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Portal 2 : PS3
First off, I have to admit that I didn’t play Portal (the first one) through to the end. I’ve had the ending all explained to me, but I got stuck for a while on a puzzle and I stopped playing and never went back. Part of that is because I was playing with the whole mouse/keyboard control thing going on and too much console goodness over the past few years means I hate (with a passion) controlling first person stuff with a mouse. Anyway, I digress, just accept I came to Portal 2 without the passionate fan guff that a lot of people did.
For those who have been under a rock for the past few years, Portal 2 is a puzzle game based around the concept of portals; place one side of your portal on point a, and side two of your portal on point b and you can walk from a to b. It’s a bloody great mechanic (as everyone will agree, I believe) and makes for the world’s most famous first person puzzle game. This time around they’ve added some cool gels which do funky things very well (like helping you bounce or speeding you around) and a couple of other things to improve on the puzzling. I’m not really going to write about the puzzles though because, surprisingly for a puzzle game, I don’t feel that there’s much to write about there. The puzzles are great; well paced, well designed, fun and with a nice learning curve. They’re excellent, nothing negative to say. Let’s get on to the important stuff.
Portal 2 is amazing because of the voice acting and the beauty of the story. Yup, this is a puzzle game where the puzzles take second stage to the wonderful Stephen Merchant. He’s brilliant. He’s not just brilliant, he is a scene stealing comedic genius and his delivery deserves an award. Every time he opens his mouth (not that he has a mouth, playing as he does, a robot eye) you cannot help but smile. Along with the other two main actors, Mr Merchant manages to evoke everything you need to know about the loneliness, pain and despair of this well conceived future world.
I cannot emphasise enough how much the brilliance of Portal 2 is in its storyline. Nothing is pushed at you, with little voice overs and subtle graphical treats for you to find as you go through the story. You pass through a whole gamut of emotions, from amusement, through fear, to sadness and joy and ultimately satisfaction. Yes, where so many games fail, Portal 2 delivers with an ending which has you wanting to stand up and cheer.
If I have a single problem with Portal 2, it is that playing it with someone who has already completed it sitting behind you wanting to back-seat-puzzle-solve is frustrating in the extreme. Although, if I am fair, I have to admit that I’d have missed the odd bit of atmospheric storyline had she not been there to shout at me to look at things I was sweeping past!
Portal 2 is a perfect little gem of a game. The gameplay is polished to a perfect sheen, the story is delightful and the character interactions are second to none. It never disappoints, it never tries to be something it isn’t, and it never lets you down. It even has a decent two player game in it (though expect a lot of shouting at your partner to ensue!). Don’t miss out.
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tekkani posted this
