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If you're like me, you have gone quite a long time since playing Portal. While the original maps and the scathing wit of GLaDOS are just as great, it is not really possible to play a three to five hour game for seven months. Fear not! The folks over at We Create Stuff have found a solution!You may not know who they are, but you most likely have heard of, if not played, their finest work, Portal: The Flash Version. Basically Portal TFV is exactly what it sounds like; a Flash version of Portal with all the puzzles and physics of the original game. It is slightly simplified, being 2-D and containing less snide comments from the deranged computer, but it is still quite a brain-buster.
We Create Stuff has recreated all 40 levels of Portal TFV into legit Portal levels, as well as adding bonus levels and short treks behind Aperture Science, just like in the regular game. There are no new jokes for GLaDOS to say, so she will say the regular lines as you travel though. The way it is presented and with the same GLaDOS lines makes it seem like a predecessor to Portal, or maybe Portal 1.5. I may do a review of the maps later, but if you want to grab the map pack for yourself, you can get it here (PC only).
[via We Create Stuff]
Very huge disappointment, in my opinion -- not to mention how big of a Portal enthusiast I was before it was released. We all knew that a Portal 2 was coming. Well, for those of us who played it and enjoyed it enough to desire more of it. But, in fact, that's so very wrong. According to a Eurogamer interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi, there will be no new Portal 2 this year. He states that he wants Portal's sequel to be equally as revolutionary and innovative as the original, rather than making an equally small one.
On one side, I'm pretty sad to not see a new one coming out this year (especially at the first/second quarter of the year). But on the other hand, I'm thrilled to see that Valve's Portal development team isn't allowing us the pleasure of instant gratification with small sequels, and providing a [hopefully] larger one with more ideas and brainteasers. I'm fine with seeing it release early 2009, but if it nears 2010, I'm going nuts.
[via Eurogamer]
Joystiq reports that Valve will soon release individual retail copies of the constituent games from their hit title, The Orange Box. The titles, which will hit stores on April 9, include Half-Life 2 Episode Pack (Episodes 1 and 2), Team Fortress 2, and Official Seal of Nerd 3rd place winner Portal. These games have been available in their individual forms on Valve's digital distribution program, Steam, for some time, but this is the first time physical copies will be available.
Those wishing to simply catch up on their Half-Life, try out some Team Fortress action, or experience the magic of Portal can now buy only the games they want. Dare I say that this was a triumph?
EDIT 1: Sorry, but the titles are not releasing on the Xbox 360. Maybe later...?
[via Joystiq]
In a perfect fusion of nerdiness and nerdiness cloaked by rock music, Valve has announced the future inclusion of Portal's ending song, "Still Alive," as downloadable content for Rock Band. The announcement was made during Valve's GDC party, when Harmonix staff took the stage alongside Still Alive's original performer Jonathan Coulton to play the song in Rock Band.
For the record, Coulton scored a 95% on vocals. Let's hope that the Rock Band track features GLaDOS' singing, or Coulton might need a little (i.e. 5%) touching up on his singing.
[via Joystiq]
Genre(s): Adventure, Puzzle
Director: Kim Swift
Developer: Valve
Publisher: Valve
Console(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Rated: T for Teen
Cakes. Cubes. Computers. The legend of Portal has spread like wildfire across the Internet, as gamers experienced its memorable "characters" and situations simultaneously during its much-anticipated release week. But beyond the inside jokes, the memes, and the hype, there lies a game as stunning in its simple fun as it is unique in its approach to game design.
You wake up in a mysterious glass-walled chamber, with a bed, a toilet, and a radio on a table. Above you is a timer, and as it counts down, a computerized voice begins to speak. Identifying itself as GLaDOS, this computer will guide you through the testing facilities of Aperture Science Labs. To get past your obstacles, you are given a state-of-the-art "Portal gun" that can shoot two linked "portals" at almost any surface. Once the portals are placed, anything that goes through one (boxes, energy balls, or even you) will come out of the other one. It is a game of mind-bending puzzles, as you navigate 19 testing chambers under the close supervision of the enigmatic and increasingly twisted GLaDOS.
Clocking in at only four hours long, Portal is nevertheless an experience that cannot be ignored. Its combination of stunningly unique gameplay and surprisingly witty writing make for an incredibly fun piece of game design. When you first walk into a portal, the concept of these scientific marvels will blow you away. But don't get excited yet! The game takes portals beyond the simple mechanic of walking through them, as you are challenged to use the portals in increasingly brilliant ways.
In one level, you must place a portal above you on a wall, and another far below you on the floor. By jumping down into the floor-bound portal, you utilize your downward momentum to "fling" yourself across the room and onto a new platform. Sometimes you are even forced to use a portal to jump into the air, and then shoot another portal before hitting the ground in order to fling yourself to a new location.
All of this sounds great in theory, but it all comes together when you finally get your hands on the game. Similarly to games like Super Mario Galaxy or Echochrome, Portal forces you to completely shift your preconceived notions about how you world works, and subject yourself to its world. And this may be Portal's greatest strength, for a truly great game immerses you so well that you forget the world around you, and your mind falls into a new realm.
As you find your way through Aperture Science's testing chambers, you will constantly be congratulated and encouraged by GLaDOS, who keeps a close eye on you using cameras scattered across the facility. But as you will soon find, GLaDOS is not all that she seems. The often-twisted jokes and remarks of this passive-aggressive computer are so full of character and quotability that she easily makes the top spot in gaming's best characters of the year. Spoiling any of her brilliant lines would ruin their incredibly funny impact, so let me just say that this is the funniest writing I have ever heard in a game. Don't let the Internet ruin it for you.
The end of the game combines everything that made the previous three and a half hours so much fun, and creates something that is definitely the best gaming ending of the year. The boss "fight" is action-packed (while still playing like one big puzzle), and GLaDOS's continued remarks are so funny that you may want to risk getting killed just to hear her next scathing comment. Finally, when you complete the game, you'll be treated to a memorable credits screen that will surely leave you touched (and uncontrollably laughing). I will not spoil the brilliant ending, because experiencing it for the first time will create such a powerful impression in the player.
Valve's Steam engine is put to good use in Portal, rendering some pretty—if a tad simple—visuals. The whitewashed walls, gun turrets, and other objects of Aperture's Labs have a polished cleanness, but the engine really shines when it handles the portals. Objects move through the portals with near-realistic physics (though sometimes they seem a little weightless), and the particle and flame effects are beautiful as always.
Once you are finished with the short, four-hour Portal game, there is sadly little else to do. But this is the strength of Portal! Since there is no filler or extra time added, you will never become bored with the game. Even so, you can choose the option of playing the game over again either on a harder difficultly, or while listening to scattered developer commentary tracks. These additions are enlightening looks at the design process of the game, and should be listened to by anyone desiring to get into game design or anyone even remotely interested in the topic. I wish that more developers added these commentary tracks, as it would really be a great way to replay your favorite game.
Portal is a wonderful example of the potential of small-scale, unique games. Not all games nowadays have to be first-person shooters. There is still room for a brilliant little first-person puzzle. Portal is a game, nay a collaborative work of art and storytelling, which defies all expectations set for it. It delivers the most satisfying, memorable video game experience in many, many years, and I expect that none will top it for years to come.
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| Graphics/Sound: | 3.5 |
Average:
(3.6 stars) |
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| Gameplay: | 2.0 | |||
| Design/Story: | 4.0 | |||
| Lasting Appeal: | 2.5 | |||
| Overall: | 4.0 | |||
