Portal 2 Review

This time we find ourselves back in the Aperture Science labs after destroying the evil machine that was GLADoS, on another adventure through their Test Chamber Facilities.

Single Payer

After playing the original portal religiously, multiple runs though the campaign, doing speed runs and challenge modes, many fans begun thinking what else can Valve throw at us. Surely they can make more challenging test chambers, but the die hard fans want more. You kick off the single player campaign where the original portal left off, running through old test chambers. For new players, they are able to get their head around how the portals work and for players of the original game, it was just a quick refresher course to get you back into the spirit of things. A great way of catering for both the new and old crowd.

It wasn't long until they started to add in new devices into the game, which in a way, forced you to change your way of thinking. It almost became less of 'Thinking with portals' and more, how on earth am I going to use this contraption to solve this puzzle. It begun with the addition of lens blocks which reflected beams that you needed to activate switches, later on more props were added with the inclusion of things like gels, light beams, tractor beams and jump pads. Every time you think that it cant get more interesting, Valve throws a new prop at you and gives you a whole series of test chambers for you to solve. With each addition, the challenges seem to increase in difficulty, however the challenges are set so that all players should be able to complete them. You may spend a few minutes on one, and half an hour on the next but the difficulty is reasonable and should allow majority of players to complete the game without tearing their hair out.

The game still runs of the Source engine, and although it has been around for quite some time, the game still looks amazing. Contrasting from the original to the sequel it is evident the amount of work that has been put into level design. You start off the campaign in the decay of old chambers as GLADoS tries to scramble them together and throughout the game you manage to explore the depths of Aperture Science and some of their original test chambers. Even though they are using an aged engine, they manage to make it work and still look amazing.

Something that Valve has continued to do well is voice acting, adding a few extra characters into the cast from the original helps to spice up the storyline, we still meet our nemesis from the original, but we are also accompanied by Wheatley, a small robot voiced by Stephen Merchant who does a magnificent job at piecing the story together and making the arduous travel time between testing chambers an enjoyable one. We also hear from the Aperture Science founder and CEO, Cave Johnson (J.K. Simmons) who adds in a lot of humour in the later stages of the game.

With all that being said, this game isn't perfect. When we look at why the original Portal was so successful it was because, at its core, it was a puzzle game. You go through test chamber after test chamber completing the puzzles that were set out for you. The way in which Portal 2 differs is that there may be a few test chambers, but then they have an extended storyline sequence or travelling sequence which breaks up the test chambers. In Valve's defence, I can see how breaking up the chambers could work, however the extent and duration of these 'intermissions' were too long, and detracted from my experience of the game. I found myself getting frustrated travelling to the chambers since I found the best part of the game is just to solve the puzzles. Sure, it looks pretty and the level designs are something to admire, but in the end its a puzzle game, I want moar puzzles.

Co-op Mode

The biggest addition to the series is the multiplayer campaign. This co-op mode picks up after the end of the single player campaign where you and a friend control 2 robotic test subjects, ATLAS and P-Body. The test chambers you complete in the co-op mode are seen as 'too difficult' for human test subjects, hence the addition of another player. This allows Valve to be more elaborate with their chambers, since both players have use of the portal gun, you can create up to 4 portals instead of just 2, allowing for more creativity in the solution of puzzles.

The features that are inbuilt for co-op to aid in your progress are excellent, the regular inbuilt speech function is usable however the quality isn't comparable to that of proper communication software, but Valve has taken into the consideration all players don't have access to the equipment to talk, or who would prefer not to. This is where the multiplayer UI comes in. Players can set beacons, count down timers, portal placement queues and use all sorts of communication tools and gestures. Allowing players to communicate their ideas to their partner.

The issue with co-op isn't necessarily with the game itself but the partner you use for the co-op test chambers. There are two ways in which you can find a partner, one is through your friends list in steam, XBL or PSN, or the alternative, is searching randomly for a random player. In both scenarios the level of enjoyment you will receive from co-op is entirely dependant on your partners skills. If they are quick to get the puzzles, they will speed through them and not give you a chance to blink. Or the other extreme, if they are slow on the puzzle solving front, you may find yourself getting frustrated at them leading to an enjoyable time.

In most cases, finding a player from a friends list will give you a more enjoyable playing experience as long as you go through the content together and work as a team. Which is in most cases difficult to resist the temptation to burn, mame, crush or obliterate your partner on the odd occasion.

Closing Thoughts

The issue I have with Portal 2 is in its longevity, I fear that without Valve releasing additional map packs in DLC, the game will become stale and there will not be any replay value. Currently, Valve is taking the Team Fortress 2 approach and added in character costumes, and in my honest opinion, I'm not going to spend money or waste time looking at what my partner is wearing, I just want to progress through the chambers.

All being said,  Portal 2 is an outstanding game, the story is enjoyable, the visuals are outstanding and the test chambers are difficult enough to keep my attention without getting so frustrated that I  launch my gaming peripherals into my neighbours backyard. There are some issues that Valve have to sort out if they intend to extend the life of the game, however my play-through of this sequel was a great experience and well worth my time. I don't see myself playing though the complete game again, however, if Valve does release new test chambers, I would not decline the challenge.