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Valve is known for producing some of this industry's most ambitious and exciting games but are infamous for taking forever to do so. A mere three to four years since Valve stole our hearts with the phenomenon known as Portal, the game makes a return to the lime light with Portal 2. The original Portal blew minds with its mind bending puzzles and addicting portal guns and burned the title in our memory thanks to its genuine charm and boundless humor. No longer constricted to a bullet point on the box for Half-Life 2, Portal 2 breaks out of its shackles with its own full retail release. While I never doubted Valve's ability to pull it off, I was afraid that no amount of ingenuity would lead to a game that is touted as superior to the original. It turns out that Valve's bag of magic tricks is deep and my concerns were unwarranted. Portal 2 is genius. Keep reading to the end and there will be cake.
Portal 2 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: Valve Software
Publisher: Valve
Release date: April 19, 2011
Reviewing a game like Portal 2 is a real challenge. How do I express in words what my eyes often refuse to believe on screen? The original Portal already excelled in taking expectations and flipping them on their head. By giving players a simple to understand tool (the portal gun) and limiting them by a few rules, players found themselves doing things that were never thought possible in gaming. Valve succeeded by taking the traditional, static puzzle-platformer and forcing the player into the middle of it where they could interact and experiment to find the solution. My first thought when Portal 2 was announced was: "What could they possibly do to top that?" After playing through the Portal 2 campaign, I can honestly say that Portal 1 feels like a stepping stone that was meant to prepare players for something bigger. By introducing the portal gun itself and teaching players how to think with physics (and portals...), the player was left with the skills that would be needed to succeed in Portal 2.
[caption id="attachment_16329" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="That's a portal... and some foliage"]
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From a gameplay standpoint, Portal 2 feels very much like the perfection or extrapolation of Portal's original concept. While the core mechanic hasn't changed a bit, by combining it with a slew of new secondary elements, Portal 2 feels like breath of fresh air. In addition to the amazing physics based gameplay of the original, Valve has added anti-gravity tunnels and multicolored gel that can be applied to a surface and used for different purposes. Repulsion and propulsion gels affect mobility by allowing the player to bounce off or slide while the white gel is used to create portal-friendly surfaces. While understanding the laws of physics and momentum is a must, learning how to manipulate those forces to your advantage is even more vital this time around. If you thought the first portal challenged your critical thinking skills, wait until you end up in a test chamber with no portal-friendly surfaces at all and a single stream of white paint to work with.
Of course, you can't talk about Portal without mentioning the context (story) and the humor which are both in abundance here. Without sacrificing the simplicity and charm of the original, Valve has further expanded upon the strange but hilarious world of Aperture Science. Awakening from a cryogenic(?) state after being asleep for an unspecified number of years, Chell, the unlucky test subject from the original, awakens to an Aperture Science testing facility that has crumbled under the pressures of time and nature. With her reawakening comes the introduction of a new friend by the name of Wheatley, a shy but entertaining little bot who acts as your guide. After accidentally reawakening the evil Glados, the game takes a wild but welcome turn that plays out through the remainder of the game.
In true Valve fashion, returning characters are portrayed in a different light and awesome, new characters are introduced to keep the game feeling fresh. Pacing is handled brilliantly by applying the various mechanics in layers while the supporting characters carry the story forward. In some cases, the characters are so well written and so well portrayed that the player ceases to learn voluntarily and instead learns through osmosis while taking in the story. Thanks to such brilliant pacing and world design, the game culminates in one of the best "boss encounters" and "Aha" moments I have witnessed in a video game.
[caption id="attachment_16330" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Aperture Science is going through some.... changes"]
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In the end, there isn't much to find fault with in Portal 2 except maybe the relatively short campaign (7-8 hours). The game is a shining example of level design and pacing done right and remains as one of the most innovative concepts in gaming. Combine that with the best writing and line delivery in the business and it's easy to see why Portal 2 is sure to be remembered for years to come. As a game critic, I find myself very reluctant to give any game a perfect score because in all honesty, there is no such thing as a perfect game. On the other hand, Portal 2 comes awfully close.
Score: 98 out of 100
(96-100%: Astonishing; not perfect but extremely close and rarely achieved)
Comments
13 years, 5 months ago
OMG GREAT REVIEW NICK
13 years, 5 months ago
Loved it! The game I mean, I guess the review too. =)
13 years, 5 months ago
Fantastic job Nick. This game has the best ending in anything ever.
