An immersive and very creative shooter. This is a great game even to those who are not normal fans of the genre.

User Rating: 9 | Portal PC
I'm a person who's never played any of the games in the Half-Life series. I'm also not a fan of shooters at all. Nevertheless, this was an absolutely AMAZING game for me to play, so that should give you some insight on just how great this game really is.

The storyline is a slightly generic one. You play a generic character who is simply put through a series of tests with no explanation. All you know is that there is a computer-ish voice speaking to you and telling you to test out Aperture Science's new weapon through a series of levels if you want to live and receive some cake after you are finished.

What is this weapon that you are testing? It is the one after which the game is named. The portal gun!

What the portal guns are are two separate hand-cannons. Shooting them will create portals, one gun creating a orange portal, the other a blue. Only one of each can exist at a time though, and they will close if a new one is made. The orange and blue portals are connected, so walking through one will cause you to emerge from the other.

This is truly an amazing game concept. The portal system really covers every boundary. A portal can be created on any flat, oblique surface - basically, the walls, floor and ceiling. The physics are amazingly done as well, to give the feeling of more realism. If you were to create a portal on the floor, and then create another on the ceiling directly above, you could jump through and literally keep falling forever. Furthermore, shooting the portals onto parallel walls and looking through will result in you being able to see your own backside. See what I mean? If there's a quirk you can think of doing with the portals, this game probably has it covered.

Now, it sounds easy, right? In a sense, it could be. Portal is more of a test of your puzzle-solving skills rather than a fast-paced, high-action, thrilling shoot-out with the bad guys. This is what made the game so enjoyable to me, as a non-player of shooters. I really had to wrack my brain hard at many points to figure out how to solve the obstacles I was faced with.

For instance, you won't always be able to see the correct spot to shoot a portal at to be able to proceed, so you'll have to do a little work to make things possible. Maybe the wall you need is covered with anti-portal glass, which you can only pass through withing 30 seconds of hitting a switch. There are also the laser-shooting security droids who will attack you on sight (thankfully, they're not mobile), not to mention lakes of lava and acid that you will have to brave. Oh yeah, there are also bottomless pits. You can't forget the bottomless pits. NOW it sounds challenging, doesn't it?

You're guide throughout most of the game, the futuristic voice of GLaDOS, will give you advice for much of the time. You can't be too careful in taking it, however. Often, you'll be told to walk into a deadly situation that GLaDOS passed off as safe, and after you survive, you'll be told that is was just another test that you passed. As the story progresses, you'll find out more and more secrets about that mysterious voice and this place that you're in. All in all, GLaDOS provides a great deal of hilarity instead of suspense, and I spent most of my time playing Portal with a smile, rather than a game-face.

Unfortunately, the main storyline of the game is incredibly short, which is really the only downside that Portal has. It can be completed in about 5-10 hours depending on your own skill and wit. However, after you're done the main game, there are other options to partake in. There are advanced maps, which are a number of the regular levels from the storyline, but each with a twist to increase the difficulty by a huge amount. There are also bonus maps in which you can challenge yourself with by completing them with a limited number of steps, portals, and time. So, Portal has SOME replay value, but really, the first few advanced maps are all that will stick after you're done.

Lastly, there's more thing to talk about. Probably THE most memorable aspect of Portal is the song in the end credits, "Still Alive". Seriously, there's a good chance you've heard it long before you even played this game. It's honestly an amazing song. I have it on my iPod too!

So overall, this is one fantastic game to try out, even for those who aren't fans or aren't skilled at first-person shooters. Honestly, just about anyone could play this game and find a lot of challenge and fun in it. I recommend it to everyone.