Orange Box 360 Review
While most of you have played through the Orange Box’s five games on the PC, I think I am the first member in G.S. to pick it up for 360. While it may be just a port, there are some major differences regarding the two versions. I will explain them now.
(Before I begin I will say I’ve beaten Portal on 360 and Half-Life 2 on PC and only experimented with TF2 on 360. I haven’t dug into Episode 1 or 2 so I will only focus on technical aspects of the game. We all know its good.)
So with a high end PC downstairs with a better connection why would I get it on Xbox 360? Well after getting Half-Life 2 (game of the year edition) on PC about two years ago and beating it I decided to pick up O.B. on 360 for a few reasons.
Mainly, I just like controllers more than keyboards and mouse. In a game like Portal however, there were a few levels where I was begging for the preciseness of a mouse though, mainly because the game is all about aiming perfectly once you get the puzzles figured out. After beating Portal though I moved onto HL2 for a third playthrough (first two on PC). While HL2 is by all regards a PC game, for me it feels so much better with a controller. Not only am I significantly better at it, but elements like vehicles (which are a major part of HL2’s story mode) and platforming work better with a thumbstick than a WASD combination. I was able to move at a speed I wanted rather than full throttle which is what you get by pressing down W. Switching weapons is also a lot easier with a D pad as well.
The 360’s version’s graphics are not as good as it’s PC counterparts, and its weird to see my exploits as Gordon Freeman on a TV but for me these are very redeeming qualities. Along with these, I just enjoy using my 360 a lot more than my PC. Installation, patches, folders, blah. I’ve had a pet peeve for installations since my first Flight Simulator game- so I think we can all agree, putting a disc into a disc tray and playing it instead of waiting is a lot nicer. Also on my PC I am not an administrator so I have to log into my dad’s account for installing and yada yada yada.
And finally achievements. Not for boosting my gamerscore, but being able to compare progress in the game with people on my friends list is so well developed it really does define the experience of Xbox Live. On PC I could compare with you guys, but with games like Guitar Hero 3, Halo 3, Assassin’s Creed, and Skate on my 360, I’m usually not on Steam that much anymore.
Orange Box is still a great game on PC, and after being away from HL2 for so long, it does really prove that, in fact, Half Life 2 is the best game of all time.
-Jake Jenkins
5 comments:
1. I personally think a scroll wheel would be much better/faster at choosing a weapon in a sticky situation than pressing the D pad frantically
2. There ARE achievements on Steam nowadays. Valve included an achievement system in the new Steam Community for all of the Orange Box games
3. PC games on steam are easy to deal with. There is no hassle with installation files/whatknot. The games just install themselves.
VALID POINTS, THOUGH! :-D
Gamepad over a mouse and keyboard?! I'm going to have to disagree with you there, but whatever, to each his own. I do agree that platforming and driving (as any Battlefield player would know... still jihadjeep ftw!)work better with a stick, but I have trouble shooting with dual analog since I've practically been moused (holy crap FF says it's a word!) out of it. I've actually gotten better at Metroid Prime 3's aiming! Maybe Half-Life or Halo I could deal with, but something more tactical like CoD4 I couldn't since precision is much more active in it (and hell the scoped weapons are broken as is).
I too prefer a scroll wheel.
Achievements were a great idea, but Valve already has them and many other games (CoD4 and WiC off the top of my head) have similar systems, but they're not quite so well executed as their console counterparts.
I've never had a problem with installs, but playing right away is nice. It's more a minor inconvenience to me than anything. I usually jump in the shower or get a snack while it's installing.
So while I disagree in many points, great post! Orange Box is a great deal now matter what platform.
Hmmm.
1) Well as far as control schemes go I'm far better with a mouse + KB than a 360 pad, for example. But I acknowledge that it's all a matter of preference- for some people, having a pad in hand is just more comfortable.
2) I'm actually going to have to disagree with Chris and Sean regarding the scroll wheel. The main problem I have with it is that it's not very accurate in a game like Battlefield where you have 5 weapons and need to frantically switch between them, leaving you oblivious to what's going on around you- with that said, I'm not a huge fan of the clunky D-pad weapon select menus of modern shooters. IMO the best solution is to just press the numbers at the top of the KB. It's fast and after a while it just gets stuck in your muscle memory (Like the Defib. in BF for me, heh).
3) No one gets achievements right like MS. Steam tries, Sony is going to try with Home, but what makes all the difference is that MS requires all games on the 360 to have achievements. That gives a kind of feeling of connection on the 360 that other platforms have yet to capture.
4) I don't care that much about installs as long as the games come in DVDs (I hate standing around and waiting for disc prompts w/ multiple CDs) or are on Steam, but Steam can still take a little while.
And yeah, great post!
nice post dude
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