Post by Dan @ 08:20pm 22/04/11 | 103 Comments
Kosta has been giving the game a good workout this week and if you're still wondering whether it's any good or not, here's a choice quote:
Portal 2 is a triumph in every sense of the word, a wonderful experience from start to finish and one that you won’t soon forget.For all the details check out this in-depth review.
Note: This review is primarily from the Xbox 360 version, however we do also have the game on both PC and PS3. We wanted to include a report on the new PlayStation 3 Steam features, but unfortunately due to Sony's untimely PSN outage, we haven't been able to extensively test those -- spare a thought however, for the poor PS3 players that have been yet unable to play online co-op or even activate their complimentary STEAM PC copy due to this outage.
Portal 2 is now available on PC/Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Buy now from Green Man Gaming Only GBP£14.99!
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Posted 08:30pm 22/4/11
Thought it would be a little bit longer.
Admittedly i could of explored a bit more, i noticed a few bits and pieces hidden aware.. i imagine there was more
Posted 08:31pm 22/4/11
Posted 08:42pm 22/4/11
Posted 08:44pm 22/4/11
Also, I noticed the graphics have gotten a nicer touch to them, bit TF2 stylish.
Posted 08:45pm 22/4/11
Posted 08:51pm 22/4/11
Posted 08:59pm 22/4/11
Posted 09:05pm 22/4/11
What's the deal with that 'boots' video - this is never brought up in the game? Was expecting more surprises and exposition towards the end, but it was still pretty good.
Also I thought I would stumble on some easter eggs, but I found bugger all. Anyone else find anything?
last edited by thermite at 21:05:11 22/Apr/11
Posted 09:34pm 22/4/11
What do you mean? The character you play is wearing those boots for the entire game, thats how you can fall really far and not die. Wheatley even mentions that in one part, that you have braces on your legs that absorb the impact.
Posted 10:06pm 22/4/11
caroline = glados, where was that mentioned before the end speech? i mean it was obvious the way she reacted to caves voice, but other than that? Were there snippets of speech hidden in secret areas that explained that more, because glados's end speech just seemed a bit out of place in relation to that.
Posted 10:10pm 22/4/11
..and also when you are falling down that pit with Glados, she asks you to lend her one of yours to break her fall (and to land on one foot if you do)
Not sure how he missed that dialog.....
Posted 10:21pm 22/4/11
Yeah I agree with Bah, I never caught that reveal, just the earlier hints and then the end bit.
I got told something interesting when I was part of the way through the game, I was hoping more would come of it but nothing did: Spoiler:
In the bit where you see the 'bring your daughter to work day' science projects, the project with the massive overgrown potato is signed 'chell'.
last edited by thermite at 22:21:32 22/Apr/11
Posted 10:44pm 22/4/11
glados is chell's mother http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1850363
Posted 12:15am 23/4/11
Unless this was a conscious design decision to remove any gaming "skill" from portal and just make it a purely puzzle/story game?
Posted 12:16am 23/4/11
Theres a bit where Cave Johnson is dying, and he says when he dies he wants Caroline to run the place, and he wants her put inside the computer.
Posted 12:22am 23/4/11
Also, why is everyone assuming Caroline was Cave Johnson's wife? Shes only ever referred to as his assistant in the game.
Posted 12:26am 23/4/11
glados goes "oh i am caroline", which makes the final speech kinda odd, just felt like a missed something, i mean a lot of times in movies or whatever you know something before the characters do, but apparently the characters knew, but we didnt know they knew.
Also cave was at least banging her, Spoiler:
the way glados reacted to him talking was a bit of a giveaway
Posted 12:32am 23/4/11
Posted 12:45am 23/4/11
It seemed to me like she reacted more as someone who used to work for him, cos when she heard his voice telling you to do something she replied "Yes Mr Johnson"
Posted 12:51am 23/4/11
Spoiler:
GladOs was Chell's mother as there are a few jokes about parents abandoning her. Once would of been funny but they did it at least 3 or 4 times which stuck out to me as odd. Then you got the Cave Johnson deal with him and Caroline perhaps having a relationship. I dunno. To me he doesn't seem like the type of guy who would trust a woman to run his company. I mean this is the guy who fired someone for being in a wheelchair so he isn't a... nice person to a lot of people. And he called her the backbone of the company when she is just called his assistant. How good of an assistant could she of been to be the backbone and inherit the entire thing? As Bah said there were also queues to a possible relationship they way GladOs would reply to the recorded messages
That's just what I think though. Of course we could all be reading waaaaaay to much into this but who knows, valve could have something set up for Portal 3 if it happens and wanting to tie it all up nicely so there are no loose ends.
