14 DAY TRIAL // If there were any reasons left to doubt Valve's The Orange Box success or real value, they were all wiped out right now, with the announcement that over 100 different awards were received by the multi-platform, multi-game offering. About half of these awards consisted in "Game of The Year" honor, while the remaining awards were handed out for special achievements in gaming. And, if you bought the package and tried it, you know that all of these were handed out for some solid reasons.
The Orange Box was launched in October 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PC, followed by a PlayStation 3 release in December and it included Half Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal, the award-leader. Half Life 2 and HL: Episode One were also included in the box.
"While some have called it the best value in video game history, Valve took a chance with the product mix in The Orange Box, the game design of Portal, and the art style of Team Fortress 2," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "After earning the top review scores of all time on two platforms, becoming a best seller on multiple platforms, and accumulating over 100 awards, that risk has been rewarded by gamers and game critics around the world. We look forward to following up on the success of The Orange Box later this year with the launch of Left 4 Dead on PC and Xbox 360."
Valve's hit is not only one of the best deals in the gaming history, having a suggested retail price of $49.95 on the PC and $59.95 on the Xbox 360, but it also holds some other records (if you think that over 100 awards are not enough). For example, it managed to tie Half Life and its sequel as the highest scoring game on PC and it became the highest scoring Xbox game of all times - everything while becoming the worldwide bestseller. We're just wondering how good the Orange Box 2 will be.