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The Orange Box: The best PC Game deal for 2007!

the_orange_box.jpg

*Warning* I realized, after writing this post, that I’ve reverted back to my antisocial geeky state. The following post contains raves about a series of game titles I’ve held close to my heart since college. Thus, there is sentimental value for the nostalgia the Orange Box brings as this is basically Part II of where I spent most of my college life – at the Internet gaming cafe. I still managed to graduate with a GWA of 1.99 though. Heh. College. Anyway …

Yeah, so Hellgate London has been a mix of disappointment and glee. I can probably best describe it as a drinking spree with a bad hangover afterwards. Though Hellgate has its charm, a lot of the basic stuff — like stable server connectivity — isn’t being delivered over to the Asian servers. Not Bill Roper’s fault. It’s the parters from Singapore.

Which is why, after thinking about it for a while, I decided to grab a copy of The Orange Box at Datablitz Greenbelt I. I got my copy for P2,200.00 but found out later on that you can acquire this for a much cheaper price in Datablitz SM Bicutan (roughly P1,500.00). Argh! Oh well.

If you’re a gamer and dead set on grabbing a great deal for the PC, The Orange Box includes the first three episodes of Half Life 2, the much awaited Team Fortress 2, and Portal – oh man, Portal. Five games in one package, all of which have received great praise for their various things: TF2 for its simplicity to learn, depth of play, and stereotyped 60’s spy movie humor (ala No One Lives Forever and Evil Genius) and Portal, an innovative physics puzzle game masked within a gripping yet disturbing sci-fi plot.

Although Portal is fundamentally a puzzle game, it still contains a plot, set in the Half-Life universe,[4] which is revealed to the player via audio messages from GLaDOS and side rooms found in the later levels. Additionally, further background information is found on the Aperture Science website created by Valve to promote the game. The game begins with Chell waking up from a stasis bed, at which point she is informed by GLaDOS that she must complete a series of potentially hazardous tests using their new “Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device” to navigate various test chambers. Chell is promised to be rewarded with cake and grief counselling once she has completed the tests and is continually reminded of this throughout the game. [Portal]

Orange Box Installation Problems
There has been discussion over the Internet on installation problems with Orange Box. Apparently Valve was not able to release detailed instructions on how the game should be installed given that there are two CDs in the package. So, for those of you who chanced upon this site searching for “Orange Box install problems” or “how to install disk 2 of Orange Box” then you’re in luck.

After installing the Steam client, do not update the games listed in your purchase after entering the CD key. This will make the computer assume that you’re downloading 6 GB worth of data (all 5 games). Rather, cancel the install and run the disk setup again. You will see two new options – one of which is to reinstall Orange Box. Click on this choice and you will be able to install the first and second disks containing the game data of all five games. There will be a small update required to play afterwards but it should not take very long.

penny_arcade_tf2.jpg
Taken from Penny Arcade

As for online play using Steam, I get a decent connection (I can do head shots with the sniper rifle) when playing with people from around the world. I’m using the basic 999 plan of PLDT myDSL in the Philippines.

If you’re still thinking of getting this game, do take a look at the website (click on the trailers of Team Fortress 2 – they’re hilarious), or read the reviews at Gamespot, Joystiq and IGN.

By Jayvee Fernandez

Jayvee Fernandez is a tech enthusiast, EAN certified SCUBA Diver and underwater photographer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. His photos and videos have appeared in various international and local publications including Random House Germany, Discovery Channel Canada, and CNN.

15 replies on “The Orange Box: The best PC Game deal for 2007!”

With regard to the installation problems with Orange Box…there is more going on than lack of installation instructions by Valve.

The problem is Steam. Many dial-up users and some high speed users cannot fully download the Steam Update client. It drops out about 30% download and then restarts. This means no Steam client gets installed. Which means nothing from The Orange Box can be installed either. Including offline play.

As of November 21,2007 there has been no response from Steam to these user issues. There are suggestions to try this setting and that tweak, even to install strange freeware modem enhancements. None of these things work. So, the user is left in the lurch with DVDs that won’t install because Steam can’t get their verification client, Steam, to download to customers’ Pcs.

Hasn’t Microsoft been doing that relatively problem free (verifying user copies and deploying updates) for several years now? But still Steam can’t.

I have troubleshooted this issue on different PCs etc. and the best hope for anyone is the following thread at Steam forums. You can see the extent of the problem and lack of support:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7005496&posted=1

hi easten,

is the problem very prolific? i had no problems when i finally got the thing to work.

but thanks for the heads up. the troubleshooting link is great!

I’m completely baffled by all this.
What a bizarre way to install a game! Fortunately finding this post has saved me from pulling all my hair out and attempting to aquire a refund.

Good job I decided to be patient about my previous installation nightmare and have another look around the web.

Thanks for this.

thank god for the installation update, i spent hours last night with my update bar slowly creeping up and now they’ve installed in half an hour. kinda makes me feel dumb but i’m ok with it.

Cheers for ze info

whenever the bar reaches the end of the “prepairing Half Life 2 for Instalation” bit the next icon doesnt highlight so i cant go any further, any clues?

I, for one, simply have no idea what to do. I read your suggestion on how to install it, And I still don’t get it.

how do i use the cd key that came with it to register my games for online play? kuz i cant find any way to play gmod online or team fortress 2. PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME

@ simon said:how do i use the cd key that came with it to register my games for online play? kuz i cant find any way to play gmod online or team fortress 2. PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME

Answer: You need a steam account.After making a steam account,
open steam then sign in, then click on activate steam product
then click ok until you reach the part where you need to put your cd key. It a bar thingy

Q. Are there any more HL2: orange box available near metro manila, If you know please tell me where. many shops keep on telling me that they dont know any orange boxes. Please help

Where can I buy TeamFortress 2 or Orange Box? kasi datablitz already phased out TF2 and Orange box because of problems in Multiplayer I suppose? so where can I buy?

yeah. where can i get team fortress 2, too? i dont want to download it from steam for personal reasons. so, anyone knows where i can get the game? i live in davao city and they already phased it out at datablitz.

I was lucky to have bought a copy of the Orange Box in SM north Edsa last Jan 10 2010 for only P1300. I dont know if they restock it though, cause last time I bought it, it was the only copy there. Totally worth the money.

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