Portal 2 Review
Developer Valve
Publisher EA
Platform PS3/Xbox360/Steam
It’s safe to say Portal was one of the most interesting and original games to be released in recent years. So much so five years after its release it is still managing to sell 20million dollars’ worth of software.
It’s also safe to say the sequel has had some of the highest expectations placed on a game in recent years. If the developers got it wrong it would show instantly. Thankfully they took their time and what was released has gone on to exceed those high expectations and bring to us a game even better than the original.
A genius move was to bring in Steve Merchant the other half of the award winning team behind the UK office and also writer and star of the TV show Extra’s to provide some voice over work throughout the game. He is one the first character you encounter and straight away his voice puts a smile on your face. Playing the role of a bumbling robot left to look after you he will both delight and endear you throughout with some of the funniest dialogue and animation you will see in any game this year.
The game itself is really funny, with a number of very clever characters playing alongside Merchant to keep you highly amused for the duration, even though you never meet many other characters they are still included by very clever techniques such as pre-recorded announcements. The story is quite simple but well told, and there are loads of hidden little gems around the game for you to explore and unearth.
Portal’s gameplay involves solving a number of puzzles by making use of two portals. These are created by your portal gun which can shoot one orange portal, and one blue portal. The player can enter one and will pop out of the other where ever it has been placed. That may be behind glass walls or even on the roof. Players can even use gravity to gain speed entering a portal and use the momentum to propel them out the other portal and shoot them across the room, large gaps or up onto ledges.
You are not the only thing that can make use of the portals, you can also use them to direct laser beams or light platforms. It can get quite difficult in the latter mission to figure out just how to solve the puzzle. Laser will kill you but they also power platforms and lifts. Large buttons control box drops and door openings as well as the gunk dispensers, which fires out strange coloured liquid that grants you some extra uses.
The gameplay is flawless, I didn’t encounter one single glitch, everything worked smoothly and just as you would imagine. While the puzzles are very difficult they all make sense once you crack them.
Portal 1 basically involved a series of different rooms with different puzzles once one was completed you moved on. It was brilliant but short. Portal 2 starts out the same but soon takes an unexpected but brilliantly realised turn.
Graphically at times Portal 2 is quite beautiful and definitely instantly recognisable as part of the Valve universe, but it is still quite clear this engine is a little dated and can from time to time also be a little bit of a let-down. Thankfully the gameplay and humour are so good you won’t care.
Things get interesting in the Co-op mode as two of you need to co-ordinate to beat the maps. The co-op mode is totally separate game too with new maps new characters and new adventures which adds a lot to the game. You and your friend take the roles of two new tester robots and are faced with all new challenges designed specifically for two players.
Overall : It’s great to finally get Valve developing on PS3. This game plays perfectly, it is hilarious, and really well thought out.
It may be limited by its replay value as once puzzles have been cracked it prove little of a challenge, saying that the dialogue is worth the second play through.
SCORE “A” Outstanding.
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