Electronic Arts has teamed up with developer Valve to deliver value to the masses with Half-Life 2: The Orange Box. This PlayStation 3 mega compilation, which will retail for $59.99 and debuts December 11, includes the following five games: Half-Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode One and Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. This just might be the best compilation in video game history.

Much has been written about the PS3 version's frame rate issues, and while the game isn't unplayable by any means, it's slower than its Xbox 360 counterpart. The action chugs during intense moments, which is a shame, considering the power of Sony's machine. With that being said, PS3 owners should still enjoy playing through The Orange Box, especially if they never saw its counterpart. After all, what you don't know won't hurt you... or something like that.

Including Episode One and Two will give console fanatics an easy way to catch up on Gordon Freeman's exploits and the Combine's schemes. As in the original Half-Life 2, players explore a rich and vibrant 3-D world from a first-person perspective, interacting with lifelike characters and a host of interesting weapons that blast aliens and manipulate environments. In particular, the Gravity Gun shows off the game's physics, allowing people to pick up and throw various objects that behave as they would in real life. The game moves quickly and features a gripping story that complements the action, a concoction of elements that earned Half-Life 2 many 'game of the year' nods.

The accompanying Portal strays from violence by requiring players to use weapons to solve mind-bending puzzles. Armed with a special gun that fires portals (one entrance portal and one exit portal), players strategically place them around the environment in order to move on to the next challenge. The portals only work when fired at non-metallic surfaces, so gamers must first locate these areas and then figure out where to shoot. It might sound tedious, but manipulating the environments and making it to the other side is a rewarding experience.

The final game in the compilation, Team Fortress 2, will be one of the hottest PlayStation Network games. The sequel to one of the most popular PC shooters of all time provides an explosive experience in which red and blue teams frag one another for online supremacy. Nine classes (Sniper, Heavy, Pyro, Scout, Engineer, Medic, Soldier, Spy and Demoman) allow gamers to experiment with various character types and signature weapons. Despite the game's colorful cartoon appearance, there's nothing kid-friendly about this frantic shoot-em-up. Cel-shaded characters rack up major body counts using machine guns, rocket launchers, shotguns and flamethrowers. Whether it'll allow for customization or mods (found in the PC version) remains to be seen.

With video games growing pricier every generation, it's good to see Electronic Arts publishing this value-packed compilation. Considering all of the excellent games in this package, Half-Life 2: The Orange Box will be a hit amongst PS3 owners. However, don't expect the same perfect score as its Xbox 360 cousin. Although it contains the same content, its woes make it inferior.