Portal 2 Review

Sharalon

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I have played through all the content (singleplayer and co-op) and I have to say that portal 2 is one of the best games i've ever played. The story is solid and unexpected, the vioceacting and writing is perfect and the gameplay is still there from the first game with a few improvments.

Speaking as a fan of the first portal (would have said that it's my favorite game ever), the sequal is just as good. You have lost some of the interesting setting that the first game had, by knowing who the AI is and so on, but the new additions and plot twists makes up for it.

This is way more than I expected from a sequal and if you haven't bought it already, Go! NOW!

If any game can get a full score it's this one! 5/5
 

TitenSxull

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Feb 17, 2009
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I didn't find the loading screens to be long on the 360 version. The review makes it seem like they take a minute, I have yet to sit on a loading screen that lasts more than 15 seconds. They still do break the flow a bit but after a confusing test chamber its nice to have a moment to clear your mind and ready for the next test.
 

Rabid Toilet

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Mr.K. said:
I hear they got a bit lazy with this one, quite a worry where Valve is going from now on, and if the other stuff will ever get finished.
You heard wrong.

I just finished the single player game, and the entire thing is just dripping with quality, time, and effort. The attention to detail is astounding, especially in places that a lot of players wouldn't even see it. There was one section in particular that stood out, where the solution to the puzzle was right in front of me, and could have been solved in a few seconds, but that would have meant missing out on the 2-3 minutes of brilliant dialogue that resulted from procrastinating. Not to mention all the actual gameplay. All of the sequences that would have been easy to make as a simple cutscene are instead fully interactive. Valve introduced a ton of new gameplay elements, as well as clever and unique puzzles that involve them.

And that's just the single player. There's also the Co-op mode with a completely new campaign of about the same length as the single player. I haven't played it yet, but I expect the quality to be similar to the main game.

The game may be shorter than other Valve titles, but they more than made up for it with all the work they put into it.
 

Notere

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Sep 11, 2008
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This review? This review right here? Bollocks. Absolute load of it. Don't let it sway purchases. Ignore it. Get it. See for yourself. Or play on a friend's copy if you're that hesitant because some ponce decided it was a great idea to bash on a game because he has to be too cool for the curve.
 

samsonguy920

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Wow, Russ. Usually your reviews feel upbeat(except the really crappy games) but this one had a dash of cynicism sprinkled in. Is GlaDOS getting under your skin?
I had noticed that loading times were more frequent than the first. At least through the first half of 1 you got through two levels at a time before having to load, while this one was for every level. But I never felt they were over long. It is possible my PC is faster than your 360, however.
This is definitely a much longer game, but considering the new puzzles I think patience and conserving yourself is best. But that first time through, you are definitely going crazy with curiosity on how this one ends so it is hard to take a break.
I do have a hankering for some fried taters, though, with as far as I have gone so far.
 

Speakercone

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Ephraim J. Witchwood said:
Speakercone said:
They seem to have borrowed the gel idea from a freeware game called TAG. worth a look if you haven't played it already.

SCIENCE!!!!
Don't know if anyone's quoted you on this, but as far as I know, Valve actually hired the people that worked on TAG to work on Portal 2. >_>
This has been pointed out to me several times. Thanks everyone, I was previously unaware of this and think it's awesome :).
 

justnotcricket

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Apr 24, 2008
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Azaraxzealot said:
Iron Lightning said:
gigastar said:
Well, 2 more days for me to wait because for some reason the rest of the world still doesnt get theese games at least at the same time as America.

Iron Lightning said:
So they made the puzzles easier, eh, that statement alone has pretty well curbed my enthusiasm for this new installment.
Theres bound to be a challenge mode. Valve wouldnt leave that out would they?
They very well might do so in the name of increasing "accessibility." You know how companies are about that sort of thing nowadays.
Metcarfre said:
Queue immediate complaints that you 'didn't really play it' because this was the 360 version.
Zenode said:
I must ask, why review the 360 version of the game when its a primarily PC version, or even the new PS3 version to see how it stacks up?

OT: I expected the loading times thing because it happens with every Valve game
it begins

what's wrong with accessibility? i couldn't get into portal 1 because i just couldn't wrap my head around the way the physics and whatever worked. Besides, is anything wrong with more people just having fun with something?
Because some people just can't let everyone have their own fun, and make things harder for themselves the old fashioned way by, say, doing timed runs. =S
I think people need to ask themselves what it was they liked about Portal - if it was *only* the difficulty of the puzzles, then they could always avoid portal entirely and go play any game that has 'hard' puzzles. If they liked both the puzzles and the fun atmosphere/'story' etc, then I see no reason not to enjoy Portal 2 if (as I have heard) it delivers on the 'portal humour' side.
 

