I was debating getting one of Halo3 or Orange Box. This was difficult because I already own Half Life 2 and Half Life 2 Episode 1 on the PC, but I really wanted Portal and and Half Life 2 Episode 2 which (sadly) costs the same as just getting Orange Box (which contains all of Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1, Half Life 2 Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 – which, for the price, is an absolute bargain). I just decided to bite the bullet and get Orange Box on the 360 as I am trying to mostly go with 360 games over PC games these days (for the simplicity of install, getting it running, etc). I started up Portal and am absolutely blown away – it is the most amazing, mind bending puzzle game I think I have ever played. There is “think out side the box” and then there is Portal. Valve really needs to get a Portal demo out there — plus a ton more Portal Puzzles. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to re-playing the whole Half Life 2 series again so I can play Half Life 2 Episode 2 (I don’t think I ever even finished Episode 1). Plus, I think it will be fun to try Team Fortress 2. — Anyway, since I mostly play “single player” games, I think Orange Box over Halo3 is the right choice. I’ll probably borrow or rent Halo3 so I can play it, though.
This week I also got Puzzle Quest (on XBLA) thinking the missus and I would both enjoy it, and I was right – this is a really fun game and missus really loves it. It is an odd combination of an RPG game and Bejeweled (the missus loves Bejeweled). It is odd but it really does work. All the fun of an RPG without the stress of instant decision combat. You still have spells, levels, etc. Lots of fun.
I’m still playing Oblivion, trying to get to 1000/1000 achievement points (at least eventually). Guitar Hero 3 will be here within weeks, I’m looking forward to that. Our upstairs neighbors played a bunch of Guitar Hero 2 while the missus and I were road-tripping and now they are talking about getting a Wii (or something) so they can play Guitar Hero 🙂 Guitar Hero is one of the most infectious games (even for non-gamers) that I have ever seen.