Review: “Portal 2” Not Your Average Puzzle Game!

Review: “Portal 2”

By David Desautels, EntertainmentOrDie Gaming Expert

“The Cake is a lie, try the Pie”

To begin, I’m disclosing that I never played the first Portal. While I knew the story and the background, puzzle games were never my thing. Even though Portal was acclaimed as one of the most original ideas for a video game in 2007, it never held interest for me. That all changed after I picked up a copy of Portal 2. After a few hours of playing, I was ready to say “Pass me a slice of cake.”

"Where's The Bathroom In This Place?"

The plot of the original game surrounds a player named Chell who wakes up from a stasis and is given messages and warnings from GLaDOS about an experiment the player will take part in. If the player passes, she will receive cake and grief counseling. The game itself is fairly linear. The goal is to escape each room with the use of a portal device and eventually make it to the end of the game. There are many solutions to each room and its up to the player on how to solve the puzzle. As the game progresses, each room gets more difficult. By the end, the player then learns GLaDOS is actually a program responsible for the death of everyone in the facility and following the destruction of GLaDOS is captured outside the facility. This is where Portal 2 begins.

Portal 2 follows the same linear gameplay. The object of the game is to solve a series of puzzles by use of the portal device. What makes this game different is the new elements added in to the puzzles. Tractor beams, lasers, and even different gels can change and alter the gameplay in how to solve the puzzle in each room. To increase the gameplay, new characters were added as well. These characters, such as “Wheatley” a robotic personality sphere, add much needed humor and co-operative elements. Another nice feature is the two player co-operative mode forcing two players to work together to solve new puzzles. While there is a much bigger emphasis on story in this game, the puzzles are what shines and pulls you into the game. If I had one complaint, the puzzles can get to be very complicated. Some of them can have you standing in the room for an hour before a solution hits you in the face. If you are a patient and persistent person, then you will persevere through it.

Puzzling? Yes!

Not being a fan of the puzzle genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this game. The puzzles weren’t too difficult where I would need a player’s guide every room I went into, but kept me challenged enough as to not lose interest. The humor was refreshing and most importantly of all, funny. But the best thing of all is there is there was very little bad language and violence allowing anyone, including children, to enjoy this game. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes to challenge him or herself while having fun. As long as you own a PC,6 Xbox360, or a PS3, you should have no trouble finding a copy of this game at a retail price of $59.99. And just remember, if you someone promises you cake, it’s a lie.