Portal 2
by Matt London
Portal 2, Valve Corporation, ESRB rating: E10+, $59.99, Formats available: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Playstation 3, Xbox 360.
Format reviewed: Playstation 3
Every once in a while, a game comes along that tries to do things a bit differently. In 2007, one such game was Portal, developed by the Valve Corporation, creators of Half-Life. Portal was a small game, play time running only 4-6 hours at most, but it innovated first person shooters in a couple of clever ways. First, no weapons. Since the early days of Doom, FPSs have been identified as the games in which players shoot a million enemies dead with very large guns. Titles such as Call of Duty, Fallout 3, and even Valve’s own Half-Life have tried to do more with the format, but all still cling to the guns and bullets model. Portal rejected this notion completely, so instead of shotguns and bazookas, the player’s only tool shoots portals, which fix to flat surfaces and allow the player to teleport between them. The game that emerges from this ingenious gameplay mechanic is filled with environmental puzzles requiring quick reflexes and a quicker mind. Portal takes players on a wild ride, first teaching different ways to utilize portals, and later testing that knowledge. It creates a series of glorious “aha!” moments in which players realize how to solve specific puzzles, filling the players with satisfaction. Because the game is so short, the momentum never slackens. Play is never tedious, and no part of the game seems padded. Each new puzzle expands upon the previous one.
The other way Portal distinguished itself was the story and characters. The player character, a test subject named Chell, makes her way through a series of test chambers in the Aperture Science Laboratories, guided by a cold artificial intelligence GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System). Over the course of the test chambers (each of which is a unique puzzle) it becomes apparent that GLaDOS is not telling Chell the whole truth, and when the final test chamber is complete, the AI rewards the hero with death by fire. Thinking quickly, Chell escapes the incinerator and travels behind the scenes of the test chambers, making her way to GLaDOS, who becomes progressively more unhinged as Chell nears her goal. Chell destroys GLaDOS’s robot body and the entire facility. What really stands out is GLaDOS, a villain who is something of a cross between a nursery school teacher and HAL from 2001. Cold, darkly comic, GLaDOS is everything you would expect a sentient computer to be—utterly impatient with slow and meaty humans.
But that was the first Portal game. Even if the sequel was just an expansion pack of more test chambers, it would still warrant a high rating. Portal is one of those unique games that takes something familiar to all gamers and makes it unexpected. Limbo, Minecraft, and the games from Team Ico come to mind. So Portal deserves all the accolades it receives. Despite getting a free pass from most critics, the team at Valve chose to ramp up Portal in every way. Set hundreds of years after the first game, Portal 2 takes place in a dilapidated and overgrown Aperture Science facility. This sophisticated evolution of the visual design in the first game is eye-popping and fun, a sharp change from the simple antiseptic design of the original game. In one sequence, Chell revisits test chambers from the first game, a side-by-side comparison reveals how much things have changed.
In Portal 2, Chell wakes from cryogenic stasis and attempts to escape the facility with the help of a new companion, the AI Wheatley, a bumbling dope played note-perfect by Stephen Merchant, co-creator of The Office. Wheatley is a brilliantly conceived character. There is more to him than meets the eye, and even though he is new to Portal 2, it feels like he has been part of the story all along. GLaDOS is also back, and once again puts Chell through a series of deadly test chambers from which she must escape.
The stakes change midway through the game, forcing Chell and GLaDOS to work together to escape the vast underground facility. This is perhaps the game’s most brilliant stroke. After years of anticipating an epic rematch with one of the most iconic video game villains ever, players become reluctant allies of their arch-nemesis.
Everything is bigger in Portal 2. The levels are expansive, the characters and relationships are more complex, and the story is deeper. Carefully paced, the plot can be broken down into three acts, the middle chapter serving as a flashback (although not in the cheesy sit-com way) which explores the history of Aperture Science. This prequel substory in a sequel is structurally reminiscent of the Robert De Niro sections of The Godfather Part II.
Portal 2 also introduces a new gameplay mechanic. Special paint can be poured on surfaces to make Chell leap into the air or run lightning fast. There are also bridges of light, lasers, tractor beams, and catapults that mix with portal gameplay. The results are brain-bending.
Another great addition is co-op mode, a two-player game completely separate from the main story, in which two cute androids must navigate a series of special test chambers designed by GLaDOS. In these puzzles, players must work together, sharing portals and using each other as tools to meet their objectives.
Although longer than the original, Portal 2 feels painfully short compared to many $60 titles. Criticizing such a well-made and well-paced game is something of a futile cause. “The only problem with the Wagyu beef was that there were only four ounces of it.” Yes, but if you ate twelve ounces, you would probably get sick.
Like most second chapters, Portal 2 is darker and funnier than the original. Portal 2 feels complete and satisfying when you finish, which is more than most games can say with any price tag. If you are new to the world of Portal, grab the first game and then this one. It is never too late to play a great game.
9 out of 10.
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