"The Freeman Returns" with The Official Orange Box Thread

lockii said:
More like the equivalent of a GeForce 3.
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Makes the port even more impressive. It's not like playing on PC or X360, but HL2 help up pretty well on Xbox1, it still managed to bring the whole experience, still had the levels and the puzzles and the great atmosphere, still had the physics relatively intact. Pretty good port.
 
LukeSmith said:
Took a little bit for me to get into it, I didn't care for Ravenholm or Water Hazard, but Highway 17 was absolutely excellent. The aforementioned "bridge" set piece is excellent, if not a bit predictable, with all of a particular type of ammo laying around waiting for you.
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Wait a sec. This is your first time playing HL2?
 
I'm not a huge fan of Ravenholm either. I adore every other section of the game (especially the very atmospheric, very isolated vehicle sections) but that area always struck me as striking the whole horror theme a bit too on-the-nose. There are some great ideas in Raveholm (the crazy preacher, watching in anticipation as the drainage pipes clank back and forth as the apeshitzombies clatter up them) but I think it strayed from the subtle brilliance of the rest of the game.
 
count me in as one who loves ravenholm and every other section of the game. each time i play it, i look forward to nearly everything
 
I've bitched about not liking Ravenholm before around here but for some reason I didn't think it was too bad this time (it's my fourth play-though of HL2). I don't know why exactly...maybe it's because I'm so familiar with it now that I was more willing to do more crazy shit than I did previously....not really sure. I did find it interesting though that a section that I previously loved - the part where you gain control over the antlions for the first time as you make your way toward Nova Prospekt on the beach at dusk - I just didn't care for it anymore. It felt way too dull.
 
Forth time :lol.

Ain't this the greatest game ever?

Ravenholm was great too, I guess my only beef with it is that it feels waaaay too over the top in terms of the story. Seriously, you go from running through a dystopia city trying to run from some elite oppressive race of aliens while crazy Sci Fi shit happens, to fighting side by side with a crazy Russian monk with a shotgun against waves of zombies.

But I guess that is what makes the game so memorable.

edit: Oh wait! One beef with the Orange Box: There are five games, but only 1000 achievement points. C'mon dudes. =\
 
viakado said:
in tf2, the freeze only occurs only after a ranked match and directs you back to the main menu where it freezes sometimes.
all my other games including halo, bioshock, etc run fine.
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same shit is happening to me. hope they fix it soon.
 
Fatghost said:
Makes the port even more impressive. It's not like playing on PC or X360, but HL2 help up pretty well on Xbox1, it still managed to bring the whole experience, still had the levels and the puzzles and the great atmosphere, still had the physics relatively intact. Pretty good port.
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HL2 should've never been on the XBOX, it was still an awesome game due to the great atmosphere as you said but technically the game had too many flaws - the controls were clunky, graphics were downgraded (some textures were really low-res, jaggies and I still remember the N64 skybox in Ravenholm) and when more than one enemy appeared the game run at 5-15fps.

In other words thank god for the great 360 port, now I can play HL2 in it's full glory.
 
beelzebozo said:
count me in as one who loves ravenholm and every other section of the game. each time i play it, i look forward to nearly everything
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Same here. I can't think of many games where every level fills right and isn't filler. Even the characters are believable and don't just serve as squawking boxes who only are there to direct you to the next level. I wish more games did their story like HL2 as well. You don't get dumped out of the game to watch a 10 minute movie, you play out the story yourself. And speaking of Ravenholm, Father Grigori makes me laugh everytime. He's so crazy, and the
poison headcrab is so badass to me for some reason. But it makes me think, why would a headcrab be poisonous? Don't the headcrabs need a live body to control? They still look awesome though.
 
the_zombie_luke said:
Same here. I can't think of many games where every level fills right and isn't filler. Even the characters are believable and don't just serve as squawking boxes who only are there to direct you to the next level. I wish more games did their story like HL2 as well. You don't get dumped out of the game to watch a 10 minute movie, you play out the story yourself. And speaking of Ravenholm, Father Grigori makes me laugh everytime. He's so crazy, and the
poison headcrab is so badass to me for some reason. But it makes me think, why would a headcrab be poisonous? Don't the headcrabs need a live body to control? They still look awesome though.
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Theres a good chance
the combine might have something to do with the poison+fast headcrab. Would explain why there was only the basic variety in the original HL. Of course why they'd go the trouble I dunno, but they're evil guess thats a good enough reason.
 
