The homicidal, mean-spirited, artificially intelligent computer GLaDOS makes her triumphant return in Valve’s long-awaited “Portal” sequel. The first-person platformer puts you back in the boots of Chell. Along with her new robot friend, Wheatley, the two try to take down the angry AI after traipsing through the Aperture Science facility, which has fallen into massive disrepair.
Aperture Science’s physics-bending portal gun stands out yet again, allowing Chell to create two portals to travel between as a means to solve puzzles. This time around, Valve has added property-changing paintlike gels (blue is bouncy, red/orange increases speed, white makes a surface accept portals) to the later challenges, along with tractor beams and the ability to redirect lasers. All these options can make for some pretty tricky tests to navigate.
With a much larger budget than before, the Valve team was able to flesh out the story a bit more. A lot more about the history of Aperture Science is uncovered in this game, mostly through interactions with recordings of the company’s founder, Cave Johnson, who is voiced by J.K. Simmons — the Farmers Insurance guy.
| ‘Portal 2’ |
| » Systems: Xbox 360, PS3, PC |
| » Price: $59.99, $49.99 |
| » Rating: 5 out of 5 stars |
On top of having mind-blowing visuals, the script for “Portal 2” will leave you nearly rolling on the floor laughing at some of the crazy things that are said. From the get-go, GLaDOS starts cracking highly insulting, yet fairly highbrow jokes about Chell, and this type of comedic verbal abuse continues throughout. It’s great to see that Valve kept a similar tone to the previous game’s.
Aside from having a single-player campaign — which takes about eight hours — a two-player co-op campaign is included. There you’re introduced to Atlas and P-Body, portal gun-wielding robots designed for more elaborate testing. From there you must work together to solve a number of extremely deadly puzzles.
“Portal 2” will have you hooked, and you may find yourself trying to grind through the story in just a few sittings. Too bad there aren’t more tests available after you finish. Even though it’s a full-price game, it’s completely worth the cost of admission.