Andy of Comix Inc

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ZiggyE said:
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.
It is a pseudo-indie game because the prototype was developed as a student project, then those students were hired to build a Source-engine prototype. Only thing Valve did was apply a bit of elbow-grease.

Rosetta said:
"Portal was a child star. Precocious. Naïve."

Good god. Nostalgia already?

Fanboys and girls make me lol.
He just called the game precocious. That's not nostalgic at all. The game was kicked out the gates with such little fanfare and it was great at what it did right off the bat.
 

Jimmy T. Malice

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I laughed when the video reviewer complained about the long loading times while displaying a clip of a very short loading screen.
 

MajWound

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Mar 18, 2009
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I beat it in just under 6 hours (first run). Then again, I'm great at everything and bitches love me. :D

I'm surprised that anyone would find this less challenging than Portal 1. Maybe it speaks more about my numerous play-throughs and experience than the difficulty, but I can blast through it in 1 hour on a good day. But I was genuinely stumped on a few of the puzzles, namely
the arena-like cage with the white goo fountain
and
dumping the blue goo over three turrets and watching them bounce around screaming like sentient tennis balls.
 

Asehujiko

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Zenode said:
I must ask, why review the 360 version of the game when its a primarily PC version, or even the new PS3 version to see how it stacks up?

OT: I expected the loading times thing because it happens with every Valve game
You never noticed the passive-aggressive 360 bias the entire has? Every other article is a rant on either the PC for it's pirates or Sony for it's absurd courtroom corruption.
 

Clankenbeard

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Mar 29, 2009
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Well, I'm clearly not as dedicated as a lot of you folks. I'm playing through this very casually (about 1.5hrs in) and I have been smiling all the way to the back teeth the whole time. GladOS is in rare form, "helping" me through the various tests. I think I have been insulted on almost every physical and cognitive level. My wife has been from her adjacent PC and cracking up the whole time.

I don't know what all you guys want form a game. But for me, this hits the sweet spot.
 

UltraXan

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Dr Snakeman said:
UltraXan said:
"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!
Why? Can someone please tell me what is so terrible about the 360 version? I mean, that's the version of the original Portal I own. Are the PC and 360 versions actually different games, or is this just another PC gamer bias about how console controls are inferior to keyboard or some crap like that?

Honestly, I don't really give a flying fornication if I have to wait five seconds longer in the console version; that doesn't make it inferior.
Alright, lemme put everything on the table. The 360 version is the worst version you can buy (in my opinion, at any rate) because the PC and PS3 version have cross platform co-op. Now I don't know how the PS3 version performs, I have the PC version and it fucking awesome. Anyway, right off the bat, the 360 version is isolated from everyone else, and in my view, cross platform play is something that must be achieved for the next step in gaming, and right now, the xbox is lagging behind. Not only this, but after I played (and finished, after roughly 5 hours) the co-op, the hub room in which co-op is centralized just SCREAMS DLC, and of course, Microsoft is gonna demand that people pay for it, while the PC version will get it for free, and the PS3 just *might* get it for free as well.

TL;DR : in short, the xbox version is lacking what the others have.
 

Clankenbeard

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Mar 29, 2009
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OutrageousEmu said:
Clankenbeard said:
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?
Terminator, Godfather, Back to the Future, Spider-Man, the rebooted Batman series, X-Men, Superman, Toy Story, Disneys Amigos, Shrek, Friday the 13th, Star Trek, Star Wars, the Alien series, James Bond.......
Ah, but that all comes down to opinion. To you answers:
No, No, No, No, Yes but disqualified by me for series number questionability, No, No, No, ???, No, No, Yes, No, Hell No, Unsure

While I disagree with most of your answers, one exception disqualifies the rule. You win this dispute. KAHN!!!!!!!!
 

Wuggy

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MajWound said:
I beat it in just under 6 hours (first run). Then again, I'm great at everything and bitches love me. :D

I'm surprised that anyone would find this less challenging than Portal 1. Maybe it speaks more about my numerous play-throughs and experience than the difficulty, but I can blast through it in 1 hour on a good day. But I was genuinely stumped on a few of the puzzles, namely
the arena-like cage with the white goo fountain
and
dumping the blue goo over three turrets and watching them bounce around screaming like sentient tennis balls.
YES, these were the two puzzles I was absolutely lost on. But once I got them, I got an incredible "A-HA!" feeling. (On the commentary version they talk about this sensation and how it's central to the portal experience. I recommend to play it through again with commentary on.) The latter one just goes to show how complex the puzzles can get combining multiple elements, danger and timing. It was awesome.
 

Powerman88

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Dec 24, 2008
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Yea I completely disagree. I finished the single player campaign. Took me 6.9 hours and they were all pure brilliance. The game was pretty damn close to perfect. Russ, your opinion is just plain ol' wrong sir.

I especially love how it is a AAA game where violence isn't the core mechanic. Very refreshing.