Does Portal even need a sequel?

[8bitmaster]

portal 2 will be amazing and the original felt short. I am gonna play it for sure, but think about it this way.... this will have a much longer life span with co-op and all which is one thing that I think will make the portal idea feel fresher than fresh picked fruit.

 

[Woodsey]

Nope. Portal is great, but it ended. And no, Valve adding a new ending just to make the sequel more justified doesn't make the sequel necessary. Adding a new ending for that purpose is just pretty sad really.

It's called clever marketing. Valve often does similar things to announce stuff these. And it's not a new ending exactly, it's just 10 seconds added on after the last game faded out.

OT: New features, characters (are personality cores characters?), an improved look, more humour, more story, more Glados.

Yeah, I think that's justifiable as a sequel.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

I don't think so. I'll buy it of course. But the first was perfect the way it was, okay sure it was a little short. But the story was told perfectly, didn't drag out. I didn't need to know all the background information on plot and characters. Not knowing made it that much creepier. And it will be really hard to recapture the "magic" of the original going into a sequel pretty much knowing what to expect.

 

[MaVeN1337]

Welcome to planet earth.
If something will produce money, Even if it is completely bat shit stupid. People are going to do it.

 

[mikecoulter]

I agree that Portal is a strong game by itself, but after seeing my character dragged back to Aperture Science, I want to see what happens!

 

[scoHish]

No, it doesn't... but I sure as hell want one.

 

[Crispee]

Of course, I could probably count the different ways I used Portals on one hand for the first game.

 

[SenorFuzzeh]

I think the main reason they decided to make a sequal was becaouse the orginal Portal was in a small little studio with mainly students working on the project, yet it became a masterpiece. I think they just wanted to see how it would do if it was a full retail game in its own, with more people working on it and it being longer. I'm not saying it was needed, but thats probably their reasoning

 

[Why Am I Naked]

The first game felt like a test to me, like Valve was just trying to establish the whole idea of portals. Judging from the trailers I've seen for the sequel, it looks to be a far more comprehensive puzzle game, with the portals being used in new ways to solve more complex puzzles. So yes, I think Portal was in dire need of a sequel.

 

[linwolf]

Need, no.
Deserve, yes.
That game was perfect, if the new is just half as good I'm going to love it.

 

[Flac00]

If the game runs about 3-5 hours...it will be fantastic. If it runs from 8+ hours, the game will get really really boring after a while. The best thing about Portal, was how the Portal concept never overstayed its' welcome. Though to be fair, this is a real sequel, unlike what they do now where they just add a character or two, slap a 2 at the end and your done. The game has new mechanics, new characters, new locales (if you can really call them that), and a storyline that branches off the first game.

It will be 8+ hours but I noticed something about Portal 1 after replaying it for the 5th time. Every time I would start to get bored, something new would happen. I started to get bored and they gave me the full portal gun. I started to get bored again and then they put me behind the scenes. I started to get bored again and they had me at the boss fight.

Same thing, but the thing is that the game was still rather short. It was a game that, as you say, "never overstood its welcome". The humor was dark, the characters...i mean character and her sweet evil talking turrets, were all very interesting. When you have to take those things into a sequel, it feels like all your doing is adding new levels. I must admit though, Portal 2 is probably the closest thing to a full fledged honest sequel since Half Life 2, cause there are games that doesnt add anything new to the series, and decides to make a whole separate story from the last game, and still slap on a 2 on the end (or 3 or 4 or 5...)

I think that Valve has a fix for the "overstaying your welcome" problem. That is to just mix everything up a lot. Look at hl2, I don't think i ever did the same thing twice throughout that whole game. Plus, Portal 2 looks absolutely sick! Something else you guys might want to know about is the Co-op mode in the game, apparently the two characters are actually completely different gameplay wise (I think one is a supped up turret and the other is like a super companion cube). I just will play Civ 5, Starcraft 2, and Crysis 2 until then. At least I will be warmed up.

 

[duchaked]

after seeing the trailers and the new puzzles and narrative...idk it's fascinating and I'm really interested

even if I'll probably get stuck on the puzzles like insanely so this time around...oi

 

[Audio]

Doesnt need one but making a longer 'story' is welcome.

Portal is just like mod showing off a new technology and being Valve, they decided to charge for it. All the current game needs is maps...maps maps maps.

 

[Nomanslander]

What do you think?

I think Yahtzee brainwashing the opinions of peoples here has gone far enough...lol

/jk

Honestly, I see nothing wrong with it, what's so unnecessary with playing a new iteration of a game you liked?

Not every sequel will be like Mass Effect 2 or Half Life 2, most won't be as good as the first. But as long as it doesn't fall below average or reach (going to use movie reference so bare with me) Highlander 2 or SW prequels level of being bad (so bad it even undermines the originals), it'll do fine.

 

[lacktheknack]

No, it didn't, but at least it looks like they're not just remaking the first game and putting a 2 at the end. It almost doesn't look unnecessary.

Have you seen the trailers?

If they can make it 10x longer and better then yes there is need for a sequel!

One of the best things about Portal was it ended before the novelty wore off.

They're adding a bunch of extra features to it, and revamping the story. The novelty won't wear off for a while.

OT: By the same thought process, was the original Portal "necessary"?

 

[historybuff]

I don't think so.

 

[Adecristo]

It's Valve, so yes. First Portal was somewhat short (finished it in two hours..) and I'd like more possibilities they're talking about that will be in Portal 2.
And hell, the Co-op mode! I'd buy co-op mode for Portal 1 if there was one, and now they're going to add it altogether with new puzzles, new stuff, new levels and new location styles (this lab will be pretty ruined, as far as I know) - and the game is supposed to be longer. So, once again yes - Portal needs a sequel.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Unless a story is already set up to be part of the trilogy a sequel is never necessary. Were Toy Story 2 and 3 necessary? Back to the Future 2 and 3? Evil Dead 2 and 3? Half Life 2 and the episodes?

Just because a game can stand up by itself and works as a single experience doesn't mean there shouldn't be a sequel if your able to do a good job of it. And this is Valve. They'll do a fucking good job.