Zero Punctuation: Portal 2
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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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.
This is still on my "must buy" list with Brink and Mortal Kombat.
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
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
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.
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.
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.Dr_Steve_Brule said:
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.
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.
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.Yahtzee Croshaw said:
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.
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.i7omahawki said:
Have you played many random mazes? Most are just not very engaging - but you can get some interesting effects.
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!
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...
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...
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.
The price is coming down pretty fast already, so I can forgive a $40 game some padding.
(noms sawdusty cherries)
(noms sawdusty cherries)
I agree that the difficulty of most puzzles wasn't based on the complexity on the puzzles themselves, but the difficulty of finding that little tiny square of white wall in the gigantic room.
My favourite part has to be the gel sections, those required you to be a little more creative (as far as the puzzle layout let you) specially the white gel one.
Also, I found myself with no friends to play portal 2 co-op with, so I just decided to go random. I found this german guy and we had a blast. I regret nothing.
(and definitely, the BEST puzzle in the game has to the last chamber in the 3rd course, the one where *spoiler spoiler* you had to collide with your friend mid-air in order to land properly */spoiler* , the moment I figured out how to do it I felt pretty smart 8)
My favourite part has to be the gel sections, those required you to be a little more creative (as far as the puzzle layout let you) specially the white gel one.
Also, I found myself with no friends to play portal 2 co-op with, so I just decided to go random. I found this german guy and we had a blast. I regret nothing.
(and definitely, the BEST puzzle in the game has to the last chamber in the 3rd course, the one where *spoiler spoiler* you had to collide with your friend mid-air in order to land properly */spoiler* , the moment I figured out how to do it I felt pretty smart 8)
I agree that the game is very good but not the same as the first one. Still I played it in one sitting, never even for a moment wanting to stop until I see the end, which shows that it is a rarely good game. The thing that disappointed me mostly is that they made GlaDOS into a likable character and gave her emotions. The best thing about GlaDOS in the first "Portal" was that she was this crazy AI, whose only purpose was to test puzzle solving and treated humans like predictable objects, clearly showing no real understanding of human emotions. It created a feeling of isolation and loneliness while the player made his way through the vast empty complex listening to recorded lines that only resembled human speech, but there was no emotional logic behind it. And in this game GlaDOS was bitter, showed fear, anger, enthusiasm. At times she talked as if she sensed what Chell was thinking and basically behaved like an average human being. The cold zany robot from the first "Portal" was gone. Wheatley was even a worse representation of a murderous AI, because he acted and talked like a nice fellow the entire time. It added to the comedy, but took away from the atmosphere. He was more like a character from a Disney movie.
The level design as always was beautiful, and I liked the way they showed the early versions of the complex. Some explanation of why Chell ended in a stasis chamber along with thousands of other people would've been nice and also what year was when these events happened, but maybe they keep this for "Portal 3".
The level design as always was beautiful, and I liked the way they showed the early versions of the complex. Some explanation of why Chell ended in a stasis chamber along with thousands of other people would've been nice and also what year was when these events happened, but maybe they keep this for "Portal 3".
Portal 2 isn't actually easier, you are just use to, cough "thinking with portals." For new comers this is just as challenging as the first.
Brilliant.
Although, I was hoping he'd mention that theres fewer execution based challenges, and that the game is weaker for it.
hopefully this will be made up with the free dlc
Although, I was hoping he'd mention that theres fewer execution based challenges, and that the game is weaker for it.
hopefully this will be made up with the free dlc
I agree that the difficulty of most puzzles wasn't based on the complexity on the puzzles themselves, but the difficulty of finding that little tiny square of white wall in the gigantic room.
My favourite part has to be the gel sections, those required you to be a little more creative (as far as the puzzle layout let you) specially the white gel one.
Also, I found myself with no friends to play portal 2 co-op with, so I just decided to go random. I found this german guy and we had a blast. I regret nothing.
(and definitely, the BEST puzzle in the game has to the last chamber in the 3rd course, the one where *spoiler spoiler* you had to collide with your friend mid-air in order to land properly */spoiler* , the moment I figured out how to do it I felt pretty smart 8) )
My favourite part has to be the gel sections, those required you to be a little more creative (as far as the puzzle layout let you) specially the white gel one.
Also, I found myself with no friends to play portal 2 co-op with, so I just decided to go random. I found this german guy and we had a blast. I regret nothing.
(and definitely, the BEST puzzle in the game has to the last chamber in the 3rd course, the one where *spoiler spoiler* you had to collide with your friend mid-air in order to land properly */spoiler* , the moment I figured out how to do it I felt pretty smart 8) )
I started playing the Co-op game with my wife (not an avid gamer) and we'd finally gotten to that point where she had something click, and she cleared a puzzle while I was getting something for our daughter in the kitchen.
That afternoon, I played a bit with my dad to pass the time (he was totally taken in by the background chatter from GLaDOS, humor written almost specifically for him) and was faced with an insurmountable barrier that was his complete inability to ambulate and orient himself within a virtual space. (LOTS of staring at floors and ceilings, with a few "nose pressed to wall" situations added for flavor)
I tried the "Left Stick = Feet / Right Stick = Head" concept that worked for me, but he was hopeless. The room with the four timed switches ended with him standing guard at one button, while I used creative portal jumping to get to the other three on my own. But, then I got to spend the next 15 minutes entertaining the kids with ball physics antics, so it was all good. (The activity of 1. Stand below dispenser... 2. roll ball through exit into the Dispersion Field... 3. get hit on head by replacement ball was a huge hit, and the cause of much childish laughter.)
Then, dad takes a break and my four-year-old takes his controller. Same prompts, though a bit more precise ("Left Button" instead of "Red Portal", etc.) and she was doing great. The odd reminder to switch sticks (she can't use both analog sticks at the same time, and still hold the controller in her hands) to look, instead of walk and she new what she was about and had a pretty solid grasp on what needed to happen to keep moving along. A moment of parental pride (and likely a cause for worry, a few years down the road, I'm sure), to say the least.
That afternoon, I played a bit with my dad to pass the time (he was totally taken in by the background chatter from GLaDOS, humor written almost specifically for him) and was faced with an insurmountable barrier that was his complete inability to ambulate and orient himself within a virtual space. (LOTS of staring at floors and ceilings, with a few "nose pressed to wall" situations added for flavor)
I tried the "Left Stick = Feet / Right Stick = Head" concept that worked for me, but he was hopeless. The room with the four timed switches ended with him standing guard at one button, while I used creative portal jumping to get to the other three on my own. But, then I got to spend the next 15 minutes entertaining the kids with ball physics antics, so it was all good. (The activity of 1. Stand below dispenser... 2. roll ball through exit into the Dispersion Field... 3. get hit on head by replacement ball was a huge hit, and the cause of much childish laughter.)
Then, dad takes a break and my four-year-old takes his controller. Same prompts, though a bit more precise ("Left Button" instead of "Red Portal", etc.) and she was doing great. The odd reminder to switch sticks (she can't use both analog sticks at the same time, and still hold the controller in her hands) to look, instead of walk and she new what she was about and had a pretty solid grasp on what needed to happen to keep moving along. A moment of parental pride (and likely a cause for worry, a few years down the road, I'm sure), to say the least.