Full Review: Portal 2

I just played through this game, so I suppose I should post about it.  Fun game.  Please play Portal 1 first.  In fact.  I am tempted to go back and play Portal 1, to compare the experience. But today I am talking about Portal 2, and in doing so, I will undoubtedly have some small *spoilers* that I am now alerting you to.   

Portal 2 spent a lot of time and effort on the quirky characters and storyline.  And I'll be honest with you:  I really liked Wheatley, right from the start.  The dramatic, destructive cinematics juxtaposed with his self depricating, uncertain humor were really entertaining.  I had thought he was Ricky Gervais based on the content of his humor, and I was close.  But not quite.

JK Simmons is always fantastic in everything he does.  However, I didn't particularly care for those sequences.  In fact, that section was exactly when I began to think the game was too long.  Like that last Batman movie.  But after a little while, I came to realize that the scope of the game was simply longer than I had anticipated, and then I got more comfortable with the length and forgave the designers for inspiring my earlier feelings of impatience.

To tell you the truth, Portal 2 is a game I wish would never end.  Portal 2 adds more features, but the core ideas are the same as the first.  And I wished it would never end either.  I have yet to explore any of the extra features, including the level editor.  Perhaps there is some good stuff there waiting for me.

GLaDOS is a great character.  In fact, part of why I want to play Portal 1 again is to compare her character.  I had originally thought her voice was entirely computer generated, but as it turns out, she was performed, in both games, by the same woman.  Her character growth in Portal 2 is most welcome, I thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  And while there are plot-based expansions on her character, I mostly appreciate her character for the dialogue.

But, ultimately, I do almost feel a bit of 'lacking' in Portal 2.  One example I can share is the various game locations in which you can see outside of the chamber you're in.  Sometimes you can see the edges of walls and other chambers, and there are machines lined up in grids, or large chambers in the distance.  And there was one particular sequence I remember when I got to put a portal on a wall that was so far away, the portal was just a dot.  That was awesome.  

While this is all super-cool environment building, I felt like it wasn't quite enough.  The designers clearly worked hard and got very creative.  And exploring the Portal 2 world gave me the urge to jump outside the levels and look around, which is a feeling that 3D games gave me from the very beginning.  And I think that's the thing that I'm missing in Portal 2:  exploration.  The first game... okay, spoiler alert!  stop reading right now if you haven't played through Portal 1.  I will not forgive myself if I ruin that game for you.  In fact, you shouldn't even be reading this at all if you haven't played through Portal 1 - go play it!

Anyhow.  The ending of Portal 1, or should I say, the 'ending sequence' of Portal 1 was a real treat.  All this time spent in Aperture Labs, with the cold and unfeeling laboratory designs, to suddenly be traveling around underground, behind the walls, it was such a thrill.  That sequence of the game delivered on all of the work I had done to get to that point.

Portal 2 never does that.  Now, don't get me wrong, there are bunches of, sort of 'travel' sequences that take you out of the testing realm to travel around, in a way that is very similar to the end of Portal 1.  I would guess that you experience the gameplay of that sequence about three or four times throughout Portal 2.  But what is missing is the contrast, the Payoff that the end of Portal 1 had.

The gameplay grows steadily, with very good pacing, all through the game.  You learn about newer features of the game, including laser triggers and that gel stuff.  The plot and characterization also grows with the gameplay.   Wheatley is dangerous, but then ultimately moronic, GLaDOS goes through her own growth leading to forgiveness of a sort.  But there is no real point of surprise and eye-widening, grin spreading potential that I felt when finishing Portal 1.

I think what would have done the trick would have been some non-linear or sandbox sequences.  Think about it - what could you do in a sandbox game with a portal gun?  A freaking PORTAL GUN!  But no, Portal 2 follows this basic formula:  Linear story sequences, Series of Test, Linear Story Sequences, Series of tests, until you get to the end.  And it's got a lot of fun, but it did make me a little impatient at times.

Also:  Do they ever explain why your character was back at Aperture Labs?  I mean, you escape in Portal 1, right?  Why would you ever go back?

So, don't get me wrong, Portal 2 is a great game.  I was on Cloud 9 through the first half of the game, right up until Wheatley takes over. I think I would have preferred a shorter game, or even an episodic release - two games at half the price.  The game took me 13.6 hours to complete.

The Game wowed me at first, but by halfway through I had settled into a comfort zone.  Portal 1 wowed me because the game concept is so awesome, then as it progressed I stayed with it, and then it totally wowed me at the end, big time!   I feel like Portal 1 left with so much potential, and Portal 2 was just a little superficial.  But still a great game.   Portal 1 gets an A and Portal 2 gets a B+  ... I think.  Maybe A+ and B+.  Sequels always have more to prove.  But sometimes they are better than the original.  It does happen.  

And though I am not anticipating a third portal game.  If it does come, I really hope for some open world exploration-type stuff.  Weee, Portals!

-D


P.S. I also want to mention that I bought Portal 2 on Steam as part of a 75% off deal that included Portal 1.  Gotta love that Steam!