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Half Life 2
The original game still holds up well today gameplay wise, and has a much better performance on the 360, than on the original Xbox port which was kind of strained. However it has been three years so the graphics are definitely starting to look dated; even with some lighting enhancements you can tell that this isn’t a 360 game. So if you’ve played the original there isn’t really much reason to come back, unless you’re desperate for a few more achievement points.
Episodes 1 & 2
The episodic accompaniment to the original game pick up immediately after the credits in Half Life 2, following Gordon and Alyx as they make their way out of City 17 and into the country. The graphics are noticeably sharper in the two episodes, and the wide open rural environments of Episode 2 are pretty impressive. There may not be too many gameplay additions, but the same great Half Life charm is there, and you want to see what happens next right? The two episodes really aren’t all that long, and should only take a couple of days each to clear out, but keep in mind that is the way they were designed. Portal
This mind pending puzzle game is also set in the Half Life universe at Aperture Science, but Valve has been silent on how it all fits into the other games in the series. The gameplay is very unique and can be hard to wrap your head around at times. In order to complete the puzzles you have to get into a different mindset and think about bending space in order to get things done, so think outside the box, way outside. Also this game is just downright hilarious, especially towards the end with the antics of a strange computerised voice that guides you through the experiments. While it is incredibly short (3-4 hrs) Portal is definitely an innovation on how a player can navigate through a 3D space. Team Fortress 2
TF2 is the sequel to Valve’s classic multiplayer shooter that formally introduced class based gaming to gamers, that’s a pretty big contribution to shooters. The game has a very interesting visual style, which is NOT cell shaded, but rather has a Pixar animation movie look to it, only with blood and gore. Unfortunately this visual style doesn’t look as good up close when you’re looking at your gun, so it may not be perfectly suited for an FPS given the player’s perspective. The class systems, which contain all the regulars: medic, demolitions, sniper, all function very well and have balanced abilities and drawbacks. No class is dominant. On a cautionary note the gameplay is very unrealistic, so it may not appeal to Counter Strike or Halo fans; however it remains fun and entertaining. I’ve heard about some severe lagging problems online but apparently a patch has been put out that fixes this problem. I found that the game has a very interesting style in character design, as if TF2 is a parody of all the multiplayer shooters that we have come to know very well. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but manages to work. Sadly, due to the Halo 3 aftershock which is still in effect, there aren’t that many people playing.