Portal 2
Sony PlayStation 3
Developer: Valve Corporation
Publisher: Valve Corporation
Rated: E for Everyone
Released: 2011
Completed: 05 September 2015
The issue I'm faced with when writing a review for Portal 2 is where to even begin. Do I start by talking about the inventive puzzles, the innovative gameplay, or its absolutely uproarious sense of humor? Each aspect is as worthy of praise as the next. Portal 2 is a work of absolute genius that even non-gamers could easily fall in love with. It tests your wits more than your reflexes, and it will tickle your funny bone until your sides hurt.
It helps that comedian Stephen Merchant and Oscar winner J.K. Simmons provide voices for two characters, along with Ellen McLain reprising her role as the antagonistic AI GlaDOS. Words on a page can certainly be funny, but with such a talented voice cast it becomes a laugh out loud gaming experience unlike any I've ever had. I've played some funny games before, but none quite like Portal 2 that had me in fits.
I suppose I should tell you a little bit about the game itself though. As you may have deduced (because you're so clever), Portal 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the Orange Box's standout first-person puzzler. Half-Life 2 may have been the centerpiece of that amazing collection, but Portal was (and still is) a game-changer. The Portal games force you to think in ways players are unaccustomed to. Portal 2 takes the brilliant mechanic of the original game - the portals themselves - and adds a slew of new features to make more complex and satisfying puzzles.
The basic portal mechanic hasn't changed. Your portal gun can shoot two portals on compatible surfaces - a blue and an orange. Going into the blue portal means you'll come out of the orange, and vice versa. Of course, it's not as simple as that once puzzles start incorporating objects to be manipulated, the new light bridges, tractor beam tunnels, and three different types of gels with different effects. These elements are introduced gradually over the course of your adventure. The pacing is perfect, so just as you've gotten familiar with one mechanic, you'll have to learn another.
Each new element interacts with the portals in unique ways. Light bridges can be used to block targeting lasers on the lovable Aperture Science turrets (with their adorable voices that politely ask "are you still there?" when they lose sight of you), or can be used as a wall so you don't overshoot a tricky jumping maneuver. Tractor beams can either push or pull you, and careful planning is required in some stages to keep yourself afloat by creating new trajectories mid-stream or risk falling to your death. Lastly, gels come in three flavors- blue repulsion gel, orange propulsion gel, and gray conversion gel. The first makes you bounce. Landing on it from higher to get even more air, and you can even use it to bounce upwards between narrow walls. Propulsion gel speeds your movement up exponentially, and since momentum has always been a key part of Portal's puzzles, it is often used to clear seemingly impossible gaps. Occasionally you'll even find yourself running headlong into a wall so you'll enter a portal at full speed and pop out of the ground to reach an item or switch. Conversion gel allows any surface to become portal-friendly. Most times you'll need to combine all three types of gels in order to solve a room, and that's where things get really tricky and fun. You'll often have to figure out how to coat out-of-reach surfaces with gel to proceed.
There's a sense of satisfaction in solving Portal 2's test chambers that shouldn't be missed. I pity anyone who completes this game by consulting a walkthrough or strategy guide, because they're missing half the experience. Some rooms may seem daunting, and some may stump you, but when that lightbulb over your head goes off you'll feel like a genius - even if the solutions are surprisingly simple.
It works so well because both games rely heavily on basic puzzle solving concepts, such as order of operations. If there's two buttons in a room that both activate different things, but only one cube you can use to keep them depressed, it's up to you to figure out which order to do it in. Sometimes you may then have to figure out how to move the cube from place to place to trigger the next sequence of events. Other puzzles require you to use some light physics. Let's say there's a platform you need to get to, but it's way too high to jump to. Well, you can use your portal gun to shoot a hole in the floor, and another one an angled wall, then take a swan dive from on high, which sends you rocketing out of the wall.
The puzzles alone put Portal 2 in a class all its own, but to integrate such an entertaining and downright hilarious story gives you added motivation to play it. Valve has said that the Portal games take place in the Half-Life universe, and that silent protagonist Chell will become a key figure in the future (if we ever see Half-Life 3, that is). But where Half-Life is a more subdued science fiction story, Portal is an all-out comedy.
I can't say enough great things about Merchant, who provides the voice of your robotic companion (early on), Wheatley. His frantic speech lends so much personality to the bumbling spherical AI. Likewise, J.K. Simmons, who plays Aperture Science founder and CEO Cave Johnson, is just as hilarious once he's introduced later in the game. He nonchalantly describes ways in which test subjects have perished, or been mutated, or other horrible things, and at one point goes on a rant about lemons that is so hysterical I had to stop playing for a moment until I stopped laughing.
Lastly, what more can be said about Ellen McLain? As the voice of GlaDOS, she has become one of gaming's most iconic characters of the last decade. Despite the fact that she has been trying to kill you for the better part of two games, players can't help but love her. After all, she was only doing it for science. As much as I'd love to spoil her comical fate, I'll leave it to you to discover so you can get the full effect.
I suppose I should talk about the technical aspects of the game. The graphics are pretty enough, though some of the textures definitely look a bit blurry - no doubt a side effect of the aging Source engine. Like most other Source-based games, you'll also suffer through a lot of loading screens that break the immersion. Like the original Portal, a lot of the game takes place in Aperture Science test chambers, which have a very clean, sterile feel, but eventually you'll go behind the scenes and traverse catwalks, elevator shafts, and all sorts of industrial areas you might expect to find in a giant underground science laboratory.
Obviously the voice acting is top-notch, and the sound effects and music are equally excellent. Most of the music is ambient electronic stuff, but it works in perfect harmony with the sci-fi theme.
Control couldn't possibly be more effective. For a game with so many facets to its puzzles, only four buttons are used, which makes it perfect for experienced players or anyone who may not be very good at traditional action games but it still interested in puzzle-solving.
That's the true beauty of Portal 2. It's a game for absolutely everyone. Diehard gamers will love it because it's a mind-bending, astonishing puzzle game with great writing. Casual gamers, and even people who haven't played a video game before, can also appreciate the way it forces you to think differently and use your brains. It's the antithesis of all the hyper-violent, dark and gritty shooters that flood the market each year. It's a hilarious adventure that's challenging without ever being too difficult and it's extremely rewarding. The single player campaign may be a bit on the short side, but there's also a completely separate cooperative campaign where players play a set of robots forced to work together to solve more tests - perfect for both longtime gaming buddies or someone just being introduced to gaming.
Simply put, Portal 2 is one of the best video games of all-time.
Portal 2 was completed on a PlayStation 3 with no cheats.
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