The Orange Box (2007): What Games Are Included?

The Orange Box is a compilation by Valve released October 2007 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3). It contains five full, complete games — no demos, no cut content.

1. Half-Life 2 (2004) — Full campaign.
2. Half-Life 2: Episode One (2006) — Continuation.
3. Half-Life 2: Episode Two (2007) — Conclusion of trilogy.
4. Portal (2007) — Full puzzle campaign (~3-4 hrs).
5. Team Fortress 2 (2007) — Full multiplayer class-based shooter (original release version, pre-F2P).

Platform Differences

• PC (Steam): Each game appears as a separate library entry. Automatic updates, Workshop support (TF2), Steam Cloud saves.
• Xbox 360: Launches from a single menu. All on disc (dual-layer DVD). TF2 received updates until 2009 (Orange Box update), then stopped. No cross-play.
• PS3 (Ported by EA): Suffers from framerate issues (20-30 FPS in HL2), longer load times, and lacks the Engine updates PC/360 received. TF2 never updated. Inferior version.

Why It's Legendary

Five genre-defining games for $60. Portal alone justified the price. TF2 defined class-based shooters for 15+ years. HL2: Episode Two ended on a cliffhanger still unresolved. Best value bundle in gaming history.

In 2024: Buy on Steam (often <$5 sale). Play Portal first if new. Then HL2 → Ep1 → Ep2. TF2 still active (100k+ concurrent).