Portal 2

At 25 pounds this game is just amazing. I paid 40 pounds for it and am happy to have played it.

However, everyone is going in superlatives about how the game is amazing etc. It's a really good game but it is not the second coming of Nathan Drake.

The game has a very strong ending, and a good opening, but the middle third kind of lets it down because it feels padded to some extent. Many of the puzzles in the first section are also recycled. The additions of gels and beams in the 2nd half are good but they kind of rob away from the purity of using portals only to solve puzzles.

I feel really weird playing this game, because I played Portal 1 about 7 times, and a lot of the time I just feel like Portal 2 tries too hard to be more than Portal 1. It just seems to me that Portal should not even have had a sequel ever.

Graphically the source engine is showing its age, and the gameplay is fun but there's really hardly any replay value once you finish the singleplayer. Multiplayer is quite good but again you need to have some friends to play with it and most of my friends would not bother to try to spend 5 minutes in the same room without killing anyone.

Do you like puzzle games? Yes? Then you owe it to yourself to play Portal 2, full stop.

However, if you're like me and you're not really into puzzle games so to speak then, well, you STILL owe it to yourself to play Portal 2. It's not often that it can be said a game has everything, but Valve have created a masterpiece here for puzzle and non-puzzle fans alike. The visuals are top notch, the storyline engaging, the script is well written and at times laugh-out-loud funny and, most importantly, the game play is spot on. This is a puzzle game so you'll need to get your logic hat on, but don't let that put you off if you're not a puzzle gamer. For while the challenges in Portal 2 can be clever, intricate and mind-blowing at times, what the game has nailed 100% is the fact every problem you encounter makes sense and all puzzles are solvable through logic. Sounds silly I know, but if you're a gamer then you'll know those moments in some games where everything you try doesn't work and when you do find out the solution, it seems so implausible that it can frustrate you even more - 'oh, of course, I needed the lightbulb from the lamp-post to give to the random man so he'd give me a dog to chase away the cat who was holding a golden ball of yarn that I need to gift to the other man so he'd give me his step ladder so I can get to the roof of the building where the matchstick is which I need to burn the candle to wake up the dinosaur who's asleep in front of the washing line I need to get to!' Or something. Portal 2 however, as I said, makes sense, mainly because of the physics of the game. Puzzles are believable and as you get used to the portal gun, you'll start to see all sorts of possibilities. Even the later levels, where the puzzles become quite difficult, you'll be happy to keep trying things out as you know the puzzles will be logical and solvable with a bit of forward thinking. As you go on there is a genuine sense of reward when you finally unlock the secret behind one of the puzzles (I don't think I've yelled 'YES!" as much playing a game since my uni days spent playing Pro Evo 4 hours on end).

The storyline continues a while after the end of the original Portal, once again you play as Chell. For those new to Portal, the game generally takes place in 'test chambers' in the Aperture Laboratory. It's presented in the first person, so if you like COD you'll be fine! You get a Portal gun that enables you to create pathways to different areas of a room - this is done by shooting a blue portal and an orange portal onto walls/floors. Think of them as holes, except when you create two holes they join up and become a pathway. A bit like a portal, really. Anyway, as you progress you gain access to other interesting elements that help you go faster, bounce higher, or even place a Portal onto any surface. The interesting thing about portals is just how they can be used to manipulate a room, it's not just a case of getting from point A to point B as hopefully you'll see if you play the game (or you'll know if you've played the 1st game). As you progress through these test chambers, the story unfolds and you then move onto other areas. I'll draw a line here though, as you don't want any spoilers now do you?! All I will say is that you start off with a friend called Wheatley (voiced brilliantly by Stephen Merchant) and you may or may not run into a certain foe called GLaDOS...other than that there's not much else to say that won't give out plot details (which is just as interesting as the puzzles!)

