Portal 2 Review by MDSRocker

[mdsrocker]

I'm trying a new review style here, bear with me, and I would love feedback if you want.

The pipe breaks. Orange goo spews across the floor beneath it, with the twitch of my finger an orange oval pops from the white contraption my character holds in her hands. It settles beneath the pipe, devouring the excess of the mysterious substance. A moment later I've moved a bit, and a hallway to a dead end sits in my path. Another tap and off goes a blue oval. Suddenly orange goo gushes from it, covering the entire "runway" to it's blue-rimmed gap. I turn to me left and shoot the orange portal next to my feet. The gushing stops. I turn upward and run towards the blue-crested rift with terrifying speed. I emerge form it disoriented, aiming toward a far-away ceiling. Suddenly I stop, I'm stuck. I begin to drift along the air as I notice the blue stream I have leaped into. Looking forward, I see it.

Space so large that I can't see the floor nor the ceiling any longer. Huge racks lie in random intervals of this space, sporadically fighting off the emptiness that is the bowels of Aperture Science. Some topple and crush others in deafening roars, but I'm on the right track. No endless lab basement, nor seemingly dead end hallways can stop me. I can morph and tear the very fabric of space, and no small auto-turret or rogue AI can stop me, so long as I keep my wits with me. Welcome to Portal 2

Gameplay

I'm going to assume you know what Portal 2 is, or at least that you think you do after reading that, so let me get straight to the point; first, this game is a masterful blend of puzzle-solving and reflex-bending gameplay. The game that came before it looks like a tech demo in comparison, it doesn't do everything, but it sure-as-heck masters what it has. No puzzle is impossible, and you can very well see through every test chamber that you are never limited by a cruel puzzle design through any point in the game, the only limit you will have in the path of finding the answer is your own. Nothing is there by accident, and everything's purpose is fulfilled to a magnificent level. Depending on how well you solve puzzles, however, the pacing can slow down and speed up at very irregular intervals, even when the difficulty - in the general sense, slowly improves. And it lasts for quite a while, but it does only last so long, and if you are like me, you'll want more.

GAMEPLAY:9.5

Presentation

But Portal is (very ironically) not just about portals. You meet a magnificent cast of characters through the adventure, and there are plenty of fun turns for the story to take, but I won't say more than that. A melding of stupid and sadistic humor makes for one of the most enjoyable presentations in gaming history. Characters stay true to themselves, and you will learn more about Aperture than you could ever figure before putting the controller down. I can't say much without giving things away, but the amounts of humor - functional humor at that, are unprecedented in a game. And the rest of the presentation stays almost always up to par.

PRESENTATION: 9.8

Visuals

Portal 2 is a great looking game. It looks good , with scratches apparent on the portal gun, and along walls. With the desolation of Aperture that has been so apparent in trailers and such, Source (Half Life 2/ TF2/P2 game engine) proves that it is a lasting engine, and looks very good for this generation, even while not being breathtakingly beautiful in it's textures and effects. But it's more how you "see the sights" than the small scratches and bitmapping on the "sights". Many will be in awe in just how many breathtaking views that Portal accomplishes.

VISUALS: 9.5



I won't give Portal 2 a perfect score because to me there were small issues in the way, and also that just personally it wasn't "perfect" to me, but there are really no outstanding issues with the game. With both the singleplayer and co-op modes, the gameplay and presentation are great, and it's dedication to the sort of realism it tries to accomplish is very tight. In terms of interactive entertainment, Portal 2 is just great experience, which is what we al look for in a game. So do yourself a favor, and tear some dimensional rifts in space.

OVERALL: 9.7

[BingJohnson]

Great write-up mds. I picked this game up last night. Can't wait to play it. Have you played any of the co-op?

[mrdelltoid]

I really like the idea of the introduction, it does a good job conveying the tone and style of the game. This is especially useful for someone who may not be familiar with the particular series or game.

Most of all though, it's unique!

The only things I would have liked to see: There was no mention about the Co-Op which in this day and age can be a big factor in whether someone buys a game or not.

Also, no sound category. Especially in a game such as this I would have liked to hear a little bit about the quality of the sound and how it sets the tone/atmosphere/mood of the game.

Other then that, a very well written review!

[mdsrocker]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

And BingJohnson, I have played the co-op and it just as good as the singleplayer. The puzzles are more complex much earlier on, but it's a fantastic thing to do with a friend, the vocal problem solving that is all but required for it is great to be a part of. One of the best co-op games I've played. Haven't beaten it though, so I don't have a fully rounded view of it.

[Setharion]

Very nice man, very nice

[ManillaRoad]

Good job on the review, although I'm not sure the final score seems evident in the review. With a 9.7 I'd expect some more glowing commentary. I'm not disagreeing with any of your points, I just think maybe it needs a bit more enthusiasm in pointing out what you liked.

[mdsrocker]

Yeah, that's understandable. In a way I wanted to keep the review relatively short and so I tried to relay all the main points I could, so while I may have used up a relatively sizable chunk on complaints, I hope that you could understand (by my placement of it often at the end of the sections) that I wanted to point these out, but that these were of little problem for me most of the time, whereas my comments to the contrary were more powerful feeling I got coming out of the game.

I was trying to convey that by making the compliments longer and more eloquent and the flaws short and terse, but that's definitely a valid complaint.

[Sondiame]

Very nice Review!