Zero Punctuation: Portal 2

[TheEnglishman]

Curently playing Portal 2 though didn't play the first.

I imagine the shorter and sweeter approach probably worked as after a few hours of playing I decided on a whim to look up how many chapters there were and couldn't help but wonder how they're going to keep this going.

The game is very fun to play and rewarding to figure out and has a good sense of humour but I will stop playing after a bit cause it's a case of "Yeah, tad bored now."

So Yahtzee has pretty much said everything that needs to be said in the review.

 

[Sun Flash]

No memetic content? I'll give you one word featuring an elongated vowel, can you guess what it is?

Also, Cave Johnson and his lemons are badass.

[sub]Whether this is a good thing has yet to be seen, I'm not sick of these yet.[/sub]

Everything he said was correct and justifiable, but that doesn't mean Portal 2 was a bad game, not by a long shot. And yes I understand you are paid to moan about things in a funny accent, so you aren't hating on the game because you don't like it.

 

[Nenad]

If Portal 3 takes place in space, how would momentum work?

It would work with the help of science!

On topic: Aaa, that's exactly what I thought yesterday after playing Portal 2! Portal 1 is a walnut! Also, Portal in space... YES!

 

[Imp_Emissary]

That was a very well done review. Not to much gushing over it, telling us its sad it must be compared to Portal, and a good many jokes. Much of which were sexual. I have to go get it soon.
As always Yahtzee, well done, yet not impossible to out-do.
p.s. I too wonder what Valve will be doing next.
Maybe a mod for Portal 2 that lets us torture to death annoying Valve fans that ruined the our tasty Cake!?

 

[Jack Bz]

I wish more was said about the comedy of the game. I think that Stephen Merchant as Wheatley is the funniest videogame character I've ever come across, and far outshined Glados in this one.

 

[mcnally86]

No I thought Y man might pick up that the "biggest moron ever created" is inexplicably the only person in the Half Life UNIVERSE with a British accent.

Only one with a British accent?
Colonel Odessa Cubbage [http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Odessa_Cubbage] would like to have a word with you

Oh man I forgot him. Thanks for pointing that out. Perhaps the creators of Wheatly really hates him? I love Wheatly I should point that out.

 

[Unhappy Crow]

Finally, now people can shut up about asking for a Portal 2 video from ZP.
This is still on my "must buy" list with Brink and Mortal Kombat.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

Wow! This is exactly how I felt about Portal 2.

Except with less British accent and cynicism.

 

[brazuca]

You forgot the most important thing to talk about. Graphics comparsion! Everyone loves it, like a guilt pleasure! Anyone notice how AA on a GTX 570 is sooooo much better than the PS3 version? Me neither.

 

[tahrey]

Is it wrong that I actually laughed at the "snooker cue to the testicles" line, but not the custard pie one?

All they need to do is release an official map building tool for it, and it'll be all, "Longevity: ACHIEVED". Like Garry's Mod meets Worms Reinforcements.

edit: sorry, Garry's Mod meets Little Big Planet

 

[Carbo]

Personally I think Portal 2 is infinitely better than its predecessor, because it feels exactly like a sequel should be like. It had everything I came to expect from it, an infinitely more cohesive and intuitive experience than its original. I can't even go back and replay the original now as it just feels plain lazy and bland. Everything about it just reeks as an easy amalgam of things some people just threw together on their own for a college project and just adding a few easy jokes inbetween. I'm aware it originally started out that way and it worked out for what it was. But this wasn't what I came in to expect from a full budget sequel.

I've replayed Portal 2 about 3 times now and it's not gotten old to me at all. Mostly because for one, it's narrative is absolutely sublime. In my opinion I haven't seen a videogame this immersive, interesting and captivating, every twist is magnificently handled and the writing still retains its wit while being a lot more grand and encompassing. On top of that, it made me care for all the characters. In fact I still sometimes get chills when I get to the grand finale.

Portal might have had the better puzzles, but Portal 2 is in my honest opinion the better package.

Still enjoyed the review though.

 

[Xersues]

"This is an action game for non action people". Screw that, it needs more platforming elements and some serious skill to get through them to be enjoyable.

Oh, i'm sorry but not everyone likes to grind as much as you do.
"Oh, I missed that platform, lets try it again"
"Oh, I missed it again, lets try it one more time"
"Missed it AGAIN, this is getting on my nerves"
And after about 10 times this shit happens, most people would just leave the game or cheat through the level.
Think about this for a second- if it's going to be hard as balls for you, most of the people who play this game are going to find it impossible.
And what is this bull about portal 2 being easy? The last bits of every part took me some time to figure out, and the co-op was seriously hard at some points.

