Proclamations of Half-life 2's two year rule over the single-player FPS won't be uttered here. They don't need to be. What will be proclaimed is the merits of the rest of the purchase, which includes Episode One, Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2.

Episode One picks up pleasantly where the story dropped so dramatically off in HL2's climax. A tunnel vision powerhouse journey through (most of) the best bits from Valve's benchmark, Episode One exists as a testament to the creators ability to craft truly memorable characters. As much about the gravity of the situation as the gun itself, the basic fugitive premise does wonders to wind tighter the relationship between the series' hero and heroine.

On to Episode Two; the main course to Episode One's starter. Full of quirks, a steady feed of puzzles and thankfully a lengthy runtime that packs in enough mirrors of Half-Life 2's best moments to justify the purchase of this re-release.

Where the collection takes on a more dynamic, creative streak is with Portal – a time-warping mini-game presumably associated with the franchise by its ingenuity and startling personality. A one-weapon show of angular mind-tricks, Portal is a welcome addition to a package clearly not intent on delivering Half-Life 2.5 and reaffirms Valve's position as a talent factory. It's very much the understatement to Portal, and Half-Life before it, that ices the cake of success. After a bolstering media campaign for a certain Microsoft franchise, watching Valve sneak The Orange Box onto shelves packed with as much value, better story-telling and a wonderfully understated approach to science-fiction is akin to sitting in on a viewing of Blade Runner straight after Transformers.

Team Fortress 2 is where this critic takes one foot out of the boat. A basic set of multi-player maps upped in attractiveness by startling design and satisfying character class balance, TF2 is The Orange Box's equivalent to the Counter Strike Source bundled with the original release of the game on PC. There's doubtless entertainment to be had for the committed groupie, but the big, dark shadow of Halo 3 is something not soon avoided by any multi-player game released in the next few months.

Half-life 2 was, and still is, a benchmark in the medium of videogames. More than its slick looks and tight mechanics, it showed – in following the foot-prints left by its originator – how the language of videogames can be something unique and special. Better than confirm that Valve is leading the pack of first-person shooters, The Orange Box confirms that Valve is leading the pack of modern science fiction.

Discuss this article on our Forum.