The Orange Box

 Xbox 360
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1058 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 931 out of 1058
  2. Mixed: 60 out of 1058
  3. Negative: 67 out of 1058
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Welterweight426
    Aug 25, 2012
    7
    I was excited when I got the Orange Box. I saw that there were basically 5 games on it and they were supposedly all good. Unfortunatley, I was dissapointed. Portal was fantastic and I loved playing it. However, I couldnt get into Half Life 2 and in the end I just gave up on trying to be entertained. Team fortress 2 is also good but i'm not a big multiplayer fan. So, The orange Box is goodI was excited when I got the Orange Box. I saw that there were basically 5 games on it and they were supposedly all good. Unfortunatley, I was dissapointed. Portal was fantastic and I loved playing it. However, I couldnt get into Half Life 2 and in the end I just gave up on trying to be entertained. Team fortress 2 is also good but i'm not a big multiplayer fan. So, The orange Box is good for some people and not so good for others.… Expand
  2. thebigbusser
    Nov 24, 2010
    7
    I think I was a little late to the Orange Box party. By the time I picked this up, the Half Life 2 portion of it seemed a little dated. Portal was awesome, just very short. I got my money's worth out of this title, I just wish I had gotten to it earlier.
  3. SpunkyMonkey
    Jun 6, 2012
    5
    Eh?? Whilst Portal is most possibly THE best gimmick-game ever made, it is still just a gimmick game and if it lasts you 2 hours you'll be lucky. As for Half life 2 & it's expansion well they are horrible, dated, boring and weak games. P*ssing about with see-saws and other puzzles designed to show off a physics engine is just tedious and makes for a tiresome game. I really don't get whatEh?? Whilst Portal is most possibly THE best gimmick-game ever made, it is still just a gimmick game and if it lasts you 2 hours you'll be lucky. As for Half life 2 & it's expansion well they are horrible, dated, boring and weak games. P*ssing about with see-saws and other puzzles designed to show off a physics engine is just tedious and makes for a tiresome game. I really don't get what people see in this other than nostalgia and a cute little bonus puzzle game??… Expand
  4. ZackaryS.
    Oct 9, 2008
    6
    Its a good deal but i never liked half life and TF2 doesent cut it in my book How ever PORTAL is one of the best games i have ever played. just get portal alone off steam and your good.
  5. TarvuT.
    May 30, 2008
    7
    I give it a seven, because Portal and Team Fortress 2 are brilliant. But Half Life is plain shit.
  6. RyanW.
    Oct 13, 2007
    6
    This package is very over-rated. The core gameplay in Half Life 2 and both episodes has now dulled with age. The AI is inferior to many games, and there is very little variation in combat. The single player part is very very linear and feels like your being led by the hand too much. The graphics are also sub-par, with Episode 2 showing some improvements, many objects and environments are This package is very over-rated. The core gameplay in Half Life 2 and both episodes has now dulled with age. The AI is inferior to many games, and there is very little variation in combat. The single player part is very very linear and feels like your being led by the hand too much. The graphics are also sub-par, with Episode 2 showing some improvements, many objects and environments are poorly textured. Halo 3 is far more entertaining, is better looking and has more replay value in the single player campaign. And Portal is just far too short. Overall: Comprehensive package, but tired gameplay and not much replay value in the single player parts.… Expand
  7. RickR.
    Oct 11, 2007
    6
    Come on. HL2 Episodes 1 and 2 weren't upgraded--so they look easily two years old, Portal is a class project from a game school (slightly fun puzzler) and Team Fortress does not include DM on a platform that has never had the support of Class Systems by end-users. We're going to have a bunch of children being annoying while others try to Heal players and such. This thing is poor Come on. HL2 Episodes 1 and 2 weren't upgraded--so they look easily two years old, Portal is a class project from a game school (slightly fun puzzler) and Team Fortress does not include DM on a platform that has never had the support of Class Systems by end-users. We're going to have a bunch of children being annoying while others try to Heal players and such. This thing is poor from a playability and (doors kill me?!?) bug standpoint as well. Very disappointing.… Expand
  8. Exosus
    Dec 2, 2007
    6
    Half Life 2 and expansions are highly questionable in quality. They had moments of originality that made up for the boring gameplay, but overall they were fairly mediocre - not noticeably bad, just not all that good. Team Fortress was almost good, it just lacked that certain something to put it over the top. It lacked "top end discrimination." That is to say that someone who was very, Half Life 2 and expansions are highly questionable in quality. They had moments of originality that made up for the boring gameplay, but overall they were fairly mediocre - not noticeably bad, just not all that good. Team Fortress was almost good, it just lacked that certain something to put it over the top. It lacked "top end discrimination." That is to say that someone who was very, very good would not necessarily do better than someone who was not quite as good. The only thing that really saves this is Portals, in my opinion. It's like an IQ test, minus the boring. Again, it lacks top end discrimination, the dev interview I read said it should take 20 hrs to complete the 20 challenges, I finished them in 3. Still a great game, especially with the advanced stuff afterwards. All in all, it gets a 6. It's worth playing, but it isn't really above average overall.… Expand
  9. JohnS.
    Nov 6, 2007
    6
    OK is it me or is there something seriously wrong with the way people are rating video games. Bio Shock- mid 90s- no multiplayer, Halo 3 -mid 90s- basically a hi-def expansion pack to Halo 2. Haven't played COD 4 yet, but really another mid-90s, cmon. Look at the music, TV or movie page there's maybe one per year, maybe. Call me when Gears of War 2 is out, until then stop boring OK is it me or is there something seriously wrong with the way people are rating video games. Bio Shock- mid 90s- no multiplayer, Halo 3 -mid 90s- basically a hi-def expansion pack to Halo 2. Haven't played COD 4 yet, but really another mid-90s, cmon. Look at the music, TV or movie page there's maybe one per year, maybe. Call me when Gears of War 2 is out, until then stop boring me with good, but flawed FPS.… Expand
  10. NasserInASaucer
    Aug 13, 2009
    6
    I loved portal. I wish it had more puzzles, and frankly it never gets difficult IMO. I would like to see some DLC for portal such as new puzzles. TF2 is okay. But half life 2 is just a chore. It's boring as hell for the first 3 hours, and even after that, I feel like I'm just waiting for it to be over. My recommendation is to get Portal: Still Alive from the marketplace and I loved portal. I wish it had more puzzles, and frankly it never gets difficult IMO. I would like to see some DLC for portal such as new puzzles. TF2 is okay. But half life 2 is just a chore. It's boring as hell for the first 3 hours, and even after that, I feel like I'm just waiting for it to be over. My recommendation is to get Portal: Still Alive from the marketplace and don't waste your time on the others. Portal gets a 9.5, still alive would get a 10.… Expand
  11. Broyax
    Jan 29, 2019
    6
    Dans l'ensemble, une bonne adaptation de la version PC que cet Half-Life 2 sur 360 : c'est assez beau et fluide et la maniabilité à la manette est bien pensée. Cela étant, le jeu en lui-même offre un gameplay assez vieillot et balourd... La narration appelle davantage de questions que de réponses et la longueur de l'aventure est clairement excessive pour un jeu d'action de cet acabit quiDans l'ensemble, une bonne adaptation de la version PC que cet Half-Life 2 sur 360 : c'est assez beau et fluide et la maniabilité à la manette est bien pensée. Cela étant, le jeu en lui-même offre un gameplay assez vieillot et balourd... La narration appelle davantage de questions que de réponses et la longueur de l'aventure est clairement excessive pour un jeu d'action de cet acabit qui ne vous lâche jamais la couenne.

