Let's start by saying this is a collection of great FPS games by Valve. The first is Half-Life 2 and its two expansion sets. Half-Life 2 was released on the original Xbox, however this version does have updated graphics and textures. Half-Life 2 is not about aliens trying to take over the world. In Half-Life 2, the aliens have already taken over the world and you got to stop them as part of the resistance. It gets much more complex as the game goes on and the story continues in the two expansion sets.

Like all great alien FPS games, you got ridiculous alien names, an even more ridiculous plot, and dialogue from a bad 60s sci-fi movie. However, the action more than makes up for it. What's especially award winning is the physics engine which features the gravity gun, which allows the player to use anything as a weapon. The gun makes the environment very interactive. Half-Life 2 also features vehicles and plenty of weird aliens to kill.

Besides Half-Life 2, you also get Team Fortress 2. The graphics in Team Fortress 2 are cartoonm style, but the action is extremely fast and amazing. As the name implies, the game is about multiplayer. There are classes of soldiers, and unlike other games, the classes make a significant difference on how the game plays. There's a great deal of strategy involved as you try to balance your team while competing in standard multiplayer such as capture the flag.

Finally, Valve includes a new game called Portal. Portal is very simple. You have a gun that creates holes that you can fall through. So does another person that you must capture. So basically, you go from level to level trying to use your gun to solve puzzles so you can capture the other person. The game really makes you think, but in a fun and interesting type of way. It's a great game when you have some free time and don't want to sit through an entire FPS level.

You'll spend most of your time in Half-Life 2 since it's the only very long single player game. If you like multiplayer, Team Fortress 2 is a better choice. All the games have good graphics, although the textures are no match for games like Gears of War or Halo 3. However, consider that you're getting a hundred hours of great award winning gameplay with plenty of multiplayer and single player, it's an excellent deal.