Portal 2 Review.

Every few years or so you find a game that utterly captivates your imagination, a game that completely dictates your social life and everything you do in your day-to-day life, it’s a very rare thing, Portal 2 is that game. Portal 2 literally has no contemporary’s, it’s in a category of its own. Running around deciphering endless puzzles should be excruciatingly dull, but somehow, Portal 2 has constructed a puzzle solving concept, into something that’s both compelling and entertaining.

Portal 2 has a beautifully rendered environment, you could very comfortably spend the entirety of your first play through gazing at your surroundings, rather than attempting to solve the wealth intricate puzzles. Portal 2 is also a great advertisement for the Playstation’s Blu Ray capabilities, but there is more to this game than just beauty. Single player begins with your character (Chell) in her living quarters, which is rather rapidly destroyed with you still inside, and after narrowly escaping your forced to flee from the facility you now find yourself trapped in. But unfortunately things undoubtedly begin to unravel, and you unwittingly awaken a super computer that’s not overly pleased about being destroyed by you in the previous game. Seeking revenge, Chell is forced to undergo varies challenges, (armed with only your trusty portal gun), for the rest of your life

, (rather unfortunate). Ok so the plot isn’t exactly on the same level as Heavy Rain or Red Dead Redemption, but portal 2 doesn’t need to be. Where Portal 2 really excels is in its puzzles.

When you first begin, you can become instantly frustrated by the complexity of the challenges that await you, but after the initial confusion of the controls and your surroundings, you soon begin to find the right solutions to each individual problem. Initially most of your challenges consist of getting from one platform to another via portals, but soon the conundrums become rather more complex. You may need to transport one block through a portal to gain access to a door, or negotiate through a room filled with lasers and then manipulate those lasers through your portals to access another door. As confusing as things inevitably get, just taking a step back and thinking things over, it wont take you long before you find the solution, leaving you wondering what the problem was to begin with. The beauty of this game lies in its ability to leave you insanely frustrated, but feeling very intelligent when you finally solve obstacles that have alluded you for what seems like hours.

As rewarding and fun as the single player mode is, it really doesn’t compare to portal 2’s co-op. Portal 2 is specifically designed for co-operative play, offering much more varied challenges than single player. Teamwork is crucial, communication between the two of you is also key, one missed timed portal and your back to where you begun. Never has their been a game that requires this amount of thought and cooperation to succeed, it’s very clever, but surprisingly simple. Complex puzzles that you may struggle with on your own, somehow become infinitely more simplified when you work with someone else, making the gaming experience even more captivating and enjoyable, and your accomplishments evidently more satisfying.

Portal 2 isn’t your average FPS, you maybe equipped with a gun, but it doesn’t fire shotgun rounds, and you don’t leave a trail of bloodshed as you progress through different stages, you fire portals to advance to the next level, its such a simple concept, but with unique results. Portal 2 is extremely challenging, and your mind may feel as though its going to explode at times, but the gameplay is so addictive and engrossing that you just wont be able to stop. So a word of caution if you buy this game, prepare to bid farewell to your social life.

9/10