The Orange Box (Playstation 3, 2007)

The Bottom Line

Yes, the "true" Half-Life 2 experience is to be had on a PC. Yes, I will admit that the mouse keyboard combo is a better hardcore option for shooters than the Sixaxis. But, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box is a superb PS3 game, and an excellent option should you not be able to, or want to play the PC version. Sure, it may run smoother on the Xbox 360 or have more community content on the PC, but if you want the experience, and have a PS3, this is not only adequate, it nears excellence. Playing Portal on your HDTV sitting on your couch beats the office chair/monitor setup any day of the week.

Pros
Quite possibly the greatest gaming value in history, or at least close to it
Console jockeys now will know the pleasure of Half-Life 2, et al
Portal is one of the more memorable and original FPS experiences in years
The Half-Life games tell a story better than any FPS in recent memory
Cons
Driving in Half-Life is dismal
People will complain about the controls, others will be glad to be keyboard free
Yup, framerate issues again, the Xbox 360 version runs more smoothly
Load times can be a drag, not too long, but close for a FPS