The original Portal was a side project that ended up winning game of the year awards and silently became one of Valves biggest franchises. In the game, you play as a silent protagonist who is being used in experiments in the name of science by the results craving AI Glados.
Portal 2 picks up where the original left off, and not only does it live up to the hype of the original, it completely blows it away as well.
The first part of the game involves your character, Chell, waking up as the Aperature Science facility is currently falling apart around her. After meeting the humorous robot Wheatley, the two of you venture forth for the portal gun that has been lost within the facility. Not long after you find it do you fall back into Glados' clutches. For the most part, the first third of the game is exactly like the original portal with different puzzles.
Except Glados, upset with what you did to her at the end of the original Portal, is much funnier. Glados' sarcastic humor is some of the best written humor ever put into a videogame. In between strenuous mind-bending puzzles you'll find yourself cracking up to her witty comments.
"And the results are in. You are a horrible person. That's what is says, You are a horrible person...We weren't even testing for that." -Glados
Without spoiling anything however, at a certain point you find yourself thrown away from all the experiments and into the deep caves of the old testing facilities that Aberature Science used when it was starting out. Glados essentially disappears for this section of the game and the testing is now led through recordings of Aberture Science's founder Cave Johnson. (Who is excellently voiced by J.K. Simmons.)
It is in this section of the game that Portal 2 earns it's stripes. No longer are you running around clean and slick testing areas but instead dark and damp ruins of an old testing facility. Cave Johnson's advice and pompous humor guide you through stages that not only require the portal gun but also very clever uses of several new items in the game such as the repulsion gel which is a substance that turns surfaces into very bouncy trampoline like springs, or the propulsion gel which allows you to run several times faster when sprayed on the surface floor.
These unique substances combined with the already unique portal gun, as well as several other new experimental devices show that the original Portal really was just a prototype for something much bigger. Valve continues to impress as they just seem to have an endless fountain of ideas going on in their collective heads.
All cleverness aside, however, the most important thing to remember is that Portal 2 is an incredible game. The writing is brilliant. Glados, Wheatley, and Cave Johnson are so well written that it makes you think the writers at Valve could make movies or TV shows if they ever get tired of making great videogames. The character development put into this game is shocking considering the only characters are two robot AI's and a deceased founder. The fact that you find yourself emotionally attached to any of them is a true testament to how good Valve really is. The voice acting is also top notch on top of the great writing. These actors deserve all the praise in the world. The graphics aren't mind blowing but this isn't a game where that's necessary. The single player is on the short side, roughly taking about 6 hours, but the experience is unbeatable. And I haven't even gotten to play the co-op yet.
Listen, as a gamer, you live for games like this. We love games that push our minds and reflexes to the limit. We love games that let us think outside the box and make our own rules within the game. Portal 2 does that and the experience only gets better as you progress further. While there are many great games coming out this year, Portal 2 is arguably the best game of 2011 so far.
No comments:
Post a Comment