As I said at the start of this review, I'm not a puzzle gamer per-say. Portal 2 is so much more than a puzzle game though. It's emotive yet funny, clever yet simple, a puzzler-meets-adventure-meets-FPS game. You'll laugh, you'll have your heart strings tugged, you might get a bit stuck, but mostly you'll do as I did and spend a whole day playing it from start to finish because it's just THAT good. Then, when you've finished, you get the excellent co-op mode (and I do recommend playing single player first) which can be played locally via split screen or, online via PSN or even with someone on PC via the Steam Code included in the PS3 version of the game. I was going to review how well this part worked but at the time of writing PSN has been down for around a week now for reasons I'm sure you're all aware of. Local co op is great though (the puzzles are even more intricate when there's two of you!) and a fine extension to the main game.

It's hard to put into words how much I recommend trying this game. Even if you're apprehensive that it might not be your 'thing', similarly to Heavy Rain, it's the kind of game that may divide opinion but can genuinely be called an experience that I feel all gamers should try. I honestly don't have a negative to point out about this game, if we're being picky there's no advanced maps (like in the original), but that's a tiny criticism! Some have mentioned the longevity (I'd say a solid 8-10 hours for single player) but add in the co op and it's certainly longer. Also, as with the aforementioned Heavy Rain which clocked in around 9 hours, there's a definite case for quality over quantity and for me Portal 2 is as quality a game you will play this console generation (plus if there's a better ending to a game, well...you'll just have to play it and see!)

This is the more story-focused, expanded and yet slightly less polished sequel to Valve's ground-breaking Portal. When I first played Portal it felt like such a different gaming experience that no sequel would be required but this titled left me corrected. Whilst the main single player game is only 7ish hours long, the content is highly expanded upon from Portal 1, new and different platforming elements must be manipulated by the player to complete the game's 'testing' experiments. Perhaps it was because I was more sure of what was to be expected from a test subject in Portal, but I found some test enviroments a little on the easier side in comparison to the original game. The story in Portal 2 continues on from the previous title and progresses further and to crazier lengths, revealing more and more of behind the scenes at the mysterious aperture science labs. Consistently funny thanks to the sardonic return of Glados and the bumbling moronics of Wheatley voiced by Stephen Merchant, another reminder of why Portal offers such a unique gaming experience. A lot of the backstories are merely hinted at throughout gameplay, as a result you better be paying attention and not once, ever, is the game's pace broken or slowed, the more you give in to this game's story you more you get from it.

Where Portal 1 had 'advanced challenges' to add in extra content, Portal 2 delivers us a 'Co-op game mode', the player can link with another online or play classic console split-screen and play as two robots whose role is hinted at in the main. While the single player game's storyline has some darker tones the mood is kept consistently bright for the co-op. The best thing I found as a console player was the ability to point and hint to your fellow game with an indicator button, telling your friend where to place their portals or where to stand or what button to push. In the first-person online genre, where the importance of teamwork for a rewarding gameplay is sliding, this game is a gem.
Another step forward, at least for playstation online gaming is the inclusion of Valve's Steam interface throughout playing Portal 2. I was taken back by the ease at which this is set up and used. If you already have steam you can enter your username and password once and that's it done, chat to your steam friends,invite them to play a game of Portal 2 (PC to PS3 online gameplay!) and check the relevant steam newsfeed all on your PS3. It's a shame this feature couldn't appear on Xbox platform, I think as internet becomes faster, more accessible and with greater bandwidths, Steam and digital download is really the next step that gaming and gamers should be looking towards.

Perhaps it is the game's more realised story or the ease of some the levels but I feel there is not as strong of a replayability factor as I found in Portal 1, even in the co-op mode there is only a limited number of challenges available which can be completed in about 4 hours. Whilst this is a very solid and well-made game for the content offered I would not pay the full first-day release price of many modern games and it seems Valve would concur.

In conclusion, buy this game, set yourself a separate 6 hours or so, turn the lights off, volume up and have a ball. Keep gaming!