The Orange Box

The Orange Box brought together on one disc Half-Life 2 with both of its episodes, the puzzle newcomer Portal, and the team-based shooter Team Fortress 2 — depending on how you count, four to six games in one package for the price of a single full-priced new release. While on PC it was an instant hit, on PlayStation 3 the package didn't arrive until December 2007, two months after the PC and Xbox 360 versions, because the Source engine still had to be ported and adapted to Sony's unusual Cell-architecture hardware. The European release was also delayed somewhat further compared to the North American one.

At the time of release, the PS3 port struggled with noticeably worse technical quality — a lower frame rate, longer loading times, and the absence of voice chat in Team Fortress 2, which drew criticism from reviewers used to the smooth PC version released only a few weeks earlier. On the plus side, it offered PlayStation Network trophy support and the chance to play Team Fortress 2 and Portal without needing a powerful computer, which appealed to console-only players who might otherwise never have gotten to Valve's acclaimed titles. Some players shortened the long loading times by installing the data to the console's hard drive, a practice not yet fully common at the time.

Unlike the PC version, the PS3 port did not receive long-term regular updates to Team Fortress 2 — Valve focused development and updates mainly on PC, and over time stopped expanding the console version at the same pace. Valve took the lesson of this weaker port to heart: a few years later, the sequel Portal 2 was developed for PS3 with dedicated attention and became the first console game ever to receive full integration with Steam, including cross-platform multiplayer between PS3 and PC. The Orange Box itself on PlayStation 3 thus remained more of a time capsule of 2007 than a game that would keep being developed further through updates like its sibling on PC.

Why play it: For fans of Portal and Half-Life 2 in one package, it's an interesting time capsule of 2007, even though Team Fortress 2 here remained without the later updates the PC version became known for.