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All member reviews for Half-Life 2: The Orange Box
AGE
Common sense overlooks another great game.
Well, common sense does it again. Their biased reviews only hurt the parents view on this game. True, this game (collecction) is rated M, to buy this game and let your kids play is your choice, and based on their maturity. My parents have allowed me to buy this game box (for a steal of 15 $). All games by valve have a console, for the pc. if you press the `~ button, you have options to turn of blood and gore. Portal is a great mind game that requires some really complex thinking, Team Fortress 2 is a cartoony, fun, battle game, with blood off options. The half life games are intended for a mature audience. Both games have bit of language, but what are you supposed to expect from a Mature game? So, i completely disregaurd the ESRB ratings, and focus on the value of the games. Half life the series has a engrossing, intellegent storyline.
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Kid, 12 years old
November 16, 2010
AGE
amazing games all ar bloody all are awesome
i swear these games are amazing but bloody. if you have played fpss before than your head will blow up with hapiness for this game.
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AGE
4 Amazing Games, But 1 True gem
Valve is hands down one of the best FPS developers. However, their games include graphic violence. That is not the case with the rare gem, heralded as the greatest game of the past five or so years, known as Portal. The game puts you through test chamber after test chamber, but instead of a straightforward puzzle like tetris or bejewled, the games gives you a gun that shoots two portals that act as gateways to each other. This leads to amazing environmental puzzles that force you to, as the game claims "think with portals", to make it to the end. The experience in portal is not terribly long, as an experienced player of it such as myself can complete in about two hours. But, this game is a blast to play with friends, with one person playing and the others putting together their minds to find solutions. Now on to the unsavory bits, the violence is not to bad, which blood splatters and death by drowning. The game has an amazing sense of Dark Humor, which some may find a bit risque. But all in all the price of $30 is more than enough for just Portal itself.
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AGE
fun game
great game, a little bit of blood, but nothing that's too inappropriate for a mature teenager
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Kid, 12 years old
January 3, 2011
AGE
Awesome Game.
When I played Half-Life 2, It almost made me destroy my XBox, The game Is so good! Portal Is educational cause of the puzzles. TF2 Is my favorite, but It has no updates. :(
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AGE
good fun for nearly evvry1
Many of these games are great for kids. WHile half life may need a adult supervision, it is a thoughtful, suspensul game where kids will need to think before every action. Portal, is of course, the best for kids. Calling it "Explicit violence" and saying people weild weapons is innaccurate to the point of vomit. Portal, you only "gun" is the portal creator, a invention that creates entrances and exits, that let you solve puzzles in this delightful game. Team fortress 2 is edgy, but is great fun for the mature pre-teen. Just watch out for language. all in all, this is great games
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AGE
ok tf2 is a little gory but portal is educational
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AGE
Well I'd say that the Orange Box is an amazing package of games that, although may be rather violent, are fun, with nothing that young teens these days wouldn't be able to handle. However, each game is totally different with different levels of badness.
Portal- Portal, despite being rated teen, doesn't really involve any violence. A bit of blood can be splattered on the wall if the player is shot, and an evil robot threatens to kill the player, but all done with a kind of quirky humour. The gameplay in Portal really makes you think and is very clever. I could even say it could be educational. So in conclusion, Portal would be appropriate for kids 10 and up.
Half Life 2- HL2 and it's episodes are all pretty gloomy and very violent. However, the storyline is intriguing and the game itself is a masterpiece. Since it is set in a bit of a post-apocalyptic time, corpses can be seen often throughout, and quite frightening species of aliens are often encountered, the most intense being the 'headcrabs', which jump on peoples heads and turn them into gory looking zombies. Despite the high amounts of violence, the unity of the surviving humans is something to be inspired by, and it is nice, near the end of the game, to liberate the city. All in all, HL2 is something for older kids, and is rather gory, but doesn't include anything that could affect people too much.
Team Fortress 2- TF2 is purely multiplayer, with the whole point to verse people in death matches over the internet. Although it is quite bloody, all the graphics are very stylized, being somewhat cartoony. I personally find this a very fun game, however is only appropriate in moderation (you don't want to be on a killing rampage for too long). However it is highly addictive (one of my friends has played 350 hours on it in the last few years, which I feel is too much). I'd say that TF2 doesn't really have many benefits, apart from being able to play with friends, and I'd say that TF2 shouldn't be played by small children due to it's very 'killy' nature.
