The Orange Box
Definately worth $30 if you haven't played Half Life 2 yet. I don't like the episode expansions. They're well done, but so short that I would feel very ripped off if I paid full price for them. Portal is very fun too, but very short if you're a decent problem solver. Team Fortress 2 isn't my favorite game. I don't enjoy playing online with immature people or super elite pros who have mastered the art of video games. But that's all personal preference.
Risen
A great throwback RPG. I haven't fully explored it yet, but seems to be a fun game if you enjoy the style of game. I don't see many of these types released that are well done, and this one is a nice addition.
The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion
If you played and loved Morrowind, you're not going to like Oblivion very much. The more you loved it actually, the less you'll like Oblivion. It's a console-ified, dumbed down and overly simplified game that holds the hand of the player and walks them through the game giving out free candy, and seems to find ways to frustrate you without challenging you in the least. If it's for the 360, it's only worth getting on sale and wasting some time on you've never played an Elder Scrolls Game, since you won't realize what's missing. For the PC, there are enough mods to make the game worthwhile. The mods can't fix everything (ai problems, bland npc's, some of the hand holding), but a heavily modded Oblivion is a much better game and is worth playing for many hours.
Fallout 3
This suffers from a lot of the same problems as Oblivion, but with a few less critical flaws. It does still suffer from a few of the same main complaints though; not enough variety in the NPC's, over used voice actors, only a half-interesting main quest, etc. I found it fun and more fun without mods than I expected, but the modding changed it from a decent game that would be soon shelved into one that I'll play for awhile.
EVE Online
Most of this game is fought in the forums. It's very beautiful but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Sorry I nodded off there for a bit. It can be very boring. It's got a lot of different ideas, but again, I don't like playing with people who are obsessed, or the uber elite that must conquer all things in the virtual world. I'm a mix somewhere inbetween casual gamer and hardcore, and Eve isn't my style. That doesn't mean it's not yours though.
Company of Heroes
I liked this game at first, but after completing the campaigns and playing a bit of multiplayer I got bored with it. It's fun and worth a play through, but doesn't have much to offer imo once you've worked through the strategies and tactics.
Burnout Paradise
A good game to waste time on that I like to pop in and play every now and then. Racing games seem to follow their own models. If you liked previous Burnouts then you'll like this one. If you haven't, this one isn't going to do anything to change your mind.
Sims 3
My girlfriend likes this game, but I haven't spent much time on it so I can't offer any opinion. It's not really my type of game.