MrPing1000 said:
Theres a good chance
the combine might have something to do with the poison+fast headcrab. Would explain why there was only the basic variety in the original HL. Of course why they'd go the trouble I dunno, but they're evil guess thats a good enough reason.
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I never thought about that but that would make sense. There is also
the big guy who throws the poison headcrabs and has a huge headcrab on his head. Maybe they can latch onto heads and choose not to use their venom like some snakes. And one more thing about these big guys, they make the funniest sound when you kill them. It always makes me laugh. :lol
 
the_zombie_luke said:
I never thought about that but that would make sense. There is also
the big guy who throws the poison headcrabs and has a huge headcrab on his head. Maybe they can latch onto heads and choose not to use their venom like some snakes. And one more thing about these big guys, they make the funniest sound when you kill them. It always makes me laugh. :lol
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Laugh? It always make me feel guilty for killing them. :(

EDIT:
marvelharvey said:
Can someone help me with the story on HL2, I'm finding that for some reason or other, I have no idea what's going on, making the game slightly dull as I don't know what the stakes are.
[/spoiler]

Hopefully, knowing my goal will make me enjoy the game much more.
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This is all pretty well explained in game...should pay attention.

You go to Black Mesa East (where Eli Vance is) just to seek shelter/meet up with him. BME gets attacked, you escape by going through Ravenholm. You get out the other side and meet some rebels. You're put on com to Alyx, who tells you that Eli was kidnapped in the attack and taken to a prison called Nova Prospekt. You make your way to the prison, but you're betrayed and Judith Mossman (a resistance member) takes Eli through a portal back to the Citadel. The resistance fighters are fighting against the Combine, an alien force that moved through the portals created to Xen at Black Mesa in Half Life. They are draining the world of resources and preventing procreation (though this isn't really explained so much in game). The resistance fighters like procreation/resources/not being oppressed. You're fighting to destroy the Combine forces and free humanity.
 
This game is great. I just got control of the antlions and its just a ton of fun... I think Im probably about halfway through the game, which makes me sad, because I dont want it to end.

Edit: I didnt care much for Ravenholm for a number of reasons. its not bad per se, but it felt like the first hour or so of HL1. Which is cool, but fighting headcrabs feels like a downgrade once they let you fight military dudes. HL1 was like Headcrabs -> Guys who shot green plasma at you -> Cool military guys and never looked back.

This is Cool military guys -> Headcrabs -> Cool military guys. Its more of a pacing thing. Once Ive fought cool military guys, I cant be bothered with headcrabs.

Ravenholm, while not bad wasnt as good as the escape from city 17 nor highway 17. It guess it served to break up the sameness of those levels, but not my cup of tea.
 
I did find it interesting though that a section that I previously loved - the part where you gain control over the antlions for the first time as you make your way toward Nova Prospekt on the beach at dusk - I just didn't care for it anymore. It felt way too dull.
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Actually, I never cared for that section and dislike it even more today. The second half of the game has always been a mixed bag for me. A lot of the tight, linear corridors and defense segments felt tedious to me but a lot of the larger battles were extremely exciting. The two Episodes were generally more appealing, I think, as they were more tightly focused. Episode 1 was also fairly tight in its design, but the introduction of Alyx by your side completely changed the feel. Episode 2 is simply my favorite of the three at this point. Who would have thought that a level based in "the mines" would ever be fun...
 
the_zombie_luke said:
I never thought about that but that would make sense. There is also
the big guy who throws the poison headcrabs and has a huge headcrab on his head. Maybe they can latch onto heads and choose not to use their venom like some snakes. And one more thing about these big guys, they make the funniest sound when you kill them. It always makes me laugh. :lol
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I think the Poison Headcrab Zombie is bloated from the poison.
 
