The sequel to the most scientific and mentally-challenging game ever is nothing less than a triumph.
“Portal 2,” released April 19, is the perfect full-length follow-up to the mini game that swept the video game community in 2007.
Arguably the most anticipated game of 2011 among video game aficionados, “Portal 2” provides everything a fan of the first could want. With perfect dialogue, or monologue (the main character is mute), that keeps the comedic theme of the first, Valve has made a masterpiece.
With a massive amount of levels that come in two different campaigns, a solo and a co-op, with each having a different story all together, there are hours upon hours of gameplay to be had.
“Portal 2” is a first-person-shooter puzzle game. One of the first of its kind, Portal reinvented the way we look at games and showed that video games do not have to be violent to be fun and entertaining, something the industry has had issues with since the early ’90s.
The presentation on the puzzles are what makes the game, and after being stuck on a level for 45 minutes then completing it, the genius showed. This was the case over and over throughout the entire game, and it never let up. I was in awe of the physics and mechanics of the game, and that is something that I’m sure will never be matched.
The story at its core is fairly dark and eerie, with the premise that an artificial intelligence has taken over a scientific research center, Aperture Laboratories, where human clones are used to test various inventions, like the portal gun. The portal gun, in case you don’t already know, is a gun that shoots out two portals that connect to each other, and you use these portals to get through the various levels.
It doesn’t give you much time to catch up if you missed the first game and moves quickly.
The solo campaign goes deeper into the lore of Aperture Science, uncovering secrets of what went on in the underground coal mine turned research center long before your time. As the story progresses new gadgets and elements are provided to add to the fun and complexity-all of which are presented perfectly throughout, especially how they coincide with the portal gun.
I beat the game in roughly eight hours, so it’s far and away longer than the first, which was a sigh of relief with the price tag.
The ending can only be measured to movies like “Planet of the Apes” or “Fight Club.” It is the best ending to a video game I have ever experienced and is proof that games can be on the same artistic level as movies or novels.
“Portal 2” will no doubt challenge your mind, which is lost in most of today’s run-n-gun video game culture. If you want a mindless game like the others, then don’t buy this game.
Clearly, it’s hard to overstate my satisfaction.