It’s really difficult to review The Orange Box as a single product because quite frankly, it is more of a “Best Of” collection than a single standalone product.  The box centers around the release Half-Life 2: Episode 2, which I’ll focus on here, but just so happens to include – for those who missed it – Half-Life 2 in its entirety, Episode I, Portal and Team Fortress 2.  The phrase ‘deal of the century’ is aptly applied here. 

Console gamers are in a for a big treat as they’ll have a chance to catch up on the entire Half-Life 2 experience in one box with the added benefit of exploring Portal’s view on the Half-Life Universe and the long anticipated multiplayer title Team Fortress 2.  But, while Portal and Team Fortress 2 add value to the package – it is this second chapter in the “Half-Life 3” trilogy – if you will – that is unquestionably the headlining act of this three ring circus.  Half-Life 2: Episode II is quite possibly Valve’s Empire Strikes Back.

This Vortal Coil

Half-Life 2 Episode II picks up shortly after the closing moments of Episode I as our main characters, Alyx Vance and Gordon Freeman, find themselves on the outskirts of City 17, and the fringe of the White Forest, brushing off the dust from the train wreck they’ve miraculously survived.  And well, that’s about all I can tell you about the game without blowing key plot elements and ruining the experience.  Hope you liked my review.   In all seriousness – my seemingly joking reference to Empire Strikes Back is purposeful; Episode II offers some meaty twists to the storyline in a shooter series that was, to date, heavier on the twitch than the text.

“I think games can definitely grow up into a medium that touches on more emotions than adrenaline – more parts of our brain than just our excitement centers and tap into more complicated emotions…  I think Episode II is probably the most coherent and crafted feeling story in the franchise so far in terms of the arc and its conclusion.”, David Speyrer, Project Lead

And this story's successful conveyance is surely in no small part due to the excellent voice-over work by the returning cast!

The Magnussen Device

Doctor Magnussen whom you’ll meet early on in the game is a "device" the team employed to help shake things up a bit – as well as to add some explanation to the evolving fiction.  To date we’ve experienced characters in Dr. Kleiner, Eli Vance and Alyx who all know and care for each other.  By introducing Dr. Magnussen to this formula the team has developed a framework on which to flesh out the back-story – though his attitude can at times be grating – and his motives questionable.

“Well, we want all our characters to be complex and some of that is [done] to create a sense of unease in the player - not knowing if things are safe. “  - DS

The Hunted

And Episode II is anything but safe.  As the storyline progresses you’ll find yourself revisiting key set-piece moments from Half-Life 2 and Episode I albeit perhaps in slightly varied form.  (There’s one puzzle, for example, that is very reminiscent of a sequence in the prison from Half-Life 2) But just when you allow yourself to think, “Maybe I’ve seen this all before” – enter the Hunters.

“The original idea came from a sketch done by Ted Bachman, one of our creature designers.  He wanted to explore a character that would be in the same family as the Strider, a synthetic/organic organism engineered by the Combine to some degree – but still a creature.  He wanted something more compact, yet armored that would be really imposing in an interior space.”  - DS

The Hunters are indeed imposing; very animal like in movement and behavior. They will follow you right inside a building. They will anticipate your every move and will work in packs – like velociraptors – to hunt you down and leave you no quarter.  This is all thanks to some improvements in the AI system brought online in Episode II.

“The biggest sort of under the hood thing was the flanking AI so the Hunters and the Ant Lion workers know how to work as a squad, surround the player and catch them in a cross-fire… Basically you find your cover going away...”  - DS

…quickly!  And the sense of being assaulted from multiple fronts, and quite literally ‘hunted’, gives the combat in Episode II a more dynamic feeling.

Trees, Trees, Everywhere

Much of the series has taken place in close quarters interior environments with limited forays into open spaces.  A good deal of this has to do with Valve’s approach to story-telling and their desire to not, “grab the player by the balls” forcing them to watch something – but rather to reveal the story as they experience it firsthand.  Typically this is much easier to do in a smaller – controlled environment.

By dropping support for DirectX 7, and bringing their low-end target specs up for this release, Valve was able to introduce the player to much larger outdoor environments than we’ve grown accustomed to in the series.  Coupled with more densely populated and complex scenes, these woodland settings give Episode II a fresh visual approach offering a welcome respite from the washed out Eastern European city settings we’ve explored so far.

Auto-Saving My Ass

One of the most noticeable, and welcome, tech upgrades in Episode II is the improved auto-save system.  It now intelligently saves after key combat moments or set-piece sequences so you’ll find yourself having to rinse, repeat that last level less often.

“ … we really try to protect players from bad experiences, failure loops where they’re just going to do the same thing over and over again and not succeed.  With our [old] save game system…it was difficult to guarantee that players could succeed so we made a lot of changes ... “ - DS

Achievements also make their way cross-platform, from the X360 version of the game, as they’re integrated into the underlying STEAM system.  As you “unlock” key achievements within the PC version of the game – you’ll be greeted to pop-ups similar to those seen on Xbox Live alerting you to your success.  This is a brilliant move on Valve’s part as their STEAM community boasts more than double the members of Xbox LIVE and with Microsoft putting little effort into Games for Windows LIVE, PC gamers can enjoy the added benefit of a strong community offering like their console slinging counter-parts. Er…well, at least those on Xbox Live – sorry Sony.

So Where to Now?

The closing moments of Episode II will most assuredly leave you as they did me – revisiting that feeling I last experienced in a darkened theater back in 1980 as the closing credits of George Lucas’ Empire Strikes Back washed over me, leaving me stunned and left to ponder in the dark the answers to so many unanswered questions.  It is Valve’s ability to elicit this kind of visceral response that speaks volumes about their storytelling ability and of the investment in their characters we’ve been allowed to make over the years.  This is probably the most powerful tool a developer can wield – control of our emotions.

And it is exactly this attempt to mine emotional responses from the player that sets Half-Life 2: Episode II apart.  While visually no slouch, the game has its share of, “I’ve been here, done that moments”, and it is truly the story that elevates what could have devolved into a few more hours of crowbar swinging fun – into a truly entertaining interactive ‘experience.’