13 years, 5 months ago
98%! This game is mine now! Not that I ever doubted about it, ever. Great read-through your review, it nailed the game perfectly. Those 7 hours is going to be precious, no way that I'm going to hardcore this game by any chance. Every minute must be enjoyed to the fullest.
13 years, 5 months ago
Great review Nick. I ended up giving the game a 10/10 on my forum review because I found nothing to fault it and I actually felt that the campaign length fit the game just right. Good job, keep it up.
13 years, 5 months ago
Nicely done. I was hoping you'd cover the Co-op portion as well since it really does act as the second part of the story (a bit of an epilogue). I believe you and a few of the other 4PP crew were purchasing it on the PS3, however with the PSN gone terminal, I imagine playing online would be impossible. How did the steam tie in work for the PS3? Could you have conceivably played it on PC over Steam over the weekend while Sony got their act together? I guess that also requires a PC capable of playing it as well.
13 years, 5 months ago
Games this good always seem too short. At least we have co-op, which I'm still waiting on some of my friends to get the game so we can play. Already played through single player once for story, once for commentary, and the third time's for trying achievements. Also I like to mess around and spawn random entities.
13 years, 5 months ago
Agreed with everything in this review! [Loved all of the game, only problem was it was quite short :C]
& Even if Stephen Merchant didn't play Wheatley in the game, I would still consider him one of my favourite characters of all time. The dialogue in the game was brilliant.
Just waiting for PSN to work now so I can play the co-op.
13 years, 5 months ago
Great review Nick. I couldn't have said this any better. A great review for one of the best games, if not the best game I've played all year
13 years, 5 months ago
Awesome review, Nick. I loved what I have played of the first Portal, and when the second one was announce, I got about as excited as any of my nerdy friends did (which was a lot of fangirl-ing, I might add). Now, I need to play it. Haha.
13 years, 5 months ago
How is the replayability? I am concerned that once I play coop and single player, there will be nothing left except to play it again (Which I will probably do.). Also, you mention that this is harder than the first portal, but does that mean it is inaccessable to newcomers to the Portal series?
But nevertheless, I will probably buy and play this game, I saw Brad play a couple puzzles on youtube.
13 years, 5 months ago
The CAKE IS A LIE Nick!!!!! lol, but great review...To bad you thought the campaign was short, but I guess thats what Co-op is for. I mean the Co-op does takes place after the SP campaign, but its cool.
13 years, 5 months ago
Nick great review buddy, I wholeheartedly agree with all your views on the game!! Quite simply a piece of valve magic :) Keep up the great work!!
13 years, 5 months ago
Nice review, I completely agree. Portal 2 was ALMOST perfect.
13 years, 5 months ago
Nick, you are the only person who writes reviews that I actually like and read. You have the same taste in games that I do, and everytime I see you give a game a high score I always play it and enjoy it.
13 years, 5 months ago
Great review, i completely agree, it seems valve can only get better!
13 years, 5 months ago
While this was a great step forward for the progression of the series, I still felt some of the puzzles were far too forgiving. I never truly felt stuck at any one point.
After finishing it and watching others play through the single player portion online, it always struck me as funny when people would struggle with certain puzzles and rather than solve them the intended way, they'd accidentally find an alternative solution that clearly wasn't intended. I found moments like that to be more compelling than the patch-work lab rat mazes Chell is often subjected too.
There were some hard puzzles. But none that were so hard that I had to give up on the session and play again later with a fresh mind-set.
13 years, 5 months ago
Great review Nick! I have to agree with that final line too and also with the point you made about it being relatively short but I have to admit, I thought it was going to end far sooner than it did.. But despite the short length, everything in the game was fantastic, from it's humor to its ridiculous puzzles and subtle story and with this, it has earned its way into my top 10 games of all time ^_^
13 years, 5 months ago
One great thing about the co-op is the writing aswell especially when GLaDOS says different things to each player privately to try and instill a feeling of jelousy and resentment
13 years, 4 months ago
As usual, great review, Nick. I haven't played the game yet, but I do intend to in the near future.
13 years, 1 month ago
I would have knocked a few more points off for the puzzle design, but over all a good review. In a way, the game kind of breaks when you look at puzzles backwards. Part of that is the fact that they took out almost all need for platforming skill. It changed, in my mind, Chell from a human to a bouncing ball. The ball would go down the course I chose and as long as I set it up in advance, then very little additional interaction was needed to complete the puzzle. Although I don't give point scores, I score based on how much I would pay the developer for a game, If I were to it would have been closer to a 92.