Reviewing Portal 2 was always going to be tough for me. You see, I never liked the original Portal. I jumped on the band wagon late having heard so many good things about the game. I enjoyed the concept but some pacing issues ruined the game for me. I wasn’t even planning on buying Portal 2 but I was going through a bit of game drought and a friend offered it to me cheap so I decided to give it a chance.
I put the experience with Portal behind me, determined to enter Portal 2 with a fresh, unbiased perspective. I really wanted to be able to love the game as everyone else did. There must be some reason everyone rates the series so highly.
Portals demonstrated in-game
Lets start talking about the game itself then, beginning with the plot. Continuing the story originally laid out by Portal 1, again we join the seemingly emotionless Chell, test subject to the sinister organisation, Aperture Science. Taking place in Aperture’s underground testing laboratory, anybody who played the first game is sure to recognize the setting of Portal 2, as well as the forever popular antagonist, GLaDOS, whom makes a welcome return in Portal 2. Joining GLaDOS and Chell are new characters Wheatley, a ‘personality sphere’ voiced by Stephen Merchant, and the unseen but heard in voice Head of Aperture Science, Cave Johnson. The overall story arc is simple but effective, nothing to complex for people to get lost in, but still keeps the action flowing nicely.
Lets be honest though, nobody plays Portal for the story, this a game all about the challenging puzzles and the awesome physics. The main basis, and mechanic of the game, the Portal gun, a gun with the ability to create two interlinking portals in which the player can traverse, returns but then again it wouldn’t be Portal without it. Don’t worry though, this isn’t just a Portal expansion pack, new gel substances, used to increased speed and jump higher appear in later levels, adding some variety into the memorable formula.
Propulsion Gel - one of Portal 2's new features
One of Portal’s triumphs is it’s simplistic controls, using only a few buttons through out the game. As in the original the two trigger buttons control the two Portals, the A button is used jump, while while the X button is used to pick up cubes, push buttons and interact with objects. Just like in most first-person games you use the left stick to move Chell and the right stick to control the camera. Portal 2’s simplistic control makes it easy for anybody to play.
I say it’s easy for anybody to play, because it is, but not everybody will be able to play through it. You require a certain way of think to understand the game, the gameplay isn’t for everyone. The puzzles are challenging and very inventive, requiring a lot of brain power to solve some of the later puzzles. But don’t be put of by that, even if you haven’t played the original Portal but think you can handle the requirements the game asks for, because Portal 2 has a way of gently introducing the newest players into the game.
Portal 2’s most hyped feature prior to release, online and split screen co-op mode is a welcome addition to the game. Giving the player access to 5 new testing courses when playing with a friend. Added to the mix in this new mode is two additional Portals, the addition of the two new Portal completely changes the way the game plays, making levels more complex, requiring a new perspective on the on the test chambers. Personally I found the game much easier to play on split-screen co-op in the same room as my co-op partner, it made strategic communication alot easier, although if online co-op is your only option that will still do nicely with voice chat and a variety of gestures at your disposal.
You and a friend control this beastly partnership in co-op mode
One of Portal and Portal 2’s strongest factors is it’s writing and voice acting. Portal is the funniest game available at the moment. All three of the voiced characters in the games have hundreds of memorable quotes which could have you literally wetting yourself with laughter (Disclaimer: Game may not actually cause pant wetting). Elain McLain’s GLaDOS is perfection, she plays the character with the cold expressionlessness you would expect from an mental AI, she delivers one liners perfectly and makes the character her own. Now, it would be a tough job to out shine her performance but the truth is Stephen Merchant just about does it. His character of Wheatley, the dottering, thoughtless little ‘robot’. His gentle, stammering tone gives the impression of such. His character is brilliantly written, cracking some of the best jokes in the game. He plays the part so well it seems to come naturally to him. If he doesn’t win every single voice acting award this year then something is terribly wrong with the system.
Stephen Merchant's side-splitting Wheatley
In the original Portal a claustrophobic aura surrounded the games tiny, cramped test chambers, in Portal 2 the claustrophobia is no more, wide open spaces, giant broken test chambers and underground caves are just waiting for you to solve their puzzles. This might hit a bad note with fans of the original though, as the larger open spaces start to stray a bit from the original intention of Portal.
Portal 2 is a fantastic game. There I’ve said it. I put my differences behind me and gave the game a chance and boy did it reward me. I enjoyed every second of the game. With 9 chapter lasting around a hour each I was given much more of a satisfying feeling playing through, this felt like the full version whilst Portal felt like the demo. I urge you to go out and buy this game, play it and love it. you better start thinking with Portals!
+Amazing voice acting
+Awesome physics
+Feels like a full game this time
+Great level design
-Not everyone will get the hang of it
92/100
stuffthatiwriteabout 
June 20, 2011 at 7:37 pm |
Nice review! Shame you didn’t enjoy the first one. But this is a good sign that Valve have tried to open up the game a bit more and make a truly enjoyable title for most gamers. It seems almost inevitable that fans of the original would enjoy the sequel (if the comedy is still ace, and the gameplay is still strong), but to impress gamers that didn’t like the original really takes a strong game.
I just wanted to point out something about Chell being “emotionless”. In Valve’s main FPS games like Portal and the incredible Half-Life series, the games are designed in such a way not so that you think of the character as being emotionless, but you think of YOURSELF as the character. They avoid giving the player a voice because that would cause you to feel as if you’re just directing someone else around. What Valve aim to do with their games is make you feel that it’s you that is in these situations. If the game manages to scare you, make you panic, or make you feel rewarded, then that’s how the main character feels because it’s how you feel.
Of course, whether or not Valve managed to pull that off is up to us decide. But it’s not so much an emotionless character. They just make no character, so that you can fill the gap yourself. 🙂
Anyway, good job! Covered the most important bits really well, and it was concise.