The Orange Box Thread - Page 3

Yeah, the payoff for figuring out the puzzles near the end is just awesome. It was hard to imagine before that this game could be intense, but it really is. And there's so much fucking imagination behind these puzzles.

Ok, I'm not going to let myself watch the new South Park until I finish this, so it's time to kick the shit out of Chamber 19.

Chamber 19 is a bitch. Especially once the experiment ends.

I don't think I've ever laughed so much during a boss fight, and I played Psychonauts.

Oh, I do love PORTAL. Fucking hell, I really REALLY love it.

I played about 15 tests before I had to go back to work but I can't wait to get back to finish it. Then HL2 and the episodes.

Halo what?

Haha, yeah, it just ended. Holy shit.

I want to get Orange Box (gonna rent before buying), but I refuse to trade in Halo 3 for it. The last time I traded in a Halo for a online game that I thought would be the bees knees and everybody would play it online forever was Halo 2 for Unreal Championship 2. Boy did THAT bite me in the ass, especially since nobody played UC2 online after the first two weeks. Halo 3 will ALWAYS have people playing it up until Halo 4 or whatever, but the team-based action of TF2 might shrink the online population for it.

By the way, anyone confirm that it's just a straight port of the Xbox's Half-Life 2 on there? IGN mentioned it in the review, and I have night terrors about the loading times in the Xbox version.

It's not a port of the Xbox version. There are lots of visual updates like HDR, and I know at least Alyx and the Vortigaunts have updated skins.

edit: Doug Lombardi posted this somewhere:

Gamestop is so fucking worthless. I had two simple missions today: pick up a copy of the Orange Box (trade in Saints Row) and pick up the new PSP core, and trade in my current PSP.

After visiting one store and calling the other two in my area, this is what I discovered;

1)No copies of the Orange Box other than pre-orders were sent to stores! That's right, zero inventory for customers who didn't want the hassle of pre-ordering. Since I was trading in a game, I couldn't do what I normally do and just head to Best Buy.

2)"Corporate had made a decision" to not have any of the new PSP cores available to stores until the bundles sold out. So, unless you want a stupid-ass Dexter bundle or a Battlefront bundle, you're out of luck.

-again, this was all three stores in my area. I swear, once this PSP is traded in for the new one, I'm never going to Gamestop again.

Hmm, I thought it was strange that when I called Gamestop today to see if they had gotten the shipment, the guy asked me if I had pre-ordered. It all makes sense now. That really does suck, though.

Man, I love how the last level of Portal is probably as long as the entire rest of the game. I'm just now at the boss battle.

Wow, what a game. What a wonderful fucking game.

"Remember when the platform was sliding into the fire, and I went, 'goodbye' and you were all like, 'No way!'?"

I meant no disrespect in saying it's too short, it was just so damn good (and unexpectedly hilarious) I was really hoping it'd be more than a few hour diversion.

btw, is it just me or is Team Fortress 2 a mess right now? Every time I play the game gets lagged to shit.

If TF2 is really that bad on the 360 I would expect a patch any time now, this isn't EA we're talking about...

Oh wait, they're doing the PS3 version. Errrrr...

TF2's having problems on the PC right now, but more in the vein of a noob influx and the unexplained filtering of 32-man servers from the server list.

"You haven't been playing for 2 weeks! Die noob, die!"

Please tell me this won't be like Counter-Strike when I get around to playing it.
By that, I mean impossible.

No, the variety of classes almost guarantees that there will be SOMETHING evenly relatively poor players can do to help the team. This isn't like CS where tactics are more or less the same for every player.

The worst players, I've noticed, are the ones who ignore the needs of the overall team because they want to stick with a certain class. This leads to things like having three or four snipers on offense when you never need more than 1 or 2.

I suggest learning to play three or four classes fairly well. Pay attention to which classes your team is lacking, and switch as necessary to fill that void.

My most played classes are Soldier, Pyro and Medic. Soldier and Pyro are probably the best starting classes since they can be effective in an offensive or defensive capability, and playstyle can be readily changed to counter what your enemy is doing.

I find Heavies and Spies to be the toughest. Heavies are bullet-magnets and are quickly killed unless you've got a good Medic on your back (and there are a lot of bad ones. The worst are the ones that RUN AWAY at first sign of danger). Spies have a lot of abilities to manage, and your disguises are only as useful as your opponent is dumb. Smart opponents spy-check EVERYONE they come in contact with.

Here's some notes to keep you from pissing off your team:

* Soldier: When attacking before a round starts, find a Medic and use your rocket jump ability to hurt yourself. He can heal you and he'll get his uber charge faster. Sometimes you can have an uber ready before the match starts. Also, when faced with the choice between killing a person or an engineer's equipment, pick the equipment. Its an easier target and getting rid of a dispenser or teleporter will weaken the entire team.

* Scout: Worry less about chasing down people and killing them and focus more on getting to control points. Don't go out of your way to murder someone.

* Demoman: Your secondary weapon, the Sticky Grenades, is often more useful than your primary. Charge a shot up and stick it to turrets instead of bouncing grenades all over the place.