Posted 12:54am 23/4/11
Posted 01:43am 23/4/11
Posted 01:40am 23/4/11
Posted 05:42am 23/4/11
Spoiler:
Its clearly revealed in the game as cave is dying he is trying to work out how to download someones consciousness to a computer, he fears that he wont be alive long enough to see it through, and if he dies he wants Caroline to run the place.
Gladso reacted to caves voice the same way Caroline does.
Really i thought it was pretty obvious
Its revealed that there are know human staff because apeture were running out of money, so he started using his staff as test subjects.
It was also revealed that the portal guns were made from moon rock, and that they are fatal (what killed cave).
Posted 05:54am 23/4/11
Spoiler:
now knowing the translation to the opera song sung at the end, it makes sense the character you play is Carolines daughter, thus making the "bring your daughter to work day" even more relevant.
Id like to know more about Wheatly though, i know he was intentionally made as a moron, but i missed or didn't notice more of i his back story
Posted 06:03am 23/4/11
I didn't get the impression that portal guns were made out of moon rock, just the conversion gel is made out of moon rock (hence why you could open a portal on the moon at the end, lunar rock has some property that makes it a good portal surface)
Posted 07:50am 23/4/11
you walk into an office and then in a little alcove with a bookcase fallen over there's a door that will open and take you straight to it.
Posted 08:23am 23/4/11
Posted 10:28am 23/4/11
theres some discussion starting on steam that caroline/glados isn't actually chell's mother, but rather chell is a clone of caroline after they uploaded her into the computer. Also that caroline is cave's child, rather than his wife, with the nickname chell. Makes just as much sense as Caroline being chell's mother...
Posted 10:40am 23/4/11
I think it's also important to remember that as a Source Engine game on PC, it has full mod support, so the community will be able to (and no-doubt will) create maps that require more effort in the execution phase to conquer.
Posted 11:24am 23/4/11
As Dan points out, I'm hoping the more traditional, game skill based parts can be provided by community maps.
Posted 12:55pm 23/4/11
Posted 01:50pm 23/4/11
No doubt expansion pack #x on the way, would be awesome if there was a level editor.
Posted 01:55pm 23/4/11
Also that section 8 trailer, what was the point of that, thought it was a game, then remembered at the end it was an upcoming movie.
Yes it was, but what wasn't obvious was glados being aware of the fact, until the end speech, and she talks to chell as if she also knows.
Posted 02:27pm 23/4/11
I definitely noticed this too. There were no puzzles where you had to be able to pin a portal to a particular point as you were airborne, etc... what delayed me the most wasn't so much figuring out how to get object A to point B, it was visually locating the surfaces on which to place the portals, which were often hidden right up in corridors behind vents etc.
But it's all cool, because I'm in space.
last edited by Raven at 14:27:20 23/Apr/11
Posted 02:34pm 23/4/11
Like, when you get into that third Cave Johnson area, the one where hes dying, from the stuff laying around and posters and stuff it looks like it was the 1980 era (the first one being 1960, then 1970). Now at that point, they're bankrupt, he says as much. And something happens after that, that made them completely seal off that entire underground complex Cave Johnson had built and had been testing in, and then build an entirely new complex above it, a staggeringly huge one. Why? And with what money?
Posted 02:50pm 23/4/11
Will need to research some of this stuff, I already found this list of ratman's dens and a list of useful links down the bottom http://www.gamefront.com/portal-2-rat-man-dens/
Posted 11:36pm 23/4/11
agreed the comedy value was there - though I would have happily just sat back and watched a video of it or watched a mate play it through quicker than I could have.
If P3 comes out I'll just watch it on YouTube.
last edited by koopz at 23:36:08 23/Apr/11
Posted 11:39pm 23/4/11
Posted 12:46am 24/4/11
How can she be a clone of Caroline when they look nothing alike?
Posted 01:22am 24/4/11
Posted 02:10am 24/4/11
Posted 05:47pm 24/4/11
I think its worth pointing out for those who think its too short that co-op is a side story with completely different levels. To me you have to think of the game length in terms of the time to play through both; SP and coop together I feel like I got my money's worth.
Posted 06:23pm 24/4/11
Then there are sessions where your partner is both clueless and refuses to listen to instructions. And you're trying to do stuff the hard way because your partner isn't helping (or being malicious).
