Disappointed by Orange Box
 

Anyone else feels disappointed by Valve's Orange Box? I just read the news that the Black Box has been dropped in May '07 and replaced by the Orange Box. I think most of us here own Half-life 2 and Episode One and they are forcing us to pay extra for the same two games plus three more games. Their logic is that we would buy the Orange Box anyway and give out or sell the game keys for HL:2 and Ep:1. Sounds like a pyramid scheme. People who don't own HL:2 will benefit from the Orange Box. Also the people who want to play FF or other mods will benefit from the giveaway as well. I wouldn't mind getting Ep:2 but I'll wait till it gets cheaper like Ep:1. I can live without Portal. And for Team Fortress 2, it depends how the game will turn out.

Orange Box = $49.95 but $44.95 at the moment.
Half Life 2 = $29.95
Episode One = $19.95
Episode Two = $29.95
Portal - $19.95
Team Fortress 2 = $29.95

Um, even if you already own the other games it's still good value. In fact, Episode 2 + Portal + TF2 for $45 seems like more than good value to me. I'm betting a lot of people would pay £25-30 ($~50-55) for TF2 alone.

I definitely think its a good deal. I dont even own ep1 yet!

I'm only interested by Portal and HL2: EP1 and EP2. But, I don't have enough hard drive space right now, so I'm not bothering to buy them.

The funny thing is, most people wouldn't have said anything if it was just Ep2/TF2/Portal for $45.

Me too. I do have the hard drive space..but I can't remember the last time I played anything on my PC. RL stuff. Actually thinking of buying a boat...

Anyway, the single player stuff is what interests me here anymore...but I seem to do little about PC gaming anymore aside from think about it...

Peggle extreem is goty and the only reason to get the orange box pack :P

It's an awesome value pack. You can also 'gift' HL2 and HL2:EP1 so you can share the love.

I agree.

I agree that the lack of black box is a ripoff to loyal fans. I don't consider EP2 Portal and TF2 for $50 a value at all. You can buy most full PC games for $50 and they include an entire single player campaign and a multiplayer game (some better than others, but still). For the orange box, I get EP2 which is 1/3 or less of full game if it is the same length as EP1, Portal which can be beat in 2-3 hours supposedly and should have been free (I know its nice that the creators got picked up by valve and paid, but I wouldn't pay more than $5 for a game that last 2-3 hours), and TF2, a multiplayer only game. It just doesn't quite add up to a full $50 game in my opinion. I'm sure I would be saying different if I didn't already pay full price for HL2 and HL2:EP1, but I did.

Quite frankly, I think pricing the EPX games at $19.99 was just a way for Valve to extract an extra $10 from us over the usual price of a PC game.

Tossing in HL2 and HL2:EP2 for $10 and telling people to give it away to others is unacceptable. It isn't my job to distribute Valve's software to get them more customers, and I have no need for a 2nd account because I don't hack.

id shell out $50 for tf2 by itself.

$45 for all that is a steal and you get tf2 2 weeks early.

These are TRIPLE A games people.

AAA

Did you buy bioshock for 35-40 dollars when it FIRST came out?
How about supreme commander?
Oh oh, how about oblivion?

The answer is no, you paid the retail price that was 50-60 dollars. (Unless you have no life and work at the store or have inside connections.)

While granted the Orange Box has no full Sp story, it still has a HIGH-QUALITY Expansion, HIGH QUALITY Multiplayer game, and a MEDIUM-Quality FPS Puzzle Solver. These sold by them selves would be AT LEAST 60 dollars.
HL2 and Episode1 are icing on the cake, they are FREE.

It was tragic the black box couldn't be produced, and considering the price it takes to make these games, I'm surprised valve even thought about it.

I'm getting tired of these people who just hate valve, everyone knows they will be the first to buy the game. Its getting old.

Honestly, I'm quite aware of the great deal it is logically...but deep down the fact that your paying for a game you already own really digs at a basic human instinct of being ripped off...

I already preordered it.

Episode 2: 8-9 hours.

Portal: 3-4 hours PLUS the "challenge maps" which everyone seems to forget about. (this are super-difficult puzzles outside of the story mode).

TF2: Infinite hours if you like it, and if your a fortress fan your a douche-bag for not at least wanting to try it. Not saying you'll like it, but come on, it's a fortress game made by the original creators that has been tweaked for 7 years.

EDIT: Episode1 and HL2 are free, your not paying for them again, they're included free. People whom think otherwise must have a pretty negative outlook on life....

I think its a great deal. Hell, I don't have any of the episodes, so thats a bonus for me, and I can give one of my buddies a copy of hl2.

I have bee completely biased against valve and, have been willingly ignorant about the Orange box, but like defrag and others said, you will be paying more later. i dont think they will re-release another pack after the orange pack, so unless you want to pay premium later, were all just going to have to bite the bullet on this one...

also, since we can "gift" our copy, I know a person, after watching me play FF, have said they want to play it too. but the catch is they dont have Half-Life 2. its amazing how so many people I come across, either LOVE LOVE LOVE!! FF or they hate it. the haters are normally CS:S fanboys, who argue that when you get shot in the face with a shotgun you should die first pump.

I would have payed $45 for TF2 alone, so I don't really feel ripped off. A discount for already having HL2 and EP1 would have been nice, though...

I think that the Orange Box is a GREAT deal for people who don't have HL2.
I personally have HL2 (it was given to me years ago) but don't have any of the eps. While I HATE spending money, I would say that both eps are at least a total of 20 or 30 bucks. plus you get portal (which I want to try even though the video footage totally ruined it for me). And TF2 which I want to try.

I do find it expensive, but hell, it's normally $50 for 1 game, and your getting a handful... I wouldn't complain.

Hi,

I think it's a great deal. HL2 is old at this point and the episode 1 was so small of a game I didn't even buy it. So I just think of them as bonuses. Episode 2 is supposed to be a longer adventure, and TF2 has got to be fun, FF aside.