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I'm about half way through chapter six, and before that chapter its explained why Wheatley, the English robot, is the way he is. Its pretty fun though, you can really tell there was a lot of effort put into it from the voice acting to the ambiance of the levels. I might just be a Valve fanboy, though, but I really like it so far.
I took this screenshot if anyone wants to check it out. I thought it looked pretty cool.
Julie preordered, bringing it up today when she comes to visit. Excited for Coop, though it'll be sad on my shitty single-def TV. Looking forward to a future with a larger TV.
Cut me balls and string me up, and I do understand wanting to play more of it, but Portal didn't reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally need a sequel now, did it?
Another one for the bin, right next to Bioshock. Might play it tho.
The whole opening sequence was fucking brilliant, as was the way GlADOS was reactivated. After that the humor is a bit more broad, which is a let down, but the gameplay is solid and inventive. Because the game is longer the difficulty is more gradually ramped up, so you have less pause and pick your ass moments trying to solve a puzzle. Will give more feedback when I'm farther through.
Portal 2. So what? What it is is almost good enough to make me want to retract my previous post. Almost.
-"Are you still there?"
Portal 2 kicks off with a bang, Steve Merchant (of being Ricky Gervais' boyfriend fame) is really at ease delivering some great comedy through early game companion, blue-eyed round robot Wheatley, the opening tests are simple enough that there's a rhythm to them, so the first few chapters are a pleasurable, laughing breeze. And then, just when I realise that I was liking this game a lot more than I thought I would, even despite the absolutely retarded scene where you reactivate Glados, Portal 2 kicks me in the nuts. An autoturret. Damn you game, you really know what buttons to push.
-From Cake to Potato
One particularly amazing novelty is traversing the environment between tests, the sheer size of the Aperture hellhole is a sight to behold, even when rendered by an obsolete engine, sometimes even giving off a very strong "Cube" vibe. Oh and it's much deeper than expected. In what can only be a nod to Bioshock, you'll explore the actual bowels of the project and it's inception by Caveman Whatshisname also delightfully voiced by JK Simmons.
-Weight problems
It's when this particular section is coming to its end, regardless off the odd (but simple enough) platforming section and the occasional find-the-little-piece-of-white-paint-where-you-can-lay-a-portal-in-an-otherwise-gigantic-level, that you reckon, "Hell, good, no, Great game". But then it doesn't stop. Suddenly, lo and behold, another sleuth of levels just at the sweet point where you thought you'd just about had enough. The companionship hadn't been as entertaining, the levels weren't as exciting to solve and you were probably down to your last bit of "thinking with Portals" for a good while when you suddenly have to complete a bunch more.
-Large shoes to fill
Fortunately, Valve has the good sense of trying to keep things interesting and although you won't rare seeing bottomless pits make a return, they do shed a whole new style to the test areas. But it's unfortunate that it only sustains itself for so long. Doubly unfortunate when the main things that made the original so damn near perfect, its size and its scope, are so easily identifiable yet both marks missed in a sequel that tries to say too much and through too long a playtime.
-Morons in space
The "final chapter" kicks off with one of the best gags in the whole game, and a good thing too since comedy had been by and large strangely absent of late, and soon ensues a boss battle not unlike the original. What follows is an ending of epic proportions to quite blow away the original's (that is until Valve decides to change it in preparation for Portal 3) and what a sight it is to behold. It's good that some games still do push for the ending to be as memorable as possible in a time where it seems it could easily just have been "just another mission" (GTA IV comes to mind).
-Closing Thoughts
With all said and done, Portal 2 is: A well written, excellently voice acted, greatly soundtracked, surprisingly pretty, cleverly leveled (with the odd exception), slightly bloated, sometimes intelligent, sometimes frustrating, FPS-platformer with a wicked sense of humour.
That it's not as memorable a game as the original speaks more of Portal's virtues than of Portal 2's faults.
I wonder if we'll see the mutated potato in Half Life (2: Episode) 3.
Coop
The coop mode is a lot of fun.
It connects right to where the main game ended. You're the robots Atlas and/or P-Body. Two test subjects designed to allow tests which weren't suitable and or possible for human testing. Constant comments from GladDOS give you the occasional chuckle. But what's much more fun is being a dick. Often enough there are spots where your team mate has to rely on you... which is of course a great way to make someone your bitch by causing their frequent and rage-stimulating death.
The thing that disappointed me is the shop. You can buy skins and hats and other shit for IRL money. A total whore move, but I still bought a skin.
All in all coop is a great addition and it feels good to play a Portal game with someone else.
So I've been playing portal 2 recently, it's pretty easy except I got stuck in a few parts and they were pretty simple. I think the most obivous one was when I couldn't find where to place my portal for a jump so I was climbing on signs and stuff, I don't think valve predicted that amount of genius from players since I almost made it.
Join us on IRC at #fallout on the gamesurge.net network.
Gunman wrote:I wonder if we'll see the mutated potato in Half Life (2: Episode) 3.
You ponder that over whether or not you'll ever see Half Life 2: Episode 3? Odd.
I got Portal a while back because Steam was offering it for free. While reasonably enjoyable, having beat the whole game in less than two hours I was left with a great sense of disappointment that would have been [in Half Life 1's era] a great free mod, was actually something that cost people money was rather insulting.
Maybe one day when an equal opportunity to acquire the sequel at no cost comes along I may give it a shot.
POOPERSCOOPER wrote:I don't think valve predicted that amount of genius from players since I almost made it.
Or they did and made it almost reachable so that they could drive you to madness.
off topic? OMG YOU'VE BEEN CENSORED... yet you're still posting. MYSTARY!!!!
The single player is fun, all of the stuff they sell is easily unlockable and only for impatient people with excess money and don't change the gameplay in any way, shape, or form and only alter slight aesthetics or animations.
The "escape pod" room genuinely made me laugh out LOUD.
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