Nothing Rhymes with Orange

For those who don't have the PC hardware to support it, now you can finally revel in the high definition goodness of the previously inaccessible piece of heaven known as Half-Life 2 . Not only that, but the new console release of the Half-Life 2: Orange (also known as the Orange Box) includes several extras that truly justify the not-so-heavy-on-your-wallet price of $59.99. The Orange Box will include the original Half-Life 2 as well as Half-Life 2: Episodes One and Two, Portal and Team Fortress. The Orange Box will be released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.

In addition, the Black Box will be released exclusively on PC in Summer 2007. It includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, and Team Fortress 2. Valve plans on releasing the Black Box for a price of $39.99.

Oh, the possibilities...

Many fans are simply anxious to try out Valve's new game Portal, which is similar in nature to Prey in it's use of portals to solve puzzles and fight enemies. You have complete control of how you place your portals. For instance, one could trap an enemy by placing a portal beneath him and the output portal right above the first portal, causing your enemy to fall in an endless loop. It has been reported but not confirmed that Portal will eventually be available for download by itself on Steam.

I'm personally looking forward to finally getting my hands on be Team Fortress, which will obviously be supported by Xbox Live. My only gripes are concerns that Valve is falling into an almost "forced bundle" stance on the new games. Why alienate PC gamers by forcing them to by games they might already have? Let's hope we get some more details on when Portal will be available independent of the package.

Additionally, people like me who bought the original version of Half-Life 2 for Xbox are kinda peeved for essentially paying for the same game twice. I guess it was to be expected that Valve would capitalize on both markets, but I still feel like a guinea pig of a successful marketing strategy. Damn you Valve!