It was looking like it was going to happen, and now it finally has: Valve's The Orange Box has taken the top PC and Xbox 360 spots on game review site Metacritic.
It was a pretty easy call: jamming a lot of good games (Half-Life 2 and Episodes One and Two, Team Fortress 2, and Portal) in one nifty package is sure to make a lot of gamers (and game reviewers) happy. Destructoid's own reviews of the collection have been favorable as well, and compare to Metacritic's overall 97 out of 100 rating (both in PC and Xbox 360 categories).
"By all accounts The Orange Box is exceeding everyone's expectations," said Doug Lombardi, director of marketing at Valve. "The North American launch continues this week as retailers who experienced temporary outages over the weekend are being replenished each day. Meanwhile, the first retail units are appearing in stores this week across Europe."
BioShock was edged out by just one point (96) in the Xbox 360 category, and the 2nd place runner up in the PC category was actually Half-Life 2, also with a score of 96.
I bet the trend will continue when The Orange Box is released on the PS3 later on.
Hit the jump to read the full release.
THE ORANGE BOX TOPS PC AND 360 METACRITIC RANKINGS
Valve's Unique Multiplatform Game Box Captures Metacritic Best
October 17, 2007 - The launch of The Orange Box - the unique new multiplatform, multi-game offering from Valve, creators of Half-Life® 2 and Counter-Strike® - has been met with incredible critical and commercial success, capturing the top rated position for all PC and 360 games during an explosive North American retail debut.
"By all accounts The Orange Box is exceeding everyone's expectations," said Doug Lombardi, director of marketing at Valve. "The North American launch continues this week as retailers who experienced temporary outages over the weekend are being replenished each day. Meanwhile, the first retail units are appearing in stores this week across Europe."
With reviews coming in from around the world, Orange has earned the top spot as the highest scoring PC (topping Half-Life and Half-Life 2) and 360 title of all time according to Metacritic.com .
Available now for the PC and Xbox 360 and coming soon for the Playstation® 3, The Orange Box includes Half-Life® 2: Episode Two, the second installment in the Half-Life 2 episodic trilogy; Team Fortress® 2, the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map; and PortalTM, the game that blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience like no other.
To bring gamers up to date with the Half-Life 2 universe, The Orange Box also includes Half-Life 2 and Half-Life® 2: Episode One.
The Orange Box has a suggested retail price of $49.95 on the PC and $59.95 on the Xbox® 360. In the coming weeks, The Orange Box will also be available for the Playstation® 3 console systems.
For more information about The Orange Box, please visit www.steamgames.com.
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
2:26 PM on 10.17.2007
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More like every three console generations. Super Mario All Stars had a similar concept, and it was also one of the highest scoring games for its system, and considered an essential masterpiece for any owner of that system.
Orange Box would've been worth it for Portal and TF2 alone.
Well, the reason why this works is because it has both. A lot of shit, and all of it is fantastic.
HL2:Ep2 is fantastic and I cant wait for episode 3; Team Fortress 2 is an awesome multiplayer experience and Portal is a just a fantastic game on it's own.
So I believe that in owning the top two games that the Orange Box had topped and beating both of them that the Orange box really is the best game out right now.
3 titties >>>>>>>>>>> 2 titties.
FO REAL¬!!
Haha, I wish I had 3 hands. Or two penises.... yeah...
But seriously, is anyone actually surprised by this.
HURRAY BEWBS!
also, she gets "perforated" ;_;
Orange Box > Halo 3 is no surprise.
What miniscule faith I had in reviews is now gone.
The only thing worth it on that damn box is Portal, HL2 is crap and Team Fortress is to laggy and to simplistic.
Seriously though, it is cumulatively better than either of those games. On PC. Between HL2+mods, TF2 multiplayer, and Portal being the best single player game of the year.
That's assuming Mass Effect doesn't bump Orange box off the top spot, of course.
http://inconvenienced.blogspot.com/2007/10/stop-fucking-whining-about-number-of.html