The more a player plays the game the more it seems they fall in love with the things that at first appeared as a turnoff

User Rating: 9.5 | The Orange Box X360
By A_Rotten_Salad | Review Date:
I'll start with Half Life. The gruesome atmosphere might at first seem as a turnoff. Zombie screams, in your face head-crabs, suck-you-up barnacles, and frustratingly durable striders might cause a player to feel a bit overwhelmed. But, I think, the more a player plays the game the more it seems they fall in love with the things that at first appeared as a turnoff. Though there may always be a touch of dread when the sound of an incoming gunship is heard, the thrill of a challenge may compel the gamer to not only endure the approaching attack, but to overcome and dominate. Tap into the persona of Gordon Freeman-become a hero. Remember (people who actually feel this way) to record yourself playing and upload it to Youtube. Such, dare I say it, nerdy emersion may make for a hilarious video. I will not pretend, however, that I am innocent of feeling (sort-of) this way. To me, an interesting story, puzzles that demand some degree of focus, and gunplay that seems to never get old helps make Half Life 2 nothing less than excellent. Though I will concede that I can see how it may be to some extent difficult (figuring out some puzzles while getting shot at can be annoying, though that does not seem to happen too often). Also, the main story may require some attention in order to become involving (the scattered and confusing interjections by G-man do not, at the moment, seem to make anything anymore coherent either). Still, there are always (dare I say something else) cheat codes available as a last resort, or if there is a sudden desire to become god player.
Now I will move on and evaluate TF2. Though it has a comedic attitude to it, most seem to play the game a bit seriously. I suppose that is how it is intended to be played, but I cannot help but feel as though it is a bit ironic that a game that does not seem to take itself so seriously is played fairly competitive. Seeing as how it is an older multiplayer game, new players might have a hard time starting out as well since the majority of people they face off against might be veterans. Still, there always seems to be a good chunk of "noobs," whenever I play, however (me probably being one of them). With that being said, I take the game to be massively fun. A great dispersion of classes with varied but important uses clearly puts emphasis on "Teams." That's not to say, however, that a Demoman with a Medic buddy can't invuln' it up and Rambo the other team. Other than a few sky-walking glitches, the online community that plays it seems to play fair as well (the occasional no gravity or modded server might appear, though). Not too many different maps or game modes, but still a fun online multiplayer experience in my opinion.
That leaves Portal as my final game to review. An innovative first person puzzle game that, although was a bit short, provided some of the biggest entertainment out of all the games within The Orange Box collection. Typically, I do not regard myself as a fan of purely puzzle games. Portal seems to be one of the few games that are an exception. The witty bits of humor offered by GLaDOS combined with a sci-fy atmosphere prompted me to continue the adventure and it was plenty more than satisfying. My only suggestion is to play it, stick through it, and hopefully by the end it will have been at least somewhat enjoyable. Apologies if it didn't, but at least there are more games for trial on The Orange Box disc.

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