Well, I just beat Episode 1. My save file says 4 hours and 4 minutes. I didn't really expect it to be so short. I really didn't like it half as much as HL2. It was OK but, it was just like my least favorite environments from the first game all over again. There also wasn't anything really huge about the story revealed. The only thing that was really good and sticks out was the whole stalker thing at the beginning. Those things are creepy. I'm glad I'm out of City 17 now.

I'm going to start Episode 2 now. Or maybe I should go for Portal. I was planning on playing Portal but, now I want to play Episode 2.
 
I'm going to start Episode 2 now. Or maybe I should go for Portal. I was planning on playing Portal but, now I want to play Episode 2.
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Jump to Episode 2 as it picks up right from EP1 and is much better.

I actually prefer Portal to everything else on the Orange Box, however, so I'd say it for last (even though it's very short).
 
Has anyone been able to pull off the "one bullet" achievement, by which you complete episode 1 by using only 1 bullet from any of your guns (crowbar, gravgun, rockets, nades are okay though) ?

Sounds like a huge challenge to me, considering I thought
the dark parking garage, where you have to wait for the elevator, was the hardest part of any Half Life game.

Interested to know if anyone's been able to conquer this challenge though.
 
MrCompletely said:
Has anyone been able to pull off the "one bullet" achievement, by which you complete episode 1 by using only 1 bullet from any of your guns (crowbar, gravgun, rockets, nades are okay though) ?

Sounds like a huge challenge to me, considering I thought
the dark parking garage, where you have to wait for the elevator, was the hardest part of any Half Life game.

Interested to know if anyone's been able to conquer this challenge though.
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Can you get the achievement on easy? Otherwise - good luck...
 
Bit on the fence here. I own HL2 and Episode 1 for PC. My PC is sorta oldish so I cannot turn the settings max and even when I am playing with lower settings the game (especially episode 1) stutters a bit at times.

I really liked HL2 but didn't like Episode 1 that much (felt more generic and the stuttering didn't really give a boost to the experience also).

So now I am wondering if it's a good idea to get the 360 version of the Orange Box. So my main questions are a) Is episode 2 better than episode 1? and b) Are the graphics and controls good on the 360?
 
dark10x said:
Jump to Episode 2 as it picks up right from EP1 and is much better.

I actually prefer Portal to everything else on the Orange Box, however, so I'd say it for last (even though it's very short).
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Yeah, definitely.

Although I do have to say that I think Ep. 2 is easily the best part of The Orange Box. Portal was really awesome, but most of that awesome came from excellent writing and a clever concept, not absolutely mind-bogglingly amazing gameplay. It was good stuff, don't get me wrong, but it felt like the training wheels for meatier Portal games/challenges to come.

Edit: Graphics and controls are fine on the 360. Much better than they were for the Xbox. Loadtimes have also been reduced. (Obviously, though, you'll want to get a PC if you have one that can run them all well) And, yes, Ep. 2 is the best HL2 game to date, by far. :D
 
Flipside said:
Bit on the fence here. I own HL2 and Episode 1 for PC. My PC is sorta oldish so I cannot turn the settings max and even when I am playing with lower settings the game (especially episode 1) stutters a bit at times.

I really liked HL2 but didn't like Episode 1 that much (felt more generic and the stuttering didn't really give a boost to the experience also).

So now I am wondering if it's a good idea to get the 360 version of the Orange Box. So my main questions are a) Is episode 2 better than episode 1? and b) Are the graphics and controls good on the 360?
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I havent played ep 1 or ep 2 yet, but I can say.

b) Yes the graphics are very good. The lighting and environments look ace, probably as good as anything Ive seen on the Xbox, charachter models are decent but not as good and animations can be a bit offputting (mostly carrying stuff around without the grav gun), but they are from an older game, so they arent going to blow you away. Its not the best looking 360 game, but its actually one of the better looking ones I have.

