This game is The Orange Box, the best deal in gaming history (or at least, the best deal that comes on a tangible disk). Coming with a complete 5 games "in one box". I will do a review for each game in 1 review.
Story
"Rise and shine, Mister Freeman, rise and... shine. Not that I wish... to imply that you have been sleeping on... the job. No one is more deserving of a rest, and all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until... well... let's just say your hour has come again. The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference... in the world. So, wake up, Mister Freeman...wake up and... smell the ashes."
-G-man
Half-Life 2: You are again, Gordon Freeman, waking up from stasis 20 years after the events of the first game. In that time Earth has a far worse crisis then aliens running loose in Black Mesa, this time a far worse alien threat that was not in the first game, a multi-dimensional empire called The Combine have taken over Earth and enslaved the human race. The human race, while controlled by the Combine, have a figure head, his name is Wallace Breen (Dr. Breen, he was an administrator in Black Mesa), he technically has power, but the Combine are in control of him (He was the one who negotiated the surrender of humanity after the Seven Hour War, and was probably picked as leader becuase of that). The plot has you trying to take him out of power and helping the human resistance.
Here in this age, the Combine have done noticeable changes to Earth. Most of Earth is a desolate waste land and the human population is dangerously small. No human child has been made in 20 years and the human population keeps going down. Evidence of occupation is very, well, evident.
Episode 1: An Expansion pack that continues after the last game, simply put, you are evacuating people from City 17.*
Episode 2: An Expansion pack that continues after episode 1, you are running into City 17's surrounding wilderness.*
*There is a lot more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it so I put the theme instead.
Portal: You are a test subject for the Aperture Science Laboratories, testing a gun that can shoot portals that can take you anywhere in the room to solve puzzles, the story is also more complex then it appears, just look around, you will know what I am talking about. This game is in the same universe as Half-Life.
Team Fortress 2: No story, this game is pure multiplayer, just in case the other (single player only) games, make you want some multiplayer to go with it. The characters are expertly flushed out, with defined personalities and hundreds of dialogue lines for each. I will say this now, Valve is probably the only game company that can make awesome flushed out characters for a game with no story.
Gameplay
"The Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator is not a toy, Alyx!"
-Judith
Half-Life 2 (and episodes): You have all your standard weapons; shotgun, sniper (in crossbow form), pistols, and some unique weapons like an organic gland that summons aliens to fight for you and can pick their target, a fast, laser directed rocket launcher, and even a weapon that will let you manipulate the environment as a weapon...the gravity gun.
The physics are very good, thrown objects fly, land, and tumble like they should in real life for the most part.
Your HEV suit has some awesome things to add to the mix too, like a flashlight, the ability to sprint, zoom, shields, carry any weapon you find, and oxygen.
Portal: You have a gun that shoots portals on to certian surfaces (anywhere really, but for whatever reason you can't put it on metal). You also do not take fall damage, and health regenerates.
The physics play a part too, allowing you to gain enough fall speed to fling you across a pit, and the other things mentioned about Half-Life 2.
Team Fortress 2: This is a class based multiplayer game with 9 balanced classes that ensure that no class is better or worse then the other. With classic game modes that include CTF (called 2Fort here and you are supposed to capture a brief case with intelligence instead of a flag), and even territory capture.
Graphics
Half-Life 2 (and episodes), and Portal: They are powered on the same engine, the graphics are not above par, but they get the job done, they are good enough for you to tell what everything is/supposed to be, and they do not ruin the experience. Powered by Source Engine, however, even I know that graphics do not make the game.
Team Fortress 2: This is more of a cartoony style, a very nice one and it pulls it off well.
Music
Half-Life (and episodes): It has a nice elaborate soundtrack, but it only shines a few times, that or you are too sucked into the game to notice or care.
Portal: This soundtrack is more upbeat, especially the ending song.
Team Fortress 2: Some sort of fast paced action music, or some parody of it.
Online
Team Fortress 2: Since it is the only online game in the box. The servers are dedicated and joining/leaving a game is seamless. I do not remember experiencing any sort of lag as well.
Awesome collection of some of the greatest FPS games ever, a must buy for any FPS fan.
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