* Sniper: As I mentioned earlier, too many people want to be a Sniper. If there's already two Snipers on a team, you many want to be a different class.

* Medic: Vice versa for the Soldier tip. Heal people who are being hurt (sounds simple, but I've seen plenty of dumb medics healing people who don't need it). If you and your target come under fire, stick with him. Don't bother healing Engineers, Spies, Scouts, Snipers or other Medics unless you've got nothing better to do. Only ubercharge Heavies, Soldiers, Pyros and, in a pinch, Demomen. Don't ubercharge someone who's not ready, I.E. a Heavy out of ammo.

* Heavy: Find a Medic right away. Spin your gun going around corners so you can be ready for enemies. Always press forward when ubered (seen plenty of Heavies who stand around like dickshits when they're fucking INVINCIBLE).

* Pyro: Your flamethrower is useless over 10 feet. Ambush people and stick in close quarters. Always, always, always do spychecks on teammates. Flames break a Spy's cover, and almost always kill him.

* Engineer: Build teleporters first on offense, not sentries. Put up a dispenser before building a Sentry. Spycheck anyone who comes near your stuff. If your equipment gets sapped, break the sap on the sentry gun first. If the Spy decides to backstab you, he'll decloak and the sentry gun will kill him. Don't build Sentry Guns in the open or FACING WALLS (it happens).

* Spy: I don't know anything about playing a Spy. But I've seen plenty of BAD enemy Spies. Don't disguise as a Medic, Heavy, Scout, Engineer or another Spy - Medics and Engineers out NEVER have their primary weapon out, Heavies and Scouts run at a different speed than you do and a team almost NEVER sees their own Spies - all of these are dead giveaways. Never approach enemy lines under disguise - it's suspicious. If you're forced into combat, cloak and run. Don't pull out your gun like a dipshit because you'll only get killed.

That's pretty much what I've noticed. Some classes are tougher than others, but everyone should be able to find ONE that they can enjoy and be decent at.

I love TF2! Fantastic fun! Generally speaking I seem to be having success as a spy, turning my back and pretending to fight my team while backing into the enemy zone slowly. Works shockingly well to get behind the bad guys.

Steam tag is Sarnecki, add me up for some fraggin.

Werbal gives some good advice. Here's some more, for my personal best class, the Sniper.

- Your laser sight is a dead giveaway. Always, ALWAYS, keep it trained on something close to you until you actually go for a shot. Remember, your enemy almost always can't see you, but they can see your laser dot, and they'll avoid it like it was herpes. Find a windowsill, barrel or anything else in your close proximity, and hunker down with that in the field of view where you're actually aiming. On a map like Dustbowl, keep it trained on the wall to the right or left of the tunnel you're covering.

- You only need one good Sniper. I know everyone wants to be a badass, but you're a defensive class, first and foremost. More than one good Sniper is taking away a valuable body count from your offensive coordination.

- You don't need to find high ground to be a good sniper. Frequently, you'll get the most shots on the ground, using a building for cover. This is especially true on the various Dustbowl maps.

- You are expendable. You're going to die a lot. Deal with it. If a Medic is healing you, politely tell him to go be useful or die in a fucking fire. If a Medic ever ubers you, curse his lineage until the end of time. I've had to yell at far too many Medics who'll just sit with a full uber meter on 2Fort just to make sure I stay alive. It's dumb. Don't let it happen.

- Your natural enemy is the Spy. You can't do anything about it. Sorry. If a Spy gets up to the Battlements on 2Fort, you're fucked.

- Scouts are extremely difficult targets, except on 2Fort. Learn when and where they'll make that jump to the top of the bridge, and you can pick them off in mid-air. Even if it isn't a headshot, one full charge shot from the rifle is enough to kill a scout, and almost any other class aside from Soldiers and Heavies.

- Destruction. You may not think you're a good class on Sentry detail, and you're not the best, but in a pinch, your long range, and the power of your shots, can be invaluable in taking out sentry guns. If you see an enemy Engineer setting one up, shoot it right away. Then shoot him. Then shoot his friends. Then attempt to shoot your friends to make you feel better.

- If, at any point, you have to resort to using the submachine gun, you have failed as a person and you are already dead.

- Most importantly, patience is key. Find a good spot, stay out of sight, and STAY ON DEFENSE. I know that on the 360, the maximum game size is 16. A sniper on an offensive team when you've only got eight slots is crippling yourselves. Find another class to be good at.

Alright, I've got no class or work today, so it's time for Episode Two in one sitting. Let's see how it measures up with Portal.

Hey does anyone have 60 bucks that I could have?

Just held off the ant lion invasion. That shit was crazy. It really felt like a last stand there at the end.

Welcome to 2005

Tell ya what....Stop by that gamestop again today and see if they have any....Sometimes they have plenty over the preorders but won't sell them until after the preorders have been picked up.

I go to one EB....And that's only because I know everyone there from the manager to the newest clerk....And because they are one of the best stores in the country....Other than that I find all the game stores useless.

