Portal 2

9.25 Overall Score
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 10/10

Brain Teasing Puzzles | Humorous Storyline

Just Above Average Graphics

Game Info

GAME NAME: Portal 2

DEVELOPER(S): Valve

PUBLISHER(S): Valve

PLATFORM(S): PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

GENRE(S): Puzzle/Platform, Science Fiction

RELEASE DATE(S): April 19th, 2011

Portal 2 is the sequel to the ground breaking game known as Portal. Portal was included in The Orange Box collection, packed in with Half Life 2, episodes 1 + 2 and Team Fortress 2. If you ever heard the phrase “The Cake is a Lie”, Portal is the game that this popular quote stems from.  An innovating game that features First Person Shooting using Blue and Orange portals instead of bullets to solve puzzles, Portal when first released gained a huge cult following.

Portal 2 is every bit as challenging as it’s predecessor, only now with a much better storyline and some comedy relief in the form of an Orb named Wheatley voiced by Stephen Merchant (co-writer/co-director of the British version The Office). Wheatley leads you through the Aperture science lab helping you find your way out. GLaDOS, The main enemy from Portal is reactivated after being defeated in the first game and she is not happy about losing to you. As you play through the single player campaign the science lab has gone through some changes and is now overgrown with vines and foliage. GLaDOS is rebuilding the test chambers on the fly to stop you from leaving, and the effects looks great. The story has a twist and makes for an interesting cast of helpers along the way.

There are many different types of puzzles in Portal 2, some require just a block placed on a switch while others later on make you use different colored goo’s to solve them . The goo makes for some of the most unique puzzle solving in the game. There are three different goo types: Blue which makes you bounce very high, Orange which makes you run very fast along the ground and White which allows you to place a portal onto a surface that would not let you before.  The mind games come into play when all the goo’s have to be used together to solve the puzzles. This makes for some of the best moments in the game.

Valve also included a new co-op mode in which you and a buddy play as two robots, Atlas and P-body.  Working together, you and a friend have to solve some very thought provoking puzzles.  The puzzles in this mode are more elaborate then the single player puzzles because instead of just 2 portals being used you now have 4. Working together with someone is as much a blast as it is frustrating. You and your partner have to be on point to solve the puzzles. There are markers you can use to show you partner where to use a portal and timers that you can use to synch up portals. There are also gestures that you can make like waving to each other or when just beat a taxing level, there is the much welcomed high five.

Portal 2 stands on it’s own as an amazing puzzle shooter that it makes me wonder if Valve has enough magic left to make a third in the series. Valve has gone far above and beyond expectations with this game that as of right now it could be a Game of the Year contender. If you’re looking for something other than your average gaming experience then give Portal 2 a try. You will not be disappointed.

 

SHARE THIS POST

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Myspace
  • Google Buzz
  • Reddit
  • Stumnleupon
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • Technorati
Avatar
Author: Ryno View all posts by
I would like to say that I came out of the womb with a controller in hand, but it wasn't until the age of 3 that I would receive my first console, the Atari 2600. From that moment on, games have not only a hobby of mine but a passion as well. Owning the majority of gaming platforms out there, I try to play as many different types of games that I can.