The orange box really was something special.
It was one of the best value for money experiences I’ve ever had. Only beat out by The left 4 dead series based on hours played.
Yes it was legitimately insane what you got here in terms of quality. I played so much TF2 back in the day.
I missed the alternative timeline where survival versus was played competitively and the windfall of Evolve like games that spawned from the left 4 dead 2’s success.
Well we did get the Tides games at least.
And versus was never the point.
One of my best gaming memories as a kid, what an amazing deal the orange box was. It’s a real shame we were left hanging with the gut-punching cliffhanger of HL episode 2, and never finished the story.
What made this cliffhanger so truly bad was the main game’s story was complete as is until Episode 1 unwinded it. And Episode 2, compared to Episode 1, was a much better game in most aspects for me.
In what world the main story was complete? Like sure you could argue it could have been a legitimate choice to end it in that way but by no mean it answered any of the lingering questions.
I thought having open questions on G-Man and everything is the point.
I’m not talking about G-Man, I’m talking about everything else. The war against The Combine, mostly.
Yes, that is indeed left open to large parts. In my opinion Half-Life 2’s story arc is about toppling the tower to give rise to a revolution against the Combine. And that happened as the G-Man froze time again and thus the inferred mission to stop the Combine assault was succesful with it even if we don’t see it with our eyes.
Sure, and you are meant to wake up again, eventually. The story doesn’t make sense as “you are a PhD that get enrolled as a spacetime warrior to get deployed once and then retired in the void eternally”.
it ended at the same place that HL1 did, in ambiguous stasis ready to wake up and smell the ashes again.
I basically don’t remember Episode 1.
It was really bland, not surprised.
Especially since it was basically just…some more Half-Life 2. More time spent in City 17 fighting combine and headcrab zombies with a SPAS-12 or an MP7 or a USP Match. I wouldn’t bet against my memories of Ep 1 just blend into my memories of HL2. Ep 2 was distinct in having the antlion burrow and the countryside and the car and Dog ripping a strider’s brain out. It wasn’t merely more HL2.
And then
Tap for spoiler
They retconned it
But they did release it, in unofficial forum post dump form.
And we have been paying for it ever since. They will never make that mistake again lol.
Now for only $333.33 you can get the steamdeck 3 with the 3 pack; half life 3, team fortress 3 and portal 3. Only available 3/3/33 💀
That would be an amazing marketing campaign. They’d lose money on it, but it’d be awesome.
$333.33 with 3 games at 2033 after the bazillion percent of inflation which is still cheaper than the first steamdeck launch price?
I’ll have 2 episode 2.
But think of the memes bro
I’d preorder it, no regrets.
I can wait.
Orange Box is GOAT, but what is that article? Just mentioning the games with barely any interesting backstories?
Need an Orange Box 2.
With HL3, L4D3, TF3, Portal 3
I’m so glad I bought this in a store back when PC games were still available in physical releases. Even though I’m pretty sure this one was just a Steam installer on a CD, I love having an actual copy of The Orange Box on my shelf.
Played countless hours of TF2 between 2009 and 2012. Wild that in 3 years, it’ll be 2 decades old.
Lucky to get three in a decade now.
HL3 will come eventually, is too big an easy cash grab for the machine not to capitalyze on it.
It will be shit though.
Valve don’t usually do “easy cash grabs” though, and while I seriously doubt it’ll be able to meet the insane expectations people have for it, I doubt it’ll be shit.
It doesn’t have to be Valve, it doesn’t have to be the Valve you are thinking of, it doesn’t have to be Gaben.
Imagine, for a brief dystopic moment, “Disney-Activision-Nestlé”, if you will.
It’s been out for years now, it’s called Alyx, and you’re only fooling yourself if you think it’s not.
Does it says “Half-Life 3” on the box? No? So you are telling me there’s a chance… - Anybody in Marketing
