Portal 2 Review

[Clankenbeard]

I hate Russ Pitts' reviews, they're so dull and uninformative since all he seems to do is list the features of the game without even going in depth about the mechanics, the art direction, how it effects gameplay, etc.

Seriously, it's so dull and uninteresting it's nauseating.

Oh, and the best part is that he says, "Without spoiling too much...," then of course he shows [SNIP]

Actually, I stopped watching the review as soon as the "Spoiler Alert" came up. I had no clue what was going to happen in game until I read your post. You sir, were the first spoiler for me. IRONIED!

No big whoop. It doesn't bother me. But, you might "spoiler" your post to avoid flaming from other forum purists. Cheers.

 

[Goofguy]

I was worried that the gameplay might 'drag on' once the sequel was to become a full fledged game. Nonetheless, I'm really looking forward to playing this and I am currently eagerly awaiting my shipped pre-ordered copy,

 

[magicpokey]

You know, I don't read comments much, but I gotta say, the last line in the video from glados made me laugh so hard a noodle came out my nose. I was kinda meh on this game, content to wait for a steam sale or a retail price drop, but that line makes me want to go out and get it today.

"I think we can put our differences behind us. For science... You monster."

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah*GASP*hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[Clankenbeard]

Actually, this is quite understandable for me. I didn't find "Full Metal Jacket" very good. It is sharply cut in two almost distinct parts and mostly admired because of production values and some really edgy characters. The film as a whole is underwhelming and doesn't have much of a message, especially compared to other films of both Kubrick and the Era.

DERAILED! Agreed on all points. It paled compared to his other 1980's masterpiece The Shining. (Damn, Nicholson can pull off crazy like nobody else.) 2001:A Space Odyssey, Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove (a personal favorite)--all much better films.

My point is that opinions are ALL subjective. (And I realize that your post is in no way an arguement against this.) People remember Full Metal Jacket. It was culturally distinct (like it or hate it) because of its director. Benji The Hunted has long since been forgotten. But that's the one Ebert gave a thumbs up to.

Portal 2. Could it live up to besting the original? Here's a question: Can anybody name a movie series in which the second installment was better than the first?

(I'll say Evil Dead 2, but that's a personal preference of campy horror over true indie horror. And let's be honest, Evil Dead 2 was really more of a remake of Evil Dead than a sequel.)

 

[killamanhunter]

Today! the PS3 version comes out!

squeeeeee

 

[Radelaide]

I am so sorely disappointed by this game I didn't exactly have high hopes and it failed to reach them in spectacular fashion.

It's just not the same. It's not nearly as fun with the cut-away loading scenes (that have to happen every other minute. Seriously Valve, move past the micro-loading. It makes everything disjointed), the pain-in-the-ass Orb thing, the lack of enjoyable puzzles.

Not to beat an already bruised and dead horse: Valve could have spent this time making a game that is desperately wanted instead of making games that are essentially DLC.

Sorry, Valve. I'm just not impressed.

 

[Mahorfeus]

Well, I've only been playing for two hours (or so Steam says, it felt like an eternity), and I'm already up to...

Spoiler: Portal 2 Spoilers

...the underground area, where the Cave Johnson recording mentions the army of praying mantis men, presumably not far from the propulsion gel.

Either this game is longer than I thought, or I am just blitzing through it. O_O

 

[bbad89]

Someone tell me why they reviewed the Xbox version when it's the PS3 version that gets the steam and cross-platform features.

 

[Hashime]

I just played the singleplayer campaign on Pc and, just 3 acts on xbox?
I think we had like 5 or 6 on Pc, furthermore the background ~is~ explained, of course you need to have some common sense, knowing that human buildings are incredibly fast lived and without proper maintain will rot rather quickly, add that to a bunch of weird experiments and possible plantgrow and you got yourself the reason.

I however think that the riddles and puzzles are much more variety and harder than the original, I mean the original had almost no hard puzzles, in the main game, lets not take the challenges here into consideration, as that would be unfair, several times I had to stop and think about the steps I need to take, in portal you honestly just take one look and just finished the rooms.

I really liked the humor in this aswell and it finally made sense why portal was all about potatoes.

I'm in Space !

Well, the trampoline room was difficult to pull off.

