I recently purchased The Orange Box for the PS3. I have never played a Half-Life game before, because of several reasons. I have never been a PC gamer. 30+ small buttons on a keyboard that need split-second reactions to press just isn't my idea of fun. Never have got around the controls. I also neverowned an Xbox, so the Xbox version was out of my reach. I do have the original Half-Life on the PS2 though, but you can't uninvert the controls, which makes it unplayable to me. So unfortunately, Half-Life has just stayed out of my reach, despite the never-ending praise it has received.

So, thanks to the genius at Valve who decided they should create The Orange Box, I have gotten chance to experience the series. Well, the Half-Life 2 and it's expansions anyway. And what a game it is. A 3 year old game, and it looks great! It stacks up to some of the most recently released games. Now that's a feat that many games can't live up to. But what really stands proud is the gameplay. In all of my years of FPS gaming, I have never come across such an innovative, refreshing game. How the physics, puzzles, envrionment and shooting all play together, you really have to think outside of the box. The best physics based puzzle was in Half-Life 2, when there was a bridge half submerged in water. I had to grab some barrels full of air, drag it down underwater, and but it in a basket attached to the bottom of the bridge, which made it raise up, and let my hoverboat go over it. There are plenty of more puzzles like this throughout the game, and they're a blast to solve.

Many games do not even compare today to the greatness that is Half-Life 2. Best FPS ever made? Without a doubt... What's more amazing is that it's 3 years old! Bring on Half-Life 3!!!

Note: I will not be reviewing The Orange Box anytime soonas I can't play Team Fortress 2 (Due to online problems). But what I will say about the 4 out of 5 games that I have played, The Orange Box is a 9.5/10 amazing game. Long loading times and occasional slowdown are the only problems I have with it. Portal is awesome.