Just get the orange box, a combination of shooter, pwning and puzzles, all with the source engine to allow mods to pwn many more others.

Get the orange box. Or the ninjas will continue to watch you >:(

Easykill:
Heavy? Really? I played as a Pyro and got like 30 kills for everyone of my deaths when I played, it actually seemed pretty unbalanced, but maybe on non-noob servers the other characters' abilities might help more.

I just can't make the Pyro work... Scout for me =D

I have to echo sentiments about the Orange Box on sheer value. Getting multiple games in one package is nice and will give you a good intro to the Valve games, Steam, and the like. You'll get a good variety and the footprint is negligible.

From what I understand, HL2 engine games (with the exception of the poorly optimized Vampire the Masquerade) run quite well on systems with lower specs. I don't think you'll have any trouble whatsoever running these games. They are much less graphically intense than the Witcher.
I was able to run HL2 without any issues on a 2.0 ghz athlon xp, with 768 meg of ram and a geforce 6200 ( basically a computer that was mid to low end about four years ago)

I just did a quick search to see what the minimum requirements for the orange box were. Here you go.
1.7 GHz Pentium 4
512 MB system RAM
DirectX 8 compatible video card

I think it'll run perfectly on your machine.

From the sound of it, you would want a competitive shooter. I would then recommend Day of Defeat: Source (the best WWII multiplayer shooter of all time) and Counter-Strike 1.6 or Source. CS 1.6 (the original) is one of the most skill heavy multiplayer shooters and the sequel, Source, is a bit more noob friendly. Both versions are good in their own way though.

Garry's Mod. 'nuff said.

Buy the Orange Box. Specifically, play Half-Life 2 and Portal. If you like it, then play the other games, and maybe buy the original Half-Life and the expansions (or if you're into muliplayer, buy CS:S).

TF2, and play a sniper.

your mother will hate you and your children will spit on you.

but its good to be king.

BTW, I'm playing tf2 regularly, and I nearly always come in with a score of about 2 deaths to every kill, making me a complete loser (tho I'm somehow usually in the top half on the scores, probably because my idea of defensive play means running at them and jumping occasionally. I'm all for full on offence, if I wanted to wait to kill things I'd go play metal gear solid).

Ahem, I mean, I'm usually doing pretty badly in terms of repeated painful death, and despite this, I'm having more lols per minute than any game I've ever played in my life. Dont let being new to the game put you off, and I've also found the community isnt half as bad as some, not too much in the way of 'lol pwnd nub' comments, I even see and type 'nice shot' comments, sometimes.

Download the free Half-Life 2 Demo. It got me hooked. Like, by the time Gman said "and".

Easykill:
I never liked Counter Strike, but you better try HL2 soon or Purps might decide to give your mother a VERY late abortion.

Fetch me my killen' gloves.

I 'suggest' (and that was in huge emiphase) you play Half Life 1, 2 and all the episodes... or see above.

try out http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest to see if you can run it.

Xwii360:
Counter Strike source looks good.

Playing Counterstrike Source when The Orange Box is in stores now is, to quote Fight Club, like masturbating when you could be having really great sex.

RESIST THE TEMPTATION!! ONCE YOU PUT STEAM ON YOUR COMPUTER YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESIST BUYING THE GAME LIBRARY!!

Never played a Valve game? Ever?
Before I shun you, get the Orange Box. CS:S doesn't come with it, so you may want to get it, though.
And if your graphics can't handle it, play the original Half-Life.
It all started with Half-Life.
But if you can, get Gmod. A lot of people I know love it, although I've only played a few on there myself. And it's only $10

I envy you.

The half-life series is just one of those games that makes you wish you could remove all memory of ever having played it and do it all over again.

Buy the Orange Box; It's not a purchase you regret.

mGoLos:
I envy you.

The half-life series is just one of those games that makes you wish you could remove all memory of ever having played it and do it all over again.

Buy the Orange Box; It's not a purchase you regret.

Yeah, same with just about every RPG in existence. I salute you.

Wow i really need to start pc gaming again. The latest game i installed was the Empire at War expansion. After i moved to a mac but i have missed out on the Valve phenomenon and they seem, if ever there was a good shooter it would be a valve shooter.

Ya know, it really depends on the person, but if I was asking this question I'd tell myself to play through HL1, HL1 Op For, and HL1 blue shift, then go through HL2 and the episodes. However, I have a very good attention span and I prefer story over shiny graphics. Most people wont be able to get into HL1 since the engine is so dated, and it isn't as easy as HL2.

If you want the story and you don't care that the graphics are wonky, start with the first Half Life. If you have a short attention span and want something to grab your attention immediately, start with HL2. If you don't want to get involved in the HL series because you're afraid that its like crack, and you'll get addicted, get Portal (only slightly tied to HL). If you don't care about single player or story at all, get TF2 or CS:S. If you get CS:S you will die, immediately, again and again until you understand the levels (unless of course you're already good at FPS games, in which case, you'll probably be fine.) If you have a wild imagination, and you want to experience the game where your creativity can go wild and you'll see thing people make that will make your brain turn inside out, get Garrysmod.

Actually, if you buy HL2, you can download tons of mods, my favorite is "Pirates Vikings and Knights 2", but I think you can also download an older, harder-to-use version of Garrysmod for free.

I never played a Valve game until I got the Orange Box for my birthday this year. I think that's the best way to sample their games. It's inexpensive, and even if you don't like one or two of the games, you're bound to love at least one of them.

First: feel ashamed of yourself.

Second: Buy the Orange Box, I guarantee you won't regret it.

The Orange Box: The Gaming equivalent to the biblical Rapture...

Eyclonus:
The Orange Box: The Gaming equivalent to the biblical Rapture...

Wha?

How is Orange Box anything like the Rapture?

-- Alex

Because it is The Orange Box silly...

Buy the complete valve pack. you will not be disapointed. Costs like half a wii and contains the same ammount of games.

Alex_P:

How is Orange Box anything like the Rapture?

-- Alex

Because anyone who doesn't buy the Orange Box gets curb-stomped by Jesus, duh.

Also, who the hell is "-- Alex"?

you can't go wrong with the original, or the half life series in general

I agree. Buy the Orange box. Then spend three or four hours "registering" for an online account you didn't want, with features you don't need, without actually being able to play the game until you complete the confusing mess. Then, once you've jumped through more hoops than Tricky the dog on an ecstasy high, you should be able to play some of the best games you're ever likely to buy.

Hate Steam. Love Portal.

Well I don't want to re-hype up orange box for you but seriously, you'll get the most out of your money, no matter what version you get. It kinda goes without saying the PC version is the best one and is the best value but I'm sure you can find the 360 version for around the same price now, I've seen a lot of price cuts on it.