Portal 2

The original Portal was one of those games that I wait for. Amid all the sandbox games, racers, RPG's and latest Call of Duty, every now and again a new game will come along that tries to do something new. Cleverly packaged with The Orange Box, instead of marketing it as a stand-alone product, it was presented to players as a bonus game rather than the main attraction. What ultimately happened though, was Portal became hugely popular, standing head a shoulders above everything else in The Orange Box. And trust me, when you're in the same box as Half-Life 2, that really is a triumph. A few years and a few internet memes later, Portal has gained enough popularity and love to allow it's sequel to be released as a stand-alone game. I can honestly tell you that this is one of the best gaming experiences of the year.

 

If the original game was a revolution, then Portal 2 is an evolution. Unlike most sequels that give you more of the same, Valve have brought many new elements the table. There are still many of the things recognisable from the first game such as the cubes, the big red buttons, the turrets and the Fling. But new to Portal 2 is the Excursion Funnel which you can travel along, Mirrored Cubes used to reflect laser beams, Faith Plates to propel you through the air and the Propulsion Gels, which depending of the colour, let you bounce, run faster or open up portal holes where you couldn't before. While each of these are simplistic enough to deal with on their own, when they start to get combined together in puzzles, it can make for some tricky moments. Cleverly, though, Valve don't throw all of this at you at once, instead they introduce it to you gradually and let you learn each new element. They also seem to be determined to take as much of the potential frustration out of the game as possible. Gone are the flying energy balls and the pools of yucky gunk, both of which result in instant death. Instead we have bottomless pits that can usually be avoided and lasers which you have to run into deliberately and repeatedly before they can kill you.

 

The music deserves special mention because not only is it good, it's well used. Actions like running or jumping on the Propulsion Gel has it's own little musical signatures. Several puzzles in the game are solved in layers, and the music starts out quiet and subtle. As you solve each part of the puzzle the music builds, gets louder and more of the melody appears. Its a nice way of saying to the players (without actually saying it) that they are on the right track. The soundtrack varies in styles from retro sci-fi to modern electronic, but my favourite part was the middle section of the game, which was reminiscent of Koyaanisqatsi.

 

There's also a new song for the closing credits, once again sung by GlaDOS. Portal's song, “Still Alive” was always going to be a tough song to follow. Firstly, it was an instantly likeable song, and secondly, it was great to have an original song that didn't suck. Let's face it, for every “Snake Eater” there's a dozen “Eyes On Me”. Portal 2's song, “Want You Gone” is more of a grower. The first time I finished the game, I wasn't so sure about it, but after the fourth time, I was singing along with it, just as I was with “Still Alive”.

 

Oh, shit, she looks pissed…

 

The story is by far the most satisfying part. At it's most basic level, it runs the risk of being cliché: former enemy becomes unlikely and untrustworthy ally against a common enemy. But Portal 2 makes it work by having well written and performed characters in GlaDOS and Wheatley. Of course, GlaDOS isn't to pleased to see you at first and takes great delight in putting you back in the test chambers and throw insults about your weight and questionable parentage. By contrast, Wheatley is about the stupidest character you will come across you somehow manages to break you free and help you fight against GlaDOS and try to escape Aperture. Spoilers would be unforgivable, because experiencing this story really is one of the high points of the game, but I will say that for a game that bills itself as a puzzler, it delivers one of the best stories in games for a long time. The story goes places and does things with the characters I didn't expect it to. It never failed to make me smile or gasp in shock and I even found myself getting quite emotional during the games closing sequence, it's that powerful. You'll probably leave Portal 2 wondering why more games don't achieve this. Why do so many games try and fail to combine a great story, characters and humour. I think that while it takes the creation of every aspect of itself seriously, it isn't afraid to laugh at itself a little. This makes for a game that is enjoyable to play and to be a part of, something game developers sometimes forget about.

 

I feel the need to end on a cliché: Portal 2 is a triumph. I'm making a note here: huge success!