Valve’s Steam service offers a wide array of great games for Mac, but it is Valve's games that really highlight the lineup. The company has developed some truly memorable first-person action and adventure games, and playing each and any of their titles is an essential experience for every Mac gamer. Valve's games have managed to age gracefully and still retain a strong replay value--especially with the inclusions of updates, mods and achievements. For that reason, we've decided to write up a brief introduction into the world of Portal--the first game to be released on Steam for Mac. Stay tuned to Maclife.com for more quick tips and tricks for all of Valve games.

Download Steam for Mac here. Portal is available for free until May 24.

Portal

Unlike anything we’ve ever played, Portal’s brilliant, mind-bending platforming is the pinnacle of puzzle games. Some may scoff at its brevity (it’s only three or four hours long) but it’s so clever and cool that you’ll want to experience it again, if only to see what layers of depth you missed. There are enough spoilery distractions along the way that you probably won’t catch ‘em all. Keep these tips in mind while, ahem, doing what you do in Portal: 

•    Keep an eye open for nods to Half-Life 2 throughout Portal. Evidence of Black Mesa, a crucial component of the series, crops up enough times to solidify Portal as part of Half-Life canon. You’ll find tons of “oh snap!” secrets if you look hard enough.

•    The puzzles are complicated, yes, but Ockham’s razor is always in effect: The simplest answer is always the easiest. If you feel like your solution is annoying or arduous, take a deep breath and look for a simpler alternative.

•    Jumping through a portal on a horizontal surface sends you flying out of a vertical one. To jump farther, fall through the horizontal hole from a greater height. This game isn’t just about perspective… you’ll need to use momentum and physics to solve brain-teasers too.