jebus]

Played the first 5 minutes of the original ages ago, but have been looking forward to HL2 since seeing a vid of the

->Open Spoiler<-

train station with the guards taking you into that room

.

Do I need to have played HL to enjoy HL2?

I don't think so, it had been years since I played HL and I couldn't remember much about it anyway. It might give you an idea why they like Gordon Freeman so much but I actually don't think it's essential.

[jimmbob]

Do I need to have played HL to enjoy HL2?

No but it helps you understand who certain characters are as the game doesn't really recap. It won't matter too much as you're meant to feel a certain amount of "wtf" all through the game. That's the point, you don't know what's going on, and you don't know why you're doing what you're doing.

[NekoFever]

Played the first 5 minutes of the original ages ago, but have been looking forward to HL2 since seeing a vid of the

->Open Spoiler<-

train station with the guards taking you into that room

.

Do I need to have played HL to enjoy HL2?

I think I remember the same video. That Bink one that Valve released ahead of launch, right?

You don't really need to know much about HL1 since the story is almost a complete break. Knowing what happens at the end of the first game might help give a bit more context, but in the storyline Gordon is just dropped into the middle of things without knowing what's happening himself, so you'll be in the same boat. Much of the bigger picture is just hinted at, anyway.

In case people haven't noticed, one of the best sources of information on what's happened between the games is on the wall of Eli's lab. There are a load of newspaper clippings on there that show some of the major events leading up to Earth's current state.

There was an excellent plot summary of the whole series that made some predictions that were, according to Valve, pretty accurate. I can't find it now, though

[peeveen]

Do I need to have played HL to enjoy HL2?

You could always catch up on the story of HalfLife 1 in Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life

But you won't really be missing much anyway, as HalfLife 1 on it's own is basically a fairly standard DOOM-style "omg a dimensional gateway has been opened to a realm of alien baddies" game ... HalfLife 2 builds a lot onto it.

[Largo]

Just a quick question how is TFC2 going to work over live, will there be dedicated servers?

[Rossco]

If you think Portal's short you can always try those ones where you have to do it with limited portals or speed runs. Like Chamber 18 in 52 seconds

There are some insane ones on YouTube.

My jaw just hit the ground! That was sublime! Using the camera to block the door too! GENIUS!!

Started off Ep 1 last night, think I played for a bout an hour and a half. Its good to be back in the HL universe, loving it. Cant wait to finish it and start Ep 2 though!

[Malc]

How long does Portal last roughly in hours? As i'm getting this later on and don't want to rush through it.

[crocky-chocky]

Played the first section of HL2 on original X-box, and sad to say I gave in due to it's rickety graphics.

Playing it in super nice-o-vision however, is absolutely bum blowing.

This game is awesome. I'm about 3 hours in, and even though I found the boat section slightly over-long, it's rocking my world. I love the little touches like people walking backwards whilst chatting with you, and just the sheer volume of scripted moments. Also, playing fetch with dog was epic.

The great thing about this package is that there's still so much more Half-Life to go, and even after that there's team fortress 2 and portal...I might even get a live subscription for TF2, it looks like the kind of game to sway me towards online, what with those mega stylised visuals.

Ace. My only issue is that I'm completely swamped by FPS games at the mo', though that's my own fault for buying them...just hope Prime 3 still shines.

[Rossco]

How long does Portal last roughly in hours? As i'm getting this later on and don't want to rush through it.

2 hours if your not an idiot like me, if so then 3!

[NekoFever]

How long does Portal last roughly in hours? As i'm getting this later on and don't want to rush through it.

2-3 hours. It needs downloadable maps or I'm going to cry.

[Yoshimax]

2-3 hours. It needs downloadable maps or I'm going to cry.

Downloadable chambers MUST happen.

If not, I'd imagine even my ****ty PC could run it it's hardly madly intensive and I can imagine PC is going to be portal-mod heaven

[Dogg Thang]

Can someone explain what Portal is? I had a look at that video but had no clue as to what's going on.