The thing you have to ask yourself is, is portal, tf2, and ep2 worth $45? For me, its a definite yes. Hl2 and ep1 are just free games thrown in. Valve just had shitty timing and screwed it up with the black box. If they had never announced the black box, and just said, these 3 games for 45 bucks, plus we are giving everyone who buys it hl2 and ep1 for free, they would be been welcomed with open arms. But because of their timing, they make it look like they are charging gamers for extra stuff. It is really an awesome deal for everyone involved if you ignore the timing and just look at the value proposition. If you only like 1 of the games, just buy it separately, but if you like 2 or more of them, the orange box is a pretty damn good deal.