Portal 2 does just about everything right.
Where do I begin? Well, this is a direct sequel to 2007's "Portal", which was included a part of the superb "Orange Box". It was a single player puzzle game that had players trapped in the dark depths of the testing chambers. It was a pretty unique game that was actually intended to be "an experiment to see how gamers would respond to a different kind of gameplay and story experience", which was stated by Valve themselves. Along with the Orange Box, Portal sold well over 3 million units, making it a pretty big success to Valve, and encouraged them to make a sequel due to this and the warm reception of the first Portal as a stand-alone game.
3 years later, Valve announced Portal 2 on March 5th as a stand-alone game only, not being packaged with anything else but itself. Portal 2 had much more time put into it as opposed to the first game, in fact, throughout the 4 years that it took to release; Valve was hard at work with it. The first Portal only had a staff of only 7 or 8 people, but Portal 2 had around 40 people working on it. A lot of the Portal 2 designers were also a part of the development cycle for the smash hit "Left 4 Dead". You could tell that a lot more work was going to be put into the sequel, and as it turned out, this game was better than its predecessor in almost every way.
With an apology ready for the shoddy port of the Orange Box, Valve announced that Portal 2 was also going to released on the PS3 as a result them "not putting their best foot forward" when developing the Orange Box for the system. As a result of this, at E3 2010, Valve announced the inevitable release of Portal 2, but not just on the 360 and PC, but also on the PS3, which is the version that I'm reviewing. This might not sound all too important, but later Valve announced that this version of the game would have a special feature that would allow PS3 users to connect to their Steam accounts from their PS3 with the copies of Portal 2 that they bought. But that's not all, not only did Valve create this link between PC users and PS3 users, but they also incorporated a code that allowed you to download Portal 2 on Steam absolutely free of charge. So in a nutshell; you get two for the price of one, and more.
This is awesome and all, but is the game good enough to warrant playing it on both systems? The answer to that is an emphatic yes. As I mentioned earlier, Portal 2 does just about everything exceedingly well, giving us a solid sequel to the first Portal's single player, but also a new co-op mode that works just as well. It reminds me a bit of Dead Space 2 in a way; improving upon the fantastic methods of the first game, while also adding something completely new. But whereas Dead Space 2's multiplayer is nothing special, Portal 2s is an entirely different beast all together.
Firstly, the single player is a direct sequel to the story found in the first Portal. You play a lead female character (Chell) that is forced to go through multiple "test chambers" with this device that is referred to as the Portal gun. This gun is used to create two holes that connect to each other virtually, meaning that when you go through one, you'll pop out the other. These guns were designed to be used for science by this company by the name of Aperture. Unfortunately, the whole facility has decayed as a result of your character being in stasis for a very, very long time. There is no real explanation to how long you've been a sleep, but that doesn't really matter when compared to the problems that are about to occur in the facility.
You are woken up by a small robot by the name of Wheatly, who busts you out of your holding cell that is surprisingly similar to a small hotel room. He explains afterwards that you need to find a "Portal gun", which is the key to escaping this underground facility. You find this gun after a series of clever tutorials that explain the basic mechanics of the game. I might add that the game is perfectly pace, always adding something new to each area and making you think differently with each of the numerous puzzles that you are confronted with. Eventually, you'll meet with an old nemesis, dubbed "GLaDOS", who is pretty upset, mainly because Chell pretty much killed her in the first game. I'd be upset too.
After supposedly disposing of Wheatly, GLaDOS decides to put you through a series of test chambers for the rest of your life, which basically sets you up for the first half of the game. The story progresses through a linear matter that at times feels like those VR challenges found in the first Metal Gear, but way more complex. Later on, it takes on a more traditional approach to pacing by having you travel through multiple areas at once. As I mentioned, pacing in this game is impressive, even in all of its diversity it finds itself being interesting the whole way through. Coupled with the comedic story and fleshed out characters, this is as good as a single player experience can get.
The characters are so full of, well, character. Each one of the characters in the story has a definitive personality that is matched only by the terrific voice acting that all actors put on. Any three of the main voice actors would prove game-award worthy by themselves, but the fact that they interact so well makes it all the better. Wheatly is especially good, making his first appearance in the series as a dumb, but kind hearted (at first) orb that follows you around and wants to escape with you.
The overall story is surprisingly well made, and for as short a game as this is, I was completely satisfied by the time I finished it. There are plot twists a plenty, but there isn't anything too big to spoil; besides what happens to Wheatly. The dialogue is pretty funny, while simultaneously having a darker tone than most games on the market right now (as far as comedy goes, anyways). It all boils down to a single player story that is both creative and fleshed out.
