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Portal 2 Single Player Review (Xbox 360 Version)
Developed by Valve Corporation
Distributed by Valve Corporation/Electronic Arts
Directed by Joshua Weier
Produced by Gabe Newell
Starring: Ellen McLain, Stephen Merchant, J.K. Simmons, Nolan North.
April 2011
Still Alive
Back in 2007 and the world was a much less complicated place, a game of unbeatable value strolled into our shops. That game was a collection named The Orange Box which consisted of a collection of Half Life episodes, a console version of Team Fortress 2 and a little puzzle game no one had heard of called Portal. The Half Life games were very good, the Team Fortress 2 port was poorly supported but fun to play and Portal was an incredible first person puzzle game in where you have to shoot portals and manipulate the scenery itself to reach the exit. If this was all Portal was it'd be a good game but what really stood out amongst the cake jokes and silly songs was one witty, funny and above all evil A.I. named GLaDOS who forces you through tests that you have to do in order to get a cake of some kind. The story was pretty basic but became rather exhilarating towards the end, the graphics were good, the voice acting great, the music pure brilliance, the script as sharp as a dagger and above all the game was challenging and fun. When Portal 2 was announced I was pretty cynical about it but excited at the possibilities of portal based puzzles, turns out this game surpassed my expectations.
I'm a potato
Once upon a time there was a woman named Chell who is somehow still alive and having a nice rest and possibly a bit of cake after the events of the first game, suddenly her house rips apart and she is then forced back into the facility she barely escaped from some time ago. Chell is not alone though a strange little ball appears who reveals himself to be Wheatley (Stephen Merchant), who besides being hilarious, is absolutely useless. Chell makes her way back through the destroyed Apeture Science laboratories when, with your bumbling sidekick you accidentally ressurect an old enemy. Unexpectedly the story is packed full with exciting moments, side splitting comedy and some purely baffling moments and surpasses Portal in everyway possible. It's not just the story either, the script is above par with excellent, quotable moments from the entire cast who may I add is absolutely terrific. This game is funny and witty, a genuinely intelligent comedy/drama with plenty of deep character development in the A.I. characters and some fairly interesting yet not entirely shocking twists.
If you do feel alarm, try to hold onto that feeling, because that is the proper reaction to being told you have brain damage.
As I've stated, Portal was a first person puzzle shooter which required you to make portals in the walls in order to reach the exit. Portal 2 hasn't changed much in this formula, it's still a first person puzzle shooter however the puzzles are planned out much smarter than the previous and some new elements have been added to catch you off guard and to add much more depth to the game. First of all we have Repulsion Gel which is some kind of super bouncy substance, next is Propulsion Gel which is very slippery and lastly we have Conversion Gel which you can open portals on. The test chambers are expertly crafted and the puzzles are often very challenging, there have even been times where I've spent close to an hour just thinking and examining the surroundings trying to figure out what to do or where to portal. As well as the puzzles and levels have been crafted, controls are always important. Nothing much has changed from the last Portal, the controls are thankfully just as solid as they were before, unfortunately nothing has been added and the controls have been entirely unchanged so any delay or awkward layout hasn't been changed but that's just me nitpicking.
You monster!
Portal looked good, not great but as a low budget indie puzzler it looked great. Portal 2 looks very similar, it's been improved but not by much and could still pass as the budget indie title it started as. The aesthetic is great, the science parts and old test chambers look brilliant with cracks in the floor and the details on the walls but the rooms themselves feel a little copy and pasted with the overall looks, there is no graffitti or hidden messages and so few secret little areas it's all a little disappointing as Portal had so much narrative within it's scenery and Portal 2 feels a little sterile in comparison.
Oh, now he's playing classical music
"Still Alive" was one of my favourite gaming theme songs of this generation (along with "Still Alive" and "Ring A Bell") and Portal had some great voice acting in GLaDOS (Ellen McLain, Team Fortress 2/Portal). Jonathan Coulton is back with the ending song "Want You Gone", which unfortunately isn't anywhere near as charming as "Still Alive" and while McLain's vocals are good the lyrics just aren't all that witty. Thankfully the game isn't centred around one track and while the game has no catchy melodies the atmospheric sounds really add to Aperture Laboratories and the hollow sound added to other segments are good too but the real standout of Portal 2 is the voice acting. Ellen McLain reprised her role as GLaDOS and gives one of the best performances in gaming's history, adding depth and emotion to what was essentially just an evil robot tring to kill you. Stephen Merchant (The Ricky Gervais Show/Cemetery Junction) played Wheatly the bumbling sidekick and is full of Merchant's typical wit and charm present in The Ricky Gervais Show but at some point in the game taps into something inside him and gives an incredible performance. J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man/Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3) plays Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science and is insanely brilliant, having some of the best lines in the game, the guy doesn't have any deep emotional moments but he certainly has plenty of laugh out loud moments.
When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade
If you hated Portal, this will do nothing to change your mind. If, however, you loved it, you will love this. If you want a game with a great story, great acting and some wonderful puzzles then this game is for you.
Overall: 8/10: Great game with some flaws, nothing game-breaking just some things that bothered me.