The controls are good. Rumble feels nice, it controls about like Halo 3 on the 360.. so unless you cant fathom the idea of a FPS without KBM support, you'll do just fine.
 
WOW, Half-Life 2 gets into your head. I woke up this morning and was petering around my apartment, getting coffee & a pop tart, etc., when I heard the squawk of the maintainance guy's walkie talkie outside my window and it FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT.

The squawk and the voice that came out sounded just like the Combine soldiers. When I heard it I felt a (very) brief, uncontrollable pang of anxiety. It was just an automatic reaction.
 
the_zombie_luke said:
I never thought about that but that would make sense. There is also
the big guy who throws the poison headcrabs and has a huge headcrab on his head. Maybe they can latch onto heads and choose not to use their venom like some snakes. And one more thing about these big guys, they make the funniest sound when you kill them. It always makes me laugh. :lol
Click to expand...
I hate those bastards. They are especially terrible in
the mine portion of Ravenholm, which is, to people ignorant enough to jump right down there, rape by poison headcrab
.
 
MrCompletely said:
Has anyone been able to pull off the "one bullet" achievement, by which you complete episode 1 by using only 1 bullet from any of your guns (crowbar, gravgun, rockets, nades are okay though) ?

Sounds like a huge challenge to me, considering I thought
the dark parking garage, where you have to wait for the elevator, was the hardest part of any Half Life game.

Interested to know if anyone's been able to conquer this challenge though.
Click to expand...

I have done that, and I didn't find it all that bad at that particular sequence.

The one bullet you have to use is
right when you get your first gun, when you need to shoot the lock off.
Everything else is relatively simple, with one exception.

The escorting of the citizens near the end is a bit rough,
as there are PLENTY of enemies that make crowbarring and rocketing your way through a little difficult. Thankfully there are plenty of cinderblocks for launching.
 
yeah, the "one bullet" achievement isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. just do all you can to help alyx, and let her take care of the majority of the smaller enemies (headcrabs, zombies). pay attention to
knocking grenades out of the zombine's hands though, as they tend to suicide rush before alyx can take them down.
 
Rodeo Clown said:
I hate those bastards. They are especially terrible in
the mine portion of Ravenholm, which is, to people ignorant enough to jump right down there, rape by poison headcrab
.
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I literally took one wrong step, landed in there and not one second later, *kkkktt* BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
 
bluemax said:
Buh? I made enough money as a student worker ($8/hour!) to build a PC capable of playing HL2 in 2004!
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Being a student worker is a bit different than a real life adult, still making nothing with bills. I had more money IN college than I did after it! End of this derail, as much as I'm sure people want to know about my fiscal history.
 
traveler said:
Yeah, definitely.

Although I do have to say that I think Ep. 2 is easily the best part of The Orange Box. Portal was really awesome, but most of that awesome came from excellent writing and a clever concept, not absolutely mind-bogglingly amazing gameplay. It was good stuff, don't get me wrong, but it felt like the training wheels for meatier Portal games/challenges to come.
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Clearly, you have not tried the "Least" challenges.
 
BenjaminBirdie said:
I literally took one wrong step, landed in there and not one second later, *kkkktt* BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
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Yeah, not dropping on the right platform means you're fucked in that part because there's probably a couple dozen of those bastards running around.
 
GDJustin said:
WOW, Half-Life 2 gets into your head. I woke up this morning and was petering around my apartment, getting coffee & a pop tart, etc., when I heard the squawk of the maintainance guy's walkie talkie outside my window and it FREAKED ME THE FUCK OUT.

The squawk and the voice that came out sounded just like the Combine soldiers. When I heard it I felt a (very) brief, uncontrollable pang of anxiety. It was just an automatic reaction.
Click to expand...


I know. I'll never look at an air duct or a crowbar the same way again.
 