Some people get lucky, or click or just understand the puzzles. I know I had some trouble with some coop puzzle but my coop partner did not. That's why it was easy, if I couldn't figure it out, she could. Most puzzles were solved in minutes.

Portal 1 had challenge levels for a reason. They were awesome. Portal 2 doesn't have any. The main story was cool, except for the travel levels with some annoying "Find the spot" areas.

A game being easy is subjective. To me, it was incredibly easy, finished it quick, and barely failed. Maybe I just got lucky, was in the right mode or mindset. Just worked out for me. It would be nice to have some more platform (Which the COOP had with timing, I never laughed so hard in my life).

It was fun, but it wasn't difficult. What made coop fun wasn't the difficulty, it was the fun of missing a mark, laughing and trying again. I dunno, I never got frustrated at failure, its all part of the testing environment. You're made to fail, and she has too much tenacity to give up.

 

[Dutch 924]

I wasn't sure how Yahtzee would review Portal 2. His reviews are usually pointing out all the bad stuff (that is his job, he's a critic), but Portal 1 was perfect before the fanboys; I wasn't sure what to expect. Still, he was right with everything he said.

 

[WaderiAAA]

Portal 2

This week, the Zero Punctuation you've been waiting for. Is Portal 2 better than Portal?

Watch Video

I wasn't waiting for the answer to that question, because I already knew that a sequel must vastly improve for you to consider it better than the original. I will say though, that I thought Portal 2 was better than Portal by a good margin. Not by any means better for its time, but still a better game.

I remember you saying that you played Twilight Princess before Ocarina of Time and found it superior in every way, and I'm pretty sure that is how most people who'd play Portal 2 and then Portal would feel.

 

[jmarquiso]

Great review, the replayability is the biggest flaw I think...shame they couldn't somehow figure out randomly generated puzzles...guess that would be next to impossible.

Good news about the incoming DLC though, hopefully that'll extend the length a fair bit.

Gotta say though, I don't really begrudge the game for its lack of replay value, which is odd. I really just thoroughly enjoyed the campaign, I felt that it added a lot more depth and the development of the characters was great.

Still, I haven't done the co-op yet, maybe afterwards I'll feel bitter about it haha.

Not impossible, just not very interesting. The great thing about the level design in these games is that they have a certain personality to it. The different tests reflect those.

Have you played many random mazes? Most are just not very engaging - but you can get some interesting effects.

 

[Telperion]

I feel a need to say something about the areas between the three "puzzle centers", which are...well...large. I have now heard from several reviewers, who all had trouble finding their way in them, and I didn't. I don't think I'm exceptionally observant or intelligent, but I do know my game designers. So, when in doubt, I committed suicide. I jumped over the nearest ledge, or sank into the closest bit of acid and was instantly respawned to the part of the level where the game designers felt I needed to be. I then used the zoom function (yeah, you actually have to use that thing sometimes, but the game tells you about it) and took a look around. Low and behold I noticed a white bit of wall, and off I went again!

 

[Mr. Omega]

Wow, considering that Yahtzee's comments on Portal 1 he always tends to make, how it's the embodiment of perfection in gaming, I was expecting this to be one big section where he says this is the greatest game ever made, seeing him not only give criticism to Portal 2 was a surprise even if he did think the first was better.

What's more, this one of the better reviews I've seen both for Portal 2 and from Yahtzee in a while. This seemed a lot more serious, a good critical review with a good dose of his humor as opposed to last week, which seemed more like an excuse to make various jokes under the guise of a review. The complaints were more than just minor nit-picking (which I love, don't get me wrong), he address the hat issue showing that while he doesn't like it, it can be ignored, and while still showering Portal 1 with praise, he still gave Portal 2 it's due.

Edit: On a side note: He thinks there's nothing that can be made into a meme? Oooooooh dear...

 

[Kuhkren]

I think part of the appeal and charm of the first portal, which was mentioned but not elaborated on, was that it was a surprise hit that wasn't anticipated. The second had a lot of attention and speculation, so rather than a complete surprise there were already strong expectations and bias.I personally enjoyed Portal 2 a lot more than the first one because of the story, well designed characters, and many of the new gameplay mechanics were fun to mess around with.