Portal 2 is the most fun you can have with a snazzy looking gun that isn't designed for killing.
Portal 2 continues on the heels of its predecessor's success, while raising the bar and adding more unique mechanics and twists to the established formula.
The events of Portal 2 take place an undetermined amount of time after the end of the first game, in which the mute test subject Carolyn destroys the glib-tongued testing addict AI, GLaDOS. The new journey starts in a nostalgically similar fashion, with the returning protagonist waking up in her private quarters, but it becomes quickly apparent that things aren't as neat and cosy this time around. The Aperture Science facility has been dilapidated and abandoned, overgrown with shrubs, its walls crumbling and its grandeur brought to ruin. Before you know it, your path veers away from logical, symmetrical test chambers toward snaky backstage passages, vast utilitarian catwalks and gargantuan underground exteriors. It is a welcome change of pace and decor, introducing an immense new dimension to Aperture's premises.
The game's objective – escape from the Aperture complex – drives the story along a series of levels, which are essentially test chambers of environmental puzzles. The puzzles themselves haven't changed in structure – there are still buttons to press, cubes to place and nodes to activate. Armed with a familiar-looking portal gun for punching instant-travel passages in walls, you still rely largely on the core mechanics of gravity and momentum for transporting you from A to B. Luckily, the game keeps it fresh with a number of additional utensils of traversal. There are gravity beams that float objects and light beams that serve as skywalk, but the most fascinating addition are the three gels – blue, yellow and white – used to paint solid surfaces to infuse them with unique physical attributes. Blue gel has rebounding qualities, yellow gel accelerates your step and white gel creates a portal-friendly surface for your trusty gun. Figuring out where to smear each one in order to aid your progress adds a whole new layer of challenge to Portal 2's brain-busting experience.
While puzzles grow increasingly challenging in their scope and complexity, the game is not difficult on the whole, and even the final boss is a breeze to defeat. Having said that, Portal 2 may present you with a number of "dead-end" moments at any point in the adventure. Specific to your own playthrough, these are random instances of hit-the-wall frustration, wherein your mind and eye simply refuse to spot the blatantly obvious detail required to open a door or make it across. The solution is usually staring you square in the face, making you feel undeservedly stupid for overlooking its simplicity when you eventually find it.
Graphically, Valve's latest won't take home any awards. The game is still powered by the 7 year old Source engine, first implemented in the outstanding Half-Life 2 back in 2004. And while back then it was a true feat of graphical engineering, today, it is clearly showing signs of age and fatigue. Granted, Portal 2 uses a one-of-a-kind visual style, relying mainly on cubist environments and simple geometric shapes, and it did receive a face-lift in the form of minor visual embellishments and extra texture detail, yet it is hard to overlook its technical inferiority in the eyes of modern-age shooters.
Audio, on the other hand, is a remarkable accomplishment.
The voice acting in Portal 2 is nothing short of spectacular, with an exceptional cast of talent drafted to breathe life into its colourful and eccentric characters. The most notable is perhaps Stephen Merchant, who does a phenomenal job as Wheatley – a talkative, albeit idiotic, robo-sphere that accompanies you throughout the journey in one form or the other. Uttered in Stephen's instantly recognisable voice and unique style, Wheatley's dialogue is edgy, outrageous and moronic, and the journey just wouldn't be the same without it. Equally notable is J.K. Simmons in the role of Cave Johnson – a creator and founder of Aperture Science facility and a fervent testing devotee. His pre-recorded messages, still echoing in the deserted chambers and corridors of the facility, are drop-dead hilarious. On many occasions I would stop just to hear some of his deadpan asinine remarks and preposterous scientific rationalisations. Finally, there is GLaDOS, the ubiquitous testing overseer, who's skin-deep hatred of you permeates in subtle sarcastic quips and acrid comments, and who's robotic voice is a bottomless well of comedy.
The synthetic and eerie background music of Portal 2 is only audible in a handful of levels, replaced instead with ambient sounds of mechanical structures and vast subterranean environments. The steady electric drone of artificial laboratories is innerving and the distant, hollow rasp of rickety metal, echoing ominously throughout the facility, is dreadfully unsettling. The end of the game, however, is delightfully musical. The closing song by GLaDOS is nowhere near as inspired as the "Best End-Game Credits Ever" of the original Portal (seriously, if you haven't seen it, go watch it on YouTube, immediately), but you are treated to a surprisingly catchy and melodic turret opera for your troubles at the end.
Unless you are one of the unlucky ones to get hopelessly stuck along the way, the whole experience should last you no longer than 8 hours to see through. Fortunately, the journey of Portal 2 lives on in a splendid cooperative multiplayer, which picks up immediately after the events of the single player campaign. Stepping into the shoes of a duo of GLaDOS's pet bots, two players must combine their efforts and intellect to make it though several test chambers designed specifically for teamwork. Bringing a second party adds an extra layer of intricacy to puzzle-solving, as well as a compelling reason to continue enjoying Portal 2.
Building on the solid foundation of its celebrated forerunner, Portal 2 improves, innovates and expands in every way. From the addition of fresh gameplay mechanics and a new coop mode, to the witty humor and ingenious dialogue, this is the ultimate in the first person puzzle solving experience.