Posted 09:57pm 24/4/11
Definitely the best this year, and don't see that being topped (even though I want to say Diablo 3, but... ya know).
However I do agree with a user's comment above on the fact that it's more controller friendly than the first. I noticed that almost immediately, and I was disappointed. However the game as a whole outshone that. Can't help it though. Consoles monopolizing the game development scene...
Posted 10:06pm 24/4/11
Posted 10:28pm 24/4/11
Thats a pretty big call! Heaps of huge games still to come this year. Arkham City, Mass Effect 3, Uncharted 3, Skyrim, Battlefield 3. But its definitely going to be up there as one of the best of the year i'm sure.
Posted 10:41pm 24/4/11
Posted 11:55am 25/4/11
Posted 12:16pm 25/4/11
Posted 12:24pm 25/4/11
When you attempt to load a Portal 2 Cooperative game, you may experience a situation where every game fails to connect. Enabling the console will show it attempting to connect to a LAN IP - which happens to be the IP of the other person, but on their network. So you might find yourself connecting to 192.168.0.4, instead of, say, 203.12.77.194, or whatever their global IP is.
This is caused by having multiple IPs on a single interface. The solution to this is to remove all IP addresses other than the single primary IP you wish to use. Can be a pain I know, but that's what I had to do to fix the problem. After fixing this, I was able to join Coop games no problem.
Hope this helps someone.
Posted 02:26pm 25/4/11
+1
Posted 07:37pm 26/4/11
Posted 08:24pm 26/4/11
got over those rooms at the begining, that you finished in 2-5min and had to wait through another loading screen to get to the next small room :/
granted it wasnt a long load, but still. they could have switched it up a bit instead of going into a lift 20million times
Posted 09:34pm 26/4/11
Posted 09:47pm 26/4/11
wheatley took over and the loading screen changed to Spoiler:
wheatley laboratories
Posted 07:19am 27/4/11
Posted 08:49am 27/4/11
The first few hours of Portal 2 I felt let down with the skill level, burning through puzzles with ZERO thinking and felt like the game was going to end very soon but to my surprise I had just scratched the surface. The later chapters, especially with the gels at least provided me with a few minutes scratching my head, the worst one would have taken me 10 minutes.
I completed a fair few puzzles with makeshift airborne twitch skills, not realizing the simple solution (eg a gel) I was performing ridiculous portal hopping/mid air portals to achieve the height to get to a place.
Only con I have is sometimes things seemed a bit repetitive, especially with the tiny puzzles + lifts.
Posted 08:52am 27/4/11
Definitely agree.
Spot the walls, see the angle, drop 2 portals... ta-da, end.
Want more flying through the air twitch shots multi-portal combos.
Comeon editor!
Posted 08:56am 27/4/11
Posted 10:06am 27/4/11
ima crack that b**** open tonight and shoot me some portals y0
Posted 10:19am 27/4/11
Posted 10:55am 27/4/11
But, it's happening to Teq, so yeah, that'd make it pretty funny.
Posted 10:55am 27/4/11
I'm going to go with s***.
I highly doubt it though, at very least I should be able to login with the steam code
Posted 11:03am 27/4/11
Posted 11:24am 27/4/11
Only tried MP for 20 minutes and got a bit bored, may check it out again sometime later though.
Posted 11:36am 27/4/11
Does anyone know how Chell got to the start of Portal 1? Considering she's a full grown adult and on the testing list (according to "Rat Man"), does that mean she used to live in the normal world THEN applied?
Why was Chell placed in stasis at the end of Portal 1 via the robot/Rat Man? Is there any real explanation to this? Is the Rat Man just preserving her as a means of keeping a hero to fight again one day, or to preserve information about Aperture... it's very vague.
What is the go with Wheatley at the start? It's confusing since he's meant to be moronic. Did Wheatley come to Chell since she's the only living human in the facility to help him escape?
So what's the deal with Aperture anyway, is there anymore to it then a technology company that has no care for it's test subjects? Is the killing at the end just a means of privacy?
Posted 11:39am 27/4/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZD17pQSqUU#t=2m25s
Posted 11:59am 27/4/11
Posted 12:17pm 27/4/11
I always assumed she was one of the kids who had come to "bring your daughter to work day" on the day when Glados went crazy and gassed all the scientists. I dunno, I guess she captured and put into stasis, like all the people who surrendered were put into stasis and used for testing, and all the ones who resistered were gassed?