But is it any fun? Well, if you somehow found a way to not appreciate the story and characters, than the gameplay will easily make up for it. The puzzles in the game are well made, each providing a new sense of challenge then the next. The difficulty curve for the puzzles is just right, continuously ramping up the thought process involved with each new puzzle the game presents to you. However, the game does get considerably easier towards the final stretch, but not by too much thankfully.
The amount of variety in the problem solving of Portal 2 is stellar. Thanks to new variables that are sprinkled throughout the campaign (kudos to the pacing again); it never feels stale at all. For example, the three types of goo that you encounter throughout that game serve up a ton of opportunity for creative puzzles, and they fulfilled completely. Like the orange gel, that lets you go at incredible speeds for those tough to reach ramp jumps that just need that extra push. They all combine to make some puzzles that were surprisingly tough, especially those ones that had you climbing upwards after you escape from GLaDOS. But then the slogan of the game comes to mind; "Think with Portals", and that's exactly what I did. Surprisingly enough, this proved to be a useful tactic; just think about out from a perspective that involves Portals, and you'll figure out puzzles sooner or later.
The only legitimate gripe that I have against Portal 2's main controls is that your character moves pretty stiffly. It's understandable, seeing as how Chell has leg braces on that absorb the impact of falls, but it is kind of annoying when I'm trying to jump into a portal from a high distance and I miss it just because the game isn't as fluent as it could be. Other than that, the game controls pre-dominantly well, as you'd expect from a game that is a sudo- FPS. There are plenty of options to tinker with for such things as sensitivity, brightness, etc.
Physics are pretty much essential when making something like this, and Valve got everything right. Falling from great distances into portals matters, getting speed before you go off a ramp onto a platform matters, and everything of that caliber is made with special care and consideration, and it all matters. Later in the game you are confronted with beams of energy that make you float, and it puts a pretty heavy emphasis on how the game handles realistically with puzzles that follow guidelines to a tee. You can tell that Valve put a lot of effort into creativity with Portal 2, and it goes to show in numerous ways.
The game took me around 7 hours to complete, and this was without doing some of the side stuff. On top of this, we have a full fledged cooperative mode, which is equally as impressive as the single player. It's basically a new campaign that was designed to be played with two people that can be done both online and off. That's another thing I commend Valve for, actually incorporating a split screen mode, which is something that seems to have been missing these past 5 years in gaming. In this cooperative, there are two small robots that have a surprising amount of character added to them, which is quite the feat, considering that they only mumble and grunt.
The puzzles in the cooperative are equally as impressive as the ones found in the single player experience. That's plenty of incentive to replay the game as it is, in fact, you can think of it as a new game + to what you already have. I haven't completed all of the puzzles in the co-op, but I've played enough of them to know that they are well made and offer online players more beyond a solid single player experience. Communication is the key as far as Portal 2's cooperative goes. That's why Valve incorporated a type of hand signal option that allows players without microphones to communicate and decide who will take what role. It's a neat touch, that can be useful online, but it's obviously useless when playing split screen; unless you and your friend are mutes.
And this all leads to the overall look of the game, and for what it is, it works. The game uses the same engine that the first one used, but a lot of improvements were made to make the game feel up to date. The environments are huge in scope, and the frame rate never dipped for me when there was a lot of stuff on the screen. Physics play a big part in this department, with plenty of debris to be found scattered, and tons of gel to be shot with from portals. It all looks great, but it's nothing that will be getting any recognition by the year's end.
Musically, Portal 2 is also sound (pun intended). The electronic soundtrack feels ambient in every way, and it is also very well made. The ending song titled "Want You Gone" is also a great follow up to the standards left by the first game with "Still Alive". Again, I can think of soundtracks that are better, but that doesn't matter. This is Portal 2, and it's still awesome, and alive.
Overall, Portal 2 is a well made product that I'd praise for pretty much aspect. This is one of those games that seems to just push creativity to a whole new level, and makes everything else in the genre feel simple. This clever combination of a FPS and a puzzle game is one that will be talked about and remembered for ages, for not only being Valves first game on the PS3 since the Orange Box, but also a game that is spectacular in its own rights. If you haven't picked this game up yet, then I highly recommend it, to just about everybody. It's gaming at its finest.
+Creative story and characters blend perfectly
+Adds a ton of new variables to the Portal concept
+Brilliant combination of puzzle solving and physics
+Memorable presentation that is special in just about every aspect
+Superb sound design coupled with a solid soundtrack
+Exceptional cooperative that is equally impressive to the single player
+The first time we've ever seen a game give two copies of it for two different platforms
+And above all, it's faithful to what made the first Portal brilliant
-It's a tad bit short
Review by Cal Burkhart