 

[VladG]

Co-op is awesome, if a bit short (I am however hoping for many many official map packs). The loading times on the PC are really not an issue, and I'm running a 3-year-old dual-core machine.(max graphical settings) It just takes a few seconds for me to load. Can't say I've found the puzzles any less challenging, since I didn't find the original portal's puzzles THAT hard (the normal ones anyway) and we've even found different approaches to the same problem in co-op (each with his own idea). Also orange sucked more. Definitely . Glados said so.

 

[UltraXan]

"Reviewed with Xbox360 version"

What? No, no no no no no no no. You fucked up already! The 360 version is the WORST version you could buy! I was playing it last night (and I'm gonna continue playing it when I get back home) and while I do agree that there is WAY more loading, it took no more than 10 seconds at a time for me. I only went 30 minutes in before it was 1:30 in the morning and decided to go to sleep, and I love it already!

 

[the7ofswords]

I'm only about a third of through (beginning of the second "act"), but so far I'm LOVING it.

The load-time issue may be a console thing. On my (admittedly fairly peppy) PC, the load screens are generally only a few seconds. I'll test it on the ol' iMac tonight (it's a bit longer in the tooth).

Regardless, I'm having a blast, and am thrilled to be back in the world of Portal!

(I just wish I didn't have to work to-day ... I'd probably be done by now, otherwise ... and on to co-op!)

~Cheers!

 

[Don Reba]

Very entertaining review. Well done!

 

[-Dragmire-]

Russ Pitts:

"The co-op alone would be well worth full retail price..."
____________________________________________________________________________________

never mention these words to any developer, that'll be the one time their listening. Besides, it sounds too close to the excuse, "well people only buy fps's for the multiplayer therefore we don't have to care as much about the single player".

 

[iamultraman]

I did not play the original, so getting this seems to be necessary to preserve my compeers' respect. However I am familiar with the original storyline and retconning the original, in order to make a sequel, is a damnable, damnable thing. It's such a terribly uncreative act by the writers of this game when it has a reputation for innovation and inspiration. So...that really sucks, in short. Considering the protagonist, by the review, goes through the same motions as the first game. So what I am telling everyone's least-hated company is that it could have done better.

 

[SilverUchiha]

You use the term 'indie' a lot when describing Portal.

Portal isn't an indie game nor a 'pseudo-indie' game. In fact it was made by one of the largest studios in the PC market.

When Portal was released, it wasn't made specifically by the Valve guys, but just some college students (or something like that, if I recall). Valve merely dressed it up and shipped it out. I think that's why I've often heard it regarded as an "pseudo-Indie" sequel.

OT: Going to get it here in about an hour. Can't wait. Also, the fact that you say there are disappointing bits has me anticipating what Yahtzee will say when he sinks his teeth into this.

 

[Wuggy]

I just played through the single player campaign. Steam says that I have 7 hours played, and I haven't touched on the Co-op yet (mainly because I don't have anyone to play it with).

I have to say that this was a good enough length, I think it would've gotten somewhat boring if it was drawn out longer. The puzzles are more complex but not really hard. Then again I don't really understand why the reviewer would think that the puzzles in the first game were hard in the first place. They seriously weren't.

The storyline is more engaging and at least just as hilarious as the first game. Stephen Merchant is simply brilliant, he shouldn't be regarded as "that pal of Ricky Gervais" after the phenomenal performance he did here. You get to learn more extensively about the history as well as the future of Aperture Science, Glados and even a bit about Chell.

Also, I didn't notice a single reference to cake, which is a good thing. However, I think this will spawn a ton-more references.

It's a solid campaign. I'm in space. [Slow clapping]

EDIT: To be more specific on how long the game took me: 7.4 hours apparently.

 

[MasterSplinter]

WTF Russ? You always hug the big game reviews (well, being editor in cheif has advantages) and most of times you are over demanding, you friken liked halo ost(whateverletercomesnext) and have given "meh" reviews for Portal 2 and even HL2.

Are you not pleased?

 

[Mister Linton]

Someone tell me why they reviewed the Xbox version when it's the PS3 version that gets the steam and cross-platform features.

And the difference between the versions in a release day review would be?

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

Why would fans come crying to you? Just curious. Are you an authority on the matter?

It's a paraphrased quote from Reddit's r/gaming.

But I can easily picture the fans bellyaching to anyone who will listen (and plenty of people who won't).

Well I can't argue with that haha