He was supposed to be the one monitoring the people who were in stasis, but he didn't realise power had been switched off to the stasis modules and everyone was dead. He'd been going through all the different rooms looking for survivors to help them when he found Chell. I think its still pretty obvious hes a moron since he hadn't realised for 99999999 days (or however long it was) that the power had been cutoff and nobody was being woken up and looked after and had just let everyone die.
Isn't it one of Glados' cores/robots that brings Chell back? I assume she was just recaptured for revenge/more testing.
Posted 12:25pm 27/4/11
*goes to look for a FOV option*
Posted 12:33pm 27/4/11
Posted 12:59pm 27/4/11
Posted 01:15pm 27/4/11
Posted 02:58pm 28/4/11
So far Steam has me at 7 hours played and I don't think I'm anywhere near finished it. I must suck at solving things because some rooms I spend ages trying to work out a way thru.
Also loving the lvl design. Looks like an ass-load of work has gone into it.
Anyway, I'm maybe four or so rooms past where I get GLADOS in potato form. How far from the end am I?
Posted 03:13pm 28/4/11
:P
Posted 03:14pm 28/4/11
Not all of us use walkthru's rav-baby!!
8-)
Posted 12:10am 29/4/11
Posted 12:15am 29/4/11
Posted 08:24am 29/4/11
were we playing the same game? the graphics were gorgeous. huge improvement over the first game.
Posted 08:53am 29/4/11
I was running the game maxed, and it looked fantastic. The Source Engine has had heaps of updates, and the texture resolution was fine. Maybe it's you who needs to upgrade, not Valve?
Posted 08:54am 29/4/11
Posted 02:03pm 30/4/11
Just finished it. F*** that was fun. Prolly the best thing I've played in ages.
Posted 02:07pm 30/4/11
Posted 02:08pm 30/4/11
Posted 02:10pm 30/4/11
Posted 03:08pm 30/4/11
Posted 04:34pm 30/4/11
Portal 2 seemed to have more complex puzzles, but once you figured them out, it was just a matter of putting your portals and gels where you needed them, and that was that. I actually prefer this setup, not because I had trouble with the twitchy stuff on the first one, but because that wasn't what made the first game fun. It was making yourself think about the spaces in a completely different way compared to any other game. Give me more complex puzzles rather than keyboard+mouse gymnastics any day. I guess it also makes it more playable on a console.
Posted 05:08pm 30/4/11
Posted 05:46pm 30/4/11
Posted 05:59pm 30/4/11
Posted 06:07pm 30/4/11
I also like in portal 2 how once you've set up your solution on some of the more complex puzzles, then actually play it out, it feels like some kind of cool portal based rube goldberg machine as you bounce around and react with the different elements you've put in play.
Posted 06:15pm 30/4/11
Thought that was clear as a lot of the previous posts were in relation to it.
Posted 09:34pm 30/4/11
They're not, but the twitch stuff just doesn't feel necessary. I'm comfortably capable with a keyboard and mouse in FPS games, but it just isn't important in Portal, imo. It's the puzzles that make this game fun. The skill comes from your ability to think things out without regard to physical space in the normal sense. Having to fling yourself around the room a bunch of times after you've already sorted out what to do while you quickly flick the mouse from here to there just to get to the end feels unnecessary. I've solved the puzzle, get me on to a new one.
Of course if you do like that kind of thing, you could apply it to speed runs, I suppose.
Posted 05:53pm 01/5/11
Posted 06:04pm 01/5/11
yep there's plenty of speed runs ongoing that use twitch skills to good affect.
Posted 06:39pm 01/5/11
http://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
I completely missed this image during Portal 2.
Posted 06:45pm 01/5/11
Posted 02:38am 02/5/11
Why must you lie.
Anyway. Just finished the co-op run of this. Prolly made it thru in around 5 - 6 hours. Had more fun doing that than playing the single player mode.
Easlily the best game I've played this year. Gonna be hard to beat the fun factor I reckon.
Posted 02:47am 02/5/11
Posted 02:59am 02/5/11
Yeah it's amazing the impression that a 6ish hour single player campaign has left on me. Loving endless amounts of community humour, remembered jokes, and all around satisfaction with the game and material released as part of the buzz surrounding it. It's rare for something to work out so well, and this is coming from somebody who was pretty unmoved by half life 2 so is definitely no valve fanboy.
But there's still batman this year, and skyrim, they have potential to be great fun. :D (not sure when I got excited about skyrim, swore never again after oblivion..)
Posted 03:21am 02/5/11
skyrim
bf3
pretty sure these 3 games come out in the same month (november) lols.
Posted 10:41am 02/5/11