Portal 2 will make you think outside of the box, literally. It is a lot like the original Portal game, only this one is bigger and badder in every way possible. The idea is the same. You have a portal gun that allows you to shoot two different portals onto almost any surface. One portal is blue and the other is orange. When you enter the blue portal you will come out of the orange one and vice versa. It sounds simple enough but when you start throwing in obstacles like: talking machine gun turrets, jump pads, pressure sensitive buttons, rooms with no floors, lasers, light bridges, physics changing gels and a few rogue computers that want you dead, things get really interesting.

Portal 2 is addictive, funny, insane, challenging and unlike any other game ever made and I am just talking about the single player campaign. Portal 2 also features a two player co-op campaign that is completely different and can be played via split screen or the internet. I will go into more detail on that a little later, but first things first.

Portal 2 The Story

Portal 2 takes us back to the Aperture Science Center. You are the same woman that you were in the first game, but a lot of time has passed and the Aperture Science Center has been neglected. Plants now occupy many of the destroyed rooms and everywhere you go you will see signs of a system wide failure.

The story is where this game really shines. You are fed little tiny pieces of the back story as you progress through the game. It is always just enough to make you want to go further. Every story element leads you perfectly into the next and then you have to find out more. It is story telling at it’s best and it makes the Portal 2 game play irresistible. I found myself wanting more. There are plot twists that you would never even imagine and surprises around every corner. Valve really knows how to tightly weave a compelling story into a game and Portal 2 highlights this talent.

Portal 2 Release date : Tuesday April 19th 2011

Portal 2 Fan Pack on iTunes
Best Portal Sound Board on iTunes

Portal 2 GamePlay

Portal 2 gameplay is unique. The game is entirely from the first person perspective, but it is in no way a first person shooter. At it’s heart Portal 2 is a puzzle game.

There are a few moments when you will see yourself in the third person perspective, but this is not intentional. Certain portal configurations will allow you to see yourself as you enter one portal and come out the other.

What makes this game so unique? The portals and the way each person chooses to solve the puzzle. There are many ways to get from point A to point B and everyone thinks completely different. Your solution will most likely be different than a friends.

The basic concept is to progress through each “testing chamber.” You are locked in a room and you have to use your portal gun to move from point A to point B. There will always be obstacles and the difficulty of each puzzle increases as you make your way through Portal 2.

Physics play a huge role in how you move through the game. There are many times when you have to launch yourself great distances in order to complete the puzzle. If you are standing on a ledge that is 50 feet in the air and you create a portal on the ground below you and then create another portal in the wall next to the ledge, you can use your momentum of falling through the portal on the floor to launch you out of the portal in the wall and fly over huge gaps. You really have to think these through. There are plenty of handy save points so when you make a mistake, you will start where you left off. The puzzles are challenging and will test your train of thought, but they never become too difficult.

Once you get the hang of thinking with portals, you are introduced to different gels that can alter the physics of rooms and other things. The first gel is blue. Blue gel will allow you to bounce off of any surface that it touches. It will also make anything that is covered in blue gel bounce too. Now you can use physics, portals and blue gel to bounce to really high places.

The next gel is orange. Orange gel will make you run very fast. If you lay a straight line of orange gel on the floor, you can run much faster. Throw some blue gel at the end and you have a super jump. Shoot a portal at the end of the super jump and then another one on some high point in the area and your momentum will soar you to new heights, literally.

Remember when I said the portal gun works on almost any surface? Well it does, but the surface has to be white. The last gel that you are introduced to is white. If you can cover an area with white gel, then you can place portals on that newly painted white area. Now you are thinking with portals, blue gel, orange gel and white gel. There are a few other game play mechanics as well. You will have to play the game to find them.

Portal 2 Coop

All of these elements work the same in the Portal 2 two player coop campaign. If you have an Xbox 360 you can play split-screen co-p or over Xbox Live. If you have the PlayStation 3 version of Portal 2, you can play with other people on the PlayStation Network and the PC. That’s right, there is cross platform play between the PS3, PC and Mac but not on the Xbox 360.

Portal 2 coop is just as addictive and fun as the single player campaign, but you get to share all of the great game play moments with a friend. Portal 2 requires cooperation by both players in order to solve every puzzle and advance to the next level. Portal 2 coop will make some of the best social gaming moments in history. It is funny, intelligent and just plain addictive.

 

Portal 2 Graphics

The graphics in Portal 2 are not the greatest, at least not on the Xbox 360 version. There seems to be some debate over which one looks the best. I have played the Xbox 360 version and the PS3 version and I would have to say the PS3 has better graphics hands down. Sorry all you Xbox 360 fan boys and girls, but the creators of Portal 2, prefer the PS3 and it is quite obvious in the eye candy department. The Xbox 360 version appears to lack Anti-Aliasing and there are some jaggies here and there. The PS3 version has full Anti-Aliasing and as a result, no jaggies.

Don’t get me wrong, the graphics are in no way bad, they are just not as good as some of the other games on the market. The graphics do not affect the Portal 2 gameplay in the least.

Portal 2 Sound

Sound is extremely important to a game and the sound in Portal 2 is excellent. You can tell that Portal 2 was made by Valve. There are certain sound elements that are very familiar, but you can’t quite put your finger on them. Half-Life or Half-Life 2? There some mentions of Black Mesa in the dialog so maybe.

The sound effects are great. Explosions sound loud and full of bass, but where the sound in this game really shines, is in the voice work. You are constantly being talked to by certain key plot figures and the things that they say to you are hilarious. The sound in Portal 2 is as good as it gets.

The music is subtle and very computer sounding. It goes well and helps to create a perfect environment.

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Which Portal 2 version should I get?

If you are fortunate to enough to own an Xbox 360, a gaming PC and a PS3, the smart choice would be the PS3 version. Portal 2 comes with a free copy for the PC. Economically it is the better choice. The PS3 and PC version both have Steam. This means the you will always have the most up to date version of the game. The Xbox 360 version does not and updates and game add-ons will be delivered via Xbox Live much later than the PS3 or PC.

For those of you that are still undecided, you can always wait for a Portal 2 Demo download. They have not announced one yet, but I am sure they will soon.

Portal 2 is an extremely solid game that has excellent replay value. Throw in the online coop and it is a no brainer. Is it a game of the year? Portal 2 has some stiff competition coming down the pipes with games like Duke Nukem Forever, Rage and Skyrim, but Portal 2 is in a class all it’s own. Portal 2 really can’t be compared to any other game on the market and that is what makes it a great game that will not only change game play, but Portal 2 will challenge both gamers and developers to think outside of the box and create something fresh and new.

Portal 2, Playing With Science You Monster, 7.0 out of 10 based on 2 ratings

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