If Valve has taught the industry anything over the years its how to make a good game from the ground up. It can be seen in games like Half-Life, L4D and Portal, all completley different in concept and each is individually amazing for thier own reasons.
The original Portal was an experiment based on a mod for Half Life 2, its was packaged with The Orange Box and lasted a mere 2 hours. It introduced us to Chell, GLaDOS, the turrets and of course the companion cube. It also changed the way puzzle games can be played forever.
4 years pass and we have a sequel to the one game Valve didnt think would be a success, and not just a sequel but everything the first game was and more.
The story pickes up presumabley several months after the finale of Portal. You (Chell) is awaoken by a quirky personality core named Wheatley, after attemting to get you out of your chamber and destroying what was left of Aperture science in the process you re-boot GLaDOS and set off on a 12 hour adventure of truly epic proportions.
The games story is perhaps its only weak point, it is well written, hilarious and touching but it isnt prominant enough. I passed though half the game without knowing what had happened or why it was happening.
The games iconic gameplay remains largely the same, nothing is removed only added. Some new additions are the reflector cube which can reflect laser beams, light bridges and tubes that can transport you with the power of light. All this new tech means much more complex puzzles, though most of that only comes into play in the latter half of the game. Not to mention the most noticeable of additions, the gels. Gels come in 3 forms, Propulsion, Repulsion and Paint. Propulsion is orange and makes you zip around the test chamber faster than Sonic the Hedgehog on speed. Repulsion makes you jump super high and Paint makes any surface able to have a portal placed upon it.
The voice acting in the game is some of the best I've seen in a game before, Ellen McLain returns as GLaDOS but Stephen Merchant and J.K Simmons join the ranks as Wheatley (Merchant) and Cave Johnson (Simmons). Wheatley is one of the most hilarious characters in the gaming universe easily which is aided by Merchant comedy skills. Everyone’s lines means something, usually incorporating some kind of sarcasm or dark humour into it which makes Portal as great as it is. The sound has been refined as well, its much smoother than before and less jagged. Everything has a unique sound effect and its own quirky individualistic feature.
The graphics have been vastly improved since Portal, even with the source engine being older than the elderly population of the UK its still in top form. The textures are smooth and crisp, the colours are vibrant and animation is flowing. Portal 2 really outdoes itself in the looks department and completely blows any fan of the first game out of the water.
Portal was short and Portal 2 is long but it doesn’t stop with campaign, the online co-op gives you 4 sets of 8 chambers based on teamwork, velocity, hard and light surfaces and excursion funnels. Each is unique and much more difficult than the campaigns test chambers. Working with a partner makes things more fun and more frustrating as you learn what each player is used to and that there will always be 1 player who can figure out puzzles faster than the other.
In short, Portal 2 is more than a game. Its an experience that everyone should play, great characters, gameplay, co-op and sound/visual content makes the game great however the story can occasionally fall flat or entirely disappear for large periods of time. But this 1 shortfall should not stop you playing of the the best games to come out in years.
Portal 2 – 9/10
+The Best Puzzle Game Ever
-Doesn’t Have the Same Charm As The Original