Overall, the Orange Box is a truly amazing package, that is great value. However, shouldn't be played by kids under 14 years old, or otherwise already corrupted by high school. Again, it is rather violent but doesn't including anything that would be 'too much' for teens.
Thank you for reading.
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AGE
Hardly bad at all
I really have to disagree with Common Sense Media on this one. The only "real" violence is in Team Fortress 2, and even then it's so cartoony and fake looking it is hardly even bad anymore. If you are really that concerned, they can play the other 4 games. These games are brilliant masterpieces, and it would be bad NOT to let your kids play them.
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AGE
Common sense you have judged a game by its rating yet again
I have a 12 year old son who has had a Xbox for about 5 months now and I got him this game. Now I'm not very familiar with games like this but I think if he is mature to play simple T rated games then this is a perfect game for kids his age group. Portal is such a fun and brain teasing game and calling it mature in any way is absolutely ridiculous. Now for Half Life 2. It is NOT in any way needed to be negotiated about being both T and M its T easy as that I myself do have a problem with guns and I am disgusted when my husband goes out and hunts.However I watch my son play Xbox a lot and this game is not in any way bloody sure some blood when you kill aliens.but nothing extreme. Now Team Fortress 2 is what you should be worried about. Its very cartoon looking but I assure you it is very bloody even though it is very fake and almost ridiculous it is very bloody. Now language is sort of an issue. But if your child is 12 or older he has probably been exposed to language enough that it doesn't even phase them. That's my review of the orange box. Not being a huge video game player, this may or may not be accurate, but its my review as a parent for a parent.
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Kid, 11 years old
February 7, 2011
AGE
its violent but kids are able to play it
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AGE
Not for kids but teens can handle it.
I don't like Half-Life 2 cause it's really scary for young children and it's got a lot of blood.
Team Fortress 2 is kinda cartoony and fun
but there is a little (cartoony) gore BUT that's only funny
Portal fits for 8+ gamers.
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AGE
Portal is good for kids 9+, half-life is great for 12+.
The half-life games are great for mature Tweens and up. Portal Is a great puzzler for age 9+ although there is a little bit of realistic gore. I don't know about TF2 but I know it has blood and is rated M.
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AGE
My favorite game series of all time. Blood and violence are the main focus, with some language thrown in sporadically. fine for anyone who has played an M rated shooter before.
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AGE
First of all, last time I checked PORTAL is not a "Gripping, mature FPS" TF2 should be rated for cartoon violence. The "Half Life" games are a little worse but if your 13/14 y.o. is even mildly mature I think they should be fine. All in all a good deal 5 games for a good price! (And I dont care how old your child is they will love portal!(While you spend hours on Halflife 2 :P))
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AGE
Portal 2 is a masterpiece that can be enjoyed by all ages.
Just wanted to give a quick shout for Portal. This is by far the most kid-friendly and educational game of the set and one that wasn't mentioned much by Common Sense in their review. This is a completely non-violent, incredibly creative - revolutionary even - physics puzzle game that requires critical thinking and complex problem solving. Valve does an incredible job of taking complex game mechanics and problem solving and crafting levels that make it easy for anyone to jump in and play without much frustration. Nevertheless, though the game mechanics have been fine-tuned to perfection, the levels are challenging and will have get anyone's brain working in overdrive. This is a fantastic example of how today's games can be more about critical thinking, decision making and problem solving than run-and-gun. Again, this game is completely non-violent and full of madcap comedy as well to relieve the stress of the puzzles and keep players of all ages highly entertained throughout.
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AGE
Great deal! $20 for 5 great games!
The Orange Box comes with 5 games on 1 disc. It's best to review them seperately. Here goes...
HALF-LIFE 2 (3 separate games)
This game frightened me when I was in my basement, alone, with the lights off. It's gloomy and creepy. Lots of corpses, large amounts of blood stains (it's all over the floors and the walls during combat and remains there for the rest of the chapter), and pretty much... violence.
The fight for human survival is inspiring, though. And there is a happy ending.
