Portal 2

They have done it again. After Portal, which was more of a fun game teaser really, they have finally made the concept into one hell of a game.

First of all, it now has the proper length of a full game (6-8 hours for the single player campaign on your first run). Secondly, the creative puzzle solving from the first part is not only back, but improved with many new gadgets that make you wonder how they come up with that stuff. Find me more creative game play in the industry, I dare you.

The single player campaign is now filled with even more hilarious dialog and characters (the old ones are back of course), a better story line and what i thought to be a jaw dropping finale. That's the scale the concept is made for, well done! The game now features a co-op version where you go through a different set of levels which you can only solve through teamwork. Those will puzzle you even more than the single player campaign (in total the game is about 3 times as long as the original by the way). Before they send you out to places where you have to really rely on your partner to, say, not fall into the abyss, they send you through a course of team building exercises so you can get used to how things work now that you're not alone any more. Extremely well thought out. Solving those puzzles is even more gratifying when you do it as a team, or so i have found.

Last but not least a little shout out to the group of actors voicing the various characters in the game. Good voice acting is something we have come to expect from Valve games but those guys and gals really know how to deliver comedy. At point I had to stop playing for a minute to wait for the laughing to stop ;-) How often do sequels let you down. Not this one. It's longer, bigger, funnier. Now you will see why the people at Valve took so long to make it. Instead of rushing the game and get something half finished *cough* Dragon Age 2 *cough*, they took their time to get it right.

Hats off, Valve, hats off.

Years ago, when Valve launched Portal as a fun Half-Life 2 mod, everybody was thrilled with the concept of the game. Portal 2 didn't just live up to the expectations I had, it slammed them harder into the ground, than I could have ever imagined. If this is no game of the year, I don't know what is... Portal 2's plot reaches much deeper into the history of Aperture Science, revealing new characters and shining a light on the events of Portal 1. Of course the humor most certainly made it to Portal 2 and I want to say, this game is even funnier than its predecessor. The new characters and the deeper plot make this game a must-buy, but that's not good enough for Aperture Science, I mean Valve: A co-op mode was the only thing missing from Portal 1, and they included it in this gem of video games. Challenging test chambers and hours of brain explosions await you and your partner in the Aperture Science Co-Operative Testing Initiative. If you liked Portal, you'll love Portal 2. And if you've never played Portal... do it now!

It was only recently that I discovered what has been public knowledge for a long time – that Portal is a great game. I decided to jump into Portal 2 recently on the basis of enjoying the first game so much. True to form, Portal 2 does not disappoint and everything good about the first game is present, polished and improved here – well, pretty much everything.

The game begins the same as the first one did, with levels that introduce you to the world of portals gradually so that you get the basics before the puzzles start getting a bit harder. This is normal with sequels because the makers cannot assume players are familiar already but at the same time have to try not to bore old hands who have seen this all before. Here there is no such problem because while I was already familiar with the ideas I was being introduced to, I was not familiar with Wheatley. At first Wheatley (voiced by Stephen Merchant) is your guide and he is hilarious and he makes the introductory levels a lot of fun to play with his comments and advice: this is a game that tells you which button is "jump" by getting you to push in to "speak" and then judging your character for jumping. It is hard to describe but fans of the first game will know the style of humour at play here and indeed fans of Stephen Merchant should also know, since he is doing his usual stuff here (most notably like he did in Extras – the cheerful numpty).

The single player game takes you through the same sort of test rooms as before but plot developments see you exploring different areas in the facility as well. These areas tend to be more broken down and the differences in them does serve to rather break you out of autopilot to a point. At times it is too easy to solve puzzles by simply observing the room and recognising the process rather than solving the puzzle, the change in location made me have to pay attention more. Also in addition to the varied locations we also have substances added which have particular properties and play a role in solving puzzles – these also serve to break up the "routine" of knowing where to put the portals and makes for some nice puzzles. There are also laser and other new things but rest assured that the trusty companion cubes remain. I still didn't find it particularly hard but I do think it was a little tougher at times than the first game – the makers said the focus was to make the game bigger but not necessarily harder and they did do that.

Of course bigger does make it better and I think the single player game was about 10 hours which, considering it is very similar throughout, it is testament to how engaging it is that it never gets boring. The story helps as we have great characters in GlaDOS, Wheatley and Cave Johnson, all of whom are really well written and hilarious but yet also charm and engage – they can be tragic, threatening, cruel or insane but the player always likes them and is entertained by them – like the turrets, even when they are trying to kill you, you always feel bad about knocking them over! The dialogue is key in making this work and it is really well written. Johnson's dialogue is funny and also informative in terms of back-story, while GlaDOS is as evil as ever harbouring a massive grudge from the last game and constantly making lots of little digs at the player about their weight or about their parents not loving them. Again, it is hard to explain how funny it is but my girlfriend (a hater of video games) loved watching me play – although was always impatient for me to solve the puzzle so she could get the next piece of dialogue from GlaDOS etc. It is hilarious and it is this way throughout – the final song is not quite up to the standards of "Still Alive" but to be fair – what is? The delivery of the lines is near-perfect. McLain returns as GlaDOS and various other voices, while JK Simmons (yes, Schillinger from Oz etc) is really great as Cave Johnson. Standout though is the cheerful little bumbler Wheatley as played by Merchant. A great character and Merchant totally fits, delivering by far the funniest performance I have seen him give.

The graphics are not amazingly stepped up from the original game but some of the areas outside of the testing rooms are impressive in their complexity and detail. However those looking to be wowed by technology will not be here but in fairness it isn't what I came for and it did still look good. The addition of the co-op may only add another 4 or 5 hours to the game but they are great addition. The use of four portals and two players means that the dynamics are really well changed and they worked my brain a little harder because I had settled into a rhythm with the main game. It also features a nice little plot and loads of the usual humour.

Overall Portal 2 is a brilliant game. The puzzles are good without being really difficult – I still found it a bit too easy to solve but many did give me pause and made me think for a minute before sorting it out. The humour is key though and this game is hilarious and engaging at the same time. The characters are brilliant in the writing, the dialogue and the delivery and I have (and will) replay parts just to hear the lines again. A great game – clever, engaging, funny, exciting and with twists and turns in the plot. Buy it now.

Portal 2 is an unique game, as It's successful predecessor. It's filled with incredibly clever puzzles. And it has a fantastic story, with unforgettable moments. It's cleverly done in singleplayer, but the multiplayer co-op is even better, because, having a partner when you solve puzzles is rewarding, and enjoyable at the same time. Visually is nothing special, but Source Engine did It's job very well, and the soundtrack is great. The voice acting is extremely good. The replay value may not be very high, but with a great plot, enjoyable puzzles, outstanding character and a fantastic co-op, there's probably a reason to come back and to play. I recommend this game to everyone, especially the people who love puzzle games!

This game is truly magnificent. The game's atmosphere is amazing. Valve really nailed the mysterious abandoned laboratory feel this time around. They knew they couldn't just rehash Portal, so they tried something new and it really paid off. The puzzles are fun and challenging, but not infuriating, and the way that the game chooses not to have any cut scenes breaking up the game play makes the game much more immersive. It's easy to get lost in this game for hours. The story is wonderful, and the ending is powerful. I would highly recommend this game to anybody who likes puzzle games, story telling in games, or games in general.