Portal Review

First off i know that Portal is about 3 years old now but i want to do "classic" games in this blog as well as new games, and in my eyes Portal is exactly that. So read, enjoy and comment. :)

Portal Review.

Portal, one of Valve's masterpiece games, not a new game but something i'd place in the “modern classics” section, I first played Portal a few months after it game out at a friends and never got around to playing it again. Orange Box is one of those games you always think “hey I want that” when you;
a) have no money.
b) are going to get a different game.

So a week ago after seeing it while buying Borderlands GOTY I decided i'd take the plunge and get that game that's always on your peripheral but never the game you pick up, because something else always seems that little bit more enticing.

You take the role of a test subject (Chell) in the Aperture of Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Centre, you are told by the eerie voice of GlaDos that you are scheduled to take part in a series of tests with the aim of learning and fun. Portal is essentially a puzzle game, you are armed with the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (Portal Gun) this allows you to create linked blue and orange portals which you have to use to navigate the varying puzzles set out for you. Your other tool s are Cubes which are used to weight down buttons or as stepping stones to help you climb. There are the normal Cubes or the Companion Cube (a normal Cube but with hearts on). As I used the Companion Cube I found myself getting more and more attached to it which made destroying it (part of the level) pretty damn hard.

The effect Portal has on you is weird. The extreme concentration sometimes needed to work out how to complete the challenge added to the droning constant sound of GlaDos speaking to you adds a psychological effect to the game, this is added to by the constant promises of a party and cake and GlaDos' continued insistence that “she” cannot lie to you. This is further increased by the discovery of hidden areas and messages left by a previous test subject which start the games discordance and give you hints that everything is not as it seems of the Aperture of Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Centre.

While not quite a complete original with it's Portal concept (which comes from Narbacular Drop), Portal introduced the idea to the mass market. The graphics of the game actually make it feel like you're playing a concept game, crisp sharp colours, which bright whites dominating the enviroments giving it a clincal feel, which actually reminds me of physics testings for game engines, and that's exactly what it feels like you're playing sometimes, a note must be made of Portal's brilliant physics that are near perfect, which helps with the puzzles.

The only real downside to Portal is the length of the story, it's incredibly short for a game that doesn't have multi-player, probably 3-5 hours depending on how fast you work out the puzzles. But then the game doesn't really feel complete, it feels like it was a test from Valve to see how people reacted to the ideas and style of the game, and with Portal 2 scheduled for 9th February 2011 it's just a short wait for the next, hopefully slightly longer instalment. Also the ending track Still Alive by Jonathon Coulton is one of the best tracks made for a game EVER.

9.5/10 – a refreshing and highly entertaining game, that is a MUST PLAY and will be a classic for years to come.

WARNING – if you want a mindless game this is not for you, it requires a brain.

Ps. You better hurry up to the party. Before someone cuts the cake.