Portal 2

S

SomeBritishDude

First time out of the vault
First of all, if you haven't played Portal, shame on you! Also this may contain spoilers.

Portal 2, the sequel to the mind bending, laugh inducing short little slice of gaming heaven is being released this Fall. And it looks awesome. But don't take my word for it, I have the scans to prove it.

http://i45.tinypic.com/153o6xc.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/29yqfx1.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/f1k1fb.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/27x49dc.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/2nro515.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/b5jsc6.jpg

Let me get the main details out of the way:

-First of all the biggest change; Portal 2 will have two separate campaigns, one single player and one co-op.

-In the single player mode you play once again as Chell, who must now navigate her way though Aperture Science once more. The difference is that it's now in a state of disrepair and has become a semi-jungle in places. Hundreds of years of no maintenance will do that to a place (presumably Chell was in cryogenic sleep or has been cloned)

-In Co-Op mode you play as one of two robots; One is an adapted memory core (like the one that dropped off GlaDoS) and one is an adapted turret. They like holding hands. Both players will be in control of both Portals and according to Valve, the game will be a hell of a lot more challenging (and probably frustrating) than single player. This can be played online or coach co-op; while online you can place markers to show your fellow android where to look or shoot.

65390.jpg


-There are several new puzzle elements that have been mentioned including Air vents that can suck up objects, some sort of jump pads, reflective weighted storage cubes for changing the direction of lazors and orange paint that causes you to go faster when stepped on.

-This is a full sized, full price game, not a 3 hour "test bed" as Valve calls it to be bundled into a pack like the Orange Box.

-She is still alive.

Honestly while I'm very, very excited for this it makes me wonder what the fuck happened to Half Life 2: Episode 3 more than anything. 3 years and 2 games later and still Valve haven't got round to releasing what is presumably a 5 hour game :crazy:

Still, I am pumped, I always expect and receive quality from Valve. I am looking forward to this a lot more than New Vegas.
 
This is a triumph.

I care about Portal 2 a lot more than HL2:ep3. I never cared for Half Life that much anyway, but they definitely started losing me with this episodic nonsense.
 
"This can be played online or coach co-op"
:?

Anyway this looks real nice, for some odd reason I haven't finished Portal. Not sure why.
 
Huh. Considering how short Portal is, I think it's more of an achievement to start and never finish it than to actually finish it.
 
I am quite the opposite, I want them to focus all attention first on HL2Ep3 before making Portal 2 or sequels or expansions to any of their other games.
 
I find it hard to believe anyone who picked up Portal didn't finish it. I played though the whole thing again when I heard this news. It took me just over 2 hours.

Your missing out. Spend an afternoon on it, your won't regret it. Brilliant ending.
 
I'd rather they make something else (HL3!), instead of sequels to games that are still too fresh in my mind. Hopefully, after Portal 2, they won't announce L4D3.
 
Valve doesn't want to elaborate on the half life connection because of the tonal differences between the games(...)"
Click to expand...

Oh dang. I always thought it was a great idea linking half life with portal. Two different games, with different concepts for the same (awesome) world.
Guess I'll play it, but I'll be pretty disappointed if theres absolutely no profound relation with half life.
 
Radiated Heinz said:
Valve doesn't want to elaborate on the half life connection because of the tonal differences between the games(...)"
Click to expand...

Oh dang. I always thought it was a great idea linking half life with portal. Two different games, with different concepts for the same (awesome) world.
Guess I'll play it, but I'll be pretty disappointed if theres absolutely no profound relation with half life.
Click to expand...

The problem with connecting the world in this new game is the time difference. Portal 2 is not yet years or decades after Portal, but centurys.

So any sight of the outside world could potentially be a massive spoiler for Episode 3...Or then again it could be a very interesting story element for that game if we find a world in shatters...

