Half-Life 2 (Orange Box): Prima Official Game Guide Reviews

• Don't read before playing - Use it to find what you missed

  
  By A39KJOCZGCM8P1 on 2004-11-19
  As is to be expected with any review guide, Prima's Half-Life 2 Strategy Guide contains **alot** of spoilers. In fact, most every plot detail is outlined within these pages. If you are still playing Half-Life 2, have a look at the first several chapters (detailing your adversaries and how to dispatch them) and then put it aside, referring to it only when you are hopelessly stuck on a puzzle or an action sequence.
  
  However, once you've gone through Half-Life 2, you should read to your hearts content. Prima does an exhaustive job of detailing every nook and cranny of the game - from each appearance of the G-Man to each public service announcement made by Dr. Breen, from each ammo cache to each interesting newspaper clipping tacked to a wall. Its a fount of information and one of the few FPS strategy guides worth owning. This will help you get your money's worth out of Half-Life 2.
  
  

• Uhh the games not out yet

  
  By on 2003-12-12
  With all this chatter about the guide providing all the wonderous help, i wonder how it can be helpful if the game HAS YET TO BE RELEASED? I mean when it comes out in APRIL it may be helpful to some, but parents dont waste money on this for your kids until the game is out. Look for HL2 in april, before then buy them some shakespear or something. Just an attempt by whoever made the book to get some quick XMAS cash from some unsuspecting customers.
  
  

• Excellent guide!

  
  By A9AZJGWMDJ7SR on 2004-11-23
  First let me say that the HL2 Guide does have tons of spoilers in it. So if you really want to be surprised don't look at it until you get stuck. But having said that it is a great guide. Also it is in glorious full color.
  
  The HL2 Guide is broken into five sections:
  
  First is an overview of all the weapons in the game. Full color illustartions and good info.
  
  The second is an overview of all the characters you will encounter. Again, full color illustrations and good info.
  
  The third section is the real meat of the book and contains the walkthroughs of each mission. What makes this section so nice is that a great map of the level is provided, which is better than the ones they did for Doom3, and full color screen shots that take you step by step through each mission. In addition, great tips and other goodies are highlighted for each level. If you get stuck on a level this is the place to look. Also, it is a great read AFTER you finish a level to pick up some tips and maybe see a few things you might have missed. It also narrates the story so you can actually read through this section almost like a book.
  
  The fourth section of the guide covers Counter-Strike.
  
  Lastly the book includes all the cheat codes you could ever want.
  
  Overall it is a very well done guide that will help you through a few tricky levels and has excellent production values.
  
  

• A masterpiece.

  
  By A2ZBF8VF7V4MLM on 2004-01-14
  The transition from interactive pixels to text is as seamless as ever in this gripping sequel to "Half-Life 1: Prima's Official Strategy Guide". I simply couldn't put it down. When the game actually comes out, I'll be better than ALL my friends!
  
  

• If you want a story, buy a novel

  
  By A3219QDVBVVQBV on 2004-03-26
  The whole point of playing the game is to get the story slowly as you puzzle (and fight) your way throught it. Nobody should buy a strategy guide anytime, but certainly not before at least trying to play the game on their own. And with HL2 especially, there is free help from other gamers in online forums if you get stuck. This book is intended to be "acquisition therapy" for those of us impatiently waiting for the game itself.

  Plus, unless the guide is sponsored by the makers of HL2 (it does not appear to be), all of its advice is suspect. Valve has released very little information about HL2, so this strategy guide is likely just fan fiction.
  
  

• Thanks Dude
  By ADPZNZX2RD3NA on 2004-11-12
  well....all i can say is thanks to the guy who totally blew a lot of the story....and thanks Prima for releasing this information to this stupid.....uh....*thinking of a "tame" word*....blabbermouth
  
  
• A+ !!!!!1
  By A2M026SKFQD3MW on 2003-11-29
  Oh man, those biozeminades kept killing me...

  THAT IS UNTIL I got the official Prima Half-Life 2 Strategy Guide! I recommend this to everyone and their dogs; heck, their fishes too!

  If it helped me, then it can help you, too!
  
  

• Above average
  By on 2004-03-17
  A VERY interesting strategy guide for a game that admittedly has only been released unofficially, so to speak. Anyway for all those who want to read spoilers before the game, then you will find this walkthrough a great font of knowledge, containing some very cool facts that help illuminate some of the first game and help clear up some of Gordon's past. So yeah, if you can't wait for the full game, read this, reveals a much more complicated plot than the first game, with lots of twists and surprises, much more story-oriented (a bit on the level of Deus Ex in it's complexity)

  Fans of Half Life who are fed up with waiting for the game will love it, others might just want to take the patient approach and wait a few more months for the full official game release.
  
  

• Why cant I give it more than 5 stars!!!
  By AA8DOI0RCJXRY on 2004-06-11
  This book is the absolute best things to come out ever!! I bought 2 copies because I wore the first one out! I mean really, without this, the game would be impossible to play! I highly recommend any book that can help you complete a game before its ever released!! Wait a minute...maybe Valve should buy a few of these...
  