Portal 2 Single Player Review (Xbox 360 Version)
Developed by Valve Corporation
Distributed by Valve Corporation/Electronic Arts
Directed by Joshua Weier
Produced by Gabe Newell
Starring: Ellen McLain, Stephen Merchant, J.K. Simmons, Nolan North.
April 2011
Still Alive
Back in 2007 and the world was a much less complicated place, a game of unbeatable value strolled into our shops. That game was a collection named The Orange Box which consisted of a collection of Half Life episodes, a console version of Team Fortress 2 and a little puzzle game no one had heard of called Portal. The Half Life games were very good, the Team Fortress 2 port was poorly supported but fun to play and Portal was an incredible first person puzzle game in where you have to shoot portals and manipulate the scenery itself to reach the exit. If this was all Portal was it'd be a good game but what really stood out amongst the cake jokes and silly songs was one witty, funny and above all evil A.I. named GLaDOS who forces you through tests that you have to do in order to get a cake of some kind. The story was pretty basic but became rather exhilarating towards the end, the graphics were good, the voice acting great, the music pure brilliance, the script as sharp as a dagger and above all the game was challenging and fun. When Portal 2 was announced I was pretty cynical about it but excited at the possibilities of portal based puzzles, turns out this game surpassed my expectations.
I'm a potato
Once upon a time there was a woman named Chell who is somehow still alive and having a nice rest and possibly a bit of cake after the events of the first game, suddenly her house rips apart and she is then forced back into the facility she barely escaped from some time ago. Chell is not alone though a strange little ball appears who reveals himself to be Wheatley (Stephen Merchant), who besides being hilarious, is absolutely useless. Chell makes her way back through the destroyed Apeture Science laboratories when, with your bumbling sidekick you accidentally ressurect an old enemy. Unexpectedly the story is packed full with exciting moments, side splitting comedy and some purely baffling moments and surpasses Portal in everyway possible. It's not just the story either, the script is above par with excellent, quotable moments from the entire cast who may I add is absolutely terrific. This game is funny and witty, a genuinely intelligent comedy/drama with plenty of deep character development in the A.I. characters and some fairly interesting yet not entirely shocking twists.
If you do feel alarm, try to hold onto that feeling, because that is the proper reaction to being told you have brain damage.
As I've stated, Portal was a first person puzzle shooter which required you to make portals in the walls in order to reach the exit. Portal 2 hasn't changed much in this formula, it's still a first person puzzle shooter however the puzzles are planned out much smarter than the previous and some new elements have been added to catch you off guard and to add much more depth to the game. First of all we have Repulsion Gel which is some kind of super bouncy substance, next is Propulsion Gel which is very slippery and lastly we have Conversion Gel which you can open portals on. The test chambers are expertly crafted and the puzzles are often very challenging, there have even been times where I've spent close to an hour just thinking and examining the surroundings trying to figure out what to do or where to portal. As well as the puzzles and levels have been crafted, controls are always important. Nothing much has changed from the last Portal, the controls are thankfully just as solid as they were before, unfortunately nothing has been added and the controls have been entirely unchanged so any delay or awkward layout hasn't been changed but that's just me nitpicking.
You monster!
Portal looked good, not great but as a low budget indie puzzler it looked great. Portal 2 looks very similar, it's been improved but not by much and could still pass as the budget indie title it started as. The aesthetic is great, the science parts and old test chambers look brilliant with cracks in the floor and the details on the walls but the rooms themselves feel a little copy and pasted with the overall looks, there is no graffitti or hidden messages and so few secret little areas it's all a little disappointing as Portal had so much narrative within it's scenery and Portal 2 feels a little sterile in comparison.
Oh, now he's playing classical music
"Still Alive" was one of my favourite gaming theme songs of this generation (along with "Still Alive" and "Ring A Bell") and Portal had some great voice acting in GLaDOS (Ellen McLain, Team Fortress 2/Portal). Jonathan Coulton is back with the ending song "Want You Gone", which unfortunately isn't anywhere near as charming as "Still Alive" and while McLain's vocals are good the lyrics just aren't all that witty. Thankfully the game isn't centred around one track and while the game has no catchy melodies the atmospheric sounds really add to Aperture Laboratories and the hollow sound added to other segments are good too but the real standout of Portal 2 is the voice acting. Ellen McLain reprised her role as GLaDOS and gives one of the best performances in gaming's history, adding depth and emotion to what was essentially just an evil robot tring to kill you. Stephen Merchant (The Ricky Gervais Show/Cemetery Junction) played Wheatly the bumbling sidekick and is full of Merchant's typical wit and charm present in The Ricky Gervais Show but at some point in the game taps into something inside him and gives an incredible performance. J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man/Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3) plays Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science and is insanely brilliant, having some of the best lines in the game, the guy doesn't have any deep emotional moments but he certainly has plenty of laugh out loud moments.
When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade
If you hated Portal, this will do nothing to change your mind. If, however, you loved it, you will love this. If you want a game with a great story, great acting and some wonderful puzzles then this game is for you.
Overall: 8/10: Great game with some flaws, nothing game-breaking just some things that bothered me.