Several years back when us Half Life fans were treated with a juicy Orange Box that came packed with the full Half Life 2, Episode 1 and the anticipated Episode 2, most of us weren't to know that Gordon Freeman's adventure wouldn't be the talking point of the package. Nope. In many peoples eyes it was Portal that made The Orange Box worth the money. The three hours of puzzling first-person fun with a unique and witty (albeit homicidal lune) GLaDOS turned out to be three hours of pure gaming genius. Naturally with huge "triumph" the pressure was always going to be on for Valve to make the feature length sequel one to remember. Well I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. Portal 2 is exactly the sequel we wanted.
Once again stepping into the shoes of the mute female protagonist, Chell, the game takes place a fair while after the events in the first game. GLaDOS is still down but not out, and the Aperture Science Laboratories are in ruins. Test chambers aren't working properly, the walls are falling to pieces and plant life is slowly claiming the building. Luckily a new character, the rather stupid, please think before you speak Wheatley, is there to give you a hand, as he reunites you with the portal gun and does his best to get you out. Unfortunately his best includes waking up the big bad GLaDOS in the process. The early stages are familiar with the bitter and witty super computer once again putting you through a series of deadly yet logical tests. Twists happen, the plot thickens and soon Portal 2 really begins to shine. It's best not to give too much away as not knowing what's coming is a part of what makes Portal 2 so great.
Of course, if you picked up the portal gun previously to make blue and orange doorways on walls, and spent time with the companion cube, then you'll be right at home with Portal 2. The same mechanics are present, with a bunch of brand new puzzles, but Portal 2 goes beyond being just "more of the same but bigger". There's a deeper plot this time around, many laugh out loud moments, a much longer campaign, many more Half Life references and much more emphasis on the characters. Let's face it, Portal characters are ones you certainly love to know.
GLaDOS is on award-worthy top form with her bitter comments which force laughter out of you rather than the fear. Ellen McLain has done a spectacular job and really makes the character one of the true greats in gaming. The biggest surprise for me is Stephen Merchant, who voices Wheatley. Usually he's the much less popular friend of Ricky Gervais, not to mention the co-creator and writer of The Office / Extras. Naturally without him, Gervais wouldn't have come to much, and now Merchant is finally seeing some of the limelight for himself. With his dry, sarcastic Bristolian delivery, you at first you can't help but think "oh it's Merchant being Merchant", but it really doesn't take long to realise that he is perfect as the not-so-bright Wheatley. He also works expertly alongside GLaDOS to make a brilliant first-person puzzler one of the funniest games ever created. There's also good voice work, but fair to say not as memorable, by J. K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno) who voices Cave Johnson, the eccentric CEO of Aperture Science.
Laughs are good, but needless to say the game-play needs to be there to back it up. Portal 2 brings backs all the original favourites, such as companion cubes, gun turrets, pressure pads, etc, but also introduces enough new stuff to get the brain working overtime. There are Aerial Faith Plates, which once you stand on them shoot you high up into the air. There's Hard Light Bridges, which are exactly that and can be extended through portals, and also Excursion Funnels, which are blue flowing tubes that send you off in a direction if you get caught in one. Then there's the Gels, which comes in three colour types. Propulsion Gel (Orange) makes you move very fast, which is perfect when a run and jump is called for. Repulsion Gel (Blue) allows you to jump as high as the distance you jumped from, making it easier to reach loftier climbs, and Conversion Gel (White) allows you to place portals on surfaces that otherwise wouldn't allow them.
Each new feature is introduced slowly and eases you in to it, but naturally the puzzles eventually become a lot tougher, particularly when many new features are combined in a single area. The puzzles are very well designed, and depending on your quick thinking and skill, you may find yourself trapped in an area for ages wondering what the heck you're supposed to do. Often in time, the eventual solution ends up being so obvious in hindsight that you'll be kicking yourself for pondering so long over it. That said, some may even get though the entire 10 hour game with very little problems. The challenge is there though, but never does it become overly frustrating that you'd consider packing it in or heading to Youtube / GameFAQs. Quite the opposite in fact, there's no stopping a huge smile enveloping your face when you finally work your way to an exit.
Once the single player campaign unfortunately comes to an end you'll want to start over again, but there's also the co-op mode. Two player Portal is a standalone mode that takes nothing away from the single player game. In fact, it only adds to the greatness. Spanning four areas of around eight chambers each, the puzzles are fresh and designed solely with two people in mind. By that I mean they can be very challenging, but once again without being frustrating. You and your buddy take control of two charming little robots called Atlas and Peabody, who are being tested by GLaDOS (she's not much nicer to robots) in a series of team work based chambers, which are briefly alluded to in the single player story. It's an extremely satisfying mode if you're playing with someone who has a brain. I guess I should have felt sorry for my partner in Portal crime.
Portal 2 is indeed a triumph. Valve has hit the nail on the head with every aspect of Portal 2, from its extensive single player campaign, with rewarding puzzles, great plot and brilliant humour, to the equally as great co-op mode. It's every bit as good as the first Portal if not better. One thing is certain. Portal 3 has just become Half Life (Episode) 3. As in: So stupidly anticipated it hurts. Of course we may have to wait many years, and three new Left 4 Dead games, before we even hear a whisper of it.
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