I'm just loving the Orange Box. Playing it on 360 and I hope the PS3 version turns out as well. I've probably played through Half Life 2 now about 6 times. Originally played it on the original X-box. The atmosphere, pacing, and great physics were all there, though the framerate sometimes turned into a slide show. That is definitely not a problem on 360. My wish finally came true in finally playing a version of Half Life 2 without fighting the framerate. Also finished Episode One and am maybe halfway through Episode 2. Though I was wondering... Like I said before, Half Life 2, and Episode One ran smoothly on the 360, and from what I played of Episode 2 so far, it's the same thing, though...
I'm at the part where you have to defend the base from the Striders, taking them out with the Strider busters, plus the Hunters are wreaking havoc.
the framerate kinda dips for me at this part. There's a little chugging going on, though at this part there is a lot going on. Anyone else have the same thing happen to them? All in all though, I love everything about Half Life. The universe, the characters, the weapons, the gameplay. With all due respect to Halo, I just really love the Half Life universe more. Now EA UK, make that PS3 port bad ass so that when I finally give the borrowed 360 back to family, I'll have my own great copy of the potential GOTY. :D
 
Just finished playing Ep1 on my old GeForce 3 card, I'm upgrading to a 7900 so I can play it on higher than medium settings as well as TF2,Portal, and Ep2.
 
REV 09 said:
I got Orange Box from gamefly a few days ago and immediately jumped into Half Life 2 (never played it after all these years). I'm roughly at the end of the Highway 17 level and so far i'm somewhat dumbfounded at the hype that this title has carried throughout these past 3 years. Other than the story segments, i haven't enjoyed any of the sections that i have played so far. The levels have ranged from decent (ravenholm) to downright awful (Water Hazard). I do realize that the game came out 3 years ago, but still, I can name numerous shooters that i would consider superior to what i've played thus far, though it'd probably be best if I didn't name them. I still look forward to finishing the main game and moving on to the 2 expansions. I'm expecting to enjoy Episode 2 quite a bit more after the flood of good impressions.

I'm really enjoying Portal and TF2 though. Really quality stuff in both of those titles. I just wish that both were fleshed out more.
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I must say that my experience has been the complete opposite of yours. This is my first time playing through HL2, and although it's a three year old game, I feel like I've finally found the FPS for me. Maybe it's just the fact that every square inch of terrain in this game is unique, but every other console FPS just feels so, I don' t know, gamey. HL2 feels like more of an incredible adventure in a very believable universe that HAPPENS to have some shooting than it does a full-on shooter.

The puzzles, environments, and encounters just click in a way that actually makes sense logically. Loving it entirely. Just wish I had more time to play.
 
WHOAguitarninja said:
A word for the new players to Half-Life...it's got a very cool story, but it plays its cards VERY close to it's chest. As Gordon Freeman you're not really supposed to know exactly wtf is going on since you're being sent through space and time in wacky manners by the G-man who sees it as fine to keep you out of the loop.

If you want to peice everything together yourself, you HAVE to snoop around, read posters, newspaper clippings lying around...all that. Think about it a bit and you should be able to peice together what is going on. Alternatively you can follow the link above.

Once you understand the story the game gets enormously better.
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QFT, couldn't have said it better.
 
It's good to see so much HL love from the 360 owners.
It is a shame that TF2 has been having problems as that may dent it's chance of having a very active community in the future, still, the patch may come out quick enough to prevent that.

I am hoping that EA do a good port to the PS3 now. The more HL love the better imo. Best game ever!

I've been telling all my 360 owning friends to get a purchase in but they all seem to have 360's for games that aren't FPSs (i know, the mind boggles!).
 
Orange Box is some serious good gaming. Lots of content and all of it is triple-A.

If you own a 360 and you don't have Orange Box... give up on life.
 
MaizeRage25 said:
What's a good sensitivity setting on the 360 version of this game?

It doesn't feel right to me...actually giving me some headaches.
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I lowered the sensitivity at first. Since this is a port of a PC game, the aiming felt too imprecise for analog. I've slowly raised it as I got used to how the game plays. Im still below the default settings though, but I've gotten to the point now where I need to speed it up to take out some enemies, at least horizontally.
 
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