You want my ohnast opinion? Its great! I neednt say anymore though. The fact that this game has 40 game of the year awards, is enough on its own to make you buy, which you should. If you love the action of a battle but also love taking your time figuring out how to overcome objectives then this is the one for you, and its 5 games! The problem, which i had and seems to be a big one, is the duplicate cd key error. My problem was solved fairly quick but i needed to provide proof (receipt, cd key, etc..). Also Steam is great, a handy program(once you get it up and running that is!) but dont be put off! The 20GB of used space will all be worth it once you get on to the games.

The Orange Box is one of the best deals out there for all Computer game lovers. Essentially you get the second chapter of one of the finest Computer game franchises out there along with its own first two Episodes. So thats Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2. Whilst the two episodes are short in playtime they are quite simply stunning. These coupled with the awesome Half Life 2 you are going to be glad you made the purchase. Added to these three gems are Portal which is a superb game and one of the most innovative puzzle games I have come across in ages. It is quite simply brilliant. The cherry on top comes in the guise of Team Fortress 2. There is little I can add to what already has been said about this game. It is stunning. Multiplayer has never been so much fun! So buy this and get involved. My final point is about Steam. Most of the negative reviews surround this. Steam is easy to use. And is far more user friendly then it was in its first inception and to be fair it wasn't bad even then. The truth is that if you have a dial up modem to connect to the internet you are probably best not buying this boxset until you upgrade. If you have broadband then buy this now and stop worrying. I have found Steam to actually be a useful tool rather than a hinderance. Ignore the prophets of doom and fear not. The Orange Box and all its glorious elements can be yours to play! This is PC gaming at its finest. Oh how we love you!!

Well after 4 days of cursing and swearing, I finally got everything installed. 4 days after that, my computer died a violent death.

Having installed it on Vista (SP2), and it installed perfectly, all I can say is WOW!!!!

I've just completed "Portal" and it is amazing.

And Half Life 2 is just amazing. Every so often I have to walk away. The atmosphere is just terrifying. Be warned. It's a 15, but I do wonder if it shouldn't be an 18 for atmosphere and some of the monsters.

I've only had it for a few weeks, and have not played Episodes 1 or 2, and I don't have network access, so Team Fortress is out, but I am so pleased with what I got. And all for ??15 from Tesco.

Go get it..

(on a different note - does anyone know how to edit a review?)

I made the naive mistake of not buying this, thinking "Half-Life 2 might not be so great and I may not want the episode packs; Team Fortress 2 looks silly and Portal looks weird. I'll just buy HL2 and save money."

Well, two months on and I'm sorely regretting not buying this because I have since bought EVERY game individually, and regard each one as one of my all-time favourites.

Half-Life 2 (and particularly the episodes) are beyond explosive and it's very playable despite the age. I never once felt the game was 'dated', due in part to Steam still updating their older games - I was impressed to see HL2 making use of my 64-bit processor, which is more than many brand new games do. Oh, and Team Fortress 2 is the *only* multiplayer game most of you will ever need. It's as fun as it is addictive.

Do not knock Steam: as well as allowing you to play your games without inserting the DVD, Steam automatically patches and updates your games. It is an absolute lifesaver and I now buy all my games over it.

If you're a big online gamer and don't already have Counterstrike, and feel that TF2 may not be enough to satisfy you, consider buying the Source Premier Pack over Steam instead. It includes the Orange Box in the price, but throws in a bunch of Source games too.

you get 3 games. team fortress 2 is a brillaint FPS game. the best i have played.
portal a first person puzzle game like nothing else i have played. very absorbing.
Half Life was O.K, not as good a previous games, but enjoyable.
brilliant value for money.