Portal 2 Review

I just finished Portal 2 in single player, and yowza. I mean, whoo! That stuff was crazy. There aren't any spoilers in this review, however, so no need to avert your virgin eyes.

Portal 2: DIS GAME. There is so much I can say, but it's start with the gameplay. It has a really, really confident game design. The levels are innovative, and it seems to have a thing for these huge, sprawling environments - much more than it's predecessor - and a hard-on mechanics that leave you sailing through the air (like an eagle piloting a blimp) more often that not. Instead of small, cramped spaces with an emphasis on moving platforms, there is a real sense of freedom and scale here. The puzzles are, on the whole, longer and more challenging than the first Portal's. So if you thought you had a grasp on Thinking With Portals, I hope you're ready for a whole bunch of new mechanics that will put your mastery of them to the test. However, if you haven't played Portal 1, the learning curve is fairly reasonably sloped! I do suggest you play that one first though, if you are indeed that last person on earth who hasn't. It only takes three-ish hours, and gives some excellent context to what is happening - though Portal 2 goes into some serious depth on what's going on in the background - literally.

Single player takes roughly 7-9 hours if you take your time. I can understand why they didn't really concentrate on single player promotion material and instead went for the co-op stuff - the plot takes quite a few twists and turns by the end, and anything past the first bit would be a bit of a spoiler. It hits you like a truck, then disassembles you, then reassembles you by the end. But the real fun is in the details, some stuff that you see on the walls - that doesn't quite click for you until you've gotten a little bit further, and go "Ahhhhh, that makes sense, this is what is happening." There's also a small allusion in the dialogue that doesn't crop up until the frankly hilarious finale, and because this is Valve, everything is wrapped up in a neat little bow, including a new credits song by Jonathan Coulton.

Because of the massiveness of the spaces in Portal 2, sometimes there is real difficulty figuring out where you're supposed to be going. The game goes out of it's way to drill "look up more" into your head, especially. However, if you really make a concentrated effort to look around and figure out what kind of set pieces you need, you'll figure it out fairly quickly for most areas. It also helps people focus on the objective by making a lot fewer aesthetic bits interactive.

Speaking of aesthetics, the game is gorgeous. Portal 2 is based on the new Source engine that Valve developed, and not only does it run like a charm (at least on my mid-tier graphics card) but all the personality (and more!) of Portal is there. There are absolutely breathtaking areas by top-tier concept artists, a wonderful sense of scale, writing by some of the most creative and skilled in the industry, level design that makes sense from so many standpoints I cannot even list them all, voice work I could literally listen to all day long, and simply mindblowing directing.

If this isn't enough to get you to buy Portal 2, there's also Co-Op.

Just to be clear, Co-Op is completely different. Different maps, different characters, and a different plot. I've played the first two areas of it with my boyfriend, very fun and innovative levels, good old Portal-puzzling action. And surprisingly enough, there are a lot of fun ways to use two people and four portals, and those portals rarely get mixed up with each other. Go figure. The story is much more light-hearted in general - besides, any sort of Co-Op tends to devolve into portal-based shenanigans and friendly griefing anyway. I am told that the Co-Op portion of the game is roughly half the length of the single-player mode, which seems about right. I highly suggest doing with a single partner that is also brand new to it, more fun that way, both of you lobbying ideas back and forth and moving on half-formed conclusions.

Either way, a VERY solid game, well worth full price. Buy a copy for you and your friend, grief him if he doesn't pay you back. For science.

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