Pretty much a steal.
Orange box has Half Life 2, HL2: EP1, HL2: EP3, Portal and Team Fortress. Orange Box is a steal for having all these games but how do the games compare? Half Life 2 is the same game released in 2005, but sadly the Xbox version and not the better PC counterpart. When playing Half Life 2 I felt closterphvx because of how the player moved and the tight platforming game. This applies to Episode 1 and 2. However the single player is good, but not worth playing again (jt's not really neccessary). You can check out Giant Bomb enteries to see what happens. Episode 1 is dissapointing for HaldF life fans as it wasn't as good as its single player counterpart.
Anyways Episode 2 is a really good expansion. It picks up just a few moments after HL1 epsiode 1 left off, with Gordon and Alyx picking their way out the wreckage of a train in the forest outside of City 17. The story almost immediately kicks into gear, hooking you up with members of the resistance, pitting you against an antlion hive, and forcing you to drive through trackless wastes on the way to your ultimate destination. Though there is plenty of action, the storyline of the Half-Life tale is greatly advanced over the course of the game. There are a few answers handed out but, as with any middle child in a trilogy, there are many more maddening questions raised by the events of the game. Many of the most-discussed new gameplay elements (Strider-busters, open environments) only come into play at the game's climax. Primarily, you'll be following the same sort of well-crafted (but very much walled-in) path seen in previous entries in the series. For some, this may be a disappointment - a more open environment was a much-discussed element of this title during its development. Personally, I thought it was okay but not neccessary.
Team Fortess is a solid online shooter. It has some comedy elements, great range of classes etc. However there are only a limited amount of maps, only a few people playing on XBL and incredible lag from people from other countries. The gameplay is great and fast paced. Some classes are better than others. You have the basic classes: Soldier, Engineer, Medic etc. And the game has something for everybody. However the game has some issues that hinders its replay value. The game is pretty laggy which is dissapointing as this is a game from Valve, the guys who made Counter Strike. Also on XBL no one barely plays and if they do expect lag, this also hinders it as you need to make your friends play with you but that's annoying if they're playing another game resulting into a paradox. The gameplay however is still good.
Portal is an amazing revolutionary game. It's a puzzle game which requires you to make portals to advance. You have to use the law of physics to guide you as you get through a set of 3-D levels. It's addictive, fun and well compelling. The game is with out doubt one of the funniest games ever. The robot in the game is hilarious and it combines intense puzzles with some hilariously brilliant dialougue. The gameplay for the game is really good and pushes the Havok engine to its' limits. However the game is short, you can beat the main game in about 3-4 hours and complete everything in about double that time. This does leave a massive blow to the value of the game, however it's cheaper on the PC and you can do some illegal things to get the game if you catch my drift ;)
Overall the package remains strong. Portal is the best in the package with team fotress following it. If you can ignore the problems with Half Life 2 then you'll enjoy this box however if you don't then the two games alone cannot justify spending that much on the game. Overall The Orange Box is a steal for its price and is a solid box that has some great games in there. This is a must buy for any Half Life fan, 'nuff said.
