There’s no denying it. Portal 2 has big shoes to fill. The original game was about as witty and puzzling as it was indie. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, portal has you firing two portals to solve a series of puzzles, usually getting a cube onto buttons, paving your way to the exit. The first game had a pretty slow pace, waiting for those balls of energy (I’m sure they have a proper name) to fly and around and platforms to get to you.
I’ll assure you, Portal 2 lives up to expectations and more. Valve has obviously put a lot of time and thought into this game. Set after the events of the first game, you wake up with Aperture Science having seen better days. But, sure enough, pretty quickly you’re throwing portals everywhere (just not the black walls). To differ from the usual portal here, portal there, cube in here type of gameplay (which never gets old for me, by the way), there’s a few new puzzling additions to mix it up. Faith plates throw you into the air, and you have bouncy/low friction gel. The gels are great, you have to spread them all over the map, there’s even one gel that gives you more portal spaces. Finally, you have excursion funnels, which suspend you in mid-air, making gravity rage and Newton turning in his grave.
All these new additions really add to the puzzling element of that game. You think you’ve mastered one thing, nd then they combine two or more together. The game feels fresh throughout. The story, while not in-depth in the slightest, is so simple not to hinder your gameplay. Wheatley is just comedy gold, with great added humor to Glados’ antics throughout. And, typical for Valve, the music is awesome.
The major addition in Portal 2 is the addition of Co=operative mode. You and a friend (or a random) have to work together to solve puzzles through a umber of levels. It’s great fun with a friend. I’ve “accidentally” either thrown the level-ending cube into a pit or crushed my partner with a “mashy spike plate” (as Wheatley puts it) several times. You can’t help nearly pissing yourself with laughter while playing it.
Probably the only problem I have with Portal 2 is some stages, especially while underground, going on crazy hunts for a small patch of white wall to place your portal on. It’s not puzzling in the slightest, and just gets annoying. Besides that, I can’t fault the game for anything else past its shallow storyline.
My Rating
Music: 10
Gameplay: 10
Creativity: 10
Graphics: 8.5
Other: 8.5
Total: 47/50
Wait, What? 