Portal

Portal is a work of genius, hands down. Only genius can use cake as a philosophic standpoint, argue to kill an inanimate object, and give you sufficient reason to love things out to kill you (much less call them cute). Further more, what kind of game is this? is it a first-person-shooter? a puzzle game? a comedy? It is (more or less) all three...

Without giving too much away, you play as a character (later on named Chell) that receives a device capable of producing portals. These portals allow you to travel across a room, walking in one portal and out the other instantly. You are guided through an expanse of testing and experimentation by a computer known simply as "GLaDOS", or Generic Lifeform and Disk Operating System. Things are not quite as they seem while you make your way through the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.

This game is worth the attention, and probably the most inventive thing I've seen out of the gaming world in my life. Get it. Now. =)

As an avid gamer, I pride myself on the diversity of games that I play. Though I'm not a big fan of puzzle games, (I usually tend to prefer the more violent games) I decided to buy the Portal bundle from the Steam Store. I had heard of it over the years and always blew it off because it looked like a really poor idea for a game. I started playing Portal as soon as it finished downloading and the mystery and obfuscation right from the start hooked me and pulled me right into it. As I said before, I'm not really a big fan of puzzle games, but Portal just seemed to grab a hold of me and didn't let go until it was over. The levels started of simple and easy, but as you progress through the game they seem to get exponentially more difficult. Valve took a minimalist approach to the gameplay and managed to weave an extremely intricate story to back it up and leave you guessing about everything outside of the Enrichment Center.

When I say minimalist, I mean they used very few characters, very few environments, and a very limited number of use-able tools. The characters and story, despite this minimal use of characters, both showed a lot of depth and made you actually like all the characters. As for the environments and tools, they rearranged them for each level to make each situation more and more difficult to solve. I was amazed by the depth of the story and characters, and also of how well they put the puzzles together. I played through the game in one sitting but it took me a whole night to do so. Even though it was pretty short lived, it was a memorable and enjoyable experience that I would recommend for anyone that calls themselves a gamer. Just remember that the cake is a lie!

Brilliant, gorgeous, and one of my favorite games in this genre.

In short, the game is perfectly made, and even more so at its age.

At the same time, an interesting plot is combined with interesting and even challenging logic puzzles.

There is humor that dilutes the intense thoughts after the level.

The game is atmospheric, it has references, and after completing it, a pleasant impression remains.

And since the game is based on logic levels, you can replay it several times as soon as you forget (after a couple of years, calmly).

Be sure to play it. It's pretty fast, but very memorable...

That probably doesn't make any sense, but anyways...

This game is absolutely brilliant. This is a 1st Person puzzle game that uses...you guessed it...Portals! The way the levels are designed, they're really well done. There are some that don't take a lot of thought, but later in the game, they get really clever with the puzzle and level design that really impresses me.

The atmosphere, music, art direction, and story is also really appealing. It has bit of a dark vibe coming off of it, while at times being subtly funny in the games dialogue.

I will say, playing it again is different than playing it through the 1st time. The challenge is present when you first play it, but as far as replay ability, it becomes a game of speed running at that point. It still doesn't take away my overall enjoyment of this game. It's still a great game, and I would HIGHLY recommend anyone reading this to play it. You won't be disappointed.

You go through different rooms solving puzzles; it kinda is that simple, but it really isn't. Where are you? Why are you held prisoner? And who is the disembodied voice guiding (taunting[?]) you along? Excellent dialog and dark humor are enough to propel you through challenges that range from fun to tough-as-nails.

Puzzle games and first-person shooters: never been a big fan of either, but both are combined here into a mind-bending journey through a high-tech lab. The portal gun itself is a fun game mechanic, but it's really all you have to make your way past machine-gun robots, lasers and electrical fields. There's also a companion cube which, oddly enough, becomes sort of a sidekick.

Technically there's running, shooting and a boss fight; but in the end, it is unlike any video game I've ever played and it is a must for anyone who can get their hands on it. It is short, but I can hardly consider that a negative - because as soon as I finished, I started over and did it all again. Twice.