15:01
Dave Pickering
Portal 2, two words which brought Internet meme creators and puzzle heads to a knee trembling state when it was announced and first shown off, has been reaping the plaudits from industry critics and gamers since its release, and boy does it deserve it.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to initially buy Portal 2, although I enjoyed the original, in my head I couldn’t justify paying full price for a game which I had heard to be very short and more of the same. I was swayed not by reviews but by the co-op aspect, it’s been a while since I’ve played a good co-op game which doesn’t involve chainsawing people in half.
More of the same...this is probably the best part of Portal 2, it continues Valves trend of superbly written scripts and attention to detail. The environments you “test” in are intricately detailed and the level design is so good it reminded me of the flowing design not seen since Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. I’ll avoid saying too much about levels in case of spoilers but certain parts of the game involve quick thinking and are a world away from the usual “take your time” pace of the game.
The characters in the game are lovable, even though you never actually speak I felt a connection with Chell, the first person perspective certainly helps this feeling of actually being IN the game. Fan favourite GlaDOS returns with some of the best voice acting i’ve heard in games since the original Portal and Stephen Merchant takes his role of Wheatley very well, you can almost see him in the recording booth as his character speaks, there’s an amazing connection between voice and character.
The plot of the game is standard fare, it plays out without any major twists (or certainly no twists that you wouldn’t see coming) but it is still great fun to play through. I’m not knocking the game here; I immediately began a second playthrough after finishing the game the first time, even if it was just to mop up single player achievements. I didn’t feel like I needed to have a break between playthroughs.
After beating the single player chunk, I tackled the co-op with my good lady friend. You play as two robots dedicated to testing that have GlaDOS watching over them and often trying to play one off against the other with her witty comments.
Having four portals instead of two certainly allowed Valve to create some mind bending levels which often brought me to the point of throwing my controller at the nearest wall. The level of cooperation required in the game is massive, it would be almost impossible to play it with somebody who doesn’t have a headset. We were playing it in split-screen which made it slightly easier, but those without a larger TV could struggle as there is a lot to take in.
It took me and the missus about 6-7 hours to beat the co-op, our adventure almost ended in divorce but the sense of achievement when we completed it was great. This chunk of the game is held together by another storyline which is not going to win any Oscars but, like everything Portal, is kept going by the genius of Valves scripters, level designers and Valves ability to bring the player just enough reward to keep ploughing onwards.
Achievement hunters will be pleased with the list within Portal 2. It’s typical Valve fare in that they’re smart and reward the player for exploring every nook and cranny in the game, unlike some games which encourage this, Portal 2 is a game where mystery or a little piece of Valves genius awaits the player in most corners. I would say that to get all of the achievements it would take the average player 2 playthroughs of both single player and co-operative play.
One of the greatest things Portal 2 does is make the player feel like a prize winning genius. Even when the levels seems infuriatingly difficult when you finally figure the solution out you’ll find yourself both cursing and praising Valve in equal measure due to the very simple solutions to the tests when the player is trying to break every law of physics just to press a button.
Score Breakdown:
Visuals – 9/10 Beautifully rendered graphics that show a love for every aspect of the game.
Presentation – 10/10 Similar to the visuals the game is presented in such an amazing way the only way it could be better is if Valve came to your house and gave you a foot massage whilst playing it.
Sound – 8.5/10 The voice acting is unsurpassed but my only complaint is that the other sounds in the game are recycled from the original.
Gameplay – 8.5/10 If you enjoy games which make you think then you will love this, the only negative is that when you’ve finished it twice i’m not sure whether you would want to revisit this game. (Until the arrival of DLC anyhow)
Overall – 9/10 I love this game, ultimately people will judge it against the original and that is its problem. If you like Portal, then you should very much enjoy Portal 2. In my opinion it has improved in every aspect of the original and should be played by everyone who considers themselves a gamer. Bring on the memes!
-Dave
Posted in: 
0 comments:
Post a Comment