Adult language: People say "dam", "hell", and "sh*t". It's infrequent, but still there.
PORTAL:
This is an innovative puzzle game (that I love to death). It's educational, because players have to strategically place portals and solve problems while using a unique method. The blood is EXACTLY the same as in Half-Life 2. When the player is shot by enemy drones, the Half-Life 2 blood is spilled and stains the walls and floor. Throughout the whole game, the player's blood is the only blood spillled. Very frequent use of crude and dark humor is present in the game. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, it's creepy. Such phrases include this one: "Here at the test chamber, we are dedicated to letting you know anything of importance. Stepping on the floor past this room will result in having an unsatisfactory mark on your final report... followed by death."
TEAM FORTRESS 2:
There is no offline to this game. If you don't have internet for your Xbox 360, then this game is pointless. Two teams play capture the flag, or try to steal each other's control points. Players use lots of weapons and there are very large ammounts of blood splatter (the developers seem to really like blood) will stain the floors and walls and even discolor the water. Players can be stabbed, blasted, set on fire, and even hacked to death by an axe. It's incredibly violent. But most of it is portrayed as comical and funny... (which can be bad or good). The art style is VERY cartoonish and there is absolutely NO REALISM. Seriously... why would two opposing enemies build there bases 20ft from each other? It's a lot of fun, but honestly, the PC version is better.
AGE RATINGS:
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HALF-LIFE 2:
I rate this game ON for ages 16+
I rate this game IFFY for ages 13-15
I rate this game OFF for ages 12 and under.
PORTAL:
I rate this game ON for ages 12+
I rate this game IFFY for ages 9-11
I rate this game OFF for ages 8 and under.
TEAM FORTRESS 2:
I rate this game ON for ages 15+
I rate this game IFFY for ages 12-14
I rate this game OFF for ages 11 and under.
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AGE
Excellent game(s)
First off, Half-Life 2 and Portal are easily two of the greatest games ever made. Episodes One and Two are also fantastic and Team Fortress 2 provides some excellent multiplayer. (Arguably better than Halo 3 or Gears of War.)
The language is a bit worse than Prime Time TV stuff but nothing compared to most PG-13 movies. Sex is definitely not an issue: Half-Life 2 and Portal are two of the best non-kiddie games out there when it comes to sex, and have the only non-sexualized women in games. The violence is what you'd expect in the shooter. Yes, obviously, people fall down when you shoot them, and yes, unfortunately for kiddies--who shouldn't even be playing these games--you can see blood too. The gore at times in the
"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..." chapter is pretty disturbing at times. Don't play that level with a weak stomach.
Outside of that there's nothing really to worry about for the target age group. It's mostly M-rated (parents, don't be fooled by the "T-M" rating) so it's for adults. The only game safe for kids at all is portal, and that's supposed to be released on its own soon, so if your kid wants it I'd wait for that.
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AGE
tf2 and portal=ok. Half-life=NO
i think that team fortress 2 is an ok game if you love team games and it also requires cooperation. portal is very good if you like puzzles. half life is horrible for kids dont let kids play that
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AGE
A spectacular deal for teens and adults.
Three games in one, for a low price. What a deal. No matter which console you buy these games for you are in for a treat This package is amazing, and there is something for everyone.
Half Life 2: Your standard first person shooter. Expect blood and the occasional curse word, but overall alright for teens.
Portal: An excellent and challenging puzzle game. You control a portal making device which you use to solve puzzles, some as simple as cross a large gap in the room. Others requiring you to think outside the box. There is still violence but it is minimal, such as turrets shooting at you if they see you. This will challenge kids and adults of all ages.
Team Fortress 2: Ridiculously fun, ridiculously violent. Bodies explode, people are stabbed, rockets and bullets flying every which way. Definitely not for the younger audience, but still alright for teenagers 13+. This is the only game in this package that involves interaction with other people, which some parents will want to avoid. There is a single-player mode, but it is limited in terms of game content. However, it should be noted that Team Fortress 2 has one of the best communities of any online game I have ever played. You will occasionally meet the elitist jerks who live to put others down, but most players are friendly, as this game requires team cooperation.
Another one of those instances where the ESRB rating is perfect, rated T for teenagers ages 13+. Best deal in gaming history.
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