Portal 2
Rating: T
Score: 9.5/10
A few people may remember when I gave my favorite games list for my 100th column. I mentioned Portal 1, saying it's "as perfect as puzzle games get". Those are pretty hefty words for a sequel to live up to. Anyone remember Half Life 1, from Valve (the same company)? Half Life 1 came out, it got a huge amount of praise, then Half Life 2 came out and blew EVERYONE away. If anyone can pull off a perfect sequel, it's Gabe Newell of Valve software. Let's jump right in and find out. This game is available for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC. People who buy the Playstation 3 version get the PC version for free as well, but it doesn't do much good at the time of writing since Playstation Network is down.
The story of the original is you're a test subject whose sole purpose is to entertain the master computer, GLaDOS. You destroy her, she's still alive somehow, and that's the lead into Portal 2. You start Portal 2 in a small room, where you break free and start testing again. Just like last time, crazy stuff goes down, and the plot is full of twists. It creates a gripping post-apocalyptic world within the test chambers you remember (and destroyed in the last game), and an intriguing story to keep you pumping through the chambers.
However, you don't spend all your time within test chamber walls. In fact, you spend most of the game outside of them, looking around trying to find where to go to find the next chamber. The only reason they do this is likely to pad the game out to be as long as possible while changing scenery, but it steps way far come the half-way mark of the game. It doesn't feel like I'm adventuring to find something new, it feels like I'm trying to find the next part of the game that the developers are hiding from me.
Even with that considered, it's still the immensely enjoyable experience it always was. This game is full of clever thinking coupled with witty dark humor. The humor is almost a reward for the hard work to think up the solutions to some of the puzzles.
The game also has Co-Op play, which adds to everything even more. Having twice the thinking power and portal power only makes the game that much more interesting. It's great to have a buddy help with some tough parts and, when you consider the fact the game can be twice as confusing with four portals (two, entrance and exit, for each player), you'll need the advantage of a buddy. It's no Borderlands, but it's super fun (and a lot more challenging).
Now, I mentioned the Playstation 3 buyers ALSO get the PC versions free. This is very odd since The Orange Box (a compilation of fantastic Valve games) on the PS3 wasn't even ported by Valve, it was ported by EA, which is why it's never been updated! It seems odd Sony and Valve would work together like that. It's ironic that the PS3 got this deal which encourages A LOT of Playstation Network use (to connect the games to online then to your computer), but unless you registered very early, you missed out because of the Playstation Network being hacked.
There was hardly a chance it would stand tall against its predecessor. Portal 1 was included as a bonus in an amazing package (The Orange Box), and had such amazing subtlety, humor, and great puzzles, that it's my absolute favorite puzzle game ever (beating Tetris. I went there). Portal 2 has some great subtlety, humor, and puzzles, but it doesn't have AS good in any, and the fact it almost seems to drag at parts takes from the overall experience. However, complaining about the small things doesn't take from one fact: Portal 2 is fantastic. Fantastically written, beautifully directed, and it is a gorgeous game that's almost certain a Game Of The Year for 2011. It's like a portal to heaven opened and this was the gift inside.