http://previews.teamxbox.com/xbox-360/1659/HalfLife-2-The-Orange-Box/p1/

I can' t wait for this game. Here' s brief descriptions of what someone at Team Xbox thought of each of the 9 classes:

" The Heavy Weapons Guy: As I mentioned above, the HWG’s minigun (he can also use his fists a shotgun) takes a while to charge up, but once it does anyone within 10 meters or so is in big trouble. When firing (or charging up the barrel), your foot speed will decrease dramatically, so you’ve got to decide which is more important. After all, what good is that powerful gun if you keep getting smoked by quicker or stealthier enemies?

The Sniper: This character feels like your garden variety sniper, but one thing we really like is the inclusion of a power meter. Essentially, staying in a zoomed view will increase the power of your shot, which encourages the player to stay in one place and wait for enemies like a “real” sniper. No more running and quick-zooming for you!

The Engineer: I was never really that interested in these character classes in other multiplayer games, but The Engineer is actually one of the cooler support classes in the game. While you’ll have some basic weapons at your disposal, you’ll likely spend most of your time running around the map, setting up upgradeable turrets and dispensers (they give players health and dispense metal to engineers). Metal is the currency of the engineer, as he can use it repair and upgrade turrets and build more dispensers. If you want to construct stuff faster, just whack it with your trusty wrench!

The Pyro: The most powerful offensive class in the game, this character is also hindered by the shortest attack range. If you’re within 10 feet of a Pyro, you’ll be turned into charcoal within seconds. This makes him positively deadly in the tight corridors of the indoor areas, where he can also wield a fireaxe if he wants to get messy. He loves the smell of napalm in the morning…

The Demoman: This cigar-chomping explosives expert is a dangerous foe, especially if you run into an area that’s covered with his sticky balls of C4. While a standard timed grenade launcher is his primary weapon, I had more fun firing a bunch of C4 balls into an area and waiting for some poor sap to come running through. With a simple press of the left trigger, all that was left of my foe was a few limbs and a cloud of pink mist.

The Spy: There’s a lot to love about this character. He’s got a number of fun gadgets at his disposal, with the coolest being a device that let’s you indefinitely take on the form of any class on the opposing team. If your enemy isn’t paying attention, you can waltz right into their headquarters and complete the objective you’re tasked with. The Spy can also turn invisible for a little while, then sneak up behind an enemy and shank them with a blade.

The Scout: While I didn’t get a chance to play with this class, I did see a lot of them hauling ass around the levels. The Scout is very quick, so it’s close to impossible to get a good bead on him. Naturally, that makes this class the best suited for a snatch ‘n grab style of play (the game has a CTF-like mode that requires you to grab intel).

The Medic: Another support character, The Medic has the ability to heal any character on the battlefield, so it’s not uncommon to see one running along with a squad. You’ve only got to get near your teammates to heal them, and your “gun” will emit a stream of crosses (you know, like that famous red one?) to let you know it’s working. The character also has our favorite of the melee weapons, a bone saw that should lead to some gruesome kills.

The Soldier: Although these characters wield a rocket launcher as their primary, it’s not one of the overpowered ones that we’re used to seeing in many shooters. Sure, it packs quite a punch, but it’s actually the best way to get around in the game, as it’s seemingly been designed with rocket jumps in mind."