Summary

Many older titles received HD remastered trilogies during the lifecycle of the PS3 and Xbox 360. These allow a whole new generation of gamers to enjoy these titles with far greater visual clarity. However, there are some franchises that take this a step further.

These compilations let players, new and old, experience a large portion of a beloved franchise starting with the title that started it all. Some of these are significantly smaller than others, but what matters is how much value and lore players can get from them, allowing them to relive the franchise’s best moments rather than simply being amassive collection of smaller games.

Bundles 5 Games

The Orange Box

The Orange Box is a bundle that includes five titles from Valve: Half-Life 2; Half-Life 2:Episode 1; Half-Life 2: Episode Two; Team Fortress 2, the sequel to the game that put class-based, multiplayer team warfare on the map; and Portal, the game that blends puzzles, first person action, and adventure gaming to produce an experience like no other.

The Orange Box is one of the most iconic bundle packs and has something for everyone. Firstly, it packs togetherHalf-Life 2,Half-Life 2: Episode 1, andHalf-Life 2: Episode 2. This lets them relive the entirety of the iconicHalf-Life 2story experience.

Alongside this, it packed inTeam Fortress 2and the originalPortalgame.Team Fortress 2pioneeredthe hero shooter genre that we know today, and thePortalseries remains one of the greatest first-person puzzle experiences of all time.

While 3 games may not be as large as 5, each of these entries offers a large well of lore to fall in love with. Uncharted was a game-changer for both the PS3 and for Naughty Dog. It wascinematic and visually breathtaking, and the gameplay was fun without being as frantic as many games that came before it.

Gunplay was fluid and felt good, exploring for hidden little treasures was enticing, and the story was impactful. This collection lets players experience everything the first 3 games accomplished so well and is perfect for any player looking for a lot of value in a single purchase.

EachBioshockgame in this collection is its own kind of beast. The firstBioshockthrows players into a surreal andatmospheric world settingthat few players will be able to put down. The second entry gives players an entirely new perspective and experience.

Lastly,BioshockInfinite is more than the perfect cherry on top. Each title has solid gameplay, an engaging campaign, and each game’s story is nothing short of a masterwork. This bundle packs so much value into just 3 titles.

A lot of players never experienced the phenomenon that was Halo, opting to side with the PlayStation and its own powerhouse catalog of titles.Halo: Master Chief Collectionis the perfect place for players that nevergot to experience that hype, as it has 6Haloexperiences for them to dive through.

This includesHalo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4. While players may not get the same level of nostalgia and hype as those that lived through this age of wonder, it has everything to show why so many love the franchise.

Unlike other games that only offer 3 entries, each title in theMass Effectfranchise will give players plenty of situations they will want to revisit and look at from different angles. Players can walk the path of a Renegade, a Paragon, or carve their own path based on moment-to-moment decisions.

With so many side questsand romance options, each game alone is well worth its value. Players that have never experienced this franchise should look into giving this bundle a gander if lore-dense space opera is something that interests them.

3Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection

Bundles 8 Games

This bundle is rather dated when compared to theMetal Gear Solid: Master Collection. However, it does have a leg up when compared to this later bundle.Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1featuresMetal Gear, Metal Gear (NES version), Snake’s Revenge, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This gives players an utterly massive amount of value and lets them experience thelore of the game from the very start.

However, while both also feature plenty of extras,Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collectionadds bothMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the PatriotsandMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkerto the mix.Metal Gear Solid 4is one of the best titles that is still only playable on the PS3. Being able to experience this level oflore from the start of theMetal Gearfranchise, including non-game extras, is utterly astounding.

Sadly, as this bundle is still exclusively on the PS3, modern gamers will want to turn to theMetal Gear Solid: Master Collection.

2Kingdom Hearts All-in-One Package

Bundles 10 Games

Kingdom Heartsis an incredibly lore-rich franchise, but it has seen titles released across numerous different systems, from mainline consoles and handhelds to even mobile devices. However, as luck would have it, the franchise collected these titles into collections and thenbundled those collections together into theKingdom Hearts All-in-One Package.This pack includes a whopping 10 titles.

These includeKingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX(Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded),Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue(Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-, Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover), andKingdom Hearts 3. The most magical thing of all is that this bundle sees frequent sales that knock its price as low as $25.

1Borderlands Collection: Pandora’s Box

Bundles 6 Games and all their DLC

Each of theBorderlandsgamesoffers a massive open-world game filled with main and side quests alike. Completing the story once is not enough, as players will unlock more challenging modes, have replay value to explore the many different classes, and the never-ending hunt for loot can make this box set last at least a year — even for the most avid of gamers. In addition to 6 games, this pack includes 14 story-based content packs and even more DLC on top of that.

Games featured in this bundle includeBorderlands: Game of the Year Edition Enhancedand all add-on content,Borderlands 2and all add-on content,Borderlands: The Pre-Sequeland all add-on content,Tales from the Borderlands,Borderlands 3and all add-on content, andNew Tales from the Borderlandsand all add-on content.

Some versions such as PS5, do not include New Tales from the Borderlands, dropping this to only 5 titles.