A possible thing of interest for you all. I just got done playing an incredibly good game. I’m sure many of you know about “Portal.” Well, the sequal came out recently and I gave it a try. I have to say, this is definitely one of the top games for 2011.
As always, spoilers ahead.
The game begins with the protagonist of the first game, Chell, being put into a stasis. Naturally, because Aperture Science Labs are weird, the stasis chamber looks like a motel room. She then wakes up to find the room in ruins. It has obviously been a long time since Chell was put to sleep. A voice calls from the door, and a robotic sphere names Wheatley says the facility is falling apart and he wants to help her escape. They make their way through the dilapidated facility, passing through GLaDOS’s room in the process. Thankfully, the psychotic computer is still dead from Chell’s efforts in the first game. This, however, doesn’t last long, as in the process of escaping they accidentally wake GLaDOS up! Bitter over her death at Chell’s hands, the insane program tosses Chell back into her hellish testing, and the good times continue from there.
Developed by Valve, Portal 2 is even better than its predecessor. And that’s high praise, because “Portal” was amazing. It’s still a puzzle solving adventure utilizing the portal gun, but this time it’s obvious Valve saw the plot potential from the great dialogue in the first game. There’s character advancement for everyone, but especially GLaDOS, which surprised the hell out of me. Pleasantly so. Not only this, but Valve added a co-op campaign! You can play with your friends as Atlas and P-body, robots GLaDOS created to aid in testing. It’s a bunch of fun, and it can lead to a number of hilarious moments as the robots die and come back good as new going through the various tests GLaDOS puts them through.
I highly recommend this game. Not only is the plot clever and the gameplay challenging, the graphics are gorgeous! And thanks to to co-op feature, there’s great replayability! Seriously, it makes for a fun couple of hours going through it with friends. The only complaint I have is that the game is kinda short, but I can overlook that here. There’s too much good about it to let the length drag it down. So get some drinks and turn on your game platforms. Portal 2 is definitely something to check out.
In my honest opinion, Portal 2 is the video-game equivalent of Citizen Kane. It does such a brilliant and masterful job at telling what is a rather powerful story. I didn’t mind the length so much, the story of Portal is a short one and I don’t think they could have expanded it any further without ruining it. If it is more puzzles you’re interested in, Valve will soon be releasing free content.
The co-op is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.