PLAY THIS NOW
For some reason, there was a long gap of time between when I finished Portal and started Half-Life 2. I don't really know why. Portal seemed like the greatest game ever and that was Valve's spin-off thing. Half-Life is their flagship product. The most notable thing about Half-Life for me was how movie-like it felt to me. At a certain point in my progression of the game, a strong desire to play this game started consuming my life. The desire was not caused by the gameplay itself, but because I wanted the story to continue. I had to know what was going to next. I would say this game/franchise has the best storyline of any video game outside of the RPG genre. But the storyline wasn't the only great thing about the game. This is not your typical FPS. The weapons and gameplay change as the gameplay progresses. You get the gravity gun and the Pheropod which are awesome. I was never bored throughout the entire game. And when I say game, I am including the episodes. In my mind, they are all the same game. The final detail that definitely makes this game a 10/10 for me is the use of the G-Man. The beginning and end of the main game and each episode is fantastic and a lot of it has to do with the G-Man. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say I absolutely love the ending. What I don't love is Valve's decision to neglect Episode 3/Half-Life 3. WHERE IS IT? THIS IS KILLING ME.
Oh. I guess I am also suppose to talk about Team Fortress 2. Honestly, I have not played it, but it sounds like it would be really awesome. I have The Orange Box for Xbox 360, and I don't think many people are playing it anymore on Xbox Live.