I want the 20.00 extra trade-in special they have going on right now. LAST TIME EVER DOING ANYTHING AT GAMESTOP, I SWEAR!

You said that last time! Who's gonna help me with Overlord's intervention?

Yeah, we all say that we're done with Gamestop, but then we keep going back.

I don't need any help! I can control this problem on my own! Why are you persecuting me?

SCREW YOU ALL! *sob* *sob*

There there.....Let it out.....It's ok your among friends.....Admitting the problem is the first step to recovery.

It's taking me forever to download these things on Steam, but I've played through Portal and it might be one of the finest game experiences ever devised. Amazing writing, amazing puzzles, amazing concept - it would have been worth 30-40 dollars all by itself.

I had to pause mid-level 19 on PORTAL last night to work and sleep. But I'm curious, is there any use for the login/password combo that's 'hidden' in experiment 17 or so?

I just wish these were individually priced at bargain rates too. All I want is Ep2 and Portal, dammit.

You can use it at aperturescience.com to get a history of the company. It's pretty funny.

This is the greatest gaming package ever released.

Portal was worth it just for the boss fight alone. The way it forces you to think out side of standard FPS conventions was amazing.

TF2 is easily the best online game I've played. Watching players figure out new strategies ON THEIR FIRST PLAY THROUGH of the game speaks volumes on its depth AND accessibility.

Episode 2 is what Episode 1 should have been: an ambitious push into a cinematic sense of storytelling and gameplay than even HL2, which is saying alot.

That said, the link between Aperture and HL2 universe seems rather goofy. They did manage to crowbar it in there somewhat elegantly, but feh.

This shouldn't surprise me so much since I was once a TFC junkie, but I am now hopelessly addicted to TF2. If you have Orange Box for the 360, my Gamer Tag is Cigarette Burn. Add me!

EDIT
One question for those with the 360 version: does your game crash at times? Sometimes mine just up and freezes, and I have to turn off my 360. There are no visible scratches on my disc, and my 360 doesn't do it to any of my other games. Maybe the game is a bit glitched? A developer new to the 360 putting five unique games on one disc seems like a recipe for a glitch here and there, so I was just wondering.

ORANGE BOX GET!

I'll keep my eyes peeled for some hot TF2 action.

Finally picked this bundle up along with an new PSP core (only to discover that the composite cables don't output the video games .... and S-video cables aren't sold in the U.S...and component cables won't work for me because I don't have ready access to the back of my television).

I may just finish Portal first. Who knows, maybe I'll be back on Xbox Live by this weekend after-all!

**I DON'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT.

I had heard that there was output problems on the PSP, so I asked the Gamespot employee if games will output over composite or S-video. He said yes. I look it up on-line (stupidly, after purchasing it), and find out that the answer is "NO", it won't output games over composite or s-video.

I call the store and say I'm coming back in to retrieve my old system and return this one. They say no. I ask "can't you cancel the transaction, it happened two hours ago." They say "no, it's been processed, we don't care if we gave you the wrong info."

If I hadn't learned my lesson yet, I have now. Hopefully this will be fixed with a firmware update.

I have two near me, one by Target and the other by Borders, and they're about a five minute drive from each other. I go to the Borders one because the people at the Target one are a bunch of tools.

I get to the Borders one yesterday and the guy tells me that they were all sold out. Instead of having to go to another store to get it, he gives me his copy that he had reserved.

Just beat Portal. What a fantastic little game experience, despite being a bit on the short side (took me about 2 hours straight through.) Particularly enjoyed the voice/computer looking back on all the great times we'd had towards the end. Nice laugh out loud moment.

I just want to continue with HL2. I don't currently have the time or interest in the other stuff.

Portal plays into the HL universe, and based on the end of Episode 2, (possible spoiler)figures to play very heavily into Episode 3.

I can understand not having time for TF2, but you need to play Portal. It's easily equal to anything in any Half-Life game in terms of knockout storytelling.

I also particularly enjoyed, "is something burning?" as I threw one of the computer bits into the incinerator.

Oh, and coming from someone who only played HL2 on Xbox, it looks damn gorgeous on the 360. Maybe not as good as it would/can look on a high end pc, but for me there was a noticeable improvement.

"They're going ta have ta GLUUUU ya back tagather! IN HELLLL!!!!"

Rofl.

The end of Episode Two is a lot like the end of the third season of Battlestar Galactica, because you really start to feeling like this story is actually headed toward some kind of climax.

That said, I'm not sure if I'm down with that weird and random bit at the very end. Seems very tacked on.

I've been owning noobs as a demoman these past few days more than I've ever owned anyone in an online shooter. Lots of fun.

Out of curiosity, and not to start any fights about it, how do you 360 users think TF2 compares to Halo as a multiplayer experience?

How exactly do you gets noobs on a game that for the PC is barely a fortnight old and on the 360 is less then a few days old?

Also, how does the Demoman/Engineer play. I used to play those two classes all the time on Team Fortress Classic, my Demoman for offense for grenading the shit out of sniper holes and my Engineer for fortification and shotgunning.