It’s not often that you find a real dollar value amongst the top-tier AAA video game titles on the market.  Pretty much everything from the greatest of games (read: Halo 3, BioShock, et al.) to the worst offenders of shovelware (…  that list would be too numerous to mention) are going to initially retail for $60-80.  When did being a gamer get so darned expensive?  Even top-shelf PSP and DS games will cost you about $40.

But I digress… This week does bring perhaps the best video gaming deal to come along in some time.  BEHOLD!!  It is… The Orange Box.  Valve’s collection of 5 games, some new, some old, which while all good on their own could probably not stand up as individual retail releases.  You’ve got the classic Half-Life 2, plus its episodic expansions in HL2: Episode 1 and Episode 2, and then you’ve got what I consider the real gems of the package; the crazy puzzler Portal, and the multiplayer frag-fest that is Team Fortress 2.

I just picked up the title and I honestly can’t wait to get in on some TF2 and Portal action.  If you haven’t seen videos of either, you’re certainly missing out.  The latter is just a little mind (and physics) bending.  The former…  well, those are darn near Pixar-level graphics.  In a video game!!  And nothing could be funnier than seeing a Spy on your own team wearing a paper bag over his head as a disguise.

If any of you catch me online, I’ll be happy to jump into a little wild TF2 action with ya!  Time to bring on the Heavy!