Which game to buy?

I know questions like this have come up before, but I figure I'll ask it while keeping my system specs in perspective:

Which will give me the better overall gaming experience?

1) Orange Box

2) Call of Duty 4

I think I will be able to run the Half-Life 2 Episodes @ 1024 res and full settings (or very nearly), although COD4 demo looked VERY good on my rig on decent settings.

On the other hand, I game online a decent amount - is COD4's online gaming as good as purported by the game reviewers?

Portal was great (the demo), but I hear it's extemely short.

So guys, pros/cons? Will episode 2 look really good on my rig?

256MB GT8600M
4 GB (3.5GB on Vista 32-bits)
2.2 GHZ DC2

 

Very tough decision. I would say that both are must have's but if it it comes down to one, i would personally get cod4 only b/c i feel the online is much more fun. orange box is awesome for single player and so is cod4, but orange box has much more content. Cod4 campaign is a bit on the short side so if you're looking for depth and an intruiging storyline, orange box is the way to go.

 

That's a really tough call, since both are must-owns. I own CoD4 however, and can safely say it's online component is the best I've seen on any online FPS so far. Worth a purchase for any online gamer.

 

get cod 4, you won't have any regrets. although single player is short, the online portion more than makes up for it.

 

Having never played CoD4 I must say TOB is the best FPS/bundle I've ever played, but from what I've heard about CoD4, both are must buys.
TOB gets my vote!

 

Wow!

Tough choice...

How do you guys think that each will run on my rig?

That will play a factor, although I will eventualyl (probably) end up getting both...

 

Assuming that is the GDDR3 version of that GPU, CoD4 will run at a solid 30 FPS during the single player without AA on, with the occasional dip. On online I just turn off shadows to be safe and always get between 40-60 FPS.

Orange Box should run fine with everything on every game maxed, except maybe AA.

 

(NOOB TIME)

How can I check? I bought my PC a couple of months ago, but I think it might be DDR2...

 

i don't see why this is even worth discussing. HL2 will run better than CoD4. it's not like you won't be able to play CoD4, you'll just play at med settings.

 

CoD4's on-line system is a blast to play and, to my surprise, is very, very deep and rewarding.

 

Get Call of Duty 4.


However, if you have never played the original Half Life 2 (what! ) then the Orange box might be better value for money.

 

Yea i agree with that both of them are awesome. CoD4 was a bit short but action packed. It comes down to what you want. Orange box has alot to it and even tho portal was not a shooting game i enjoyed it, makes you think and wasnt THAT short. And then it comes with HL2, Ep1 and Ep2 (Ep2 was awesome) But if you want online play id go for CoD4

 

I really don't know. The only reason I know I have DDR3 is because that's all Macbook Pros come with. It might say on your manufacturers site, or possibly in a review of your laptop somewhere.

 

The foolproof way is to name your manufacturer and model, and someone will know. But barring that, GPU-z (google it) should tell you accurately. If it's 800 MHz RAM, it's DDR2. If it's 1400 MHz, it's DDR3. You may have to double the reported number to get that (being that it's double data rate).

Depending on your resolution, you may be able to use High settings without AA on CoD4. The MacBookPro 17-inch does have a rather high resolution of 1680x1050 (1920x1200 optional); yours may or may not be that high.

 

WTH! Everyone's talkin about how great CoD4's multiplayer is versus the Orange Box, but nobody has mentioned Team Fortress 2 in the discussion! TF2 is easily one of the best online shooters, up there with CoD4 and others. This should not be forgotten.

 

get cod 4.way better than the orange box imo

 

get both if you can, cant go wrong either way.

 

Orange Box or Call of Duty 4.
You can buy them like 2 years later when the prices drop
Or maybe in the sales like i got my ob for 25

 

I double that.

 

Absolutely.


However, people tend to find it easier to get in to more "realistic" shooters like CSS and COD4 because it's more intuitive.

COD4 and TF2 are two of the most amazing multiplayer shooters out there, but are vastly different in terms of play style.

 

Yes it is, but it's maps are a little limiting right now. It has the ability to be on the level of CoD4, but not just yet. Needs map expansions!