But anyway, there could still be references to Half Life within Aperture Science. If no ones visited that means all the information will talk about stuff from a time long past. There could even be information on the Borialis (though that would be kind of a dick move for Half-Life fans who don't buy it)
 
wow, centuries. (I didnt had the time and the balls to read yet the entire text, probably thats wrotten there).
So yes, it makes sense. I thought it was just a couple of decades
 
Radiated Heinz said:
wow, centuries. (I didnt had the time and the balls to read yet the entire text, probably thats wrotten there).
So yes, it makes sense. I thought it was just a couple of decades
Click to expand...

To me it feels like the only reason Valve connected the Half Life and Portal universe together is that they weren't sure if Portal would be able to stand up as an IP all on it's own. That and they used a lot of bits and pieces from the Half Life games to make Portal to cut down on costs, so it made sense since they looked similar.

What with Portal being a ridiculous success Valve now want to try and distance it from Half Life. What better way to do it than setting it centuries later?

Anyway, the reason I posted:

http://gameinformer.com/mag/portal2.aspx

Game informer are doing a load of little articles on the making of Portal and Portal 2 on this site. An interesting read if your craving little snippets of info.
 
Portal was absolutely awesome, and Portal 2 is a title I'm very stoked for.

As for Episode 3, I've got $20 that says it's been scrapped and the next HalfLife game announced will be Half-Life 3.
 
rcorporon said:
As for Episode 3, I've got $20 that says it's been scrapped and the next HalfLife game announced will be Half-Life 3.
Click to expand...

That's how it feels to me.

Partly because of how long it's taken, but also looking at where Episode 2 left us. Could they really have tied up every loose end in a 5 hour game?
 
Portal was indeed fantastic.

But i expect portal 2 to be the milking of an already milked cow.
Nice gameplay, visuals, soundtrack.. its all going to be there and surely a good game indeed, but with no real difference in the story section, i cant see it surpassing the original.

But the co-op thing will probably be sweet!


As for HL2, ep3.. would you let it go...
People constantly bitch about games that seem "unfinished" and blame the producers for rushing the production.

And when Blizzard or Valve take a long time for making a game, ppl again bitch coz they dont want to wait for it.
Isnt it better to wait for a quality product?
 
victor said:
I'm really looking forward to this. Portal is possibly my favourite game, ever.
Click to expand...
it was a nice diversion, but favorite game? it's ultra short, has very little actual content, no real depth in the story and the thing with the most character in it all is a lifeless companion cube?

it was great fun, but for someone to say it's his most favorite game, ever? sjeezes...
 
SuAside said:
victor said:
I'm really looking forward to this. Portal is possibly my favourite game, ever.
Click to expand...
it was a nice diversion, but favorite game? it's ultra short...
Click to expand...

Something I'd say Portal requires praise for rather than scorn. It it's long enough to satisfy while being short enough to keep your attention. I could see 3-5 hour games at £10 or so being a great way to bring new quirky and original IPs to the public with little risk of failure and would love to see more of this in the future.

SuAside said:
...no real depth in the story...
Click to expand...

Much like the Half Life and Left 4 Dead games Portal's story requires investigation to really find the depth, something I'd love to see more in other games. Portal has plenty of depth if you spend you time searching every nook and cranny and keeping a ear open to some of the facts behind GlaDOS's mad ramblings. The stories there if you want it, but it's not forced down you throat if you don't care.

SuAside said:
...and the thing with the most character in it all is a lifeless companion cube?
Click to expand...

Which I'd say is more a triumph than a flaw. The companion cube, an inanimate object with no lines of dialogue or noticeable traits that distinguishable it from any other cube in the rest of the game apart from a heart, actually managed to get an emotional response from the majority of players. That's not just great story telling, that's fucking magic.

And if you don't feel guilty having to throw the cube into the incinerator it just becomes a funny moment, rather than the majority of "emotional moments" in games where if you don't feel it, it just comes across as boring, awkward or just a complete and utter cop out.

Portal is not my favourite game, but it's up there, and I'd be hard pressed to find it's flaws.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top