In 2007, game developer Valve released an anthology of their newest and best games called, The Orange Box; yet they received a success that they did not expect. The gaming media’s coverage of the package focused on the inclusion of all the Half Life 2 games to date, including the new 2nd episode, as well as Team Fortress 2, which quickly grew to be one of the most successful online shooters to date. The game that received the most success however was the puzzle game Portal. The concept of the game was simple, but had the potential to become game of the year, which it did. The player had a gun that could shoot two portals, and the player could walk between the two. This created some very complicated and fun puzzles that had a seamless increase in difficulty. Combine this with a surprisingly brilliant story, excellently humorous dialogue, and a memorable villain, and it’s no surprise why Portal gained quite the following.
Now after four years, Portal 2 has arrived for the PC, Mac, box 360 and PS3. The expectations for the game are high, considering that some critics called Portal “the closest to perfection a video game is going to get”. Portal 2 isn’t just a small game thrown into a package either, it’s a full blown triple A sequel selling at full retail price. But did Valve succeed in improving the original, or was it a flop?
Wheatly is one of the several characters you'll meet in Portal 2.
First, let’s start with the single player. I’m going to say straight out that this is probably some of the best writing I’ve seen in a video game as of late. While the dialogue’s pacing can be a little predictable in the beginning, it still is very funny to listen to. The dialogue manages to seamlessly blend light and dark humor, while the original game only had the latter. As for the story, it’s good, with the pacing still expertly done, although admittedly it can get pretty bizarre sometimes, especially the ending. This isn’t a complaint, but there were times when I was weirded out, and let’s just say the game’s final achievement is more appropriately named than you might think. If you like a good story, characters and dialogue, then this is a game for you.
But of course, there’s the gameplay, which is absolutely critical. The gameplay hasn’t been refined seeing as how Portal gameplay was perfect as it was, so Valve just added more to the game. There are several new elements to work with in the game, such as repulsion gel, which causes you to bounce incredible heights, and Arial faith plates, which catapult you through the air. When all these elements are combined together, it can make for some incredibly complicated, but nonetheless fun puzzles. One of the problems though, is that the difficulty curve of the game is a little too low. While the puzzles can be complicated and a real joy to solve, the mechanics could have been more cohered, which would have made for some really complicated puzzles had more elements been combined. The single player is also somewhat, going at only six hours, although I did have fun replaying it several times.
Apart from the single player, there’s also an independent cooperative mode. The cooperative mode isn’t just the campaign with a multiplayer add-on; it has its own story, characters and levels. You and a partner go through the levels as two robots: Atlas and P-Body. The cooperative mode becomes much more challenging when you’re coordinating a puzzle between two different people, and if you think the campaign holds your hand too much, you’ll have fun with this.
Co-op is a must play
I won’t lie; Portal was a hard game to make a sequel for. It was perfect as it was, yet it was small enough that a sequel would demand much more content. This game was probably tough to make, and while it isn’t better than the original, it still is worthy of the name Portal. If you love puzzle games, and if you loved Portal then this is definitely a must buy.