The Orange Box

It’s October 10th and The Orange Box is officially released!  I preordered the package from Valve on Steam nearly 2 weeks ago and as a result was able to enjoy Team Fortress 2 for all this time.  Now that the game has hit store shelves the remainder of the ‘box’ was unlocked for us to enjoy.  Graev picked up TOB this afternoon for the Xbox 360 and plans to kick off his enjoyment with a little TF2 on the big screen.  In a way I’m somewhat bummed that I won’t have the plasma tv with surround sound experience but I’ve never been any good at console shooters.  There’s something about the analog sticks that I just can’t master.  Graev on the other hand is a wiz when it comes to console shooters so the decision was natural for him.

I gave Portal a try this afternoon and my initial impressions of the game are all positive.  It’s the most bizarre and trippy experience I have ever had in a game.  It’s not a shooter, but it’s first person game with a ‘portal gun’ that you use to solve puzzles.  I was surprised to learn the game has some sort of odd story line or at least a purpose as you go about solving these puzzles.  I had initially thought it was just going to be a straight puzzle solver.  Through the use of the most confusing system of physics and bizarre mind games you make your way through these puzzles/levels.  Definitely a very fun but gradually difficult game if you’re not one who likes to stop and think about what you’re doing.

Well it looks like Graev just launched TF2 on the TV so I’m off to look at it to give my opinion on how it differs from the PC version.  I’m also going to give Half-Life a try for the first time ever.  If it lives up to it’s name as the best first person shooter experience ever, then I’m in for a treat.