Orange Box pre-orders get TF2 beta access

By Tom Bramwell Published 12 September, 2007

From next Monday.

Valve has made The Orange Box available to pre-order on Steam ahead of what is now a 10th October activation date - and those who pre-order will be able to play the Team Fortress 2 beta from 17th September.

Orange Box will sell for USD 49.95 on Steam, and pre-purchases will get a 10 percent discount on that price, as well as a free copy of Peggle Extreme.

The compilation release - which consists of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal - is also being produced for Xbox 360 and PS3. The 360 version will launch at the same time (at European retail 12th October) while the PS3 version is due a few weeks later.

Expect more details on the Team Fortress 2 beta in the coming days, including a full overview of what's in store.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • dave06 #1 4 years ago

    first 1111111 whoooo

  • dave06 #2 4 years ago

    also theses games will be better than a fat man falling down stairs

  • viper_h #3 4 years ago

    Um, so what? I have to buy HL2 and Ep1 again just to get into the beta?

    Thanks Valve.

  • Dodgymat #4 4 years ago

    360 version of Orange Box comes out on Oct 12th ? Balls, that's the same day as PGR4. Could've sworn it was a week later on the 19th.

    Can't see PC users having any trouble accessing the TF2 Beta if they pre-order, Activision/Infinity Ward please take note !

  • Freelancepolice #5 4 years ago

    @viper_h

    the orange box is what £23? It's hardly a raking anyway you can gift halflife 2 and episode 1 away. I see it as getting those two as a bonus which I can then give to a needy friend who hasn't experienced HL2

  • useyourloaf #6 4 years ago

    HL2 and HL2:ep1 can be seen as free
    HL2:ep2, Portal and TF2 (and Peggle Extreme!) for $45

    With vat, thats what, ~£27. I've not got a problem with that.
    Edited by 1 at 12/09/07 @ 10:27

  • Machetazo #7 4 years ago

    Haha, I'm not falling for this, again. I'll wait till its out, if I'm going to bother with it, at all.

  • UncleLou #8 4 years ago

    Um, so what? I have to buy HL2 and Ep1 again just to get into the beta?

    Thanks Valve.

    *sigh*

    No, they're pretty much thrown in for free. The orange box is cheaper than the black box was ever expected to be.

  • Xerx3s #9 4 years ago

    Meh. COD4b will satisfy my needs until H3.

  • viper_h #10 4 years ago

    Not quite sure the bundle is worth £27, but what the hey. (Edit: unless you don't own HL2 and Ep1, in which case it's a bargain)

    Been looking forward to TF2 for a while. Hope people play it and don't just go strate back to counter-shite.
    Edited by 1 at 12/09/07 @ 10:37

  • the_tellurian #11 4 years ago

    No matter which way you turn it, it's still 50 bucks (okay, not for us eurobitches) for an expansion.
    And in my book that's a bit much.
    Okay. Maybe I should actually go and play some of that crazy online stuff...
    But as of now, I'm mostly interested in EP2 and Portal. And last time I checked they said Portal would be some kind of gimmick addon for EP2, now they're selling it for 20$.
    Not that I'm opposed to valve making money. If there's one dev I as a PC centric person have to love and trust in it's them. Them and CryTech.
    Cause they probably won't release games reeking of conolitis... 8)
    /rabid fanboi mode

  • Yossarian #12 4 years ago

    I can't preorder until next Wednesday, does anyone know if I will still get belated access to the beta?

  • Frenzie #13 4 years ago

    Just to clarify for people interested in the Peggle Extreme, its a special version made with Half-Life 2 related images and backgrounds. Its amusingly tongue-in-cheek, but alas its only ten levels long. Just so you know!

  • Krusty #14 4 years ago

    /internet explodes

  • The_Inquisitor #15 4 years ago

    Can not wait! I really can't!

  • asphaltcowboy #16 4 years ago

    Yeah, but Frenzie, Peggle is awesome regardless!

  • RuudVanPistolrooy #17 4 years ago

    Less than twenty five quid for that lot is a bargain. Hell I'd pay that for TF2 alone. The rest is just gravy.

  • Darren #18 4 years ago

    I'm getting the Orange Box for the Xbox 360 - I've pre-ordered it from Gameplay already, in fact - so I guess that rules me out of the Team Fortress 2 beta then? :)

  • Darren #19 4 years ago

    By the way, EG, the Orange Box also includes the original Half-Life 2 and Episode One as far as I'm aware. ;)

  • Freelancepolice #20 4 years ago

    Portal was always meant to be a stand alone product. It was speculated by fans that it was set in the HL2 universe but never confirmed. It's estimated at a few hours gameplay with the possibility of user created levels and additional free levels being added.

    Episode 2 was aimed at being like what 8 hours ish gameplay.

    TF2 is simply great fun to play and easily worth a tenner on it's own.

    Decent value if you ask me.

  • tonynibbles #21 4 years ago

    /preorders

  • bad #22 4 years ago

    I preordered last night, played through Peggle Extreme and then spent the rest of the evening playing Peggle Deluxe - damn that game is addictive.

  • Darkedge #23 4 years ago

    will anyone who got the black box free with their Radeon 2900XT also get access? I bloody hope so :)

  • Artemus #24 4 years ago

    What the hell is Peggle Extreme?

    /googles

  • M83J01P97 #25 4 years ago

    If you already have HL2 and EP1 for the PC then you can (if your a very kind person) gives those games away to someone else with access to Steam. But do remember that these are updated versions of HL2 and EP1 with the brand new Source HDR engine and added effects - it might not sound like much, but with a game as beautiful and detailed as Half Life 2 any improvement can only makes things even better.

  • UncleLou #26 4 years ago

    No matter which way you turn it, it's still 50 bucks (okay, not for us eurobitches) for an expansion.
    And in my book that's a bit much.

    No, it's not. It's 50 bucks for 4 games.

    If you only want the expansion, you'll be able to buy it seperately for 30 bucks.

  • skillian #27 4 years ago

    But do remember that these are updated versions of HL2 and EP1 with the brand new Source HDR engine and added effects - it might not sound like much, but with a game as beautiful and detailed as Half Life 2 any improvement can only makes things even better.

    Are you sure?

    I was under the impression it was only the console versions that had added features to HL2 and Ep:1. If they've tweaked the PC originals too, it might be worth me picking up the Orange box after all.

  • M83J01P97 #28 4 years ago

    Yes, the PC versions of HL2 and EP1 have been given the upgrade as well. Which is why buying the Orange Box for if you own those two already really isn't that much of a waste at all.

    But I believe it is only the Orange Box version's of HL2 and EP1 that will be updated, you couldn't just buy the 'new' HL2 on it's own.

  • Darren #29 4 years ago

    I'm pretty sure the Half-Life 2 Episode 1 I already have on my PC uses HDR lighting, it's only the original game that doesn't.

  • Gulag #30 4 years ago

    Having 'meh'ed my way up and down the new release lists for a few months now, I'm genuinely giddy about the prospect of playing Team Fortress again. Giddy!

    Perversely enough, I'm glad that it hasn't strayed too far from it's predecessors in terms of looks and gameplay. You don't have to charge around some Middle-Eastern midden to enjoy blowing up your mates! Roll on the weekend!

  • M83J01P97 #31 4 years ago

    Episode 2 features an all new Source HDR engine, which is also being put into Episode 1 and Half Life 2.

  • YourMessageHere #32 4 years ago

    Bah, all I want is Portal and Episode 2. It's a sensible idea for the console versions but for PC, how many PC gamers wanting to play Episode 2 have not already got HL2 and Episode 1? I can't think of anyone I know who'd be remotely interested in HL2 that's not already got it, so I can't give it away either. A false economy if ever I saw it. So whether or not I buy the bundle or just Ep2 and Portal seperately (same price) comes down to deciding whether to pay £25 just for a short expansion and a short game, or those plus a game I don't want and two I already have. Nice.

  • Kismet. #33 4 years ago

    Episode 2 will contain improvements to the Source Engine, but those are not going to dribble down to Half Life 2 or Episode 1 in the PC version, only on the console versions (or at last the 360 version) to my knowledge.

    In particular the HDR effect, since it has been mentioned, is not going to be added to the PC version of Half Life 2, as it's among those effects that require additional data to be added to the maps, the engine support is not enough. Apparently the effort of modifying the maps has been done for the console version(s), but that data is not going to reach the PC shores, at last for now.

    Hard to say why, but anyway, what you'll get with the Orange Box for PC are exactly the same Half Life 2 / Episode 1 that have been available so far.

    As for the Orange Box / Black Box querelle, if you look at the Orange Box Pack like if it offered only Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 and calculate their individual costs in the pack by splitting its current Steam price (44.95$ with 10% Pre-purchase discount, 49.95$ otherwise) according to how much each of them contributes to the final price %-wise that you can deduce from the pricing of the individual games (Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2 each making around 37.5% of the total value and Portal making 25% of the full pack cost), what you get is: 16.9$ (pre-Purchase) / 18.7$ for Ep2 and TF2 and 11.2$ / 12.5$ for Portal.
    Episode 2 price is in line with the release price of Episode 1 (19.95$), and while there's no comparison for Portal and TF2 their prices seem quite honest to me.

    So overall, people interested in the Black Box (all three games, in other words), shouldn't see the addition of Half Life 2 and Episode 1 (and Peggle Extreme! ^^) as a way to milk more money from them, as it would be unrealistic to expect a lower price for an hypothetical Black Box bundle.

    A different story for those interested in just one game or two of them (like Episode 2 + Portal), as the prices those game are going to be sold individually on October 9th look sort of inflated in order to make the Orange Box look more appealing...
    If you can resist the urge to play them at release, at worst after the holiday season I think there will be more favourable prices or a single player bundle offering a better bargain. I know, it's kinda annoying...

    Edited by 1 at 13/09/07 @ 09:23

  • FaceOmeter #34 4 years ago

    A false economy if ever I saw it

    You have a woeful, woeful sense of economy.

    /weeps

  • YourMessageHere #35 4 years ago

    I caught myself before I tried to explain everything all over again. If you feel this is a good deal for you, great, good luck to you and goodbye.