  
• awesomely helpfullness!
  By AWY04PB4T8K0B on 2003-11-27
  Phew! That book really helped me past those nasty BIOZEMINADES! Man those were tough! But thanks to this book I finally finished that game.. Man, I wished that this game wasn't so hard an all. With all those physics it gets really confusing, like biozeminades in teh front combine in teh back an zombies from everywhere..
  
  
• Oh man! What a shocker!
  By A16KKQ458GE3D3 on 2004-02-10
  Thanks Prima for releasing your guide early! How else would I have found out that Gordon is actually an ALIEN before the game was released! and that G-man was trying to keep his identity secret so the government could actually use the aliens' greatest weapon against them! Man, what an ending! Saves me the trouble of actually having to buy and play the game to find out the story. Thanks for saving me a couple of bucks and a few months!
  
  
• WHY was this made NOW?
  By on 2004-02-20
  i have no clue why they made a strategy guide without the actual GAME!!!!!! Come ON people you would actually buy a strategy guide without a game? you probably just want to look at the final boss obviously, not the MAPS, please, spare me the excuses.
  
  
• Nothing in here you can't get for free
  By A54DEGICQXPZ8 on 2005-12-20
  First off, if you don't want to have the ending to the game ruined, stop reading these reviews because J. Boden ruins it for everyone. Also, don't buy the Prima Guide because there are spoilers in there as well. I made the mistake of getting this book when I was half-way through the game thinking it would help me, but I've pretty much figured everything out already on my own. The game Half-Life 2 is built around gently guiding you in the direction it wants you to go. The only purpose this book would serve is if you are absolutely stuck on a level and can't figure out what to do or where to go, then you could consult this guide for tips. But that hasn't happened for me yet and I'm playing on Normal difficulty. The weapons list and enemies list in this book for better or for worse has been copied on the Internet many times, so you can do a quick Google search and find most of the tips for free. This book only taught me one useful thing I couldn't figure out on my own: the machine gun has a grenade launcher (I forgot about the secondary fire option on most weapons). That's about it. I could see this book being useful for people having trouble completing a level, people who really like the colorful maps, or people who want to know what's going to happen ahead of time. If you're already into the game and don't need help, there isn't much here.
  
  
• Jej, s^m st^f
  By A3UZHAZ5QJLE96 on 2004-12-22
  Yeah, it's been established that we have two different types of gamers: those who are appalled by those who use strategy guides, and those who think it's fun to check out extra stuff after playing the game. Whatever. Anyway, I'm a little sceptical on the thoroughness of this thing, because I noticed that it doesn't cover every G-Man appearance; and after I found one not listed, I noticed that unlisted sightings are all over the Steam forums. Hm, dubiety.
  
  
• Need all the help I can get !!
  By A2M98HE2VDCPDX on 2005-10-10
  Rate it a 4 out of 5 cause never have time to use it.To busy workin to pay for all my PC addictions not to mention gas...!!I also have one for DOOM3 and am pleased with it and found GOD mode alot of help for this overaged wanabe gamer... Weekend warrior W/half a deck..
  
  
• Found this book very useful
  By A16HYQ55YPO8R5 on 2003-12-02
  As I am yet to complete the game, referring to how the story is finished in Prima's strategy guide is very useful for me on a day to day basis. I extend my thanks to Prima in my hour of need! I don't know where I would be without the detailed maps and desciptions of enemy behaviour!!
  
  
• If you have Half Life 2, you should have this guide
  By A349MGZV85SZPH on 2004-11-24
  This is a great guide. It is over 300 pages thick with detailed information about every location. It covers Half Life 2 as well as Counter Strike - Source. The entire guide is in full color and printed on heavy paper.
  
  In addition to explaining gameplay details, the guide also covers some basic information that would normally be in a manual. Since HL2 does not come with a manual, this is very nice. It is not something I would normally expect from a strategy guide, but I appreciate that they went the extra mile there.
  
  This is also the kind of game that makes a strategy guide important. HL2 is not a mindless shooter, so you are likely to get stuck at some point. This guide is a great tool and will help you out when you need it.
  
  Note that this guide is not the same is the "Official Hint Book" that ships with the collector's edition. In fact, the booklet that ships with the collector's edition is really just an advertisement for this book. Get the real thing and ignore the collector's edition.
  
  
• Great Game Guide
  By A29P2BM5FJ7NFL on 2007-11-08
  This is very well written and helpful if you get stuck while playing all the games in the Orange Box.
  
  
• Awesome game
  By A3BCUOL2EA178N on 2007-11-09
  It's an oldie but goodie. The end cut seen could have been alot better, but so much fun to play. A must have for xbox gaming.
  
  
• Nice Guide, Fast Chipping, All you can find in the 5 games is here !!
  By A24YBMS58781XY on 2007-12-30
  Well I live in costa rica, it takes 22 days to me to arrive but cuz i paid the cheapest service hehe. If you are looking for a 100% complete in the 5 games so you have to buy it !
  It Contains all the weapons, creatures all you can thin...
  5 Starts
  
  

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