    Du coup, on apprécie paradoxalement bien davantage les 2 extensions fournies (les Episodes One et Two), bien plus courtes mais plus intenses et moins répétitives. Il reste évidemment une ambiance à nulle autre pareille, très efficace même si les mécaniques sont un peu surannées.

    Portal, pour sa part, est plutôt amusant et novateur mais tient davantage de la "curiosité" qu'autre chose, car on finit par s'en lasser plus vite qu'on ne croit... Quant à Team Fortress 2, il s'agit d'un multi à kévins en 4 couleurs avec des persos mongolos : une sorte de Fortnite avant l'heure en somme... Globalement, on en a -en tout cas- pour son argent dans cette "compilation" malgré quelques produits un brin suspects.    … Expand
  12. TheDude
    Nov 9, 2007
    7
    I don't know why, but Half Life 2 never really blew me away. I thought the Ravenholm stuff was brilliant, but I spent way too much time in the game fighting against enemies that were just annoying rather than fun to fight, like the face grabbers or the little buzzy things. The gman is cool, but other than that the story doesn't seem that riveting too me. So, all-in-all, it was I don't know why, but Half Life 2 never really blew me away. I thought the Ravenholm stuff was brilliant, but I spent way too much time in the game fighting against enemies that were just annoying rather than fun to fight, like the face grabbers or the little buzzy things. The gman is cool, but other than that the story doesn't seem that riveting too me. So, all-in-all, it was fun, with some really cool moments, but seemed mostly just kind of like a standard FPS to me. Episode One got so annoying I just stopped playing it, and Team Fortress II had such bad lag I couldn't find a fun game. Plus, it seemed you probably can't have enough players with a good connection on Xbox Live to make it as fun as it seems it should be. I did, however, really enjoy Portal. That was my favorite part of the Orange Box. Since Half Life 2 is an old game and doesn't really float my boat, I can't give this a high rating. However, Portal makes it worth a rental at least.… Expand
  13. AlexD
    Feb 23, 2009
    7
    The Half Life episodes and poral are incredibly hard to get passed. I just played the single player games until I couldn't get passed them anymore. I'm still lokking for an Orange Box strategy guide to get passed The Half Life episodes and Portal. What i give the high score for is Grapics, Gameplay, and Story lines.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2007
6
#6 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2007
6
#6 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. GamePro
    100
    For first-person shooter fans, it doesn't get much better than this. What's even better is that each individual game runs amazingly well on the Xbox 360. The graphics are amazing as is the presentation. The interface that Valve created for navigating through the content is also wonderful.
    Read full review
  2. IGN
    95
    That so much great content is offered at the standard single-game price is astonishing.
    Read full review
  3. Yahoo!
    100
    The Orange Box can't stop giving. It's a sci-fi masterpiece, a clever puzzler and a multiplayer monster wrapped into one, making this a landmark achievement in gaming value and one of the easiest buying decisions you'll make all year. Color us impressed.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »